CBSE Class 12 Political Science Case Study Questions Era Of One Party Dominance Assignment

Very Short Answer Type Question :

Question. Name any two political parties which participated in the first General Election?
Answer: The two political parties which participated in the first General Election are Communist Party of India (CPI) and Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Question. What was the guiding principle of the ideology of Swatantra Party founded in 1959?
Answer: Liberal Conservatism was the guiding principle of the ideology of Swatantra Party founded in 1959.

Question. What is meant by Universal (Adult) Franchise?
Answer: Universal Adult Franchise means all citizens who are 18 years and above irrespective of their caste or education, religion, colour, race has the right to vote.

Question. Who was the tallest among the Jana Sangh leaders at the time of the first General Elections?
Answer: Nanaji Deshmukh was the tallest among the Jana Sangh leaders at the time of the first General Elections.

Question. Which was the second largest party in Lok Sabha in first three General Elections?
Answer: Communist Party of India (CPI) was the second largest party in Lok Sabha in first three General Elections.

Short Answer Type Questions :

Question. The “E.M.S. Namboodiripad Governement in Kerela in 1957 became the first democratically elected Communist government in the world”. Write a note on the achievements of this government.
Answer: The E.M.S. Namboodiripad Government in kerela in 1957 became the first democratically elected Communist government in the world. During the two years of his rule, Namboodiripad initiated reforms in education and work for the betterment of the workers and the peasants.

Question. What was the method of Voting adopted in the first two general Elections in India? In what way was the method of voting in the Third General Election different from the first two General Elections?
Answer: In the first two general Elections each polling booth was to have a separate Ballot Box for each of the candidates. The Polling Officer issued the ballot paper to each voter and advised him to insert it into the box containing the symbol of the candidate whom he or she wished to vote for.The method of voting in the Third General Election was different from the first two general Elections. Now the ballot papers contained the names and symbols of all the candidates. The voter recorded his vote by placing the seal marked against the name of the candidate he wished to vote for. Now there was no need to have a separate Ballot Box for each of the candidates.

Long Answer Type Questions :

Question. Examine the nature of Congress Dominance in Indian Politics from 1952 to 1962?
Answer: The party system during the first two decades after independence was termed as ‘the Congress System’ or ‘One Party Dominance System’. Dominance of the Congress did not mean absence of ‘the competition for power’. There were numerous parties competing for power, but such competition did not result in an effective challenge to the dominant position of the Congress. It remained in power for years without the least fear of losing it, at least at the Centre. The other parties were weak and divided and had a very poor representation in the Lok Sabha. Examples of one party dominance are, in Communist countries (such as China, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea) the Constitution itself allows the existence of one party. Some of the newer nations in Asia and Africa such as Kenya and Ghana, had been at one time or the other one party states.

Question. “The period from 1952 to 1962 in Indian politics has been termed as ‘an era of one party dominance”. Explain any four factors that helped the Congress in its dominance.
Answer: Factors that helped the Congress in its dominance are as follows:
(i) Its Historical Legacy: The Congress had been in the fore front of freedom struggle. It was seen as ‘the Party of Freedom Fighters’- Gandhi, Nehru, Patel, Azad, Rajendra Prasad and others. Nehru and Patel inspired people by their personal charisma throughout the length and breadth of the country. After Independence the Congress automatically became the ruling party as the British had transferred power to this party. 
(ii) An Old-India Organization: The Congress was the oldest party of the country. It was founded in 1885. By the time country attained Independence, its organizational structure had developed in all the regions, districts and even small towns of the country. Since the structure of the Congress had developed across the country, the Party got the benefit of this widespread organization.
(iii) A Wide Variety of Social Groups within its Framework: The social base of the Congress party was very wide. It accommodated within its fold all social and economic interest, every class, every caste and each religious section of the country. The Congress had space for all kinds of ideological groups, such as the liberals, rightists and the leftists.
(iv) Electoral System: Simple Majority System (or First-Past-the-Post System): This system tends to benefit the largest among the parties and the small parties have hardly any chance of fair representation. For example, in 1952 the Congress with 45 percent of the votes could capture roughly 74 percent of the total number of seats of the House. The CPI which secured roughly nine percent of the votes in 1962 could only win 29 seats of the Lok Sabha. Had we adopted the system of Proportional Representation, the CPI and the other smaller parties could have better and fairer representation in the Lok Sabha.

Question. What is meant by ‘One Party Dominance’ phase? Examine the dominance of the Congress Party in the first three General Elections?
Answer: One Party Dominance’ means that in the first three General Elections in India, the Congress dominated the national politics. Although there were many parties competing for power, they never presented a serious challenge to the Congress.
The dominance of the Congress Party in the first three General Elections are:
In the first General Election, the electorate voted the Congress Party to power at the Centre with a thumbing majority. The Party won 364 of the 489 elected seats. This outstanding success was owing to the fact that the Congress had been in the forefront of freedom struggle and was being led by charismatic leaders like Nehru, Patel and Azad. The Communist Party of India stood next to the Congress, but it could win only 16 seats of the 49 it contested. The Bharatiya Sangh won three seats. In the States also the Congress tally was fairly good.
In the Second General Election 1957, the number of voters had now increased by over two crore. Nearly 45 parties, big and small participated in the elections. The Congress made a clean sweep, winning as many as 371 of the 494 elected seats. The CPI’s tally stood at 27 and the Jana Sangh bagged only four Lok Sabha seats.
In the Third General Election also, Dominance of the Congress continued. It secured 361 of the 494 elected seats, thus roughly capturing 73 percent of the total number of seats of the House. The Communist Party secured the second place with 29 Lok Sabha seats. The record of a newly formed Swantantra Party was quite impressive. In the Lok Sabha it won 18 seats and 14 seats went to the Jana Sangh. The Third General Election brought about considerable decline of the Congress in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh State Assembly.