CBSE Class 10 Social Science Political Parties Worksheet Set C

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question: Name any two Indian national political parties.
Answer: Indian national political parties are:
(1) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
(2) Indian National Congress (INC)
(3) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
(4) All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)

Question: In which year did the Communist Party of India split into two parties?
Answer: 1964

Question: Name any one regional party of Uttar Pradesh.
Answer: The Samajwadi Party is one of the regional parties of Uttar Pradesh.

Question: Which organisation recognise ‘political parties’ in India?
Answer: The Election Commission of India is responsible for recognising and registering ‘political parties’ in India. 

Question: Suggest any one way to promote public participation in political parties for enhancing the quality of democracy.
Answer: Following are the ways in which public participation in political parties can be promoted:
(1) Parties should make their election process more transparent and elect more candidates from among the common people.
(2) Various platforms like social media can be used to allocate them small responsibilities to maintain their interest in party activities.

Question: Why do political parties involve partisanship?
Answer: Political parties involve partisanship because: The parties are a part of the society and thus they involve partisanship.

Question: What is defection?
Answer: Defection is an act of changing one’s political party allegiance in exchange of monetary or other favours. It is punishable under law.

Question: Name any one political party that is a national level political organisation but is not recognised as a national political party.
Answer: Samajwadi Party is a political party that has a national level political organisation but is not recognised as a national political party. 

Question: Explain the meaning of political party.
Answer: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Question: Why is one party political system not considered a good democratic system?
Answer: One party political system is not considered a good democratic system because it doesn’t offer a meaningful choice to the citizens of the country as they have no options to choose from. 

Question: Read the source given below and answer the question that follow: Formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party. Espouses democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and federalism. Wants that high offices in government be confined to natural born citizens of the country. Identify this political party.
Answer: Nationalist Congress party.

Short Answer Type Questions

Question: Describe the role of opposition party in a democracy?
Answer: Role of opposition party in democracy:
(1) The opposition party criticizes the government for its failure and wrong policies on important issues.
(2) The party in opposition opposes the government by voicing different views and make public opinion in the country.
(3) The opposition party always ready to form an alternative government

Question: What is a political party? State any two points of the ideology of Bharatiya Janata 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 collective good. The ideologies of Bharatiya Janata Party are as follows: 
(1) It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
(2) A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion.
(3) It promotes cultural nationalism.

Question: How can the growing role of money and muscle power in political parties be controlled? Suggest any three measures.
Answer: The growing role of money and muscle power in political parties can be controlled in the following ways:
(1) There should be state funding of elections.
(2) Rath yatras, rallies and processions should be banned.
(3) All types of elections should be held at the same time.
(4) It should be mandatory for every candidate contesting elections to file an affdavit giving details of his/her property and criminal cases pending against him/ her if any.
(5) Political parties should hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.
(6) One-third seats should be reserved for women candidates.

Question: What is meant by a national political party? State the conditions required to be a national political party.
Answer: A national political party is a party that works at the national level. It has units in various states and they follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level. The conditions required to become a national political party is securing at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha. 

Question: Explain any three recent efforts made to reform political parties in India. 
OR ÅSuggest any three reforms to make political parties more democratic.
Answer: Recent efforts made to reform political parties in India are:
(1) Anti-defection law has been introduced, under which a member can be disqualified if he/she goes against the instructions issued by the party for monetary benefits.
(2) To reduce the influence of money and muscle power in the parties, funding of political parties has been made transparent and democratic. Funds can only be accepted if complete documentation has been attached and miscreants are likely to be punished.
(3) It is mandatory for any candidate to file an afiidavit giving details of his property and cases pending against him/her before nomination.
(4) The election commission has made it mandatory for political parties to hold their organisational elections regularly and file their income tax returns.
(5) Making it mandatory for political parties to reserve a significant number of tickets, about one third, for women candidates.

Question: Describe any three main policies of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Answer: Policies of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are:
(1) BJP draws inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values.
(2) Cultural nationalism is an important element in its conception.
(3) It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
(4) It wants a uniform civil code for all people living in the country.

