CBSE Class 10 Civics Extra Questions Political Parties Chapter 6

Political parties have an essential role in the rise of democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics and the making and working of governments. Chapter 6 of CBSE Class 10 Political Science starts by dealing with questions like Why do we need parties? How many parties are suitable for democracy? It goes on to discuss the national and regional political parties in today’s India followed by what is wrong with political parties and what can be done about it. We, at cbseinsights.com, have devised CBSE Class-10 Civics Extra-Questions Political-Parties in order to help the students . Students will find the questions relevant, important and prepare proficiently for the exams.

Political Parties Very short answer type Questions

Q 1. To which state is Trinomial Congress connected?
Ans. Trinomial Congress is connected with the state of West Bengal.

Q 2. Name the alliance formed by Congress Party.
Ans. The alliance formed by the Congress Party is the United Progressive.

Q 3. What is the guiding philosophy of the Bhartiya Janta Party?

Ans. The guiding philosophy of the Bhartiya Janta Party is to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values.

Q 4. When was the Communist Party of India (CPI) formed?
Ans. The Communist Party of India was formed in 1925.

Q 5. When was Indian National Congress founded?
Ans. Indian National Congress was founded in 1885.

Q 6. Who is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party?

Ans. Kanshi Ram.

Q 7. What are the facilities offered by the Election Commission to a recognized political party?

Ans. The Election Commission provides for a unique symbol to a recognized party — only the official candidates of that party can use that election symbol.

Political Parties Very Short Answer type Questions

Q 8. Name the oldest recognized political party in India.
Ans. Indian National Congress

Q 9. What is meant by offering meaningful choice to the voters by political parties?
Ans. In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly ideologically different.

Q 10. How do money and muscle power play an important role in elections explain?

Ans.  (1) There is a great challenge about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections.

(2) Since parties are focused only on winning elections, they tend to use short-cuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money.

(3) Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have an influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.

Q 11. What is state funding of elections?

Ans.  The government should give parties money to support their election expenses. The government can also support the political parties in kind: petrol, paper, telephone, etc. and cash to some extent.

Q 12. Explain the meaning of defection.

Ans.  Changing party allegiance from the party on which a person got elected (to a legislative body) to a different party.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 13. Suggest any five measures to reform the financial position of political parties in India.

Ans. (1) It should be mandatory for a political party to submit its audited annual financial statement.
(2) It is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to show an affidavit giving details of his/her property and criminal cases pending against him.
(3) There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support their election expenses.
(4) The financial accounts of every political party should be made public. These accounts should be examined by government auditors.
(5) Citizens should be encouraged to give more donations to parties and to political workers. Such donations should be exempted from Income Tax thereby reducing the importance of big business houses in politics.

Q 14. Name any one political party that has national-level political organization but is not recognized as the national political party.

Ans. Samajwadi Party, Samta Party, and Rashtriya Janata Dal are examples of the parties that have national-level political organizations but are not recognized as national political parties.

Q 15. Why did India adopt a multi-party system?

Ans. India adopted a multi-party system because of its social and geographical diversity. In such a diverse country, two or even three parties cannot absorb all the differences.

Q 16. What is meant by a national political party? State the conditions required to be a national political party.

Ans.  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 units 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 and it has to win at least four seats in the Lok Sabha to be recognized as a national party.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 17. ‘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.

Ans. 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 federalism and democracy, and thus bringing diversity to the parliament.

Q 18. What is meant by a regional party? State the conditions required to be recognized as a regional political party.

Ans. A regional party also known as a state party is a political party that takes care of regional concerns and state’s interests only. It happens to have succeeded only in some state’s units of the federation.
The following are the conditions required for a party to be recognized as a regional party.
A party has to secure at least six percent of the total votes polled in the election to the legislative assembly of a state and it has to win at least two seats in the election to the legislative assembly of a state to be recognized as a state or regional party.

Q 19. Which three challenges do you feel are being faced by political parties in India? Give your opinion.

Ans.   As political parties are the essence of democracy, it is natural that they are often blamed for the failure of any policy or the working of democracy.

