CBSE Class 10 Social Science Political Parties Notes

POLITICAL PARTIES

Meaning :A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in govt and make public opinion among the people of country.

Topic : The role of Political Parties to Shape Public Opinion :
- They raise and highlight issues.
- The parties clear the policies of govt. to people.
- The parties clear the policies of govt. to people.
- Political parties give their ideas in favour and against the govt.
- Political parties give their ideas about the new laws made by the govt.
- In this way the political parties help to create public opinion in people. So it is necessary for people if they want to establish democratic govt. they have to analyze for and against democracy.

2. Topic : Challenges to Political Parties

Parties are for the working of democracy parties are the most visible face of democracy. It is natural that people blame parties, criticise them.

Parties have to face many challenges :-

1. Lack of Internal democracy :-
1. Concentration of powers in one hand.
2. Parties do not conduct internal election.
3. Leaders assume greater power to make decision in name of party.

- The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the first one. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their family members.

Growing role of money and muscle power in parties :

1. The parties tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money. In some cases parties support criminals.

- The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice. In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different.
- There has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties.
- The difference among all the major parties on the economic policies have reduced.
- Those who want really different policies have no option available to them.
- Lack of good leaders.

3. Topic : Reforming the Political Parties

- The constitution was amended to prevent elected members from changing parties.
- 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.
- The election commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their income tax returns.
- A law is made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
- The govt. should give money to parties for election so that every one who wants to participate in elections can do the same.

Political party – a group of people who come together to contest elections hold and power in the government.

1. (Characteristics)

→ agree on some policies and programmers for the society for collective good
→ Persuade people why their policies are better.
→ Thus implement it by winning popular support elections
→ involve partisanship (part of the society)
→ reflects fundamental political division in a society.

2. Three components of political party.

a) the leaders
b) the active members
c) the followers

3. Functions of political parties –

a) Parties contest elections
b) Parties put forward different policies and programmers and voters choose from them – A govt. puts its policies based on the line taken by ruling party.
c) Makes laws for the country – abide to the leader of the party.
d) Parties form and run govt.
e) Opposition parties –voice their views and criticize the govt. for its failures.
f) Parties shape public opinion(from pressure group, organization)
g) They provide people access to govt. Machinery and welfare schemes –(it it easy to approach local party leader than a govt. officer)

4. Why the need of a party

a) every candidate in election will be independent.
b) Cannot make promises to the people about any major policy changes.
c) Even if formed – its utility will remain uncertain.
d) Will be accountable to their constituency – no one will be responsible as to how the country run.

6. National political parties – They are wide parties- have their units in various state- all follow the same policies and programmes decided at national level. (mainly seen in federal
system)
Criteria For a party to
become National party - secure at least six percent of total votes in Lok
Sabha elections or Assembly election in four states and wins at least four seats in Loksabha.
State party                     Regional parties-
                                     Secures at least 6 percent of the total votes in an election
                                     to legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least two
DMK, Kerala Congress     seats, is recognized as a state party.
Telugu Desam , AIADMK
RashtriaJanatha Dal

8) Challenges to political parties –
• Lack of internal democracy within parties
• Dynastic succession- an ordinary worker may rise in top in a party people who do not have adequate experience or support came to power – with various close people.
• Money and muscle power – Rich people and companies influence on party decisions.
• Do not offer meaningful choice to the voters – leaders shift from one party to another?
• Not much difference in their policies.

9) Efforts taken to reform political parties and its leaders –
• Prevented defection (changing party after elected) – if they do so they will lose the seat
• Order by Supreme Court to reduce the influence of money and criminals – candidate, must file affidavit giving details of criminal cases pending.
• Political parties should file their income tax returns.

10) Suggestion offered to make more reforms – Yet to be accepted –
• Law to regulate the internal affairs to political parties (to maintain a register of its members, judge party disputes)
• Quota for women (at least 1/3)
• Govt. should give parties money to support election expense.
• Pressure from people on political (through petitions, agitations, publicity).
• Increase the degree of public participation

Facts that Matter

1. A political party is a group of people who aim to attain power in the government through the elections. In other words, it is a group of people holding some policies and programmes, who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

2. Political parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. Parties are a part of the society and involve partnership.

3. A political party has three components: the leader, the active members and the followers.

4. Political parties perform a series of functions, such as, contesting elections, putting forward different policies and programmes, making laws for the country, forming and running government.