Question: Describe the role of Political Parties in India.
Answer: Role of Political Parties
(1) Parties contest election
(2) Parties put forward different policies and programmes
(3) Parties form and run the govt.
(4) Parties that lose in the election play the role of opposition
(5) Parties shape public opinion
(6) Parties provide people access to govt. Machinery and welfare schemes.
(7) Any other relevant point Any three points to be explained. 

Question: Suggest any one way to make political parties more responsive to people’s needs and demands.
Answer: Political parties can be made more responsive through organised petitions, agitations and publicity by various groups. 

Question: Which type of government is formed when two or more political parties come together to form a government?
Answer: Coalition Government

Question: Give any three arguments that favour the challenge of dynastic succession.
Answer: In this challenge
(1) Top leaders of the party favour people close to them or even their family members.
(2) Top positions are always controlled by members of one family.
(3) People who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power in the party.

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:
(1) Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning.
(2) There are few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.
(3) In many parties the top positions are always controlled by members of one family.
(4) This practice is unfair to other members of that party and is also bad for a democracy.
(5) People who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy position of power.
(6) Any other relevant point. (Any three points to be analysed)

Question: Describe the three major components of a political party.
Answer: The three components of a political party are as follows:
(1) Leaders – Leaders are the ones who hold positions of power at various levels in the sphere of politics.
(2) Active members – Political parties comprise of lakhs of members and political activists across the entire nation. They play an important role in promoting the agenda of the party.
(3) Followers – They are general citizens of the country who strongly believe in the ideas and approaches of the party and extend their support to the party, especially during elections.

Long Answer Type Questions

Question: Highlight the main features of a political party in India which believes in India’s ancient culture and values.
Answer: Bharatiya Janata Party in India believes in India’s ancient culture and values. Its main features are as follows:
(1) This party wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values.
(2) This party wants a uniform civil code for all the citizens living in the country
(3) This party wants to put a ban on religious conversions in the country
(4) This party wants a full territorial and political integration of the country including POK.

Question: What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted this system? Mention its disadvantages.
Answer: If several parties compete for power and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming in power on their own or in alliance with other parties in the country, is called a multi-party system. India has adopted a multi-party system because of the following reasons:
(1) There is social and geographical diversity in India.
(2) India is such a large country
(3) The system of multi-party allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation. Disadvantages of multi-party system:
(1) The multi-party system often appears to be very messy.
(2) It leads to political instability in the country.
(3) It delays the decision-making in the legislature.

Question: Describe the role of the opposition parties in a democracy.
Answer: Major functions of the opposition party are as follows:
(1) The opposition party keeps a watch over the ruling party and checks the government from becoming authoritarian or despotic.
(2) Its main function is to criticize the policies of the government.
(3) It attracts the attention of the press and reports criticism of the government policy for the newspapers.
(4) The opposition party has the right to check the expenditure of the government.
(5) The opposition parties can criticise the government during question hour.

Question: “Political parties need to face certain challenges in order to remain effective instruments of democracy.” Explain the statement with examples.
Answer: Political parties are the most visible representation of democracies and face various blames for improper functioning of the same.
(1) Lack of internal democracy is one challenge that parties have to face. Absense of transparency and efficiency in the appointment of workers, concentration of power among a few leaders at the top and less organisational meetings, obstruct the proper functioning of parties.
(2) Dynastic succession is another such challenge where most of the power remains accumulated in hands of particular families instead of being distributed among promising workers.
(3) Common activists find it hard to rise to positions of influence. This affects democracy negatively because less talented and less popular people find it difficult compete for top positions in country.
(4) Role of money and muscle power in parties makes it support unimportant issues at times, which is also a challenge parties have to face and resolve to rise to power.
(5) No meaningful choices is another challenge. There is a decline in the ideological difference among parties in the country. Thus, votes get divided.

Question: Exhibit the role of money and muscle power among political parties during elections.
Answer: Role of money and muscle power among political parties during elections:
(1) Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use shortcuts 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. (with explanation.)

