ELECTORAL POLITICS

(CIVICS- LESSON-3)

Q.1 Why do we need elections?

ANS. We need elections-
1. To choose our representatives who will make laws.
2. To choose the government who will take final decisions.
3. To choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law
making.
Q.2 What makes an election democratic?
Ans. 1. Everyone should have right to vote and each vote should have one value.
2. Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections.
3. Elections should be held at regular intervals.
4. The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
5. Elections should be free and fair.
Q.2 What are the demerits of electoral competition?
ANS. 1. Electoral competition creates disunity in every locality.
2. Political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
3. They use dirty tricks to win elections.
4. Ruling party does not make sensible long term policies because they are
always in a pressure to win the elections.
5. Good people do not join politics because of unhealthy electoral competition.
Q.3 Distinguish between General Elections and By Elections.
ANS. Elections which are held after a regular period are called General Elections. For
example in India Lok Sabha elections are held after every 5 years.
Sometimes when the election is held only for one constituency to fill the seat which
has become vacant due to the death or resignation of a member, it is called by-
election.
Q.4 What is an electoral constituency?
ANS 1. For the election purpose the country is divided into different areas called
electoral constituency.
2. Each constituency has almost equal population.
3. The voters who live in that area or constituency elect one representative,
who is called Member of Parliament or MP. For Lok Sabha elections our
country is divided into 543 constituencies.
4. Similarly for the election of State Legislative Assembly, the state is divided
into different constituencies.
5. For the election of Panchayats and Municipal Corporations, villages and cities
are divided into wards.
Q.5 What are reserved constituencies? Why do you think it was necessary to reserve
some constituencies?
ANS. In our country some constituencies are reserved for the people belonging to SC and
ST. this means that only a person belonging to SC or ST can contest election from
that constituency. For example if a constituency is reserved for ST, then only a

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 person belonging to Scheduled Tribe can contest the election from there.
It was necessary to reserve some constituencies because-
1. In an open election some weaker sections of the society may not have a good
chance to win the elections.
2. They may not have required resources, education and contacts to win the
elections.
3. If this happens, a large part of our population will not have representation in
our Assemblies. This would be against the spirit of democracy.
Q.6 What is voters’ list? Who prepares this list?
ANS. 1. Voters’ list or Electoral Roll is the list of persons who are eligible to vote.
2. This list is prepared by the Election Commission
3. The list is revised after every five years.
4. The voters who have moved out of the place or those who are dead, their
names are deleted from the list. Those who have attained voting age (18
years), their names are included in the list.
Q.7 Who is eligible to become a voter?
ANS. To become a voter in India a person –
1. Must be a citizen of India.
2. Must be 18 years and above.
3. Should not be a criminal or have unsound mind.
Q.8 ‘No education qualification is required to contest the elections in India.’ Give
argument in favour of this statement.
ANS. At the time of independence, a large population of India was not literate. If
education qualification is made compulsory, many citizens will not be able to contest
election, which will be against the spirit of democracy.
To become an MLA or MP, a person should have the ability to understand people’s
problems and solve them. All this does not require educational qualification.
Q.9 What is an election campaign?
ANS. 1. When political parties and candidates try to persuade the voters to vote for
them, it is called election campaign.
2. It gives the voters a chance to know about their candidates and to choose a
better representative.
3. During election campaign, candidates and political parties tell about their
policies and programmes and make promises to the voters.
4. They organise meetings, rallies, speeches, posters etc.
Q.10 Give some examples of the slogans given by different political parties during
election.
ANS. Congress gave the slogan-‘Garibi Hatao’ in 1971.
BJP gave the slogan ‘Acche Din Anne Wale hain’ in 2014.
Janta Party gave the slogan-‘Save Democracy’ in 1971.

Q.11 What makes elections in India democratic?

Or
Whether the elections in India democratic or not? Comment.
Ans. Although there are reports of unfair practices, elections are mostly free and fair in
India. No party can win an election and come to power using unfair means. We can
say that elections are democratic in India because of the following reasons-

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 1. Independent Election Commission-
Our constitution provides an independent and very powerful Election
Commission to conduct elections.
Election Commission is not controlled by the government.
2. Popular Participation-
a) Voter’s turnout is better in India compared to Europe and North
America.
b) Poor and illiterate vote in large number as compared to the rich and
educated.
c) Voters in India take lot of interest in election related activities and
understand the importance of their votes.
3. Acceptance of election result-
a) The ruling party routinely lose elections.
b) About half of the sitting MPs and MLAs lose election.
c) Candidates with criminal record often lose the elections.
d) The outcome of the election is accepted by the defeated party as
people’s verdict.
Q.12 “The Election Commission of India is independent and powerful.” Justify the
statement.
Ans. The Election Commission works independently without any control of the
government. It is independent because-
a) It enjoys the same kind of independent that the judiciary enjoys.
b) The Chief Election Commission is appointed by the President of India.
c) But once appointed he is not answerable to the government or the
President.

The Election Commission of India also enjoys many powers like-

1. Election Commission takes all decisions regarding the elections from the
announcement of the elections to the declaration of results.
2. It implements the code of conduct and punishes the candidate or party that
violates the rules.
3. During election period, the Election Commission can order the government
to follow guidelines so that government doesn’t misuse its power.
4. While on election duty government officials work under the control of
Election Commission.

Q.13 What are the challenges to free and fair elections in India?
Ans. 1. Candidates and parties with lot of money have advantages over smaller parties.
2. Candidates with criminal connections easily get ‘ticket’ to contest election.
3. Party leaders give ‘tickets’ to their relatives.
4. Very often elections offer very little choice to citizens as both the major parties
have similar policies.
5. Bigger parties have more chances to win election as compared to smaller parties
and independent candidates.
Q.14 What is the Model Code of Conduct for election campaign?
Ans. All the political parties and candidates have to follow the Model Code of Conduct
during the election campaign. According to it no party and candidate can-

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 1. Use any place of worship for election propaganda.
2. Use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for election campaign.
3. Once the date of election is announced, Ministers shall not lay foundation stones
of any project, take any big policy decision or make promises of providing public
facilities.
Q.15 What is rigging?
.
Ans. Use of malpractices by a party or candidate to increase its votes is called rigging. It
includes bogus voting, bribing the policing officials etc.
Q.16 What legal declaration is required to be submitted by each candidate who wishes to
contest an election?
Ans. Each candidate has to make a legal declaration giving full details of the following –
1. Any serious criminal case pending against the candidate.
2. Details of his or her property.
3. Educational qualification of the candidate.
This information is made public and this helps the voters to choose their candidate.