CBSE Class 10 Social Science Political Parties Worksheet

Question. What is the political party that runs government known as ?
(a) Ruling party
(b) Pressure Group
(c) Opposition party
(d) None of these
Answer : A

Question. Who is a ‘Partisan’ ?
(a) Disloyal party member
(b) Ex-party member
(c) Estranged party member
(d) None of these
Answer : A

Question. Which of these is a National Party ?
(a) INC
(b) BJP
(c) BSP
(d) All of these
Answer : D

Question. What is meant by ‘Defection’ ?
(a) Being loyal towards a party.
(b) Changing party allegiance.
(c) Introducing political reforms.
(d) None of these.
Answer : B

Question. Which of these is the function of political party ?
(a) Contesting election
(b) Forming and running government
(c) Forming public opinion
(d) All of these
Answer : D

Question. What is the system of two parties known as ?
(a) Uni-party system
(b) Multi-party system
(c) Bi-party system
(d) None of these
Answer : C

Question. Which party was formed under the leadership of Kanshi Ram ?
(a) DMK
(b) BSP
(c) CPI (M)
(d) Congress
Answer : B

Question. Arrange the following in the correct sequence :
(i) Lack of internal democracy.
(ii) Meaningful choice to the voters.
(iii) Money and muscle power in politics.
(iv) Dynastic succession.
Options-
(a) (iv)-(iii)-(ii)-(i)
(b) (i)-(iv)-(iii)-(ii)
(c) (ii)-(i)-(iii)-(iv)
(d) (i)-(iv)-(ii)-(iii)
Answer : B

Question. What is the challenge faced by political parties ?
(a) Lack of internal democracy.
(b) Dynastic succession.
(c) Growing role of money and muscle power.
(d) All of these.
Answer : D

Question. To whom do political parties should register them for contesting the elections ?
(a) State government
(b) Central government
(c) Election Commission
(d) None of these
Answer : C

Question. Arrange the followings in correct sequence according to the formation year :
(i) Bhartiya Janata Party
(ii) Congress
(iii) Bahujan Samaj Party
(iv) Communist Party of India
Options-
(a) (i)-(ii)-(iii)-(iv)
(b) (ii)-(i)-(iii)-(iv)
(c) (ii)-(iv)-(i)-(iii)
(d) (i)-(iii)-(ii)-(iv)
Answer : C

Question. What is a government formed by several parties known as ?
(a) Alliance
(b) Uni-party system
(c) Group
(d) None of these
Answer : A

Question :

From which political party, this sign belongs to ?
(A) Bhartiya Janata Party
(B) Bahujan Samaj Party
(C) Communist Party of India
(D) Indian National Congress
Answer : C

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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. What is political party ? State any two points of the ideology of Bhartiya 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. Main ideology of Bhartiya Janta Party:
(i) Building a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values; and Deendayal Upadhyaya’ s ideas of integra humanism and Antyodaya,
(ii) Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important element in conception of Indian nationhood and politics,
(iii) Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India,
(iv) A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion, 
(v) Ban on religious conversions.

Question. Explain any five functions of the ruling party.
Answer : Functions of Ruling Party are follows :
(i) A ruling party is one which has anchored dominant part in elections and has framed the legistalure.
Ruling party guarantees that the nation keeps running according to set belief systems and projects.
(ii) Ruling Party offers portrayal to different enthusiasm for society, they offer acknowledgment to minorities and give access to individuals to government machinery. The nationals can likewise lodged their complaints to nearby local party leaders regarding any arrangement and its execution.
(iii) Party in the power reassures and makes individuals mindful about its welfare plans, it encourages individuals to think about its accomplishments, its plan and profit and its advantages.
(iv) It establishes foreign relations and decide the foreign policy of the country. Thus, the future and the reputation of the country is upheld by them.
(v) Ruling Party organises schemes and compaigns for the welfare of the people. It makes schemes for the development of society both culturally and economically.

Question. Explain any three functions of opposition political parties.
Answer : The Opposition’s main role is to question the government of the day and hold them accountable to the public. In legislature, the Opposition Party has a major role and must act to discourage the party in power from acting against the interests of the country and the common man. They hustle to present themselves as a suitable alternative government.
Following are the three functions of opposition parties :
(i) They question the ruling government and make them accountable to the public.
(ii) Their role is to ensure that the government should not take any step which is against the interest of the public. 
(iii) Their duty is to check and ensure that the action of the ruling party is for the benefit of the masses and to support the government in such things. They, thus, facilitate formation of public opinion and are a way in which the schemes of government are checked and communicated to the public.

