RBSE Class 10 Social Science Important Questions Civics Chapter 6 Political Parties

Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 10 Social Science Important Questions Civics Chapter 6 Political Parties Important Questions and Answers. 

RBSE Class 10 Social Science Important Questions Civics Chapter 6 Political Parties

Objective Type Questions 

Question 1. 
A group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government is called a-
(a) Political party 
(b) Pressure group 
(c) Public welfare group
(d) Interest group 
Answer:
(a) Political party

Question 2. 
Which is the function of a political party from the following: 
(a) A party supports criminals 
(b) A party does not shape public opinion 
(c) A party contests an election 
(d) A party pressurizes government without contesting an election. 
Answer:
(c) A party contests an election

Question 3. 
A political party who rules power is called-
(a) An Opposite party 
(b) A ruling party 
(c) An Interest group
(d) A public welfare group 
Answer:
(b) A ruling party

Question 4. 
In which of the following country has a one party system-
(a) U.S.A. 
(b) India
(c) Great Britain
(d) China 
Answer:
(d) China 

Question 5. 
In which of the following country has a two party system-
(a) India
(b) France 
(c) U.S.A. 
(d) Pakistan 
Answer:
(c) U.S.A.

Question 6. 
The major part of the political party is-
(a) The leader 
(b) The active member 
(c) The followers
(d) All of the above 
Answer:
(d) All of the above

Question 7. 
Which party system is there in India ?
(a) One party 
(b) Two-party
(c) Three party 
(d) Multi party 
Answer:
(d) Multi party 

Question 8. 
The number of national parties in the year 2017 was-
(a) Two
(b) Four 
(c) Seven 
(d) Six
Answer:
(c) Seven

Question 9. 
Which organisation provides registration and recognition to the political parties in India? 
(a) Election commission of India 
(b) High court
(c) Parliament 
(d) President 
Answer:
(a) Election commission of India

Question 10. 
All India Trinamool Congress was formed under whose leadership ? 
(a) Mayawati 
(b) Jayalalitha 
(c) Mamta Banerjee 
(d) Sonia Gandhi
Answer:
(c) Mamta Banerjee

Fill in the blanks 

1. Most people tend to be very ............. of political parties. 
2. In some countries, such as the USA, members and supporters of a party choose its ................
3. By reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh.................. Party founded in 1980. 
4. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election Indian National Congress Party won .......... seats. 
5. The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from ..............
Answer:
1. Critical 
2. candidates 
3. Bharatiya Janta
4. 52 
5. Changing parties. 

Very Short Answer Type Questions

Question 1. 
What is the main feature of a political party?
Answer:
A political party is an organised group. 

Question 2. 
How can a political party be identified?
Answer:
A political party can be identified by its policies and social ground.

Question 3. 
What do you mean by 'ruling party’?
Answer:
Political party that runs the government is known as ruling party.

Question 4. 
When was Indian National Congress formed?
Answer:
Indian National Congres was formed in 1885.

Question 5. 
Which type of party system does U.S.A. have?
Answer:
U.S.A. has two party system.

Question 6. 
Which country has a one party system?
Answer:
China.

Question 7. 
Write the names of any two regional political parties of India.
Answer:

1. Shiv Sena
2. Shiromani Akali Dal. 

Question 8. 
Write the definition of a political party?
Answer:
A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Question 9. 
Write the inspiration sources of Bahujan Samaj Party.
Answer:
Mahatma Fule, Periyar Ramaswami and B.R. Ambedkar are the inspiration sources of Bahujan Samaj Party.

Question 10. 
Write the components of a political party.
Answer:
A political party has three components-

1. The leaders
2. the active members
3. the followers.

Question 11. 
Write any two functions of a political party.
Answer:

1. Contesting election
2. Playing the role of opposition.

Question 12. 
How do political parties nominate the candidates in an election?
Answer:
In India political leaders nominate the candidates in election.

Question 13. 
What is the main function of the opposition?
Answer:
The opposition voices different views and criticises government for its failures or wrong policies.

Question 14. 
What is the necessity of a political party in a democracy?
Answer:
There is necessity of a political party in a democracy for the accountability of government.

Question 15. 
What do you mean by one party system?
Answer:
When only one party is allowed to control and run the government, it called One Party System.

Question 16. 
What do you mean by multi-party System?
Answer:
When parties compete for power and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power, we call it a Multi-party · System.

Question 17. 
What is an alliance or a front?
Answer:
When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called alliance or a front.

