Class 10 Political Science Chapter 6, Political Parties, Notes and 15 Plus Q&A
Table of Contents
Overview
Here at Class 10 Political Science Chapter 6, Political Parties, we take a close look at the nature and working of political parties, especially in India. This article Political Parties ( Chapter 6, Political Science, Class 10) deals with questions like : Why do we need political Parties ? How many parties are good for a democracy? We will also take a close look at regional and national political parties operating in India and analyse their performance. This article has been written in question answer format which works best when studied in stages –
- First stage: First concentrate on the title of your chapter and imagine what things might be hidden here. This activity will create an interest in you for the topic.
- Second stage: Give a thorough reading of the questions and answers, which are woven here in such a fashion so as to maintain an hierarchy and orderliness. At this stage you should not take any stress. Just enjoy your reading by touching one question after another.
- Third stage: Try to establish links between questions. See how they are inter related. Try to focus on the keywords of a topic and try to reach its underlying meaning.
- Fourth stage: Now give another reading to each question and answer with a purpose to internalise it in your own way.
Image Credit : NCERT
Why Do We Need Political Parties?
Q.1. What is a political party? Discuss the characteristics of political parties.
Ans. A political party is a group of people, who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.
A party is known by which part of society it stands for, which policies it supports, and whose interests it upholds.
A political party agrees on some policies and programs for the society with a view to promote the collective good.
A political party tries to persuade people why their policies are better than other parties.
political parties seek to implement their policies by winning popular support through elections.
Q.2. How can you say that political parties involve partisanship ?
Ans. Political parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. They stand for a part of society (which supports its policies) and hence political parties involve partisanship.
Q.3. What are components of a political party?
Ans. A political party has three components:
1. the leaders, 2. the active members, 3. the followers.
Q.4. Write the major functions of political parties.
Ans. Political parties perform a series of functions as discussed below –
- Parties put up candidates to fight elections. In some countries like USA, members and supporters of a party choose its candidates. In India, top party leaders decide the candidates for contesting elections.
- Parties put forward their policies and programs and the voters express their choice through their votes.
- parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Members of legislative houses ultimately go by the directions of the party leadership in supporting a bill for making law.
- Big policy decisions are taken by political executives that come from political parties and become ministers in the government.
- The parties that loose elections, play the role of opposition to the parties in power by voicing their different views and criticising the government for its failure and wrong policies.
- Political parties shape public opinion by raising and highlighting issues through its activists, and their extended pressure groups, and even by launching movements.
- Political parties provide people, access to the government machinery and welfare schemes, through their party leaders. (Because it is more easy to reach a local party leader than a government officer.)
Q.5. Modern democracies can not exist without political parties. Why ?
Ans. Modern democracies can not exist without political parties, because if there is no political party , every candidate in the election will be independent. So no one will be able to make any promise to the people about any major policy change at country or state level. Thus, government will form but its utility will remain uncertain.
Such elected representatives, who don’t belong to any political party, will remain accountable to their constituency, but will not be responsible for how the country will be run.
Even we see at the time of Panchayat elections, where there is no political party, the village gets split in to more than one faction. Each of these factions puts up a panel of candidates. This exactly what a party does.
Thus, we can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy. That’s why we find political parties in almost all countries of the world.
Q.6. Explain the causes of the birth of the political parties.
Ans. As societies became large and complex, following needs were realised :
- Societies needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.
- Societies needed some ways to bring various peoples’ representative together so that a responsible government be formed.
- Societies needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them.
political parties fulfill all these needs and hence they exist in almost all societies and countries of the world. Political parties do exist in almost all representative democracies of the world.
How Many Parties Should We Have?
Note: In a democracy, any group of citizen is free to form a party.
Note: More than 750 parties are registered with Election Commission of India.
Note: Usually only a handful of registered major parties are serious contenders in the race of making government by winning elections.
Q.7. What do you know about One Party System? Is it good for democracy ?
Ans. In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called “One party System.” For example, in China, there is only one party named Communist Party of China, which is allowed to rule.
One Party System is not a good system for democracy. Any democratic system must allow at least two parties to compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come in power.
Q.8. What is Two Party System?
Ans. In some countries , power usually changes between two main parties. Several other parties may exist, contest elections, and win a few seats in the national legislatures. But only the two major parties have a serious chance of forming government.
Such a system is called Two Party System. Example – USA and UK.
Q.9. What do you mean by Multi Party System ?
Ans. If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have reasonable chance of coming to the power (either on its own or in alliance with other parties), we call it a Multi Party System. For example – India.
