NCERT Class 10 Political Science Political Parties

Therefore, it is natural to ask – do we need political parties at all? About hundred years ago there were few countries of the world that had any political party. Now there are few that do not have parties. Why did political parties become so omnipresent in democracies all over the world? Let us first answer what political parties are and what they do, before we say why we need them.

Meaning
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. Since there can be different views on what is good for all, parties try to persuade people why their policies are better than others. They seek to implement these policies by winning popular support through elections. Thus, parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. Parties are about a part of the society and thus involve PARTISANSHIP. Thus a party is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose interests it upholds. A political party has three components:

a. the leaders,
b. the active members and
c. he followers

MCQ TYPE QUESTIONS

Question. Which of the following challenges to political party is depicted in this cartoon?
A. Meaningful choice to the voters
B. Dynastic succession
C. Money and muscle power
D. Lack of internal democracy

Answer. C

Question. How many numbers of parties are registered with The Election Commission of India?
A. 7100 Parties
B. Less than 750 parties
C. 700 parties
D. More than 750 parties
Answer. C

Question. What is the meaning of ‘Alliance’.?
A. Two parties together form the government.
B. Leftist and Rightist together form the government.
C. When state and national parties together form the government.
D. When several parties in a multiparty system join for the purpose of contesting election and winning power
Answer. D

Question. Which of these is a National Party?
A. INC
B. CPI
C. BJP
D. All of these
Answer. D

Question. Match list I with list II and select the correct answer using the Code below in the lists
List 1                                         List II
a. Congress party                    1.National Democratic Alliance       
b. Bharatiya Janata party         2.State party     
c.Communist party of India      3.United Progressive Alliance
d.Telugana Rashtra Samiti        4.Left Front
A  a3,b1,c2,d4
B  a3,b4,c1,d2
C  a 3,b1,c4, d2
D  a4,b3,c1,d2
Answer. C

Question. Countries having Bi-party system:
A India
B UK
C China
D None of these
Answer. B

CASE BASED QUESTIONS

 Democracies that follow a federal system all over the world tend to have two kinds of political parties: parties that are present in only one of the federal units and parties that are present in several or all units of the federation. This is the case in India as well. There are some countrywide parties, which are called ‘national parties’. These parties have their units in various states. But by and large, all these units follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level. Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission. While the Commission treats all parties equally, it offers some special facilities to large and established parties. These parties are given a unique symbol – only the official candidates of that party can use that election symbol. Parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities are ‘recognised’ by the Election Commission for this purpose. That is why these parties are called, ‘recognised political parties’. The Election Commission has laid down detailed criteria of the proportion of votes and seats that a party must get in order to be a recognised party. 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 recognised as a State party. A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national party.

Question. 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 recognised as a -------
A . Multi-party
B. Two -party
C. One -party
D. None of these
Answer. D

Question. What is the full form of UPA?
A United progressive alliance
B Unique public alliance
C United public alliance
D Unique progressive alliance
Answer. A

Question. Countrywide parties are called ----------
A State party
B Regional party
C National party
D All the above
Answer. C

Question. Which of the following is a National party?
A. Sikkim Democratic Front
B.CPI-M
C DMK
D Kerala Congress
Answer. B