Mostly, political parties face the following challenges in their working area. Lack of internal democracy: Political parties face the problem of internal democracy, which implies that: parties do not hold organizational meetings. They do not conduct regular internal elections. Membership of the party members is not fairly registered. All the members, except top leaders, are not included in the decision-making process.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

• Dynastic succession:
  Another challenge is that in most of the political parties, the top posts are always controlled by the members of one family, which is very unfair to other members.
  Since open and transparent functioning is lacking, there are very few chances for an ordinary worker to rise to the top.
  
  
• Money and muscle power: The third challenge is the growing role of money and muscle power.
  Nowadays, elections are focused mainly on winning at any cost, so parties try to use short-cuts like using money and muscle power.
  They try to select or nominate those candidates who can raise money or provide muscle power.
  Sometimes, wealthy people and big companies also get involved in the democratic politics for their own interest and try to influence the decision-making process.
  In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.
  
  
• Absence of a meaningful choice:
  In the present political scenario, there is no ideological difference among the political parties, so they do not provide a meaningful choice to voters. Those voters, who really want a change in the government and its policies, never get any positive option. For instance, in India, where we have multi-party system, the differences between the parties over the economic matters have reduced.
  Also, people cannot even elect different leaders because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

Q 20.  Analyze the three components of a political party.
Ans.   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.

Political Parties important extra questions updated 2021-22

Q 21. ‘No party system is ideal for all countries and all situations.’ Justify the statement with arguments.

Ans. No party system is ideal for all countries and all situations. This statement can be justified by 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 programs and policies may exist, contest elections and win a few seats, but only the two-party has a serious chance of forming a 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.

Q 22. Suggest and explain any five measures to reform political parties.

Ans.  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.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 23.  Examine any two institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties and their leaders.

Ans.   The following are the two institutional amendments made by different institutions to reform political parties and their leaders.
Anti-defection law: The anti-defection law was passed to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing their parties. It was seen that many MLAs and MPs were changing their parties for personal gains. Now, according to the law, if any MLA or MP changes his/her party, his/her seat in the legislature will be lost. Also, MLAs and MPs have to accept whatever the party leaders decide.

Affidavit: To reduce the influence of money and muscle power (criminals), an order has been passed by the Supreme Court making it mandatory for every candidate contesting election to file an affidavit giving details of his/her property and criminal records. This system has helped in making a lot of information available to the public. But, we cannot say that this amendment has been successful as it cannot be said that information provided by the candidates is true.

Mandatory organizational meeting and filing of ITR: An order has been passed by the Election Commission making it mandatory for political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their income tax returns. The parties have started doing this, but sometimes it is only a formality. It is not clear if this step has brought some reform or not.

Q 24. If all the decisions of a political party are made by a single-family and all other members are neglected, than what challenge is being faced by that party?

Ans.   If all the decisions of a political party are made by a single family and all other members are neglected, then the party faces the challenge of dynastic succession.

Q 25. Name any two regional parties of West Bengal.
Ans.   Two regional parties of West Bengal are:

1. Trinamool Congress
2. Revolutionary Socialist Party

Q 26. Why do political parties involve partisanship?

Ans.  Political parties involve partisanship because they are part of the society and reflects the fundamental political divisions in a society. They are known by the part they stand for, policies they support and interests of the society they uphold.

Political Parties important questions for CBSE boards updated 2021

Q 27. What is the requirement laid down by the Election Commission for a political party to be recognized as a state party?

Ans.  The party that secures at least six per cent of total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least two seats is recognised as a state party.

Q 28. What is the guiding philosophy of Bharatiya Janta Party?

Ans.   The guiding philosophy of Bharatiya Janta Party is to modernise India on the basis of Indian traditions and cultural values, Wants full territorial and political integration of J&K with India and the promotion of a uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of Religion and ban on religious conversions.

Q 29. ‘Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to political parties all over the world.’ Analyse the statement,

Ans.  Lack of internal democracy within political parties is a major challenge to political parties all over the world. This statement can be analysed giving the following reasons.
It is a tendency among political parties to concentrate power in the hands of one or few top leaders.
Parties do not often keep membership registers and do not hold organisational meetings and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Sufficient information on what happens inside the party is not provided to the ordinary members of the party. In such a situation, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 30. ‘Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties.’ Analyse the statement.

Ans.  The challenge of dynastic succession is undoubtedly one of the most serious challenges before the political parties. One can analyze the situation by giving the following arguments:-

• 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.
• Top leaders favor people close to them or even their family members. In many parties, members of one family control the top positions.
• This is bad for democracy because people without sufficient experience or popular support are able to enjoy positions of power.