In this system usually coalition governments are formed by coming together of various like minded parties.
Multi Party System often appears very messy and leads to political instability but at the same time allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
Q.10 What is called alliance or front ?
Ans. When several parties in a Multi Party System, join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called alliance or front. For example in India, there were three major alliances in year 2004 –
- National Democratic Alliance (NDA}
- United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
- Left Front (LF)
Q.11 Which party system (One Party, Two Party, or Multi Party) is better for the countries of the world?
Ans. Party system is not something, any country can choose. It evolves over a long time depending upon :
- nature of its society
- its social and regional divisions
- its history of politics
- its system of elections.
These factors can not be changed very quickly. Hence, each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances. For example, India has evolved a multi party system because of its vast social geographical diversity which is best represented in multi party system.
Hence, no system is ideal for all countries and all situations. Party system evolves in its own way.
Q.12. It is often said that political parties are facing a crisis because they are very unpopular and the citizens are indifferent to political parties. What do you think about it?
Ans. The available evidence based on a large sample survey ( Source : SDSA) shows that this belief is only partly true for India.
Political parties do not enjoy much trust among people in South Asia. Also, the political parties are one of the least trusted institutions all over the world.
The level of participation in the activities of political parties is fairly high in India.
The proportion of people who feel close to a political party has gone up in India.
National Parties.
Note : Democracies that follow a federal system, all over the world, tend to have two kinds of political parties- (1) National Parties, (2) State / Provincial Parties.
Note : In India, every party has to register with the Election Commission of India ( EC ).
Note : Large and established parties are given unique symbol by the Election Commission of India (EC). These parties are also called recognised political parties.
Q.!3. What is called a State Party (or, Regional Party )?
Ans. A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least two seats, is recognised as a State ( or Regional ) Party.
Note :
- State parties are also referred to as Regional Parties.
- State Parties that have gained the recognition of National Parties are – Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal.
- Some State Parties are conscious about their state identity. These are – Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim National Front, Mizo National Front, Telangana Rashtra Samiti.
Q.14. What is called a National Party ?
Ans. A party that either secures at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or, gets at least 6% of total votes in State Assembly elections in 4 states, and wins at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha, is recognised as a National Party.
Based on this criteria, there were 7 recognised National Parties in the country in year 2018.
NOTE : Details of seven recognised national parties in year 2018, are as follows :
| Party Name | All India Trinmool Congress (AITC) |
| Launched on | 1st January, 1998 |
| Early Leadership | Mamta Banerjee |
| Presence in states | WB, Arunachal P. , Manipur, Tripura |
| Other Details | Committed to : Secularism and Federalism Recognised as National Party in : 2016 Has been in power in WB since : 2011 4th largest National Party. Seeks to represent : Dalit, Adivasi, OBC, Religious minority. |
| Party Name | Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) |
| Launched on | 1984 |
| Early Leadership | Kanshi Ram |
| Presence in states | Main base: UP Presence in : MP, Chhatis Garh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Punjab. |
| Other Details | Seeks to represent : Dalit, Adivasi, OBC, Religious minority. Seeks inspiration from : Sahu Mahraj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naykar, Dr. Ambedkar. |
| Party Name | Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) |
| Launched on | Founded in 1980 (By reviving Bhartiya Jana Sangh, which was formed by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951.) |
| Early Leadership | |
| Presence in states | Earlier limited to : N. India, W. India, Urban areas. Now expanded in to : South, East, North- East, and Rural India. |
| Other Details | Seeks inspiration from : (1) India’s ancient culture and values, (2) Deen Dayal Upadhyay”s ideas of Internal Humanism and Antyodaya, (3) Cultural Nationalism ( or Hinduttva) Wants : (1) Full integration of J&K with India, (2) Uniform Civil Code for all citizens irrespective of religion. (3) Ban on religious conversions. Emerged as largest party with 282 members in 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Currently (2024) Leads : National Democratic alliance (NDA). |
| Party Name | Communist Party of India (CPI) |
| Launched on | 1964 |
| Early Leadership | |
| Presence in states | Strong presence in : Kerala, WB, Punjab, Andhra p. Tamil Nadu. |
| Other Details | Believes in : Marxism – Leninism, secularism, democracy Exposed to the forces of : secessionism, communalism. Aims at : using parliamentary democracy for promoting the interest of working class, farmers, and the poor. Its support base has declined over the years. Advocates : coming together of all left parties to build a strong Left Front. |
| Party Name | CPI (M) |
| Launched on | 1964 |
| Early Leadership | |
| Presence in states | Main base : WB, Kerala, Tripura (It was in power in WB without break for 34 years.) |
| Other Details | Aims at : Using democracy for securing socio economic justice in India for poor, workers, agricultural labourers, and intelligentsia. Critical of : New Economic Policy that allow free flow of foreign goods in to the country. |