The inspiration behind the following imaginary narrative is Shri Kishen Patnaik (1930–2004), also known as Kishenji. He was elected as a Member of Parliament from Sambalpur, Odisha in 1962. What did Kishenji mean by an alternative political formation? The question came up in a conversation between Sudha, Karuna, Shaheen and Gracy. All four women had led very powerful people’s movements in different parts of the country. They were meeting in a village in Odisha, away from their day-to-day struggles, to think afresh the future of people’s movements. The discussion naturally turned to Kishenji, who was regarded as a friend, political philosopher and moral guide by all the movement groups in the country. He had argued that people’s movement should embrace politics openly. His argument was simple yet powerful. Movements focused on a single issue are suitable as long as we wish to achieve limited changes in a particular aspect of life. But if we wish to bring about a fundamental social transformation, or basic change even in one aspect of life, we would need a political organisation. People’s movement must establish a new political formation to act as a moral force in politics. This was an urgent task, he said, because all the existing political parties had become irrelevant for social transformation. “But Kishenji never clarified what that organisation will be. He talked of an alternative political formation or a third force in politics. But did he mean a political party?” said Gracy. She felt that an old style political party was not the right instrument for social change. Sudha agreed with her. “I have thought about it several times. I agree that all the struggles that we are involved with – the struggle against displacement, against globalisation, against caste and gender oppression and for an alternative kind of development – all this is political. But the moment we form a party, all the goodwill we have earned all these years will be lost. People will think of us as no different from other politicians.” “Besides”, added Karuna, “we have seen that a lot can be achieved by putting pressure on the existing political parties. We tried putting up candidates in panchayat elections, but the results were not very encouraging. People respect our work, they even adore us, but when it comes to voting they go for the established political parties.” Shaheen did not agree with them: “Let us be very clear. Kishenji wanted all the people’s movements to forge a new political party. Of course he wanted this party to be a different kind of a party. He was not for political alternatives, but for an alternative kind of politics.”

Question. Who was Kishen Patnaik?
A Member of Legislative assembly from Sambalpur,Odish in1962
B Member of Parliament from Sambalpur, Odisha in 1962
C Member of legislative council from Sambalpur, Odisha in 1962
D Member of Parliament from Sambalpur, Odisha in 1982
Answer. B

Question. Who were the main activists of this conversation?
A Sudha, Karuna, Shaheen and Mary
B Sudha, Kavya, Shaheen and Gracy
C Sudha, Karuna, Shaheen and Gracy
D Sudha, Kavery, Shaheen and Gracy
Answer. C

Question. All four women had led very powerful people’s ------- in different parts of the country
A Movements
B Political parties
C Clubs
E Organizations
Answer. A

Question. What is the full form of NDA?
A. National Department Alliance
B National Dictator Alliance
C National Democratic Alliance
D National Director Alliance
Answer. C

Other than these seven parties, most of the major parties of the country are classified by the Election Commission as ‘State parties’. These are commonly referred to as regional parties. Yet these parties need not be regional in their ideology or outlook. Some of these parties are all India parties that happen to have succeeded only in some states . Parties like the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal have national level political organisation with units in several states. Some of these parties like Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front, Mizo National Front and Telangana Rashtra Samithi are conscious about their State identity. Over the last three decades, the number and strength of these parties has expanded. This made the Parliament of India politically more and more diverse. No one national party is able to secure on its own a majority in the Lok Sabha, until 2014. As a result, the national parties are compelled to form alliances with State 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 in our country.

Question. Which of the following facilities is offered by the Election Commission to a recognised political party?
A Party name
B Land
C Election funds
D Unique symbol
Answer. D

Question. Biju Janata Dal is a political party of----
A Punjab
B Odisha
C Bihar
D None of these
Answer. B

Question. When was the Rashtriya Janata Dal formed?
A.1998
B 1995
C 1993
D 1990
Answer. A

Question. State political parties are also known as
A. National parties
B . Regional parties
C. Alliance parties
D. None of these
Answer. B
 

2 MARKS QUESTIONS

Question. How is dynastic succession related to lack of internal democracy in political parties?
Answer. When there is a lack of internal democracy in a political party it means that the power to make decisions on behalf of the party rest with one or a few individuals.
These individuals now have an unfair advantage to vest the power to make decisions in people who are close to them or their family members.

Question. Describe the Three Types of Party Systems
Answer. In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party systems.
In some countries, power usually changes between two main parties. Such a party system is called two-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.

