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1. What is meant by a national political party? State the conditions required to be a national political party., Answer:, A national political party is a party that is present in several or all units of the federation. In other words, it is a country-wide party. It has its uni|s in various states. By and large, all these units follow the same policies. The following are the conditions required for a party to become a national party., A party has to secure at least six percent of total votes polled in the Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states., It has to win at least four seats in the Lok Sabha to be recognised as a national party, 2.’ Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be part of one or the other national-level coalition.’ Support the statement with arguments, Answer:, Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be 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 of federalism and democracy, and thus bringing diversity in the parliament., 3. What is meant by a regional party? State the conditions required to be recognised as a regional political party., Answer:, A regional party, also called a state party, is a political party which takes care of regional concerns and state’s interests only. It happens to have succeeded only in some states units of the federation., The following are the conditions required for a party to be recognised as a regional party., A party has to secure at least six per cent of the total votes polled in the election to the legislative assembly of a state., It has to win at least two seats in the election to the legislative assembly of . a state to be recognised as a state or regional party., 4. Analyse the three components of a political party., Answer:, The following are the three elements of a political party., The leaders: The leaders contest elections and, if they win, perform the administrative jobs., The active members: The active members attend party meetings and are close to the party leaders. They can be called the assistants of the leaders., The followers: The followers are the dedicated workers of the party. They work under the able guidance of the active members., 5. State any two points of ideology of Bhartiya Janata Party., Answer:The ideology of Bhartiya Janata Party is as follows., It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India., It wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values., It wants a uniform civil code for all people living in the country, irrespective of religion., It wants religious conversions to be banned in India., 6. No party system is ideal for all countries and all situations. This statement can be justified giving the following arguments., A one-party system cannot be considered a good option because the voters do not have any choice and it is not a democratic option., A two-party system cannot be considered ideal for a country because in this system, power usually shifts from one party to the other. Several other parties with better programmes and policies may exist, contest elections and win a few seats, but only the two party have serious chance of forming government., A multiparty system also cannot be considered a good option because it often appears messy and leads to political instability. In this system the government is formed by various parties and ideologies coming together which may further raise issues and conflicts., 7.’ Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.’ Analyse the statement with examples., Answer:, In a democratic set-up, political parties are required because without political parties:, every candidate in the elections will be independent. No promises could be made and the utility of the government formed will remain uncertain., no one will be responsible for running the country. Elected representatives, will only be accountable to their constituency, there will be no agency to gather and present different views on various issues to the government., no one will be responsible for bringing various representatives together so as to form a responsible government., there will be no mechanism to support the government, make policies and justify or oppose them., 8. Suggest and explain any five measures to reform political parties., Answer:, The following reforms could be suggested in order to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well., 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., State funding: There should be state funding of elections. The government should give money to parties to support their election expenses to avoid corruption., Pressure of public opinion: Political parties can be reformed if people put pressure on them. This can be done through petitions, propaganda and agitations. Pressure groups and media play an important role in this., 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., 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.If the above-mentioned suggestions are taken into consideration, it can be ensured that these could lead to some improvement in the working of the political parties., 9. What is a multiparty system? Why has India adopted a multiparty system? Explain, Answer:, A multiparty system is a political system in which several parties contest the election to hold political power. In this system, there is a chance of two or more parties coming to power. This system also advocates coalition government and alliance politics.India adopted a multiparty system because of the following reasons., India is blessed with tremendous social and geographical diversity. This diversity cannot be easily accommodated in one or two political parties., Because of multiparty system, variety of interests and opinions enjoy political representation., 10. Describe any five major functions of political parties, Answer:, The following are the various functions political parties perform in a democracy., Contest elections: Parties contest elections. In countries like India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections., Putforward policies and programmes: Parties put forward different policies and programmes and voters choose from them. Political parties accommodate different views and opinions., Play an important role in making laws: Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. 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 opinions., Form and run government: To run the government, political parties prepare a council of ministers by recruiting and training the leaders., Provide access to government machinery and welfare schemes: Political parties provide people 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., 11.Name the national political party which gets inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values. Mention four features of that party., Answer:, Bharatiya Janata Party gets its inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values. Four features of Bharatiya Janata Party are as follows., It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India., It wants a uniform civil code for all people living in the country, irrespective of religion., It wants a ban on religious conversions., Hindutva or cultural nationalism is an important element in its conception of politics., 12. the national political party which espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities. Mention any four features of that party., Answer:, National Congress Party, formed in 1999, espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities. Four features of this party are as follows:, It wants high offices in the government to be confined to natural-born citizens of the country., It stands for social justice, federalism and equity., It is a major party in Maharashtra with a significant presence in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam., In Maharashtra, it is a coalition partner in alliance with the Congress., It is a member of the United Progressive Alliance since 2004., 13.Name the national political party which draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj. Mention any four features of that party., Answer:, The national political party which draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj is Bahujan Samaj Party.Four features of this party are as follows., It wants to secure the interest and welfare of the dalits and oppressed classes., It seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan samaj which includes dalits, adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities., It draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Mahatma Phule, Periyar, Ramaswami Naicker and Dr Ambedkar., Its main base is in Uttar Pradesh.
