CBSE Class 10 Social Science Political Parties Assignment Set C

Question. Who among the following recognises ‘Political Parties’ in India?
(a) Election Commission
(b) President of India
(c) Speaker of Lok Sabha
(d) Supreme Court

Answer: A

Question. In which one of the following states does ‘Shiv Sena’ exist as a regional political party?
(a) Gujarat
(b) Karnataka
(c) Maharashtra
(d) Madhya Pradesh

Answer: C

Question. Which one of the following is a ‘National Political Party’?
(a) Samajwadi Party
(b) Rashtriya Janata Dal
(c) Rashtriya Lok Dal
(d) Bahujan Samaj Party

Answer: D

Question. Which one of the following political parties seeks to represent and secure power for Dalits, OBC’s and Adivasis?
(a) Bahujan Samaj Party
(b) Bharatiya Janta Party
(c) Forward Bloc
(d) Janta Dal (s)

Answer: A

Question. The political party which believes in Marxism- Leninism is
(a) Nationalalist Congress Party
(b) Communist Party of India
(c) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
(d) Bahujan Samaj Party

Answer: B

Question. Which one of the following facilities is offered by the ‘Election Commission’ to a recognised political party?
(a) Party name
(b) Election funds
(c) Election symbol
(d) Manifesto

Answer: C

Question. Who, among the following, organised the dalits into the ‘Depressed Classes Association’ in 1930?
(a) Kanshi Ram
(b) Dr. B.R. Ambedkar
(c) Gandhiji
(d) Alluri Sitaram Raju

Answer: B

Question. Which one of the following countries has one party system?
(a) China
(b) Indo-China
(c) Japan
(d) Germany

Answer: A

Very Short answer Type Question

Question. Why did India adopt multi-party system?
Answer: India is a large country with great social and geographical diversities. These diversities can only be nurtured by a multi-party system.

Question. Why is one party political system not considered a good democratic system?
Answer: This is because ‘One party’ system does not provide any democratic option.

Question. What is meant by ‘Political Party’?
Answer: A political party is a group of people, who have come together to contest elections to hold power in the government.

Question. Analyse the three components of a political party.
Answer: Three components of a political party are :
(i) Leaders
(ii) Active members
(iii) Followers

Question. Examine the reason to accept multi-party system in India.
Answer: 
The reason to accept multii-party system in India is that this is a more democratic option for a diverse country like India.

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

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

Question. What is a political party? State any two points of the 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 programmers for the society with a view to promote the collective good.
The ideologies of Bharatiya Janta party are
(a) Cultural Nationalism
(b) Resloving India’s ancient culture and value.

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. If all the decisions of a political party are made by single family and all other members are neglected, then what challenge is being faced by that party?
Answer: Challenge of dynastic succession

Question. Why do political parties involve partisanship?
Answer: Because they are part of the society, hence political parties involve partisanship.

Question. What is the requirement laid down by the Election Commission for a political party to be recognized as a ‘State Party’?
Answer: A political party that secures at least 6% 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.

Question. What is the guiding philosophy of Bharatiya Janata Party?
Answer: (a) Cultural nationalism
(b) Restoring India’s ancient culture and values

Question. Name any two regional parties of West Bengal.
Answer: Marxist Forward Bloc, All India Forward Bloc

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

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.

Short answer Type Question

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. 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. 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 :
National Political Parties 
A party that secures at least six per cent of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognized as a national party. Now, India has seven recognized national parties.
State Parties
A party that secures at least 6 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.
There are 24, state recognized parties in India.

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. What is meant by regional political party? State the conditions required to be recognised as a ‘regional political party’.
Answer: A regional political 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 :
(i) A party that secures at least six percent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state.
(ii) Wins at least two seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Question. What is meant by a ‘national political party’? State the conditions required to be a national political party.
Answer: National political parties have 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.

Question. Differentiate between national and regional parties. Write any four points.
Answer: National Parties 
(i) A party that secures at least 6% of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognized as a national party.
Regional Parties
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 two seats is recognized as a state party or regional party.

Question. What is meant by a political party? Describe the three components of a political party.
Answer: Political Party: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. Political parties take up policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good. The political party tries to persuade people why their policies are better than other parties, and tries to win the support of people.
Three Components of a Political Party:
(i) The Leaders – Every political party has some prominent leaders who formulate policies and programmes of the party and choose candidates for contesting elections.
(ii) The Active Members : They are involved in different committees of the party and participate directly in the party activities.
(iii) The Followers : They believe in the party’s ideology and support the party by casting their votes in favour of the party at the time of election.

Question. Name the national political party which gets inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values. Mention four features of that party.
Answer: ‘Bhartiya Janta Party’ (BJP) gets inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values.
Four important features :
(i) Cultural nationalism or ‘Hindutva’ is an important element in its conception of India nationhood and politics.
(ii) The party wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
(iii) A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of region and ban on religious conversions.
(iv) Founded in 1980, by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, its support base increased substantially in the 1990s.

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 :
(i) Parties tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise large amounts of money.
(ii) Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
(iii) In some cases, parties support criminals who can win election.
(iv) Democrats all over the world are worried over the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics.

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. How do political parties shape the public opinion? Explain with three examples.
Answer: Political parties shape public opinions in the following way :
(a) They raise and highlight issues thus raising awareness amongst the public.
(b) Parties have members and activists spread all over the country, who spread the party line of thought.
(c) Many of the pressure groups are the extensions of political parties among different sections of the society.

Question. Which three challenges do you feel are being faced by political parties in India? Give your opinion.
Answer: Three challenges faced by political parties in India are :
(i) Lack of internal democracy.
(ii) Challenge of dynastic succession
(iii) Growing role of money and muscle power. Often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters.