5. Modern democracies cannot exist without political parties. In case there are no political parties every candidate in the elections will be independent and no leader will be able to make any promise to the people about any major policy change.

6. The emergence of political parties is linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Large societies need representative democracy. As societies became large and complex they also needed some agencies to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. They needed some ways to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfill these needs that every representative government has. This is how political parties came into existence. Hence, we can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

7. Now the question arises how many major or effective parties are good for a democratic country. In some countries only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one party systems. For example, in China, only the Communist Party is allowed to rule. In some countries power usually changes between two major parties. Such a party system is called two party system. The United States of America and the United Kingdom are examples of two-party system.

8. If several parties compete for power, more than two parties have a reasonable chance of winning and coming to power either on their own or through an alliance with others. This is called multi-party system. For example–India.

9. When several parties join hands for the purpose of contesting elections or winning power, it is called an alliance or a front. NDA—National Democratic Alliance, UPA-United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front were three major alliances in 2004 parliamentary elections in India.

10. Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances. For example, if India has evolved a multi-party system, it is because the social and geographical diversity in such a vast country is not easily absorbed by two or three parties.

11. National Political Parties are country-wide parties. These parties have their units in various states. These units follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level. For example, Indian National Congress (INC).

12. State Political Parties like Samajwadi Party, Samta Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal have national political organisation with units in several states. Some of these parties like Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front and Mizo National Front are conscious about their state identity.

13. Over the last three decades the strength of state parties has expanded. No national party is able to secure on its own a majority in the Lok Sabha. As a result, national parties are compelled to form alliances with state parties.

14. Political parties in our country are facing several challenges, such as lack of internal democracy within parties etc.

15. In order to face these challenges, political parties need to be reformed. Some of the recent efforts and suggestions in our country to reform political parties and its leaders are:
— The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in defections in order to become ministers or for cash rewards. Now the law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature. The new law has brought defection down and has made dissent even more difficult.
— The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. Now it is mandatory for every candidate who conducts 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.
— The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for the political parties to hold their elections and file their income tax returns.

Words that Matter

1. Political party: A group of people with similar policies and programmes, who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.
2. Partisan: A person who is strongly committed to any party, group or factor.
3. Ruling Party: A political party that runs government.
4. One-party system: In some countries only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party systems.
5. Two-party system: In some countries power usually changes between two major parties.
6. Multi-party system: If several parties compete for power, more than two parties have a reasonable chance of winning and coming to power either on their own or through an alliance with others.
7. Alliance/front: When several parties join hands for the purpose of contesting elections or winning power.
8. Regional party: A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least 2 seats is recognised as a regional party/state party.
9. National party: Those parties which are country-wide parties are called national parties.
10. Defection: Moving of a person from one party to another party for some personal benefit.
11. Affidavit: An affidavit is a signed document submitted to an officer, where a person makes a sworn statement regarding his/her personal information.

Important Terms and Concepts

1. A person who is strongly committed to a party, group or faction.
2. Partisanship refers to being biased and unable to adopt a balanced view on an issue.
3. A formal and organised system through which voters choose their representatives.
4. Opposition parties refer to those parties which are not able to win the elections. They express their views against the policies of the government and often criticise its working and make public aware regarding the same.
5. One-party system refers to a system in which one party controls and runs the government.
6. Two-party system is one in which power shifts between only two major parties.
7. Multi-party system is a type of system in which more than two parties contest elections and have a chance of winning.
8. It refers to a system or theory, according to which property is held by the whole community and each person gets his/her share according to his/her own needs and contribute as per his/her requirements.
9. It refers to a person who believes in the principles of communism.
10. Defection refers to shifting loyalty from a party to another from which a person got elected.
11. Ruling party refers to a political party that runs the government and enjoys the power.
12. Affidavit is a signed document submitted to an officer, where a person takes on an oath regarding his/her personal information.

SHORT ANSWERS TYPE QUESTIONS –

Question. The Bahujan Samaj Party stands for what cause?
Answer : Securing the interest of the oppressed people.

Question. Analyse the three components of a political party.
Answer : or Describe the three components of a political party.
Three components of a political party are: a. Leaders b. Active members c. Followers

Question. What is meant by a ‘national political party’? State the conditions required to be a national political party.
Answer : National political party have units in the various states, they follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level. Conditions required: a. A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in general elections of Lok Sabha or assembly elections in four states. b. Wins at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha.

