Previous Year Questions: Political Parties

Short Question Answer

Q.1. Explain the three components of a political party. [CBSE Delhi 2019
(32/1/2) Ans.
The three components of a political party are as follows:
The Leaders: The leaders are the ones who hold positions of power at various
levels in the sphere of politics. They belong to different political parties. The
leaders of the ruling party are responsible for the impact of various policies and
processes and address issues of the people time and again.
The Active members: Political parties comprise lakhs of members and political
activists across the entire nation. They play an important role in promoting the
agenda of the party including a focus on issues and various policies and party
leadership.
The Followers: The followers of a political party are the supporters of the ideas
and agenda of that particular political party. They are the citizens of the general
public who strongly believe in the ideas and approaches of the party and extend
their support to the party, especially during elections.
Note: A political party is a group of people with similar ideologies who come together
to form an organization in order to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Q.2. What is the role of the opposition party in a democracy? [CBSE (AI) 2017]
OR
Explain three functions of opposition political parties. [(CBSE Delhi 2019]
Ans. Those parties that lose elections play the role of opposition to the parties in
power. The role played by the opposition is:

It gives its own opinion which may oppose the ruling party.
The opposition party mobilises opposition to the government.
It puts its different views in the parliament and criticises the government for its
failures or wrong policies.
By doing this, it can keep a check on the ruling party, which is made to move on
track.
Q.3. Which organization does recognize ‘Political Parties in India? [CBSE (Comptt)
2017]
Ans. The Election Commission of India is responsible for the task of recognizing
political parties in India. Every party in India has to register with the Election
Commission and it also lays down detailed criteria for state as well as national level
parties to qualify as a particular 'party.'

Q.4. Name any two regional political parties of U.P. (Uttar Pradesh). [CBSE (F)
2017]

Ans. Two Regional Political Parties of UP:(i) S. E (Samajvadi Party)(ii) Rashtriya Lok Dal
Q.5. Assess the importance of political parties in a democracy. [CBSE (F) 2017]
Ans. Importance of Political Parties:

Parties contest elections to form a government.

Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from
them.
A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which it
supports.
Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
Parties recruit leaders, trains them and then make them ministers to run the
Government.
Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes
implemented by governments.
Q.6. “Political Parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.” Analyse the
statement with examples. [CBSE (Comptt) 2017]
Ans. Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy: If political parties don't
exist then:

Every candidate in the elections will be independent.

No one will be able to make any promise to the people about any major policy
changes.
The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever uncertain.
Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do
in the locality.
No one will be responsible for how the country will be run.
Political parties are important for representative democracies as they bring
representatives together to form the government.
It consists of people seeking to achieve their objectives through constitutional
means and aims at promoting national interest.
Q.7. Why did India choose to have a multi-party system?ORExamine the reason to
accept a multi-party system in India. [CBSE (F) 2017]Ans. India adopted multi-
party system because

It strengthens democracy.
India is geographically a very large country.
India is socially a very diverse country.
 India is culturally and religiously a diverse country.
All these diversities can be accommodated if there is a multi-party system and just
1 party or 2 party system will not help in more representation and participation of
people in democratic processes.
Q.8. What are the components of a political party? [CBSE (AI) 2016] Ans.

The leaders: Who formulate policies and programs of the party and choose
candidates for contesting elections.
The active members: Who are involved in different committees of the party and
participate directly in their activity.
The followers: Who believe in the party’s ideology and support the party by
casting their votes in favor of the party at the time of the election.
Q.9. Name any one political party that has a national-level political organisation
but not recognised as the national political party. [CBSE Delhi 2016]

Ans. State parties like the Samajwadi Party, Samata party and Rashtriya Janata Dal have
National level political organisations with units in several States but are not recognised
as national parties.

Q.10. Why is a one-party political system not considered a good democratic

system? [CBSE (F) 2016]

Ans. The one-party system has no democratic option

Q.11. What is meant by a ‘national political party? State the conditions required to
be a national political party. [CBSE Delhi 2016]

Ans. National Political Party has units in the various states, they follow the same
policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.