Question. Name the national political party which espouses secularism and welfare of weaker section 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 :
(i) Founded in 1885.
(ii) Dominated Indian politics, both at the national and state levels, for several decades after India’s independence.
(iii) Ruling party at the centre till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989. After 1989, its support base declined.
(iv) A centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist) in its ideological orientation.

Question. Why do we need political parties? Explain.
Answer: We need political parties because of the functions that the political parties perform:
(i) They contest in Elections.
(ii) They put forward different policies and program for the betterment of society.
(iii) They play a decisive role in the making of Laws that affect each of us.
(iv) They form and run the government.
(v) They play the role of Opposition to the Ruling Party.
(vi) They shape public opinion, as they raise and highlight issues.
(vii) They provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by the government.

Question. Describe any five major functions of political parties performance in a democracy.
Answer: Functions of political parties :
(i) Parties contest elections and form government.
(ii) They put forward policies and programmes that benefit the people.
(iii) Parties play a decisive role in making laws that affect the society.
(iv) Parties form government.
(v) Defeated parties in the election play its role of opposition of the parties in power.
(vi) Parties shape public opinion.
(vii) Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes.

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. How do state or regional political parties contribute in strengthening federalism and democracy in India? Explain with examples.
Answer: The state and regional political parties strengthen federalism in following ways:
They provide variety of choice to people as they each have different agendas and focus on issues more relevant to their regions.
They provide a platform for different pressure and social groups and communities to put forward their demands. They make the parliament diverse by sharing power of government by helping to form a coalition government.
For example in 2014 election the UPA was formed by Nationalist Congress party (NCP), Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD), Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) etc.

Question. “No party system is ideal for all countries and all situations.” Justify the statement with arguments.
Answer: No party system is ideal for all countries and all situations :
(i) Party system is not something, any country can choose.
(ii) It evolves over a long period depending on the nature of the society.
(iii) Its social and regional division, its history of policies and its system of elections.
(iv) Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances.

Question. “Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties.” Analyse the statement.
Answer: Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties because :
(i) Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning.
(ii) There is no way for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.
(iii) In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family.
(vi) This practice is unfair to other members of that party and is also bad for democracy.
(v) People who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy position of power.

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: Popular dissatisfaction exists with political parties all over the world. It mainly focusses on four areas of working of political parties :
(i) Lack of internal democracy within parties.
(ii) Dynastic succession.
(iii) Growing role of money and muscle power in parties.
(iv) There is not a meaningful choice to the voters.

Long answer Type Question

Question. Highlight any five functions of political parties to strengthen democracy.
Answer: The function of a political party that strengthens the democracy are as follows :
(i) Contesting Elections: Political parties contest elections. A political party nominates its candidate for the electoral contest in various constituencies. This provides a variety of choice of personalities for the people to vote for.
(ii) Policies: Political parties put forward different policies and program so that the voters can choose from amongst them. A political party brings a large number of similar opinions under one umbrella. These opinions are channelized to form policies and program. The policies and program of the ruling party generally become the government policies.
(iii) Making Law: Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country that benefits the whole population.
(iv) Playing Opposition: A party which does not get majority or come under the majority coalition, needs to play the role of opposition. This forms the basis of checks and balances in a democracy.
(v) Shaping Public Opinion: Political parties shape public opinion. They do so by raising and highlighting issues in the legislature and in the media.
(vi) Providing Access to Government Machinery: Political parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. Parties need to be responsive to people’s needs and demands thus bring good governance.

Question. Why do we need political parties? Highlight any five reasons.
Answer: We need political parties for the following reasons:
(i) If there were no political party, then each and every candidate would be independent. So many individuals would only have interests for their own constituencies.
(ii) They would not think about the collective national interest.
(iii) Thus, a political party is necessary to bring diverse people on a common platform, so that bigger issues can be taken care of.
(iv) The democracy which is being practiced all over the world is called representative democracy. In this system, governance is done through people’s representative because it is impossible for each citizen to directly participate in governance.
(v) The need for representative democracy has given rise to political parties.

Question. “Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy”. Analyse the statement with examples.
Answer: “Political parties are necessary condition for a democracy” because :
(i) Without political parties, democracies cannot exist.
(ii) if we do not have political parties; in such a situation every candidate in elections will be independent, and will have a local point of view.
(iii) No one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.
(iv) The government may be formed but its utility will remain uncertain.
(v) Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in their locality. But no one will be responsible for how the country will run.
(vi) The role of opposition party in a democracy necessitates the existence of political parties.
(vii) As societies become large and complex they also need some agencies to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government, that’s why political parties are needed.

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. “Political parties are a necessary condtition for a democracy”. Analyse the statement with examples.
Answer: “Political parties are necessary condition for a democracy” because :
(i) Without political parties, democracies cannot exist.
(ii) if we do not have political parties; in such a situation every candidate in elections will be independent, and will have a local point of view.
(iii) No one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.
(iv) The government may be formed but its utility will remain uncertain.
(v) Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in their locality. But no one will be responsible for how the country will run.
(vi) The role of opposition party in a democracy necessitates the existence of political parties.
(vii) As societies become large and complex they also need some agencies to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government, that’s why political parties are needed.

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. 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. 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.

Question. Suggest and explain any five measures to reform political parties.
Answer: Effective measures to reform political parties are :
(i) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties and hold internal elections.
(ii) It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a record of members.
(iii) It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets; about 1/3rd to women candidates.
(iv) There should be a quota for women in the decision making bodies of the party.
(v) There should be state funding of elections.
(vi) The government should give parties money to support their election expenses for example, petrol, paper, telephone, etc. or in cash.
(vii) Vote casting for Indian citizens should be made compulsory in each election.
(viii) Data regarding caste and religion, OBC, SC, ST should not be utilized during election period for castist or religion based politics.

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 elections.
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.