CBSE Class 10 Political Science Chapter 6 Political Parties | NCERT Solutions online

Class 10 Political Science

Chapter 6 Political Parties

Regional parties in India (Image source NCERT Textbook class 10 Pol Science)

HOTS, Important terms and key points of the chapter 6 Political Parties

1) Political Party-

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. It has three components- The Leaders, The active members and the followers.

2) Bi-party-

A country where only two parties prevail. Example USA, UK.

3) Single Party System-

In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. This is called the single party system. Example China

4) Multiparty System-

It is a system in which more than two parties functions and several parties have reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own or in alliance with the others. Example India

5) Regional Political Party-

The party which originates in a particular region or state and works for it and its people is called the Regional Political Party. Example- Akali Dal. Shiv Sena, Janta Dal, Indian, National Lokdal, AAP etc

6) National Party:

A party which has a wide base, at least 6 per cent valid votes in the last General Election is called the National Party. There are seven national parties in India. Example- Indian National Congress, Bhartiya Janta Party, CPI, CPI(M), BSP, NCP, All India Trinamool Congress.

7) Ruling Part-

A Political party, which runs the government.

8) Alliance or Front-

When more two or more parties join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning powers, is called Alliance or Front.

9) Partisan

A Person who is strongly committed to a party or group or faction.

10) Recognised political parties

The parties which have been recognised by the Election Commission are known as recognised political parties. These parties are given a unique symbol and only the official candidate of that party can use the election symbol. Example INC, and BJP

11) Defection-

Defection means changing party allegiance from one party on which a person got elected to a different party.

Some important questions

Q1 Explain difference between multi-party system and one-party system.

Multi-Party System	One Party System
(i) It is a system in which more than two or several parties have reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own or in alliance with others, is called multiparty system. For example, India.	(i) A system in which only a single party is allowed to work, control and run the government is called a one-party system. For example, China.
(ii) This system provides a political choice to the people.	(ii) This does not provide any political choice to the people.
(ii) It allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representations.	(iii) It does not allow a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representations.
(iv) This system accommodate diversity, so it helps to deepen democracy.	(iv) One party system is near to dictatorship.

 

Q2. Examine the role of opposition in a democracy.

The party or parties which fail to form the government, constitute the opposition, and perform the most important function of criticism of the working of government, its policies and its failures.

(i) Opposition plays an important role in the Parliament by debating on different issues.

(ii) It checks the government from assuming dictatorial powers.

(iii) Opposition moves different motions such as the adjournment and the no-confidence motion in the Legislature.

(iv) Even outside the Legislature, it continues to make an organised criticism of the government. 

 

 

Source:http://gods-leaders-images-drawings.blogspot.com/2014/10/indian-election-symbols.html

Q.3. Write short notes on following political parties- i) INC ii) BJP iii) BSP iv) CPI (M)

 

i) Indian National Congress (INC)-

INC party was formed before independence, i.e., in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume. So, it is one of the oldest parties in India.

Ideology of the Congress:

It is a centrist party means it is neither rightist nor leftist in its ideological orientation.

(i) The party supports new economic reforms but with a human face.

(ii) The party has full faith in secularism.

(ii) The party aims at the welfare of the weaker sections and minorities.

 

2) Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)

BJP was founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bhartiya Jana Sangh.

Ideology of the BJP-

(i) The party wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India's ancient culture and values.

(ii) 'Hindutva' (cultural nationalism) is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics.

(iii) The party wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.

(iv) A common civil code for all the people living in the country irrespective of religion and ban on the religious conversions.

 

3) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

The BSP or the Bahujan Samaj Party was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Sh. Kanshi Ram.

Ideology of the BSP-

(i) The party seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan samaj which includes the dalits, the Adivasi’s, the OBCs and other religious minorities.

(ii) The party draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.

(iii) The party stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the dalits and the oppressed people.

 

4) Communist Party of India (Marxist)- CPI(M)

The CPI (M) Party was formed in 1964.

Ideology of the CPI (M)-

(i) The party believes in Marxism-Leninism. The party supports socialism, secularism and democracy, and opposes imperialism and communalism.