Q 31. How do money and muscle power play an important role in elections? Explain.

Ans.   Nowadays elections parties focus mainly on winning at any cost so they try to use short-cuts like money and muscle power. They try to select or nominate those candidates who can raise money or provide muscle power. Sometimes, wealthy people and big companies set up ties with democratic politics for their own interest and influence the decision-making process. In many cases, candidates with criminal records, who can win elections are supported.

Q 32. Describe any three main features of a two-party system

Ans.  Three main features of a two-party system are as follows:-

• Power usually changes between two parties, while other political parties may exist.
• The party that wins the majority forms the government, while the other forms the major opposition.
• Decision-making and implementation is prompt and quick. Such a system gives a strong and good opposition.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 33. Describe any five major functions of political parties

Ans.  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.
• Put forward 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, there are debates and deliberations in order to pass the laws, 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.
• Play the role of position: The party which loses election plays the role of opposition. Opposition party tries to put checks on the ruling party by constantly criticizing its policies
• Shape public opinion: One of the most important functions of political parties is that they shape public opinion on relevant issues for the proper functioning of the government and to deepen the concept of democracy.

Q 34.   State the conditions laid down by the Election Commission to recognise a state party and a national party.

Ans.    A party that secures at least six percent of the total votes in an election to the legislative assembly of a state and wins at least two seats qualifies to be a state party.

A party that secures at least six percent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha qualifies to be a national party.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 35.   Name the six national political parties of India in chronological order.

Ans.     The following are the six national political parties of India in chronological order.

1. Indian National Congress (1885) .      
2.    Communist Party of India (1925)
3. Communist Party of India-Marxist (1964)                            
4. Bhartiya Janta Party (1980)
5. Bahujan Samaj Party (1984)                                                    
6. National Congress Party (1999)

Q 36. Name any three national political parties along with their symbols.

Ans.   Indian National Congress—Symbol:- hand, palm facing the people

Bhartiya Janta Party—Symbol:- A lotus

Bahujan Samaj Party—Symbol:- An elephant

Q 37. Name any six regional political parties of the four southern states of India.

Ans.  The four southern states with regional political parties are as follows.

• Kerala: Indian Federal Democratic Party and Kerala Congress (Mani)
• Tamil Nadu: All India Anna DMK and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
• Andhra Pradesh: Telegu Desam Party
• Karnataka: Janata Dal (Secular)

Political Parties Long Answer Type Questions……

Q 38. Name the regional political parties predominant in Punjab, Haryana and Uttarakhand respectively with their symbols.

Ans.  The regional political parties predominant in:

Punjab—Shiromani Akali Dal . Symbol:- Scales
Haryana—Indian National Lok Dal .  Symbol:- A pair of spectacles
Uttarakhand—Uttarakhand Kranti Dal.  Symbol:- Chair

Q 39. Name the regional political parties predominant in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Orissa, respectively with their symbols.

Ans.  The regional political parties predominant in:
Jharkhand—Jharkhand Mukti Morcha . Symbol:- bow and arrow
Maharashtra—Shiv Sena, Symbol:- bow and arrow
Orissa—Biju Janata Dal, Symbol:- conch

Q 40. Name the regional political parties predominant in Sikkim, Nagaland and Manipur, respectively with their symbols.

Ans.  The regional political parties predominant in:
Sikkim—Sikkim Democratic Front . Symbol:-  An umbrella
Nagaland—Nagaland People’s Front . Symbol:-  A coc
Manipur—Manipur People’s Party .  Symbol:-  A cycle

Class 10 Very important extra questions updated 2021

Q 41. How is dynastic succession a major challenge for political parties in India? Explain.

Ans.  The challenge of dynastic succession is undoubtedly a major challenge for political parties in India. The following points explain this. Usually, an ordinary worker does not rise to the top positions in a party because the functioning of most political parties is not transparent. Most of the top leaders favor and choose members of their families. This is unfair to other members. The members of one family mostly control the top positions in the party. This is unhealthy for democracy. People who are at top levels usually do not have adequate experience, education or popular support. The challenge of dynastic succession is related to the challenge of lack of internal democracy. Non-deserving leaders exercise paramount power and make decisions. Those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party.

Q 42.  Name the national political party which draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj. Mention any four features of that party.

