POLITICAL PARTY

Q&A

1. Describe any three main features of Two-Party system.

Answer: Main features of two-party system:
• Power usually changes between two parties, several other parties may exist.
• In such system, people get clear choice.
• The party that wins majority forms the government and the other sits in
opposition.
2. What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party system? Explain.
Answer: Multi-party system: If several parties compete for power and more than two
parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or
in alliance with others, we call it a multi-party system.
India adopted a Multi-party system because:
• There is social and geographical diversity in India.
• India is such a large country which is not easily absorbed by two or three parties.
3. Suggest and explain any five effective measures to reform political parties.
Answer: Five suggestions made to reform the political parties:
i. Law to regulate the internal affairs of political parties like maintaining a
register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to have independent
authority, to act as judge in case of party dispute, to hold open elections to
the highest post.
ii. It should be mandatory for political parties to give one-third tickets to
women candidates. Also there should be quota for women on the decision-
making bodies of the party.
iii. There should be state funding of elections. The government should give
money to parties to support their election expenses in kind (petrol, paper,
telephone, etc.) or in cash on the basis of votes secured by the party in the
previous election.
iv. The candidate should be educated, so that he can solve and understand
people’s problems. His previous record should be cleared. He should be
honest and there should be no criminal case against him.
v. Citizens can reform politics if they take part directly and join political parties.
People can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity in
media, agitations etc.
4. Differentiate between national parties and Regional parties.
Competency Based Questions.
1. Consider a country which has diverse social groups. It wants to adopt a new
political system which helps give equality to all groups.
Identify the feature it should adopt.
A. Enable different groups to represent themselves by forming political
parties
B. Empower groups to take extreme positions to ensure justice for
themselves
C. Help different groups get assimilated into one single group to reduce
diversity
D. Allowing political power to remain in the hands of only one group to
ensure stability
2. There are two statements given below, Statement (I) and Statement (II). Read
the statements and choose the correct option.
(I) : A one-party system is a good democratic option.
(II) : Political parties in a democracy put forth different programmes and policies
for voters to choose from.
A. (I) and (II) are true
B. (I) and (II) are false
C. (I) is the cause of (II)
D. (I) is false but (II) is true
3. Subhash lobbies with various government offices to work specifically for the
interests of the Scheduled Tribes.
Which of the following parties is he MOST LIKELY to be associated with?
A. All-India Trinamool Congress
B. Indian National Congress
C. Communist Party of India
D. Bahujan Samaj Party
4. Which of the following statements Is correct keeping the requirement of
formation of government in view?
 Statement i: It is possible for independent candidates to form a
government.
 Statement ii: Government formation is exclusively reserved for
political parties.
 Statement iii: The formation of government is limited to only elected
political parties.
 Statement iv: Government can only be formed by political parties
that are elected and hold a majority.
a. Statement i and ii are right.
b. Statement i, ii, and iii are right.
c. Statement iii is right.
d. Only statement iv is right.
6. Which of the following is the PRIMARY factor which contributed to the
emergence of multiple political parties at the same level in India?
(a) a federal political system
b) varied economic conditions
(c) linguistic and regional diversity
(d) low levels of literacy and political awareness
7. There are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R).
Mark your answer as per the codes provided below:
 Assertion (A): India is a country with a multi-party system set up.
 Reason (R): The multi-party system often appears very messy and
leads to political instability.
a. Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
b. Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
c. (A) is correct but (R) is wrong
d. (A) is wrong but (R) is correct.
8. Which recognised national party sees securing power for the dalits, adivasis,
OBCs and religious minorities as an important part of its identity?
9. Arrange political parties according to their year of formation in
increasing order:
1. BSP
2. BJP
3. INC
4. CPI
a. I - IV - III - II
b. III - IV - I - II
c. IV - I - II - III
d. III - IV - II - I

10. In a country, though people are allowed to form parties, only one party controls
and forms the government. What type of party-system can we say operates in
this country? Why?
11. There is a lack of internal democracy within political parties.
Why is this considered a challenge?
12. A party has won the following percentage of seats in the 4 states where it has
contested in the state legislative assembly election.
State % of votes won No of seats won
State A 19 10
State B 16 4
State C 35 42
State D 7 1
The party has not won any Lok Sabha seats.
(a) What type of political party will it be classified as? Why?
(b) Can it be classified as a national party? Justify your answer.
13. ‘In Goa, 7 powerful families are contesting 35% of the assembly seats’ states a
headline in a recent newspaper article. Which challenge of political parties does it MOST
LIKELY illustrate? Explain ?