(ii) The party accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socio-economic justice in India.

 

Q4. What is the need to have political parties?

The needs to have political parties can be explained as follows-

(i) Parties contest elections:

Political parties are the axis of the government. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political or parties.

(ii) Formation of policies-

It is very difficult to imagine democracy without political parties because without political parties every candidate in the elections will be independent. So no one will be able to make any promise to the people about any major policy changes and new policies.

(iii) Uncertain Government-

The government may be formed, but its life will remain ever uncertain. Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they did to the locality. But no one will be responsible as to how the country will run.

(iv) Representative democracy-

The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Large-scale societies need a representative democracy.

(v) To gather public opinion-

As societies became large and complex, they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues, and to present these to the government. This is fulfilled by the political parties.

 

Q5. Explain some measures to strengthen the as electoral system of India.

(i) Provision for funding of elections-

Many people are of the opinion that with the purpose to check the misuse of money power, provision of state funding of elections should be made.

 

(ii) Regulation of internal affairs of political parties-

A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties to maintain a register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to have an independent authority, and to hold open elections to the highest posts.

(iii) Provision to minimise the number of candidates-

It is commonly seen that large number of candidates contest elections and sometimes, their number crosses hundreds which becomes a headache for the electoral officers. So efforts should be made to discourage the non-serious candidates from contesting elections.

(iv) Proper revision of voter’s lists-

The voters lists should be revised at regular intervals, and the names of the dead or bogus voters should be deleted from the lists. The names of the new eligible voters should be included in these lists.

 

NCERT solutions of EXERCISE QUESTIONS

1. State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

Political parties perform following functions in a democracy-

(i) Contest Elections-

Political Parties contest elections. In most democracies, elections are contested mainly among the candidates put up by political parties.

(ii) To form and run the Government-

Formation of the government is one of the aims and functions of a political party. In a Parliamentary system, the leader of the party in power becomes the Prime Minister, and he/she appoints the other ministers of Cabinet.

(iii) Declaration/Agenda of Policies-

Political parties put forward their economic, international and social policies before the people, and suggest ways to tackle the issues. Usually, parties have their research wings and think tanks to guide them.

(iv) Moulding Public Opinion-

The parties stimulate the interest of public in the issues before the nation. They use all means of mass communication such as the press, the radio, the television including the street. corner meetings. In this way, political parties try to educate, influence and mould public opinion in their favour. Political parties are significant agencies for creating public. opinion.

(v) Link between the government and the people-

Parties provide people's access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. For an ordinary citizen it is easy to approach a local party leader than a government officer date is why they feel close to parties even when they do not fully trust them.

 

Q2. What are the various challenges faced by political parties?

Currently many challenges are faced by political parties. These can be explained as under-

(i) Lack of internal democracy-

Most of the parties have lack of internal democracy. They do not have an open list of its members, do not hold its routine organisational meetings, fail to conduct its internal elections regularly, and refuse to share information. In most of political parties, there is a tendency towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top.

(ii) Dynastic succession-

In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family or their family members. This deprives common party workers to rise to the hierarchy.

(iii) Money and muscle power-

Parties are focused only on winning elections, So most parties tend to use shortcuts to win elections. 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.

(iv) Lack of meaningful choice to the voters-

In the modern era, very often, parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. Voters have to choose ‘a feather among cypher's’

(v) Negative politics-

Most of the political parties follow negative politics i.e., just criticising the opposite party. This diverts the attention of the people from the core issues.

 

Q3. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well?

The following reforms can be taken into consideration to strengthen parties-

(i) Anti-Defection Law-

Under the Anti Defection Law, MLAs or MPs cannot change party after the election. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in defection to become ministers for cash rewards. Now the law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature. This new law has helped to bring defection down.

(ii) 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 or not.

(iii) Steps taken by the Election Commission-

The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to so hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.

 

Q4. What is a political party?

Political Party-

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. It has three components- The Leaders, The active members and the followers.

 

Q5. What are the characteristics of a political party?