Question. Explain the three components of ‘political party.’
Answer : (i) Leader : A leader is the one who takes the major decisions of the party and his decision is the supreme command for the party. He contests elections and performs the administrative job.
(ii) Active Members : Another component of political party are the active members who contest elections for the party and are elected as representatives.
They are the ones, who climb the ladder from being the follower and become the assistants of the leaders to gain knowledge about the politics.
(iii) Followers : The last one are the followers who support a political party and in elections make their party victorious. They are simply the ardent followers of the leaders and work under the able guidance of the active members.

Question. “Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to political parties all over the world.” Analyse the statement.
                                                 OR
Explain the impact of lack of internal democracy within parties.
                                                 OR
The first challenge faced by political parties is lack of internal democracy within parties. What do you understand by the statement ? Explain.
Answer : The lack of democracy within political parties is a
major challenge as power is mainly concentrated in the hands of few topmost leaders who take major decisions in the name of the entire party. Membership registers are not maintained, internal elections are not held regularly, and ordinary members are not able to access information and do not have the ability to influence decisions. Disagreement with the leaders clearly means difficulty to remain within the party. Hence, lack of transparency in the political parties and dominance of influential people spoils the basic spirit of political parties.

Question. How is an alliance government formed ?
Answer : When any party is not able to prove majority in elections in a multi-party system, two or more than two parties join to form an alliance government. The coalition partners in an alliance government or coalition government have common goals and agendas.

Question. What suggestion can be given for reforming the political parties ?
Suggests five effective measures to reform political parties. 
Answer : Following suggestions can be given for reforming the political parties :
(i) Laws should be made for regulating internal affairs of political parties. A register for members of the party should be maintained and internal elections of the party should be held regularly.
(ii) Each party should keep some percent of seats reserved for women candidates.
(iii) State should provide support for conducting elections in cash or kind. This will help in lowering the influence of money and muscle power in elections.
(iv) It should be compulsory for very candidate contesting for elections to submit an affidavit of property details and pending criminal cases against him/her.

Question. “No party system is ideal for all countries and all situation.” Justify the statement with argument.
Answer : No political party system is ideal for all countries and all situations. No country can choose a Party system for it, but it evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections. These cannot be changed very quickly. Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances. For example, India has a multiparty system because the social and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties.

Question. How are political parties recognised as regional and national parties in India? Explain with examples.
Answer : 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 national level. Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission. Parties that get a unique symbol and some other special facilities are ‘recognised‘ by the Election Commission for this purpose. That is why these parties are called, ‘recognised political parties‘. A party that secures at least six percent 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 percent 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.’

Long Answers Type Questions :

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. Examine any two institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties and their leaders.
Answer : There are various institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties and their leaders:
(i) By Constitutional amendment: An anti-defection law has been inserted by the Constitutional amendment to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in changing parties 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. This new law has helped bring defection down.
(ii) By Supreme Court: To reduce the influence of money and criminals, the Supreme Court has passed an order. 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.
(iii) By Election Commissioner: An order passed by the Election Commission has made necessary for all political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.

Question. Describe the necessity of political parties in democratic countries.
                                                           OR
“Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.” Analyse the statement with examples.
Answer : “Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy”, due to the following reasons : 
(i) If every elected representative is independent, and then no one can make promise for any major  policy changes. The government may be formed but its utility will remain always uncertain. Nonparty based Panchayat election also creates same problems.
(ii) The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. As society became larger and complicated, they also need some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
(iii) Political parties inform the people about the working of the ruling party. They discuss the problems of the state, the working and failure of the government and give suggestion for the upliftment of masses.
(iv) Political party acts as a link between government and masses.
(v) Political parties from and run governments.
The executive body is formed by people from the ruling party. Various political leaders are assigned different ministries to carry out the task of governance.

Question. Explain any five needs to have political parties in a democratic country.
Answer : Political party is an organised group of people having common ideology and its aim is to contest elections and gain power. Political Parties are very important because :
(i) Parties frame their own policies in the form of manifestos which includes their vision on the basis of which they would establish governance in the country.
(ii) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsible accountable government which is answerable to the people.
(iii) Parties give representation to diverse interest in society, they give recognition to minorities, thus ensuring an all round development of the country.
(iv) Parties help in forming and shaping public opinion. This educates the people politically and helps them by spreading awareness regarding their rights and duties.
(v) Political parties form links between the government, administrators of the country and the common people. Their needs and aspirations are conveyed to them through these parties only.

