Ramana Vidyalaya (CBSE), Sholinganallur

Answer Key No - 9
Electoral Politics (September 2024)

Name : Date:
Grade : IX Subject: S.SC/Civics
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General Instructions:
⮚ Refer to the textbook and running notes for the answers to the following questions.
⮚ Answers to be written in points with proper spacing.
⮚ Attach the worksheet along with the answers for correction.
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SECTION A
Answer the following questions in a word or two:-
1. A set of norms and guidelines to be followed by political parties and candidates during
elections is called:
(a) Constituency (b) Rigging
(c) Code of conduct (d) Turnout
2. What is the Electoral Roll?
Ans: The list of those who are eligible to vote.
3. Who is responsible for free and fair elections in India?
The Election Commission of India
4. Which of the following has the largest Lok Sabha constituency in India?
(a) Maharashtra (b) Uttar Pradesh
(c) Himachal Pradesh (d) Bihar
5. Which of the following statements is incorrect?
(a) All citizens above the age of 21 can vote in an election
(b) Every citizen has the right to vote regardless of caste religion or gender
(c) Some criminals and persons with unsound mind can be denied the right to vote in
rare situations
(d) It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all eligible voters put in
the voters list.
6. What is meant by the term ‘constituency’?
Ans: A particular area from where voters elect a representative to the Lok Sabha / Vidhan
Sabha
7. Electronic voting machine is the new reform introduced in the electoral process by the
Election Commission for the purpose of voting.
8. Reserved Constituencies ensure proper representation to the weaker sections of
society.
9. In India, who votes in a larger proportion in the elections?
Ans: Poor and Illiterate
10. Which of the following statements is against the democratic process of elections?
 (a) Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections
(b) Elections must be held regularly immediately after the term is over
(c) The right to vote should be given to the selected people only
(d) Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner
SECTION B - Subjective type Questions
Answer the following questions briefly:
1. What is an election? Why do we need elections?
Ans:
● A mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals
and change them if they wish to do so. This mechanism is called election.
● A rule of the people is possible without any elections if all the people can sit together
everyday and take all the decisions. This is not possible in any large community.
● Nor is it possible for everyone to have the time and knowledge to make decisions on all
matters. Therefore in most democracies people rule through their representatives.
2. List out three choices that people make during elections?
Ans: In an election the voters make many choices:
● They can choose who will make laws for them.
● They can choose who will form the government and take major decisions.
● They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law making.
3. What are the minimum conditions for a democratic election?
Ans: a simple list of the minimum conditions of a democratic election:
● First, everyone should be able to choose. This means that everyone should have one
vote and every vote should have equal value.
● Second, there should be something to choose from. Parties and candidates should be
free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
● Third, the choice should be offered at regular intervals. Elections must be held regularly
after every few years.
● Fourth, the candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
● Fifth, elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can
choose as they really wish.
4. Give the merits and demerits of electoral competition.
Ans: Merits:
● Political leaders all over the world, like all other professionals, are motivated by
a desire to advance their political careers. They want to remain in power or get
power and positions for themselves.
● Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and
leaders. They know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised with,
their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections. But if
they fail to satisfy the voters with their work they will not be able to win again.
Demerits:
 ● Clearly, an electoral competition has many demerits. It creates a sense of disunity and
‘factionalism’ in every locality.
● Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks to win elections. Some people say that this
pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to be
formulated.
● Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena.
5. What is our system of elections in India?
Ans:
● The country is divided into different areas for the purposes of elections. These areas are
called electoral constituencies. The voters who live in an area elect one representative.
● For Lok Sabha elections, the country is divided into 543 constituencies. The
representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an
MP.
● One of the features of a democratic election is that every vote should have equal value.
That is why our Constitution requires that each constituency should have a roughly
equal population living within it.
● Each state is divided into a specific number of Assembly constituencies. In this case, the
elected representative is called the Member of Legislative Assembly or an MLA.
● Each Parliamentary constituency has within it several assembly constituencies. The
same principle applies for Panchayat and Municipal elections. Each village or town is
divided into several ‘wards’ that are like constituencies. Each ward elects one member
of the village or the urban local body. Sometimes these constituencies are counted as
‘seats’, for each constituency represents one seat in the assembly.
6. Examine the need for Reserved constituencies for election. How many seats are
reserved for SCs and STs in India?
Ans:
● The Constitution makers, however, were worried that in an open electoral competition,
certain weaker sections may not stand a good chance to get elected to the Lok Sabha
and the state Legislative Assemblies.
● They may not have the required resources, education and contacts to contest and win
elections against others. Those who are influential and resourceful may prevent them
from winning elections. If that happens, our Parliament and Assemblies would be
deprived of the voice of a significant section of our population.
● That would make our democracy less representative and less democratic. So, the
makers of our Constitution thought of a special system of reserved constituencies for
the weaker sections. Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the
Scheduled Castes [SC] and Scheduled Tribes [ST].
● In a SC reserved constituency only someone who belongs to the Scheduled Castes can
stand for election. Similarly only those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can contest
an election from a constituency reserved for ST. Currently, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats
 are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the Scheduled Tribes (as on 26
January 2019). This number is in proportion to their share in the total population.
7. What is the ‘Voters’ List? How is it prepared?
Ans:
● In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much
before the election and given to everyone. This list is officially called the Electoral Roll
and is commonly known as the Voters’ List.
● This is an important step because it is linked to the first condition of a democratic
election: everyone should get an equal opportunity to choose representatives.
● In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election. Every
citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his or her caste, religion or gender.
● Some criminals and persons with unsound minds can be denied the right to vote, but
only in rare situations. It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all
the eligible voters put on the voters’ list. As new persons attain voting age names are
added to the voters’ list. Names of those who move out of a place or those who are
dead are deleted. A complete revision of the list takes place every five years.
● This is done to ensure that it remains up to date. In the last few years a new system of
Election Photo Identity Cards [EPIC] has been introduced.
8. Explain the qualification and procedure for nominating a person for
contesting election.
Ans:
● Anyone who can be a voter can also become a candidate in elections. The only
difference is that in order to be a candidate the minimum age is 25 years, while it is only
18 years for being a voter. There are some other restrictions on criminals etc. but these
apply in very extreme cases.
● Party’s nomination is often called a party ‘ticket’. Every person who wishes to contest
an election has to fill a ‘nomination form’ and give some money as ‘security deposit’.
● Recently, a new system of declaration has been introduced on direction from the
Supreme Court. Every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details of :
< Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate;
< Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family; and
< Educational qualifications of the candidate.
● This information has to be made public. This provides an opportunity to the voters to
make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidates.