Question: Illustrate the situations which display lack of internal democracy within a political party.
Answer: Situations which display lack of internal democracy within a political party:
(1) Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.
(2) Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party.
(3) They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the decisions. As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.
(4) Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party.
(5) More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

Question: Describe the importance of regional political parties in strengthening democracy.
Answer: Over the last three decades, the number and strength of regional parties have expanded. This made the Parliament of India politically more and more diverse. No national party is able to secure a majority on its own in Lok Sabha. As a result, national parties are compelled to form alliances with state parties. Regional parties provide platform for diverse social groups and communities. They by sharing the power of the government with national parties. Since 1996, nearly all of the state parties have got an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition government. Thus, this is how regional political parties contribute in the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country.

Question: Define the two-party system. Explain its advantages and disadvantages.
Answer: Two party system: In a democratic system power usually changes between two main parties, several other parties may exists but only the two main parties have a serious chance of winning majority of seats to form government is known as Two Party System. Advantages:
(1) Several other parties contest election.
(2) Clarity of manifestoes and programs.
(3). Political stabilities.
(4) Fair chance of competition among parties.
(5) Representation of various ideologies.
(6) Any two to be explained. Disadvantages:
(7) Limited choice to the voters.
(8) Limited representation.
(9) Limited scope for plural society.

Question: Identify and list the following political parties as national or regional political parties:
(A) National Conference
(B) Shiromani Akali Dal
(C) D.M.K. or Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(D) Nationalist Congress Party
(E) Bharatiya Janata Party
(F) Shiv Sena
(G) Forward Bloc
(H) Janata Dal (U)
(I) Rashtriya Janata Dal
(J) Samajwadi Party
Answer: (A) National Conference – Regional party
(B) Shiromani Akali Dal – Regional party
(C) D.M.K. – Regional party
(D) Nationalist Congress Party – National party
(E) Bharatiya Janata Party – National party
(F) Shiv Sena – Regional party
(G) Forward Bloc – Regional party
(H) Janata Dal
(U) – Regional party
(I) Rashtriya Janata Dal – Regional party
(J) Samajwadi Party – Regional party.

Question: ‘The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies.’ Justify the statement.
Answer: It is true because
(1) Large societies need representative democracy. As societies become large and complex, they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
(2) They needed some ways, to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.
(3) They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them.
(4) Political parties fulfill these needs that every representative government has. We can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

Question: Read the extract and answer the questions that follow:
The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties. Allover the world there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party. They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the decisions. As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the first one. Since most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. Questions: “
(A) Name one state and one national political party in India?
(B) What is the challenge of dynastic succession faced by a party?
(C) Suggest reforms which can help political parties to face the lack of internal democracy?
Answer: (A) National Party: Indian National Congress State party: Janata Dal(U) of Jharkhand
(B) The challenge of Dynastic Succession in parties is a result of favouritism and nepo-tism practiced openly. It becomes difficult for an outsider/common man to rise to influential positions in a party regardless of his talent. Most powerful positions are reserved for relatives or friends.
(C) To face lack of internal democracy, a party should make its functioning more transparent. Regular meetings should be held, communication should be made stronger, favouritism should be removed and everybody should be given an equal chance to contribute to party affairs. Apart from this, selection process or utilisation of funds should be made transparent by setting up a committeeproperly represented by all areas of members present in the country.

Question: What is meant by a political party ? Describe the three components of a political party.
Answer: Political Party is: Political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. Three components of a political parties are:
(1) The leaders
(2) The active members
(3) The followers 

Question: Describe the necessity of Political Parties in a democratic countries.
Answer: Necessity or utility of Political Parties:
(1) Elected representative will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.
(2) The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies.
(3) In large and complex societies some agency is needed to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
(4) They are needed to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.
(5) They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government,
(6) To make policies, justify or oppose them.
(7) Parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

Question: What is a political party? Explain any four characteristics of a political party.
Answer: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. Characteristics of a political party are:
(1) Political parties contest elections regularly.
(2) They play a decisive role in making laws.
(3) They form and run the government, if elected.
(4) They have their own policies, ideologies and manifesto.
(5) They shape public opinion and act as the face of democracy and government.
(6) The parties which lose the elections play the important role of opposition.