Question. “All over the world, people express their dissatisfaction with the failure of political parties to perform their functions well.” Analyse the statement with arguments.
Answer : The failure of political parties to perform their functions well is due to the following reasons :
(i) There is lack of democracy within a party, as power is mainly concentrated in the hands of few top leaders. Moreover, there are no membership registers, internal elections are also not held egularly, and ordinary members lack access to information and can’t influence decisions. Any disagreement with the leaders makes it difficult to continue in the party.
(ii) There is a tendency of dynastic succession, i.e., offering unfair advantage based on favouritism towards family and friends. However, such a practice shatters the spirit of democracy as incapable and inexperienced people come into power.
(iii) The power of money rises especially during elections. Those who can raise funds are nominated. Those people who provide funds to parties, influence policies.
(iv) Parties fail to offer meaningful choices to voters. The reasons for this is little ideological difference between parties. For example, the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain agree on fundamental aspects and differs only on framing and implementation of the policies.

Question. Describe the importance of regional political parties in strengthening democracy.
Answer : Over the last three decades, the number and strength of regional political parties has expanded.
(i) This has made the Parliament of India politically more and more diverse.
(ii) If no national party is able to secure on its own a majority in the Lok Sabha. As a result, the national parties are compelled to form alliances with State parties.
(iii) 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.
(iv) This has led and contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in India.

Question. Discuss the different kinds of party systems.
Answer : Different kinds of party systems are as follows :
(i) One-party system : One-party system is the one in which only one party can control and run the government. However, it is undemocratic as there is no competition. Voters don’t have any option but to vote for or against the candidate nominated by the single party. It is practised in communist countries like Korea, China and Cuba.
(ii) Two-party system : Two-party system is the one in which power shifts between only two major parties. There may be some other parties, which can contest and win a few seats in the national legislatures but the chance of winning the election remains with the two main parties getting majority seats. It is found in the countries like, the United States of America, Canada and the United Kingdom.
(iii) Multi-party system : Multi-party system is the one in which more than two parties contest for the election and have a chance of winning. In case no party can win clear cut majority, several parties join to form a Coalition government. However, such a system is considered to be chaotic and considered to be a source of political instability. It is found in India.

Question. Define political Party. Describe any four challenge before the political parties in india.
Answer : A political party is 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. Four challenges before the political parties in India are:
(i) Lack of internal democracy: There is a tendency in political parties all over the world towards concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party. More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.
(ii) Dynastic succession: In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family. This is bad not only to other members of that party but also for democracy as people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.
(iii) Money and muscle power: As parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to nominate candidates who have or can raise funds for the parties, and rich people and companies who have influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.
(iv) Lack of meaningful choice: In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. In India, the differences among all the major parties on economic policies have reduced. Sometimes, people cannot even elect very different leaders either because the same set of leaders keeps shifting from one party to another.

Question. What is the significance of regional parties in India ?
Answer : Regional parties play a dominant role in a multi-regional country like India. It’s significance has increased in past few decades. It addresses the regional problems of the states which are not tackled by the Central government as these parties due to their local presence know better about the local issues and have better knowledge about the ways to solve them. Moreover, it is also convenient for the local people to approach regional  party’ leaders with their grievances. In the age of Coalition government, when no party is able to prove absolute majority, regional parties support the formation of a government. Some regional parties have been able to establish nation wide recognition with its units in several states, like Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata
Dal and Samta Party.

Question. Describe the efforts to reform political parties in India. 
Answer : The following efforts have been made to reform political parties in India :
(i) Supreme Court has helped in reducing the influence of criminals and money in elections. It is now mandatory for every person contesting the election to give an affidavit regarding his wealth and criminal cases pending against him. With this people can acquire information about their leaders and this has also led to decline in criminalisation of politics.
(ii) These days no one can change his/her party after Anti Defection law was passed in the Parliament. Amendment was made in the constitution to prevent MPs and MLAs from changing parties. If anyone tries to change his/ her party, he/ she loses his/ her seat.
(iii) Election Commission has also ordered all political parties to hold their organisational elections and file the income tax returns for the purpose of introducing internal democracy. Parties have started to do so formally.
(iv) Regulating internal affairs in the party should be made compulsory. Registers of the existing members should be made. All parties should follow their constitution and regular elections should be held for the higher post of the party. 
(v) State should provide funds for contesting elections. It can be either given in the form of cash or in the form of petrol, paper, telephone, etc. This may reduce the influence of money in the elections.

Question. Discuss the main policies of INC.
                           OR
When was Indian National congress party formed ? Discuss its major policies.
Answer : INC or Indian National Congress was founded in 1885. It emerged as the largest party in India in 2004, with 145 members in the Lok Sabha elections. Presently, it is the main opposition party in the Lok Sabha. Its major policies are as follows :
(i) Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, INC wanted India to become a modern, secular and democratic republic party.
(ii) It maintains its presence throughout the country by cutting across social divisions, in spite of its rises and falls.
(iii) It is a centrist party in its ideological orientation,
i.e., neither rightist nor leftist.
(iv) It aims at promoting secularism and upliftment of the weaker sections and minorities.
(v) It supports new economic reforms but has a umanitarian approach.

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