Conditions required:

(i) A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in general elections of Lok Sabha
or assembly elections in four states.
(ii) Wins at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha.
Q.12. “Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be a
part of one nr the other national-level coalition.” Support the statement with
arguments. [CBSE Delhi 2016]

Ans. State parties seeking National level coalition: Before the general election of 2014,
in three general elections, no one national party was able to secure on its own a
majority in Lok Sabha. As a result, the national parties were compelled to form alliances
with state or regional parties. Since 1996, nearly every one of the state parties has got
an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national-level coalition government.
This has contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy.
Q.13. What is meant by a regional political party? State the conditions required to
be recognised as a ‘regional political party. [CBSE (Al) 2016] Ans. A regional Party is
a party that is present only in some states. Conditions required for a party to be
recognised as a regional political party are:

Regional political party (or state party) is a party that has its presence only in one
or some states.
The regional parties may not always be regional in their ideology or outlook.
Examples of some regional parties with units in several states include Samajwadi
Party, Samata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal etc. Parties such as Biju Janata Dal or
Mizo National Front are conscious about their state identity.
According to the criteria laid down by the Election Commission, a party that
secures at least six per cent of the total votes in an election to the legislative
assembly of a state and wins at least two seats is recognized as a state party.
Q.14. What is a political party? State any two points of the ideology of the
Bhartiya Janata Party. [CBSE (F) 2016]Ans. A political party is a group of people who
come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on
some policies and programmers for the society with a view to promoting the collective
good.The ideology of BJP:

Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion.
Cultural nationalism.
Q.15. Why did India adopt a multi-party system? [CBSE (AI) 2016]Ans.

India is a large country and has social and geographical diversities.

It is easy to absorb different diversities in a multi-party system.
Q.16. “Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to political
parties all over the world.” Analyse the statement. [CBSE 2015]Or In what way lack
of internal democracy is seen in the political parties?Ans.

All over the world, there is a tendency of political parties towards the
concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top.
Parties do not keep membership register.
They do not regularly hold organisational meetings.
They do not conduct internal elections regularly.
Ordinary members of the party do not have sufficient information as to what
happens inside the party.
As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of
the party.
Q.17. What is the multi-party system? Why did India adopt a multi-party system?

[CBSE 2015]

Ans. (a) Multi-party system: If several parties compete for power, and more than two
parties have a feasoriaLhre chance of coming to power either on their own strength or
in alliance with others, it is called a multi-party system.

(b) (i) Every country develops a party system that is conditional by its special
circumstances.

(ii) India has evolved a multi-party system because the social and geographical
diversity in such a large country is not easily observed by two or even three parties.
Long Question Answer

Q.1. Why does modem democracies could not exist without political parties?
ORExplain any five needs to have political parties in a democratic country. [CBSE
2019, 82/2/3]Ans.
 We can understand the necessity of political parties by imagining a situation
without parties. Every candidate in the elections will be independent. So no one
will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.
Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituencies for what they
do in the locality. But no one will be responsible for how the country runs.
India also has non-party-based elections to the panchayats in many states.
Although parties do not contest formally, it is generally noticed that the village
splits into more than one faction, which puts up a ‘panel’ of its candidates. This is
exactly what the party does. That is why we have political parties in almost all the
countries in the world.
The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative
democracies.
Large-scale societies need representative democracy. Large societies need some
way to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government
can be formed.
Thus we can say that parties are a necessary condition for democracy.
Q.2. How are Political parties recognised as regional and National parties in India?
[CBSE Delhi 2019]Ans: India has a multi-party system, where political parties are
classified as national, state or regional level parties. All parties are registered with the
Election Commission.

The criterion for Recognition by The Election Commission as national or state-level

parties.

National PartyA party has to live up to at least one of the following qualifications to be
recognised as a national party:

It has to win a minimum of two per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha from at
least three different states.
In General Elections, the party must manage to win six per cent of the votes and
win at least four Lok Sabha seats as well.
The party is recognised as a ‘state-level party’ in four or more states.
Examples: Congress, BJP
State Party
A party has to live up to at least one of the following qualifications to be acknowledged
as a state party:

The party has to win at least three seats or three per cent of the seats in the state
legislative Assembly.
It has to win a minimum of one seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any
fraction allotted to that concerned state.
In a particular election, the party has to bag at least six per cent of the total votes,
and also win one Lok Sabha and two Assembly seats.
The status of a state party can still be bestowed upon an entity even if it fails to
win any seats in the Lok Sabha or the Assembly if it manages to win at least eight
per cent of the total votes cast in the entire state.
Examples: Janta Dal, Asom Gan Parishad etc.

National Parties in IndiaDespite the large number of political parties operating in India,
very few are able to make their presence felt at the national level except when it comes
to alliances.

Q.3. Political parties fill political offices and exercise political power. But they do
this by performing a series of important functions. Describe any five of them.
[CBSE 2018]Or Describe the role of political parties in a democratic state. [CBSE
2017-18]Ans.