| Party Name | Indian National Congress ( popularly known as Congress Party) |
| Launched on | 1885 (one of the oldest parties of the world) Experienced many splits. |
| Early Leadership | J.L. Nehru (After 1947) |
| Presence in states | Dominant role in Indian politics at national and state level for several decades after independence of India in 1947. Presence : through out the country cutting across the social divisions. |
| Other Details | Seeks to : build India a modern, secular, democratic republic, along with welfare of weaker section and minorities. Ideology : centrist. Supports : New economic reforms with human face. Leads : I.N.D.I.Alliance since 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Ruled centre : up to 1977, and again during 1980-1989. |
| Party Name | Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) |
| Launched on | 1999 (following the split in congress party.) |
| Early Leadership | Sharad Pavar |
| Presence in states | Main base : Maharastra Presence in : Meghalaya, Manipur, Assam. |
| Other Details | Believes in : Democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice, federalism. Wants : High offices of the government be confined to natural born citizens of India. Has been : a coalition member of former UPA and present I.N.D. I. Alliance. |
Q.15. Why national parties in India are compelled to form alliance ? Has this strengthened federalism and democracy in India ?
Ans. Over the last three decades, number and strength of state parties has expanded. This has made Indian parliament more and more diverse.
No one national party was able to secure on its own a majority in the Lok Sabha, until 2014. As a result, the national parties are compelled to form alliances with state parties.
Since 1996, nearly everyone of the state parties has got an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition government.
We can conclude that this emerging trend has, in a way, contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country. It gives recognition to the regional voices in the working of the government.
Challenges to Political Parties.
Note : Since political parties are the most visible faces of democracy, it is natural that , people blame parties for whatever is wrong with the working of democracy.
Q.16. What are the major challenges that the political parties face and need to overcome ?
Ans. Political parties are the major instrument of democracy. Major challenges that political parties need to overcome are as follows :
- Lack of internal democracy within the parties : Parties don’t keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings and don’t conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members have little access in decision making process. As a result, there is concentration of power in one or few top leaders of the party. Thus instead of loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the powerful leader becomes more important.
- Increasing trend of dynastic succession : This problem is very much related to the challenge of lack of internal democracy in the party. Top party leaders are in position of unfair advantage. They always favour people close to them or their family members and put them in key positions. Ordinary worker, thus, hardly has fair chance to rise to the top positions in the party.
- Growing role of money and muscle power in parties: Since parties are focused only on winning elections, they tend to nominate those candidates who have money power. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections. These short cuts to win elections is against the spirit of democracy.
- Parties fail in offering meaningful choice to voters : Parties have hardly any difference in their stand on various issues. This limits the choice for voters. For example, in our country differences among all major parties on economic policies have reduced. The choice before voters further gets limited when we see that same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.
Note:
Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics.
Q. 17. What are some recent efforts and suggestions in our country to reform political parties and its leadership?
Ans. Efforts made to reform political parties are as follows :
- A new law has been passed which says that if any MP or MLA changes his party, he or she will loose the seat in the legislature. This has brought defection cases down.
- As per Supreme Court order, it is now mandatory for every candidate to file an affidavit, giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him.
- Election Commission (EC) has made it mandatory for political parties to hold their organisational elections and to file their income tax returns.
Important suggestions to bring reform in political parties are as follows:
- A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of the political parties.
- It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets to women candidates.
- There should be quota for women in decision making body of the party.
- There should be state funding of elections.
- Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and movements along with media, can play an important role in pressurising political parties, to start reforming themselves.
- More ordinary people entering politics by joining some political party, may improve the quality of functions performed by a political party.
Note :
The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation. It is difficult to reform policies if ordinary citizens don’t take part in it and simply criticise from outside.
Important Terms :
Partisan : A person, who is strongly committed to a party group or faction. (Partisanship is marked by a tendency to take a side and inability to take a balanced view on the issue.)
Defection : It is act of changing party allegiance from the party on which a person got elected, to a different party.
Affidavit : It is a signed document in which a person makes a sworn statement about his personal information, that can be used as evidence in the court of law.