Question. What is a political party ? State any two points of the ideology of Bharatiya Janta Party?
Answer : 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 programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good. Ideology of BJP: a. Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. b. A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion. c. Cultural nationalism.

Question. Describe about the ideology and organization of Bahujan Samaj Party.
Answer : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. Its main aim is that it seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan Samaj which includes the dalits and adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.

Question. What is meant by regional political party? State the conditions required to be recognized as a ‘regional political party’.
Answer : A regional party is a party that is present in only some states. Conditions required for a party to be recognized as a regional political party are: a. A party that secures at least six percent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state. b. Wins at least two seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Question. “Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition.” Support the statement with arguments.
Answer :  State parties seeking national level coalition: Before general election of 2014, in three general elections no one national party was able to secure on its own a majority in Lok Sabha. With the 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.

Question. Which three challenges do you feel are being faced by political parties in India ? Give your Opinion.
Answer : The three challenges faced by political parties in India are: a. Lack of internal democracy. b. Challenge of dynastic succession. c. Growing role of money and muscle power. d. Often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters.

Question. Describe any three main features of Two-Party system.
Answer : Main features of two-party system: a. Power usually changes between two parties, several other parties may exist. b. In such system, people get clear choice, c. The party that wins majority forms the government and the other sits in opposition. d. Strong opposition is good for democracy. e. Prompt decisions are taken and implemented. f. More development and less corruption.

Question. 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 multiparty system. India adopted a Multi-party system because: a. There is social and geographical diversity in India. b. India is such a large country which is not easily absorbed by two or three parties. c. The system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.

Question. How ‘do money and muscle power play an important role in elections? Explain.
Answer : Money and muscle power play an important role in elections because: a. Role of money and muscle power in parties especially during elections is growing. b. Parties tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money. c. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party. d. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win election. e. Democrats all over the world are worried over the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics. (Any three)

Question. “Serious efforts were made by the legal organizations to reform political parties in India.” Support the statement.
Answer : Efforts made by the legal organizations to reform political parties in India: a. To check defection, the Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLA’s and MPs from changing parties. b. The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminal, by making it mandatory to produce an affidavit giving details of property and criminal cases pending. c. The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational election and file their income tax returns.

Question. Name any six ‘regional political parties’ of the four southern states of India’
Answer : Tamil Nadu—AIADMK (All India Anna Dravida
Munnetra Kazhagam), DMK Andhra Pradesh—Telugu Desam, Kerala—Congress (Joseph) Puducherry—AINRC (All India N. R. Congress)

Question. Name the ‘regional political parties’ that are predominant in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha respectively with their symbols.
Answer : Jharkhand—JMM—Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Maharashtra—INC—Indian National Congress Odisha—BJD—Biju Janata Dal.

Question. State the conditions as laid down by the Election Commission to recognize a ‘state party1 and ‘national party’.
Answer : The difference between a state and a national party can be identified as follows: a. In a state party, the party members aim to highlight the regional interests. On the other hand, a national party gives due importance to national interests. b. A state party can contest in elections only in a particular state, whereas a national party can contest in elections all across the country. c. Example: BJP and Congress are national parties, whereas Akali Dal and Trinamool Congress are state level parties. 

Question. What is meant by ‘defection’ in democracy? Explain.
Answer : a. Detection in politics means moving of a person from one party to another party for some personal benefit. It means changing party allegiance from the party on which a person got elected to a different part b. It happens when a legislature, after having been elected from a particular party leaves it and joins in other party. c. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLA’s and MP’s from changing parties. Now the law says that if any MLA and MP changes parties, he or she will lose seat in the legislature. d. The new law has brought defection down and has made dissent even more difficult.

Question. Name the national political party which espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities. Mention any four features of that party.
Answer : The national political party which espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities is the Indian National Congress. Four features of this party are listed below: a. Founded in 1885. b. Dominated Indian politics, both at the national and state levels, for several decades after India’s independence. c. Ruling party at the centre till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989. After 1989, its support declined. d. A centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist) in its ideological orientation.

Question. Why do we need political parties?
Answer : 
• Political parties are one of the most visible institutions in a democracy.
• For most ordinary citizens, political parties are equal to democracy.
• Political parties helped in making public opinion and forming the govt.

