Political Parties Important Questions | Class 10 Social Science

Political Parties Important Questions 

Below are some of the very important NCERT Class 10 Social Science Unit 3 Chapter 6 Political Parties Important Questions. These Class 10 Political Parties Important Questions have been prepared by expert teachers and subject experts based on the latest syllabus and pattern of term 2. Questions with Answers to help students understand the concept.

These Questions for Class 10 Social Science Political Parties Important Questions  with answers are very important for the latest CBSE term 2 pattern. These class 10 notes,  Q and A are very important for students who want to score high in CBSE Board.

We have put together these NCERT  Questions of Class 10 Social Science unit 3 chapter 6 Political Parties Important Questions for practice on a regular basis to score high in exams. Refer to these Questions with Answers here along with a detailed explanation.

Short Answer (SA)Type Questions     

1. Explain the three components of ‘political party’.

2. What is the role of the opposition party in a democracy?    (CBSE 2020)

3. Give any two merits and demerits of a one-party system.

 4. State any two advantages of the multi-party system.  In what way is an alliance different from a coalition   government? 

5. Why has India adopted a Multi-party system? Explain.    (CBSE 2015)

6. Write a short note on Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).

7. When was the Communist Party of India (Marxist)  formed? Mention the ideologies of the party.

8. What do you know about Communist Party of India?

9. How are political parties recognised as regional and national parties in India. Explain with examples.

10. “Nearly every one of the state partes wants to get  an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition.” Support this statement with arguments.  

11. What is the difference between national  and regional parties? (CBSE 2020) 

12. How do money and muscle power play an important role in elections? Explain.

13. Is it true that meaningful choice is not given to the voters? Discuss.

14. What is meant by ‘defection’ in democracy? Explain.    (CBSE 2014)

Long Answer (LA) Type Questions 

1 . Describe any five functions of political party. (CBSE 2020)

Or Describe the role of political parties in modern  democracy.    (CBSE 2020) 

2. Define the two party system. Explain its advantages and disadvantages. (CBSE 2019)

3. “Political parties are necessary  for democracy.” Justify the statement.

Or What is the necessity of a political party for a democracy? (CBSE 2015, 2019) 

4. Describe any five features of Bharatiya Janata party

5. Identify and list the symbols of the following political parties with their states. (CBSE 2019)

(i) Shiromani Akali Dal (ii) Samajwadi Party

(iii) AIADMK

(iv) All India Trinamool Congress 

(v) Rashtriya Janata Dal

6. Define ‘Political Party’. Describe any four main challenges faced by the Indian political parties. (CBSE 2020)

7. Describe the efforts to reform political parties in India.    (CBSE 2020) 

Case Based Questions 

1. Read the cases/sources and answer the following  questions. 

Source A Dissatisfaction with Political Parties

Political parties need to face and overcome these  challenges in order to retain effective instruments of democracy. The first challenge is lack of internal  democracy Within parties,

All over the world therc 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 organizational meetings and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside  the party. 

(i) Evaluate the reasons for lack of internal   democracy within political parties. 

Source B Dynastic Succession Money and Muscle Power

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. 

Those  who happen to be the leaders are in a position of   unfair advantage to favor people close to them or even their family members. In many parties, the  top positions are always controlled by members of one family. 

(ii) To what extent does dynastic succession control democracy? 

Source C Minimal Choice for Voters

The fourth challenge is thal very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In order to offer meaningful parties they must be significantly different. In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world.

For example, the differences between the Labour Party  and the Conservative Party in Britain is very little. They agree on more fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how policies are to be framed and  implemented. 

(iii) To what extent political parties are different in our  country? 

2. Read the case/source given and answer the following questions.

Muhammad Yunus is a famous economist of Bangladesh. He received several International honors for his efforts to promote economic and social  development for the benefit of the poor. He and the  Grameen Bank jointly received the Nobel  Peace Prize for the year 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 Nagrik 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.    (NCERT)

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

(ii) How do you want this new party organized to make it different from other parties?

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

Answers

Ans. 1

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the governments.   

The three components 

(i) The leaders. Political party have some prominent leaders who formulate policies and programmes of the party and choose candidates for contesting elections.

(ii) The active members They are involved in different committees of the party and participate directly in the activity

(iii) The Followers They believe in the party’s ideology and support the party by casting their votes in favor of the party at the time of the elections.

Ans. 2

Theopposition party plays a very important role in democracy as 

  • It acts as a pressure group it mobilizes the government 
  • It keeps a check on the working on the ruling party 
  • It puts different views in the Parliament and criticize the government for its failure wrong policies 
  • It watches over the ruling party to prevent the government from being authoritarian and restrict its power 
  • It also have the right to audit in the government spending 
  • The opposition parties outside the legislature draw media attention and published their criticism of government policies in the newspaper

Ans. 3

Merits of one-party system are

(i) Strong and Stable Government Since there is no opposition party, the government is strong and cannot be removed or voted out of power.

