POLITICAL PARTIES : TERM II

Q.1.What is a political party?

A group of people who come together to contest election is called a political party.
The party which wins majority seats in legislature forms the government whereas
which does not win in legislature forms the opposition.

i)political parties agree on some policies and programmes for the welfare of society
with a view to promote the collective good.

ii)since there can be different views on what is good for all, parties try to persuade
people why their policies are better than others.

iii)they seek to implement their policies by winning popular support through

elections.

FEATURES OF POLITICAL PARTIES

i)Parties persuade people and tell them why their policies are better than others.

ii)Parties seek to implement their policies by winning popular support through

elections.

Q.2.What are the functions of political parties?

1. CONTEST ELECTIONS: Political parties select candidates and contest elections.

Eg-In USA, members and supporters of a party choose its candidates whereas in
India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.

2. PROMOTION OF DIFFERENT POLICIES AND PROGRAMMES: Parties put together

different policies and programmes and voters can choose from them. In a
democracy, large no. of similar opinions have to be grouped together. To provide
directions in which policies can be formulated by the govt. A party reduces a vast
multitude of opinions into a few basic opinions it supports. A govt. is expected to
make its decision on the line taken by the political party.

3. DECISIVE ROLE IN MAKING LAWS: Formally, 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 opinion.

4.PARTIES FORM AND RUN GOVT. The political party which gets the majority of seats
in the legislature forms and runs the govt. Parties recruit leaders, train them and
then make them ministers to run the govt. in the way they want.

5.PLAYS THE ROLE OF RESPONSIBLE OPPOSITION: Those political parties which do

not get majority seats in legislature form the opposition. They voice different views
and criticise the govt. for its failures on wrong policies.
6. SHAPE PUBLIC OPINION: They raise and highlight issues. Parties sometimes also
launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by the people. Often
opinions in the society crystallise on the line parties take.

7. PROVIDE PEOPLE AN ACCESS TO GOVT. MACHINERY AND WELFARE SCHEMES

IMPLEMENTED BY THE GOVT.: For an ordinary citizen, it is easy to approach a local
party leader than a govt. office. That is why they feel close to political parties even
when they do not fully trust them. Parties have to be responsive to peoples needs
and demands. Otherwise,people can reject those parties in the next elections.

Q.3.Why do we need political parties?

A.Political parties are essential for democracy in the following ways:

i)They form govt. after winning elections i.e. the political party which wins majority
seats in the legislature forms the govt. whereas the political party which does not
win majority seats in the legislature forms the opposition. It criticises the govt. for
its acts of omission and commission.

ii)Political parties are important for representative democracies as they bring

representatives together to form the govt. It consists of people seeking to achieve
their objectives through constitutional means and aims at promoting national
interests.

Q.4.Mention three types of party system prevalent in the world.

A .One party system. Eg-China

Bi-party system. Eg-USA & UK

Multi-party system. Eg-India

Q.5.Explain the three types of party systems.

A.The three types of party systems are:

I)One party system-When only one party is allowed to control and run the govt.it is
called one-party system. Eg-In China only Communist party is allowed to rule
because electoral system does not permit free competition for power.

ii)Two party system-When two parties have a serious chance of winning majority
seats to form govt., such a system is called two-party system. Eg-USA & UK. Several
other parties may exist and contest elections but only two major parties have a
serious chance of winning majority seats.

iii)Multi-party system-When 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, this is called multi-party system.
Q.6.What is an alliance or Front?

A. When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for contesting elections
and winning power, it is called alliance or front. The govt. is then formed by various
parties coming together in a coalition Eg-major alliance in 2004 elections were
NDA(National Democratic Alliance),UPA(United Progressive Alliance).

Q.7.What are the drawbacks of multi-party system?

A.7.i)It leads to political instability as coalition govts. are formed which are not very
stable.

ii)It leads to a lot of confusion in the minds of others.

Q.8.What are the advantages of multi-party system?

India has adopted multi-party system and it is advantageous because it can

accommodate diverse cultural, regional and minority interests through
representations.

Q.9.Mention various types of political parties that exist in India.

A.i)National parties ii)Regional or State parties

Q.10.What are the national parties?

These are country-wide parties.

i)They have their units in various states.

ii)By and large all their units follow the same policies, programmes and strategies
that are decided at national level.

Q.11.What are regional parties?

A.State parties are also called regional parties.

i)Regional parties exist, operate and function at regional level.

ii)A regional party has a regional outlook as it gives prominence to regional issues
and specific problems of people of that region and influence people of that region.

iii)Some of these parties are All India Parties that happen to have succeeded in
some states. Parties like Samajwadi party, Samata party and Rashtriya Janata Dal
have national level political organisations with units in several states.

iv)Some parties like Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front and Mizo National
Front are conscious about their state identity.
Q.12.On what basis does Election Commission recognises parties as national or
regional parties? A.NATIONAL PARTIES-A part that secures atleast 60% of total votes
in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins atleast 4 seats
in Lok sabha is recognised as a national party.

REGIONAL PARTIES-A party that secures atleast 6% of total votes in Legislative

Assembly of a state and wins atleast 2 seats is recognised as State or Regional
party.

Q.13.Explain the rising importance of regional parties.