9. How is campaigning done for elections held in India?

Ans:
● The main purpose of election is to give people a chance to choose the
representatives, the government and the policies they prefer. Therefore it is necessary to have a
free and open discussion about who is a better representative, which party will make a better
government or what is a good policy. This is what happens during election campaigns.
 ● In our country such campaigns take place for a two-week period between the
announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling. During this period
the candidates contact their voters, political leaders address election meetings and
political parties mobilise their supporters.
● This is also the period when newspapers and television news are full of election related
stories and debates.
● In election campaigns, political parties try to focus public attention on some big issues.
They want to attract the public to that issue and get them to vote for their party on that
basis.
10. How to ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and equal chance
to compete during the campaigning period?
Ans:
● In a democracy it is best to leave political parties and candidates free to conduct their
election campaigns the way they want to. But it is sometimes necessary to regulate
campaigns to ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and equal
chance to compete.
● According to our election law, no party or candidate can:
< Bribe or threaten voters;
< Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion;
< Use government resources for election campaign; and
< Spend more than ` 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or `10 lakh in a
constituency in an Assembly election.
● If they do so, their election can be rejected by the court even after they have been
declared elected.
11. What are the chief features of the ‘Model Code of Conduct’ in the Indian
electoral system?
Ans:
● A Model Code of Conduct for election campaigns. According to this, no party or
candidate can:
< Use any place of worship for election propaganda;
< Use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for elections; and
< Once elections are announced, Ministers shall not lay foundation stones of any
projects, take any big policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities.
12. How are ‘Polls’ conducted in India?
Ans:
● The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote. That
day is usually called the election day. Every person whose name is on the voters’ list
can go to a nearby ‘polling booth’, situated usually in a local school or a government
office. Once the voter goes inside the booth, the election officials identify her, put a
mark on her finger and allow her to cast her vote.
 ● An agent of each candidate is allowed to sit inside the polling booth and ensure that
the voting takes place in a fair way.
● Nowadays electronic voting machines (EVM) are used to record votes. The machine
shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols. Independent candidates
too have their own symbols, allotted by the election commission. All that the voter has
to do is to press the button against the name of the candidate she wants to give her
vote.
13. How are votes counted after the polls?
Ans:
● Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place. A few days
later, on a fixed date, all the EVMs from a constituency are opened and the votes
secured by each candidate are counted.
● The agents of all candidates are present there to ensure that the counting is done
properly.
● The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is
declared elected.
14. Discuss about the powers of Election Commission of India.
Ans:
● EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the
announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
● It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.
● During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines,
to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win
elections, or to transfer some government officials.
● When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the EC and not
the government.
15. What does the ‘voter turnout’ during an election in India signify? Compare the
Voter’s turnout of India with that of Western countries.
Ans:
● People’s participation in elections is usually measured by voter turnout figures.
Turnout indicates the percent of eligible voters who actually cast their vote. Over the
last fifty years, the turnout in Europe and North America has declined. In India the
turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.
● In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as
compared to the rich and privileged sections. This is in contrast to western
democracies. For example in the United States of America, poor people, African
Americans and Hispanics vote much less than the rich and the white people.

16. What are the challenges to free and fair elections in India?
Ans:
 ● Candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do
enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents.
● In some parts of the country, candidates with criminal connections have been able to
push others out of the electoral race and to secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.
● Some families tend to dominate political parties; tickets are distributed to relatives
from these families.
● Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens, for both the major parties are
quite similar to each other both in policies and practice.
● Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to
bigger parties.
HOTS:
17. “One final test of the free and fairness of elections is in the outcome itself. The
the outcome of India’s elections speaks for itself.” Evaluate the statement.
Ans: The outcome of India’s elections speaks for itself:
● The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state level.
In fact in every two out of the three elections held in the last 25 years, the ruling party
lost.
● In the US, an incumbent or ‘sitting’ elected representative rarely loses an election. In
India about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections.
● Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on ‘buying votes’ and those
with known criminal connections often lose elections.
● Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as
‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.