In democracies, elections are contested by the political parties by putting up their

candidates.
Political parties put forward their programmes before the voters at the time of
elections in the form of a manifesto.
Laws are passed according to the directions of the ruling party.
The political party or a group of parties that gets the majority in the legislature
form the government. Iol Parliamentary democracy that government is known by
the name of the party i.e., BJP government.
The parties that lose elections, play the role of opposition to the government.
They criticise the government for its failure and wrong policies.
Political parties raise and highlight different issues of public importance. Thus,
they help in shaping- public opinion.
 Ordinary citizens approach party leaders to get their grievances redressed. For
them, it is easy to approach a party leader than a government officer.
Q.4. Elucidate some of the recent efforts taken in our country to reform political
parties and their leaders. [CBSE Delhi 2017]
OR
Examine any two institutional amendments made by different institutions to
reform political parties and their leaders. [CBSE (F) 2016]
Ans.

The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing
parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in
DEFECTION in order to become ministers or for cash rewards. Now, if any MLA or
MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature.
The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and
criminals. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file
an AFFIDAVIT giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against
him. The new system has made a lot of information available to the public. But
there is no system of check if the information given by the candidates is true.
The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties
to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax; returns. The parties
have started doing so but sometimes it is a mere formality. It is not clear if this
step has led to greater internal democracy in political parties.
Q.5. Describe in brief the recent efforts that have been made in India to reform
political parties and their leaders. [CBSE 2016-17C]Ans. Recent efforts to reform
political parties and their leaders are as given below:

Anti-defection law: In India, many elected representatives started indulging in

changing party allegiance from the party to which a person had got elected to a
different party in order to become ministers or for cash rewards. So in order to
curb this tendency, anti-defection law was passed. According to it, if any MLA or
MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature. Now MPs and
MLAs have to obey the decisions of the party.
Filing of an affidavit: The Supreme Court has made it mandatory for every
candidate who contests an election to file an affidavit giving details of his
property and criminal cases pending against him. This has been done to reduce
the influence of money and criminals.
 Hold organisational elections: The Election Commission has made it necessary
for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax
returns.
Q.6. “All over the world, people express their dissatisfaction with the failure of
political parties to perform their functions well.” Analyse the statement with
arguments. [CBSE Delhi 2016]Ans. Popular dissatisfaction and criticism: It has focused
on four areas in the working of political parties, need to face and overcome these
challenges in order to remain effective instruments of democracy. Lack of internal
democracy within parties.

Dynastic succession: Since most political parties do not practice open

transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an
ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. Those who happen to be leaders are
in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their
family member.
The growing role of money and muscle power in parties: Since parties are
focused only on mining elections, they land to use shortcuts to win elections. They
feed to nominate those considers who have or can raise a lot of mercy. Rich
people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have an influence on
the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support climates
that can win an election.
There is not a meaningful choice to the voters: In recent years there has been a
decline in the ideological parties of the world. Sometimes different leaders either
because shifting from one party to another.
Q.7. What suggestions are often made to reform political parties?ORSuggest any
five effective measures to reform political parties. [CBSE (A I) 2016]Ans.

A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. It should
be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members, to
follow its own constitution, to act as a judge in case of party disputes and to hold
open elections to the highest post."
It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of
tickets, about one-third to the women candidates.
 There should be state funding for elections. The government should give parties
money to support their election expenses. This support can be given in a way like;
petrol, paper, telephone, etc. Or, it could be given in cash on the basis of votes,
secured by the party in the last elections. It should be mandatory to hold their
organisational elections.
People can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity and
agitation.
Parties should reduce the influence of money and criminals.
The parties should select candidates for contesting elections who have a good
record.
Q.8. “Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy”. Analyse the
statement with examples. [CBSE (AI) 2016]OR“About hundred years ago there
were a few countries that had hardly any political party. Now, there are a few
countries that do not have political parties .” Examine this statement.Ans. Political
parties are a necessary condition for democracy.

Without political parties, democracies cannot exist.

If we do not have political parties - in such a situation every candidate in elections
will be independent.
No one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy
changes.
The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative
democracies. As we have seen, large societies need representative democracy.
The government may be formed but its utility will remain uncertain. They needed
some ways to bring various representatives together so that a responsible
government could be formed.
They needed some mechanisms to support or restrain the government, make
policies, justify or oppose them.
Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do
in their locality.
Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Formally laws are
debated and passed in the legislature in which the ruling party plays a major role.
Parties form and run governments. Parties recruit leaders, train them and then
make them ministers to run the government in the way they want.
Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in
power, by voicing different views and criticising for its failure or wrong policies.
Parties shape public opinions. They raise and highlight issues. Parties have lakhs of
members and activists spread all over the country. Parties sometimes also launch
movements for the resolution of problems faced by people.
But no one will be responsible for how the country will run.
The role of the opposition party in a democracy necessitates the existence of
political parties,
As societies become large and complex, they also needed some agencies to
gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government,
that is why political parties are needed.