Ans.    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:-

• Bahujan Samaj Party 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. Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
• Its main base is in Uttar Pradesh.

Political Parties Long Answer Type Questions……

Q 43. How do political parties shape public opinion? Explain with three examples.

Ans.   Political parties shape public opinion in the following ways.

• They highlight and raise issues. Parties have lakhs of members spread all over the country.
• Often pressure groups are an extension of political parties, among different sections of the society.
• They help in taking up issues and forming public opinion.
• Sometimes, parties launch movements for solving the problems faced by people. Often the public opinion develops on the same lines that the parties take.

Q 45. How do state or regional political parties contribute in strengthening federalism and democracy in India? Explain with examples.

Ans.  State and regional political parties contribute in strengthening federalism and democracy in India in the following ways.

•  State and regional political parties provide a variety of choice to people as each of them has different agendas and focus on different issues.
• They provide a platform for different pressure and social groups, and communities to put forward their demands.
• They help in power sharing by sharing power of government with the help of coalition government.

Political Parties Long Answer Type Questions……

Q 46. What is meant by two-party system? Explain its two advantages and two disadvantages.

Ans.  (1) It is a party system in which 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 main parties have a serious chance of winning a majority of seats to form a government. Such
a party system forms two-party system. The United States of America and the United Kingdom
are examples of two-party systems.
 Advantages of Two-Party System:-

(a) The system leads to political stability in the country.
(b) The electorate has a very clear choice before them.

(c) It is easier to secure balance in the political system.
(d) Opposition behaves in a more responsible and dignified manner.

Disadvantages of Two Party System:-

(a) In the system, cabinet becomes somewhat despotic in nature.
(b) The system lacks variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
(c) There is no choice of alternative ideologies and policies in this system.

Q 47. Which ‘National Political Party’ draws inspiration from the teachings of Mahatma Phyla? Write any four points related to its policy.

Ans.  (1) Bahaman Same Party draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaja, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ram swami Naicker and Baba Saheb Ambedkar.
 The following are the main policies of the party:
(i)  Seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan samaj which includes the Dalits and the oppressed.
(ii) Stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the Dalits and oppressed people.

(iii) To work as a revolutionary social and economic movement of change with a view to realizing the  supreme principles of universal justice, liberty, equality and fraternity enunciated in the Constitution of India
(iv) To instill consciousness among not only the Dalits, but also among those belonging to other backward groups.

Class 10 Very important extra questions updated 2021

Q 48. “Lack of internal democracy within parties is a challenge to political parties.” Explain.

Ans.  (1) There is the concentration of power in the hands of one or few leaders at the top.
(2) Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organizational meetings and do not conduct internal elections regularly.
(3) Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party.

(4) They do not have means or the contacts needed to influence the decisions.
(5) As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.
(6) Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership, find it difficult to continue in the party.
(7) More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

Q 49. ‘About hundred years ago there were few countries that had hardly any political party. Now there are few countries that do not have political parties.’ Examine the statement.

Ans.  The statement has two parts.

About a hundred years ago, there were few countries that had hardly any political party. It shows that very few countries were democratic countries and if they were not democracies, there was no need for political parties.
Now there are few countries that do not have political parties. In the last hundred years, many countries became independent from colonial control. After independence, they adopted democratic governments. So there was an increasing necessity for political parties.
The political parties have become very important in a democratic country because of the following reasons:-
Not having political parties will lead to chaos and turmoil in society. It will be against democratic principles.

• Without parties, candidates elected will be independent and will not be able to make policies. They will not be responsible and accountable to the people.
• The existence of parties in a democracy ensures that a country runs as per its policies and ideologies and have a government which is answerable to the people.

Political Parties class 10 important questions.

Q 50. Name the national political party which espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities. Mention any four features of that party.

Ans.  National Congress Party, formed in 1999, espouses Secularism and welfare of weaker Sections and Minorities.  Four features of this party are as follows:

• NCP wants the confinement of high offices in the government for the natural-born citizens of the country.
• Social justice, federalism and equity are the founding principles of the party .
• 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.

Q 51. Give one difference between United Progressive Alliance and National Democratic Alliance.

Ans.  The National Democratic Alliance is a center-right coalition of political parties and is led by the Bharatiya Janta Party, while United Progressive Alliance is a coalition of centrist and left political parties led by Indian National Congress.