(ii) Less Expensive Since there is only one party and one candidate of the party, not much money is spent on  the election.

Demerits of one-party system are

(i) Undemocratic Government can become dictatorial. 

(ii) No Choice It gives no choice to the voters.

Ans. 4

The advantages of multi-party system are 

(i) This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.

(ii) Under this system, the choice of the voter is not limited to two candidates only. It gives a voter enough scope to make intelligent choices.

In the following ways, alliance is different from coalition

AllianceCoalition Government
When several parties join Hans for the purpose of contesting elections it is called an Alliance or a front When no single party gets a majority in the election and the government is formed by two or more parties coming together it is referred to as a coalition government

Ans. 5

India adopted a multi party system because 

  • As India is a vast and diverse country the multi party system was needed to accommodate the vast population.
  • The social and geographical diversity of India could not be represented by two or three parties
  • The multi party system in India evolved over a long time depending on the nature of society, its social reason that divided its history of politics and its system of elections. 
  • Multi party system ensures a healthy competition between different parties and prevents dictatorship of a single party. The Indian constitution declared India a democratic country. Multi party system fulfilling the criteria and provides a chance for proper growth of the nation.

Ans. 6

Bahujan Salmi Party (BSP) was founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984. It seeks to represent Bahujan Samaj, which includes Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STS), OBCs and religious minorities.

It gets inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker  and BR Ambedkar. 

It stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the dalits and oppressed people. It has its main base in Uttar Pradesh and substantial presence in neighboring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and  Punjab. 

Ans. 7

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) Party was formed in 1964. 

Ideologies of Communist Party of India (Marxist) are   

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

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

The party is critical of the new economic policies that  allow free flow of foreign capital and goods into the country.

Ans. 8 

The Communist Party of India (CPI) was formed in 1925   and believes in Marxism, Leninism, Secularism and Democracy. It opposed the forces of secessionism and communalism. It accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interests of the working class,  farmers and the poor.

It became weak after the split in the party in 1964. That led to the formation of Communist Party of India (Marxist). It had significant presence in Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Its support base has gradually declined over the years.

Ans. 9

In India there are both National and Regional parties. The parties that are present in only one of the federal units are called regional or state parties. On the other hand parties that are present in several or all units of federation are known as national parties and the political parties are recognised as regional and national parties on the following basis. 

  • A party that secured at least 60% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state that wins at least two seats is recognised as a state or Regional party for example Janata then Telugu Desam Party.
  • A party that secures at least six percent of total vote in Lok Sabha elections for assembly elections in four states and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national party. For example Indian National Congress party Janata party etc.

Ans. 10

Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition because     

  • The members of the state party get a chance of being  included in the cabinet or the council of ministers.
  • State parties get an opportunity and a platform to express their views and ideology at the national level.   
  • It helps in strengthening federalism and democracy, and thus bringing diversity in the parliament.

Ans. 11

The differences between national and regional party are

National PartyReasonable Party
it influences the whole country It influences is Limited and regional based
It takes nationals and international issues it is interested in promoting regional state interest only
it has to secure at least 6% of the total votes in the Lok Sabha elections for assembly elections in four states and win at least four seats in the Lok Sabha It has to secure six percent of the total votes in the election to the Legislative Assembly of state and win at least two sets in the state assembly

Ans. 12

Money and nousele power play     important role in elections in the following ways

  • Role of money and power in parties especially during elections is growing. 

Parties tend to nominate those candidates  who have or can raise money.   

  • Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
  • In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections due to their power.

Ans. 13

Yes, it is true that meaningful choice is not given to voters as often political parties do not offer them. In order  to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly diflörent from each other. 

In recent years, there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world. In our country, the differences  among all the major parties on economic policies have reduced. 

Those who actually want different policies, have no option available to them. Sometimes, people can’t even elect very different leaders either because the same set of  leaders keep shifting from one party to another. 

Ans. 14

Defection in democracy is a political phenomenon. It means  moving a person from one party to another party for some personal benefit. It happens when a legislature, after having been elected from a particular party, leaves it and joins another party. 

Anti-Defection Law was formulated to prevent elected MLA’s and MP’s from changing parties. Now the law  states that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she  will lose a seat in the legislature. The new law has brought the percentage of defection down and has made dissent even more difficult.

Long Questions Answers 

Ans. 1

The functions and role of political parties in modern democracy are 

(i) Political parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.

(ii) Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for  our country by making debates and passing law for   people. 

(iii) Political parties form and run governments by recruiting leaders, training them and making them  ministers to run the government.

(iv) Political parties shape public opinion by raising and highlighting important issues.

(v) Political parties provide people access to government  machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. Parties have to be responsive to people’s needs and clelnancls otherwise people can reject those parties in the next elections.

Ans. 2

When two major parties exist in the country and the power generally changes between them (as in USA and England), the system is known as the two-party system.