Question. Describe the merits of a multi party system .
Answer :
• More than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others.
• This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
• In India we have multi party system and the coalition govt. for last 15 years which benefits all sections of the population.

Question. What are the characteristics of a political party?
Answer :
• It is a group of people coming together to contest elections and share power.
• It agrees on some policies and programmers for the society with a view to promote collective good.
• It seeks to implement these policies by viewing popular support through elections.
• It is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose interest it upholds.

Question. What is the role of opposition party in democracy?
Answer : 
• Constructive criticism of govt.
• Restriction of arbitrariness of ruling party
• Safeguard, liberty and rights of the people
• Well prepared to form govt.
• Expression of public opinion

Question. Explain some measures to strengthen the election system of India.
Answer :
• Many people are of the opinion that with the purpose to check the misuse of money power, provision of state funding of elements should be made.
• Laws should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties to maintain a register of its members to follow its own constitution, to have an independent authority and to hold open election to the highest post.
• Effort should be made to discourage inefficient candidates from contesting elections.

Question. How can an ordinary citizen contribute in reforming the political parties?
Answer : 
• Ordinary citizens can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity and agitations.
• Pressure groups and movements and the media can play an important role in it.
• Educated people should join the political parties because the quality of democracy depends on
• the degree of public participation.
• It is difficult to reform politics without taking part in it and simply criticizing it from outside.

Question. When does a political party get recognition as a “National party” and “State party”?
Answer :
• A party that secures at least 6% of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly
• elections in four states and wins at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha is recognized as a national party.
• A party that secures at least 6% of total in an election to the legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least two seats is recognized as a state party.

LONG ANSWERS TYPE QUESTIONS 

Question. What are the main functions of a political party?
Answer :
• To contest election
• Forming policies and programmes
• Making laws
• Parties form and run govt.
• To play an active role of opposition
• Shaping public opinion
• Access to govt. machinery and welfare schemes

Question.  What are the challenges faced by political parties in India?
Answer :
Following points can be given with explanation as the challenges of political parties in India—
• Lack of internal democracy
• Lack of transparency
• Use of money and muscle power
• Not providing meaningful choice to the voter

Question. Explain the different forms of party systems existing in various countries.
Answer :
There are three forms of party systems existing in the world-
• Single party system : under this system only one party is allowed to function. This system cannot be considered a good option because this is not a democratic option.
Eg-Communist party of China
• Two/Bi-party system: under this system only two parties are allowed to function.One in organization and other in opposition. This system is a better option to single party system
but cannot be considered perfect.
E.g- USA &UK.
• 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 it is called multi party system. This system leads to political instability at the same time this system allows a variety of interest, opinions to enjoy political representation. E.g-India.

Question. What is the role of opposition party in democracy?
Answer :
• Constructive criticism of govt.
• Restriction of arbitrariness of ruling party
• Safeguard, liberty and rights of the people
• Well prepared to form govt.
• Expression of public opinion

Important Questions NCERT Class 10 Social Science Chapter 6 Political Parties

Question. “Serious efforts were made by the legal organizations to reform political parties in India. “Support the statement.
Answer : Efforts made by legal organizations to reform political parties in India include :
(i) To check defection, the Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLA’s and MP’s from changing parties.
(ii) The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals by making it mandatory to produce an affidavit by the candidates giving details of property and criminal cases pending on them.
(iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational election and file their income tax returns.

Question. What is mean by ‘defection’ in democracy? Explain.
Answer : (i) Defection in politics means moving of a person from one party to another party for some personal benefit. It means changing party allegiance from the party on which the person got elected to a different party.
The anti-defection rule prevents it.

Question. “Modern democracies cannot exist without political parties.” Examine the statement. 
Answer : In all the democracies, citizens have rights but they should be able to claim these rights.
1. When the elected political parties become the ruling party then they give these rights to the citizens legally and practically.
2. In all the democracies, people need good governance, for this we need political parties which contest in election
3. The society needs rapid development, this work is done by the political parties. They can introduce many new policies and program for the welfare of the citizens.
4. The Opposition political party also plays a vital role by finding mistakes in the work of the ruling party so that the development stays on course.
5. If there were no political parties in such cases we would only have independent candidates contesting election with individual agenda and not a national agenda.
6. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Large societies need a way to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.
We can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

Question. Explain two functions each, of the ruling party as well of the opposition parties.
Answer : Functions of the ruling parties :
(i) They play a major role in making laws and policies for the country.
(ii) They form the government and run the country for the benefit of its citizens.
Functions of the opposition parties :
(i) They oppose the government by voicing different views about policies and actions taken.
(ii) They criticise government for its failure and wrong practices.
(iii) They mobilise opposition to the government, which ensures that the government functions in an upright manner.