Question. What is bi-party system?
Answer. In countries, like USA and UK, power usually changes between two main parties. It is bi-party system. Several other parties exist, contest elections and win a few seats in the elections but only the two main parties have a chance to form a government

Question. “No party system is ideal for all countries and in all situations.” Justify the statement .
Answer. 
Parties are a necessary condition for a democracy. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies.
Party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and system of elections.
Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances

3 MARKS QUESTIONS

Question. What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party system? Explain.
Answer. A system in which a number of 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, is called a multiparty system. India is a multi-party system. In this system, the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition. When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front. For example, in India there were three major alliances in 2004 parliamentary elections—the National Democratic Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front.
This system on one hand leads to political instability but at the same time, allows for a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation. Each country develops a party system that is suitable for its special circumstances. India has evolved as a multi-party system because its social and geographical diversity cannot be absorbed by two or three parties. Thus, such representation strengthens democracy. Multi-party system facilitates representation of regional and geographical diversities.

Question. Describe the three components of a political party
Answer. Components of a political party are:
The leaders,
The active members
The followers.

Question. What are the three main functions of the Ruling party?
Answer. 1.Ruling parties Play a major role in making laws for the country
2. Form and run the Government
3.Recruit and train the leaders
4. make the ministers to run the government

Question. What is main difference between a pressure group and a political party?
Answer. A pressure group is an organized or unorganized body that seeks to promote its interests. A political party is a body that seeks to attain political power by contesting elections

Question. Why do political parties involve partisanship?
Answer. Partisanship is marked by a tendency to take a side and inability to take a balanced view on an issue. Parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. Parties are a part of the society and they involve partisanship.

Question. Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties.” Analyse the statement.
Answer. Most political parties do not practise open and transparent procedures for their functioning. So there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage as they favour people close to them or even their family members. In many parties we see a trend of dynastic succession. The top positions are always controlled by members of a particular family, which is unfair to other members of the party, and bad for democracy. This is so because people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power. More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important. This tendency is seen all over the world, even in older democracies.

Question. Examine the role of opposition parties in a Democracy.
Answer. Opposition parties play an important role in democracies. 1. They ensures political party in power does not misuse or abuse its power; 2. They expose the weaknesses of the ruling party;
3.They also keep a close vigil on the bills and expenditure of the government

5 MARKS QUESTIONS

Question. State the various functions that Political parties perform in a democracy.
Answer. 1.Parties contest elections
2 Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.
3 Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
4 Parties form and run governments
5 Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition
6 Parties shape public opinion.
7 Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments

Question. What are the various challenges faced by political parties?
Answer. 1. Lack of internal democracy within parties
2. Dynastic succession.
3. Growing role of money and muscle power in parties,
4.Lack of meaningful choice to the voters

Question. What is one-party system? What are its merits and demerits
Answer.  In some countries only one-party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party system. For example, in China only the Communist Party is allowed to rule. Merits: 1. It helps in the establishment of stable governments.
2. It helps in the fast development of the country as there are no conflicts among the classes.
3. The administration becomes efficient as the powers are concentrated in the hands of party leaders.
4. There is unity and discipline in the country.
5. Time is not wasted in unnecessary criticism and propaganda.
Demerits:
1. There is no freedom of expression. No one can speak against the party.
2. Democracy is eroded and one-party dictatorship is established.
3. There is no respect for the views of different classes and interests.
4. The administration becomes irresponsible due to lack of criticism and opposition.
Political and social freedoms are crushed. This hinders the development of the personality

Question. “Increase in the number of states or regional parties strengthened democracy in India.” Comment
Answer. India is federal country and the powers of the Government are divided into different levels. Decentralization of power means expansion of democracy. If the number of state or regional parties is increasing it means the people of our country are becoming more aware and they are not happy with the working of existing political parties. In these days regional parties have a say in political policies as they win elections in their states. The national political parties have to take help of the regional parties to win the elections or to form the government. The rise of coalition governments broadened the concept of popular participation. It also strengthens the federal system of the democracy.

Question. “The growing role of money and muscle power is a major challenge in India.” Explain.
Answer. 
1.Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use short-cuts to win elections.
2.They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money.
3. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
4.In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.
5. Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 10 Political Science Political Parties