(Part-2) Ch-3 Political Parties

Std 10

Q16) Describe the importance of Political Parties in a Democratic Government. OR

"Modern democracies cannot exist without political parties" Examine the statement.

Ans. In a democratic setup ,political parties are required because without political parties--

a) Every candidate in the elections will be independent .No promises could be made and the utility of
the government will remain uncertain.

b) No one will be responsible for running the country. Elected representatives will only be accountable
to their constituency.

c) There will be no agency to gather and present different views to the government on various issues.

d) No one will be responsible for bringing various representatives together so as to form a responsible
government.

e) There will be no mechanism to support the government ,make policies or to justify or oppose them.

Q17) State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

Ans. The following are the various functions political parties perform in a democracy---

1) Contest Elections-- Political Parties contest elections in democracy. In countries like India top party
leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.

2) Put forward policies and programmes -- Parties put forward different policies and programmes and
voters choose from them.

3) Parties play an important role in making laws -- Political Parties play a decisive role in the making of
laws for a country .Laws are debated and passed in the legislature but since most of the members
belong to a party ,they go by the direction of the party leadership, irrespective of their personal
opinions.

4) Form and Run government- To run the government ,political parties prepare a council of ministers by
recruiting and training the leaders.

5) Provide access to government machinery and welfare schemes - Political Parties provide people
access to government machinery and welfare schemes, implemented by government.

6) Play the role of opposition - The party which loses election, plays the role of opposition party . The
opposition party tries to put a check on the ruling party by constantly criticising its policies.
7) Shape public opinion - One of the most important functions of political parties is to shape public
opinion on relevant issues for the proper functioning of the government and to deepen the concept of
democracy

Q18) What are the various challenges faced by political parties?

Ans. The major challenges which the political parties face in the present era are--

a) Lack of internal democracy- In political parties there is a concentration of power in the hands of few .
Parties do not keep membership registers ,do not hold organisational meetings and do not conduct
internal elections regularly.

b) Dynastic Succession--- It is a one of the major challenges faced by political parties in India .Very few
ordinary workers in India get a chance to rise to the top of the party and the top positions are always
controlled by the members of one family. This is unfair to many of the members as they do not get a
chance to go to the top position.

c) Money and Muscle power--- The main aim of political parties is to capture power and form the
government .So they focus only on winning the elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who
have or can raise lots of money . Many business houses influence the decisions of the party and
government by providing funds to the parties.

d) Absence of a meaningful choice -- In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological
differences among parties. In most parts of the world, voters do not have many options during elections.
Also people cannot even elect different leaders because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one
party to another.

Q19) Examine the institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties
and their leaders. OR Explain any three recent efforts made to reform political parties in India.

Ans. a) Anti Defection Law--- The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs 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 will
lose the seat in the legislature.

b) Affidavit-- 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 of check if the information given by the candidates is true.

C) Mandatory Organizational Meetings-- The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary
for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns. 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.
Q20) Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well.

Ans. The following reforms could be suggested in order to strengthen parties so that they perform their
functions well+-

a) Regulation of party"s internal affairs--- A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of
political parties. It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of their
members ,to follow their own constitution, to have an independent authority etc

b) State funding ---. There should be state funding of elections.The government should give money to
parties to support their election expenses to avoid corruption.

c) Pressure of public opinion. ---- Political parties can be reformed if people put pressure on them .This
can be done through petitions, propaganda and agitation. Pressure groups and media play an important
role in this.

d) Ban on political parties based on religion and caste --- The Election Commission should ban the
political parties which are formed on the basis of religion and caste.

e) Ensure women participation ---- It should be made mandatory for all political parties to allot

one-third of the tickets to women to ensure their decisive voice in decision making.

Q21) What are the characteristics of a political party?

Ans a) A political party contests elections through peaceful constitutional means and refrains from
electoral malpractices.

b) It agrees on certain programmes and policies with a view to placing national interest before the party
interest.

c) It tries to persuade people as to why their policies are better than those of other parties.

d) It seeks to implement its policies by winning support through elections.

e) A political party is supported by its leaders, active members and followers. It involves partisanship .

f) A party is known by what it stands for ,which policies it supports and whose interests it up holds.

Q22) Explain the features of National Political Parties of India.

Ans a) In order to become a national party, a party has to secure at least six percent of total votes in Lok
Sabha or Assembly elections in four states and win at least four seats in the Lok Sabha.

b) National Parties have influence all over the country.

c) National Parties deal with national problems as well as international issues.

e)Examples of national parties are BJP, Congress,. BSP etc.

Q23) What are the features of Regional Parties of India?

Ans .a) In order to become a regional party ,a party has to secure at least 6% of total votes in the
Legislative Assembly election of a state and win at least two seats.

b) The influence of regional parties is limited to a particular region or a state.

c) Regional parties are concerned with the problems and demands of a particular region only.

d) The activities of regional parties are restricted to the region or the state in which they function. They
focus more on local problems.

e)Examples of regional parties are Janata Dal ,Assam United Democratic Front , Manipur People's Party
etc.