CIVICS, CHAPTER 4-POLITICAL PARTIES

Q1. What is the meaning of political parties?(Q4 NCERT QUESTIONS)

Ans Pg 47 book
Q2.What are the three components of political parties?
Ans pg 48
Q3.State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.(Q1 NCERT QUESTION)
Ans. Pg 48 and 49
Q4.What are the various challenges faced by political parties?(Q2 NCERT QUESTION)
Ans Page 57 and 58
Q5. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well.(Q3 NCERT
QUESTIONS)
Ans. The following steps are taken to reform political parties in democracy.
1.The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. They change
to become minister or for a reward. If any MLA or MP changes political party, he or she will lose a seat in
legislature. This helps to bring defection down.
2.The supreme court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. When the
candidate contests for election he need to file an affidavit giving details of his property and criminal
cases if any.
3. The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their
organizational elections and file income tax return.
4. A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. They should maintain
registers of its members to follow open elections
5. It is mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one third to women
candidate.
6.There should be state funding for the elections.

Q6.Explain,how the rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative
democracies.
Ans 1.The rise of political is closely tied to the emergence of representative democracies.
2. As societies grow larger and complex, they need for mechanism to gather diverse viewpoint and
present to the government.
3.Political parties do this by bringing together various representatives ,forming policies and providing
means for citizens to participate in governance.

Q7. Define muti- party system. Define its merits and demerits.
Ans. A multi-party system is a political system where several parties compete for power and
representation. It allows for a diverse political viewpoint and represents various interests of people.
Merits:
1.Accountabilty and provide options to the voters.
2 Greater representations of people’s voices
3. Encourages debate and innovation in policy making
Demerits
1. It can lead to political fragmentation
2. Don’t have stable governments and coalition government may result in compromises and hinder
effective governance.

Q8 What are the characteristics of political parties? (NCERT QUESTION)

Ans
1. The political parties contest elections. By winning the election, political parties can form
government.
2. Parties run and form governments by recruiting leaders, training them and making ministers to run
government.
3. Those parties who lose elections play the role of opposition to parties in power by criticizing
government
4. Parties put forward policies and programs and initiate welfare schemes by the government.
5. Parties must be responsible for the needs and demands of people.

Q9. Name the national political and state parties of India.

Ans (PG 54 and 55)

Q10. Explain the types of political parties.

Ans National Parties Regional Parties
Participate in elections all over India. Participate in elections within a state.
Must be strong in at least 4 states across India. Must be strong in one or two states.
They have an exclusive electoral symbol Their symbol is reserved only
throughout the country. in the state they are recognized in
state.
They focus on national, regional and They promote regional and state international
interests. Interests.
Examples- Bharatiya Janata Party Examples- Rashtriya Lok Dal
Indian National Congress and Communist Samajwadi Party

Q11. Explain the role of election commission in registration and recognition of political parties in India.
Ans 1)The election commission of India overseas the registration and recognition of political parties in
India, ensuring adherence to electoral laws and democratic principles.
2)Political parties seeking registration must submit detailed documents outlining outlining their
aims ,objectives and internal structure and verify it with all legal requirements.
3)Recognition by the commission grants parties’ certain privileges, like allotment of symbols during
elections based on electoral performance and fulfillment of criteria by the commission.

Q12. Why do all the countries have same type of government?

Ans. The countries of the world can't have the same party system because:
1)A party system is not something any country can choose.
2)It evolves over a long time depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its
history of politics, and its system of elections.
3)Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by special circumstances. No system is ideal
for all countries and all situations.
Q13. Explain national parties.
Ans. National party
Conditions required to be a national political party are:

A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four
states.
Wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha.
All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
Launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.
Committed to secularism and federalism.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
Seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan samaj which includes the dalits, adivasis, OBCs,
and religious minorities.
Draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami
Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
Stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the dalits and oppressed people.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
Founded in 1980 by reviving the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values,
and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s ideas of integral humanism and Antyodaya.
Cultural nationalism or Hindutva is an important element in its beliefs.
Wants a uniform civil code for all religions and a ban on religious conversions.
Is currently the ruling party at the center and a member of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Communist Party of India (CPI)
Formed in 1925.
Believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism, and democracy.
Opposed to the forces of secessionism and communalism.
Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interests of the working class, farmers,
and the poor.
Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M)
Founded in 1964.
Believes in Marxism-Leninism.
Supports socialism, secularism, and democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism.
Accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socioeconomic
justice in India.
Indian National Congress (INC)
It is one of the oldest parties in the world founded in 1885.
A centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist) in its ideological orientation, the party espouses secularism
and the welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
Supports new economic reforms but with a human face.
Is a member of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
It was formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party.
Espouses democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice, and federalism.
Wants those high offices in government be confined to natural-born citizens of the country.

Q14. Why is one party political system not considered a good option in a democratic system?
Ans. A one-party system is not considered a good option in a democratic system because voters are not
offered any choice at the time of voting. This is not a democratic option. Any democratic system must
allow at least two parties to compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to
come to power.

Q15. What is meant by a regional political party? State the conditions required to be recognized as a
‘regional political party’?
Ans. A regional party is a party that is present in only some states. Regional parties are commonly
referred to as ‘State parties’.

Conditions required for a party to be recognized as a regional political party are:

A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State
Wins at least 2 seats in the Legislative Assembly.

Q16. “Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties.” Analyze the
statement.
Ans. The challenge of dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political
parties because:

1.Most parties do not practice open and transparent procedures, hence, there are very few
opportunities for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.
2.Top leaders favor people close to them or even their family members. In many parties, the top
positions are always controlled by members of one family.
3.This practice is unfair to other members of that party and is also bad for democracy since people who
do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.
Q.18 Examine the role of money and muscle power among political parties during elections.
Ans. Role of money and muscle power among political parties during elections:

1.Since parties are focused 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.
Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have an influence on the policies and
decisions of the party.
3.In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.
4.Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies
in democratic politics.
Q.17 “A decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world has been seen.”
Which challenge of a political party is being referred to here? Enumerate some of the features of the
identified challenge.
Ans. The challenge being referred to here is the lack of meaningful choices for the voters.
Some of the features of this challenge are:
1.In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of
the world.
2.They agree on more fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how policies are to be framed
and implemented.
3.Those who want really different policies have no option available to them.
4.Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of leaders
keeps shifting from one party to another