Question. What do you understand by the bi-party system? Write its one merit and one demerit.
Answer : Bi-party system :
(i) In some countries, power usually changes between two main parties. It is also known as Bi-party system.
(ii) In this system, the government is formed by one party and the other plays the role of opposition. Merit–This system allows stability of government as no coalition is there.
Demerit–In this system, only two main parties have a serious chance of winning majority seats to form the government. Hence people do not really have choices.

Question. What is a multi-party system? Explain merits and demerits of multi-party system.
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 other, we call it a multi-party system.
India adopted a Multi party system because :
(i) There is social diversity in India.
(ii) India is such a large and diverse country which cannot easily be represented by two or three parties.
Merits :
(i) This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
(ii) People can make a choice between several candidates.
Demerits :
(i) No one party is likely to gain power alone. Therefore, it leads to difficulty in functioning of the government.
(ii) Leads to political instability and often appears to be very messy with too many leaders.

Question. Name any one political party that has national level political organisation but not recognised as the national political party.
Answer : Samajwadi party, Samta Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal

Question. Examine any two institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties and their leaders.
Answer : (i) The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLA’s and MP’s 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 loses the seat in the legislature or the parliment.
(ii) 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 to check if the information given by the candidates is true and complete.
(iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their income tax returns.
(iv) The parties have started doing so but sometimes it is mere formality. It is not clear if this step has led to greater internal democracy in political parties.

Question. How are political parties recognized as regional and national parties in India? Explain with examples.
Answer : Regional party  refers  to  a  political  party, which has its base in a particular region may be covering one or more states. They may have limited or pan-India aspirations and objectives. National party implies a political party that extends over the entire nation, in terms of representation and  the area of influence. The national and the state parties are recognized by the Election Commission on the following criteria :

Question. “Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition.” Support the statement with arguments.
Answer : State parties seeking national level coalition : Before general election of 2014, in three general elections not one national party was able to secure a majority on its own in Lok Sabha. Thus 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.

Question. Which party was the principal opposition party in Lok Sabha in 2004?
Answer : Bharatiya Janta Party

Question. Describe any three main features of Two-Party system.
Answer : Main features of two-party system :

(i)   Power usually changes between two parties, though several other parties may exist.
(ii)  In such system, people get clear choice.
(iii) The party  that  wins majority  forms  the government and the other sits in opposition.
(iv) Strong opposition is good for democracy.
(v)  Prompt decisions are taken and implemented.
(vi) Promotes more development and less corruption.

Question. Name the six ‘National Political Parties’ in India in a chronological order.
Answer : Now, India has seven recognized national parties - Congress, BJP, BSP, CPI, CPI-M, NCP and All India Trinamool Congress. Recognition as a national or a state party ensures that the election symbol of that party is not used by any other political entity in polls across India.

Question. What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party system? Explain.
Answer :: Multi-party system :

If several parties complete for power, more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or by alliance with others, we call it a multi-party system.

India adopted a multi party system because :

(i)   There is social and geographical diversity in India.
(ii)  India is such a large country which is not easily represented by two or three parties.
(iii) The system allows a variety of interests and opinions for political representation.

Question. Name the alliance formed by the Congress Party.
Answer : United Progressive Alliance -UPA.

Question. Explain any four problem areas in the working of political parties.
Answer : (i) Lack of internal democracy : The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties. Concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Some parties are run like private groups.
(ii)  Dynastic succession :  Favour  people  close to  them  or  their  family  members.  In  many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family, this defies the concept of democracy.
(iii) Money and muscle power : The third challenge is about growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections.
(iv) Meaningful  choice  :  The  fourth  challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters.
(v)  Details of membership  are  not  kept.  Also there is no clarity in financial matters.
(vi) No  organisational  meetings  or  internal elections for organisational posts are held.

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