Advantages of Two-Party system are 

  • It provides political stability to the country.  
  • This kind of party system discourages radical minor   parties. 
  • This kind of party system is better than a multi-party system as it is easier to govern.
  •  It is easier for voters to choose between only two political parties.

Disadvantages of a Two-Party system are 

  • Two-party systems offer limited options to the people.
  • This system creates inconsistent governing.
  • These systems do not effectively tackle the issues faced  by the minority or other sections of the society.

Ans. 3

Political parties are necessary as modern democracies cannot exist without political parties. Without existence of  parties, following situations may occur 

  • Every candidate in the elections will be independent. No one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.  
  • The government may be formed, but its utility will  remain ever uncertain. Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the   locality. But no one will be responsible for how the  country will be run.
  • The Panchayat elections are non-party based elections to the Panchayat in many states of India. Although the parties do not contest formally, it is generally noticed that the village gets split into more than one group, each of which puts up a panel of its candidates. This creates a need for the political party.
  • The rise of political parties is directly linked to the  emergence of representative democracies. As societies became large and complex, they needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
  • Society needs a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfill these needs of every representative government. 

Ans. 4

Bharatiya Janata Party was formed in 1980, This party has originated from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which was formed in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. 

The main features of this party are 

  • It wants to build a strong 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 BJP’s conception of Indian nationhood and politics. 
  • It has passed law for full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
  • It claims a uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion.
  • It wants to ban religious conversions. The party wants to get an anti-conversion law to stop religious conversion in the country.

Ans. 5

PARTYPLACESYMBOL
1. Shiromani Akali DalPunjabBalanced Scale
2. Samajwadi PartyUttar PradeshBicycle
3. AIDMKTamil NaduTwo leaves
4. All India Trinamool CongressWest BengalFlower And Grass
5. Rastriya Janta DalBiharLantern

Ans. 6

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

The four challenges faced by the Indian political parties are

(i) The first challenge is the lack of democracy within parties. All over the world, there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of powers in one or few leaders at the top.

Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organizational meetings and do not conduct internal elections regularly.

(ii) The second challenge is dynastic succession where the top positions of a party are always by members of one particular family. This trend is harmful for the members of the party as well as for democracy. This tendency is present in some measures all over the world.

(iii) The third challenge is about the growing role of money and hand muscle power in parties which is specially observed during elections. Rich people and companies who gives funds to the parties always remain on the policies and decisions of the party.

(iv) The fourth challenge is that usually parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters in our country. The differences among all the major parties on economic policies have reduced. Sometimes the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another so that you have no option available to them.

Ans. 7

The efforts that have been made to reform political parties in India are

  • The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties by introducing Anti Defection law. Defection is changing party allegiance from the party on which a person got elected to a different party. The law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties he will  lose the seat in the legislature. This new law has helped  bring defection down. 
  • The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the  influence at money and criminal. Now, it is mandatory for  every candidate who contests elections to file an amavit  giving details of his property and criminal cases pending  against him.  
  • The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational  elections and file their income tax returns.

Some effort that have to be made to reform political parties are

  • 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 its members to hold open elections to follow its own Constitution, etc.
  • It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third to women candidates.
  • There should be state fundings for elections. The government should give parties money to support their election expenses.

Case Based Answers

Ans 1

Ans. (i)

The reason for lack of internal democracy within political parties arise due to the concentration of power in one or few leaders in the party. As a result these leaders take all the important decisions regarding the party’s activity. Personal loyalty to these leaders became necessary for all the party workers.

Ans. (ii)

Dynastic succession controls democracy in the following ways  

  • Sometimes top positions in a political party are controlled by a family member of a particular family. Even the people who don’t have adequate experience and popular support become the leaders.
  • Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, etc.

This is not good for democracy and hampers the basic idea that citizens should be able to participate in decision making.

Ans. (iii)

In our country the difference among all major parties has  reduced remarkably. In economic field the different parties have little choice to differ. People even can not find a better candidate to vote for, as leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

Ans 2

Ans. (i) 

I agree with the statement of a government official, Shahedul Islam that the launch of the new party may change the political culture of the country. But I do not agree with the viewpoints of a senior leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. He expressed his fear about the capability of Muhammad Yunus in the field of politics.

(ii) I think, people like Muhammad Yunus when established a political party, it should be democratic from very grassroots level. This party should fight against corruption and the problem of black money in the country which dominated the country, as M.Yunus is a respected personality with a great vision.

(iii) If I were one of them to begin this political party, I would try to develop direct interaction with the people living in the countryside and in towns.  Regular meetings of the party members, seminars, workshops, etc would have been adopted to win the confidence of the people. I would bring about a totally new political culture, more democratic and  more transparent.  


Final Words

From the above article, you have practiced Class 10 Social Science unit 3 chapter 6 Political Parties Important Questions. We hope that the above-mentioned notes, Q & A for term 2 will surely help you in your exam. 

If you have any doubts or queries regarding Class 12 Social Science unit 3 chapter 6 Political Parties Important Questions feel free to reach us and we will get back to you as early as possible.

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