A.In the last three decades the no. and strength of regional parties has expanded
which has made our parliament more diverse. These days not a single national
party is able to secure a majority in Lok Sabha. Therefore, national parties form
alliance with regional parties. Since 1996,state parties have got an opportunity to
be a part of the national level coalition govt. This strengthened our democracy and
federalism.

Q.14.What are the challenges faced by political parties?

1. LACK OF INTERNAL DEMOCRACY:There is a tendency in political parties towards

concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. Parties do not hold
organisational meetings or conduct internal elections. Since one or two leaders are
important, those who disagree with them find it hard to continue in the party.

2.DYNASTIC SUCCESSION: There are very few ways for ordinary people or workers to
rise to top in a political party. In many parties, the top positions are held by
members of one family. This is bad for democracy as people who do not have
enough experience and popular support come to occupy top and important
positions.

3.USE OF MONEY AND MUSCLE POWER: Sometimes political parties use shortcuts to
win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who can waste a lot of
money. In some cases, political parties support criminals who use their muscle
power to ensure the victory of a political party in elections. 4.LACK OF MEANINGFUL
CHOICE TO VOTERS: In the modern era, there has been a decline in the ideological
differences among parties. Those who want different policies have no options
available to them.

Q.15.What efforts have been made to reform the parties?

A. i)The constitution was amended to prevent the elected MLAs and MPs from
changing the parties. It was done because elected members were indulging in
defection to become ministers or for cash rewards. Now the law says that if an MLA
or an MP changes his party, he will lose his seat in the legislature.
ii)The Supreme Court has passed an order to reduce the influence of money and
criminals. Now a candidate is required to fill an affidavit giving details of his
property and criminal cases pending against him.

iii)The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for the parties to
hold their organisational and file their income tax return.

Q.16.Mention some reforms to strengthen political parties.

A.i)A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of the political parties. It
should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its
members, to have its independent constitution and follow it, to have an
independent authority, to act as a judge in case of party disputes, to hold open
elections to the higher posts.

ii)It should be made mandatory for political parties to give tickets to about 1/3rd of
women candidates.

iii)There should be state funding of elections i.e. the govt. should give parties
money to support their election expenses.

Q.17.What role can people play to reform political parties?

A .i)People can put pressure on political parties by publicity, petitions and

agitations.

ii)Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and media can play an important role as if
political parties feel that they would lose public support by not taking up reforms,
they would become more serious about reforms.

Q.1: -Why do we need political parties?

Ans.:-1. Political parties are easily one of the most visible institutions in a
democracy.

2. Far most ordinary citizens, political parties are equal to democracy.

3. Political parties helped in making public opinion and farming the govt.

Q.2: - Describe the merits of a multi party system in thru points.

Ans.:-1. More than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either
on their own strength or in alliance with others
2. This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political
representation.

3. In India we have multi party system and the coalition govt. for last 15 years
which benefits all sections

of the population.

Q.3: - What are the characteristics of a political party?

Ans.:- 1. It is a group of people coming together to contest elections and share

power.

2. It agrees on some policies and programmers for the society with a view to
promote collective good.

3. It lends to implement there policies by viewing popular support through

elections.

4. It is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose
interest it upholds.

Q.4: -What is the role of opposition party in democracy

Ans.:- 1. Constructive criticism of govt.

2. Restriction of arbitrariness of ruling party

3. Safeguard, liberty and rights of the people

4. Well prepared to form govt.

5. Expression of public opinion

Q.5: - Give an account of the functions (any four) of political parties

Ans.:- 1. They educate the masses, through their meetings and propaganda about
various

problems facing the country

2. Helps in the formation of public opinion

3. They contest elections and try to get the maximum number of their candidates
elected

4. They serve as a link between the govt. and the people

5. The party which gets as absolute majority, forms the govt. others form opposition

Q.6: - The rise of political parties is linked to the emergence of

representative democracies. Comment on the statement.

Ans.:- 1. As a society become large and complex they also need some agenesis
together with different views on various issues and to present these to the govt.

2. They need some ways to bring various representatives together so that

a responsible govt. can by formed.

3. They need a mechanism to support and restrain the govt. make policies, justify or
oppose them.

Long Answers Type Questions

Q.1: - What are the main functions of a political party?

Ans.:- 1. To contest election

2. Forming policies and programmes

3. Making laws
 4. Parties form and fun govt.

5. To play an active role of opposition

6. Shaping public opinion

7. Access to govt. machinery and welfare schemes

Q.2: - What are the challenges between political parties in India?

Ans.:- Following points can be given with explanation as the challenges of political
parties

in India

1. Lack of internal democracy

2. Lack of transparency

3. Use of money and muscle power

4. Not providing meaningful choice to the voter

Q.3: - Mention the features of Congress party in India?

Ans.:- 1. Congress party was founded in 1885 and has experiences many splits.

2. It was ruling party at the centre till 1977 and then in 1880-89, 2000 to till
date

3. This party supports secularism and welfare of weaker sections and

minorities.

4. It supports new economic reforms but with a human face.

5. It emerged as the largest party with 145 seats in the Lok Sabha elections in
2004.
 6. It currently leads the ruling united progressive alliance (UPA) coalition govt.
at the centre.