Characteristics of a Political Party-

(i) A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. It has three components- The Leaders, The active members and the followers.

(ii) They agree on some policies and programmes for promoting the national interest. All parties try to persuade people why their policies are better than the others.

(iii) They seek to implement these policies/agenda by winning popular support through elections.

(iv) Political parties reflect a fundamental political division of a society.

(v) Parties are a part of the society, and thus, involve partnership.

 

Q6. A group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government is called a ________.

Ans. Political Party

 

Q7. Match List I (organisations and struggles) with List II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists:

List I	List II
1. Congress Party	A. National Democratic Alliance
2. Bhartiya Janata Party	B. State party
3. Communist Party of India (Marxist)	C. United Progressive Alliance
4. Telugu Desam Party	D. Left Front

 

	1	2	3	4
(a)	C	A	B	D
(b)	C	D	A	B
(c)	C	A	D	B
(d)	D	C	A	B

Ans. (c)

 

Q8. Who among the following is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party?

A. Kanshi Ram

B. Sahu Maharaj

C. B.R. Ambedkar

D. Jotiba Phule

Ans. (A) Kanshi Ram

 

Q9. What is the guiding philosophy of the Bharatiya Janata Party?

A. Bahujan Samaj

B. Revolutionary democracy

C. Integral humanism

D. Modernity

Ans. (D) Modernity

 

Q10. Consider the following statements on parties.

A. Political parties do not enjoy much trust among the people.

B. Parties are often rocked by scandals involving top party leaders.

C. Parties are not necessary to run governments.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) A, B, and C

(b) A and B

(c) B and C

(d) A and C

Ans. (b) A and B

 

Q11. Read the following passage and answer the questions given below:

Muhammad Yunus is a famous economist of Bangladesh. He received several international honours for his efforts to promote economic and social development for the benefit of the poor. He and the Grameen Bank he started jointly, received the Nobel Peace Prize for the 2006. In February 2007, he decided to launch a political party and contest in the parliamentary elections. His objective was to foster proper leadership, good governance and build a new Bangladesh. He felt that only a political party different from the traditional ones would bring about new political culture. His party would be democratic from the grassroots level.

The launching of the new party, called Nagarik Shakti (Citizens' Power), has caused a stir among the Bangladeshis. While many welcomed his decision, some did not like it. "Now I think Bangladesh will have a chance to choose between good and bad and eventually have a good government," said Shahedul Islam, a government official. "That government, we hope, would not only keep itself away from corruption but also make fighting corruption and black money a top priority."

But leaders of traditional political parties who dominated the country's politics for decades were apprehensive. "There was no debate (over him) winning the Nobel, but politics is different - very challenging and often controversial," said a senior leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Some others were highly critical. They asked why he was rushing into politics. "Is he being planted in politics by mentors from outside the country," asked one political observer.

i) Do you think Yunus made a right decision to float a new political party?

ii) Do you agree with the statements and fears expressed by various people?

iii) How do you want this new party organised to make it different from other parties?

iv) If you were the one to begin this political party, how would you defend it?

Ans. (i) Yes, Yunus made a right decision to float a political party and contest in the parliamentary elections and bring a change in the system.

(ii) It's a human tendency when a competitor comes in front of anybody, people look for excuses to quit the person out of the field. I agree with the statement of government official Shahedul Islam that was the launch of new party may change political culture of the country, but I do not agree with the view-point of a senior leader of the Bangladesh nationalist party he expressed his fear about the capability of Muhammad Yunus in the field of politics.

(iii) The new party should promote proper leadership, good governance and should be capable of bringing about new healthy political culture. Last but not least it should be democratic from the grassroots level. When people like Muhammad yunus established a political party, it will serve the purpose.

(iv) if I were one of them to begin this political party I would work from very grassroots level hi would bring about a totally new political culture more democratic and more transparent manner. I would try to develop direct interaction with the people living in the countryside and in town.

 

***********The End************

Click here for the CBSE class 10 Social Science notes

 If you have any doubt, feel free to write us in comment box

~Admin