Question 18. 
What do you mean by Two Party System?
Answer:
When power usually changes between two main parties, such a party system is called Two Party System.

Question 19. 
How many political parties are present in democracies that follow a federal system all over the world?
Answer:
Democracies that follow a federal system all over the world tend to have two kinds of political parties-1. State Political Party 2. National Party.

Question 20. 
What are National Political Parties?
Answer:
A party that secures at least six percent of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a National Party.

Question 21. 
What do you mean by recognised political party?
Answer:
Parties those are recognised by election commission are called recognised political parties.

Question 22. 
Write the names of any two national political parties.
Answer:

1. Indian National Congress
2. Bharatiya Janata Party.

Question 23. 
What is the ideology of Indian National Congress? 
Answer:
The party espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities

Question 24. 
In which ideology does communist party believe? 
Answer:
Communist party believes in Marxism-Leninism. It supports socialism, secularism and democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism.

Question 25. 
Write any two challenges of political parties? 
Answer:

1. Lack of internal democracy within parties
2. Challenge of dynastic succession.

Question 26. 
What steps have been taken for improvement of political parties by the government?
Answer:
The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties.

Question 27. 
Give any two suggestions for improvement of political parties?
Answer:

1. A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
2. The government should give parties money to meet out their election expenses. 

Short Answer Type Questions (Type-I)

Question 1. 
What is a political party?
Answer:
A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good.

Question 2. 
What do most people think about political parties?
Answer:

• Mostly people blame political parties for their democratic system and evils of political life.
• They blame political parties for the social and political divisions.

Question 3. 
Write any four functions of political parties.
Answer:

1. Political parties contest elections.
2. Parties put forward different policies and programmes.
3. Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
4. Parties form and run governments.

Question 4. 
What would happen if political parties did not exist?
Answer:
Without political parties every candidate in the elections would be independent, so no one would be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes. Elected representative would not be accountable to their constituency for what they did in the locality. No one would be responsible for how the country ran.

Question 5. 
How do political parties shape public opinion?
Answer:
Political parties raise and highlight issues. Parties put forward different opinions related to different problems before public. Often opinions in the society crystallise on the lines parties take.

Question 6. 
What is the role of opposition in politics? Explain.
Answer:
Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of oppositions to the parties in power by voicing different views and criticising government for its failures or wrong policies.

Question 7. 
Which type of party system is in communist China? 
Answer:
In China, only the communist party is allowed to rule. Legally speaking, people are free to form political parties but, it does not happen because the electoral system does not permit free competition for power.

Question 8. 
What do you mean by an Alliance or a Front? Explain with example.
Answer:
When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an Alliance or a Front. For example, The National Democratic Alliance, The United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front.

Question 9. 
Write any one merit and one demerit of multi-party system.
Answer:
Merit/quality- This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
Demerit- "The multi-party system often appears very 'messy and leads to political instability.

Question 10. 
Explain the form of public participation in political parties in India.
Answer:
The ratio of membership in political parties has been increasing gradually during last three decades in India. For example, this ratio was around 5% in 1967, this increased near 15% in 2004. This ratio is more than Canada, Japan, Spain and South Korea.

Question 11. 
Why does India have Multi-party System?
Answer:
India has Multi-party System, because the social and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties.

Question 12. 
Write a short note on Indian National Congress.
Answer:
Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 and has experienced many splits. It played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national and state level for several decades after India's independence. The party espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities.

Question 13. 
Write a short note on Bahujan Samaj Party.
Answer:
Bahujan Samaj Party was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. It seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan Samaj which includes the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities. It has its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh.

Question 14. 
What do you mean by the challenges of dynastic succession of political party?
Answer:
There are 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 favour people close to them or even their family members. People who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.

Question 15. 
Describe the challenge of meaningful choice among political parties.
Answer:
Very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world. For example, the difference between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain is very little.

Short Answer Type Questions (Type-II)

Question 1. 
How many political parties are there in democracies that follow a federal system all over the world?
Answer:
Democracies that follow a federal system all over the world tend to have two kinds of political parties.

• Parties that are present in only one of the federal units are called state political parties.
• Parties that are present in several or all units of the federation which are called 'national parties'.

Question 2. 
State the main things of the Nationalist Congress Party.
Answer:

• Nationalist Congress Party was formed in 1999 following a split in the congress Party.
• This party is a national party of India.
• The clock is the election symbol of this party.
• The party Espouses democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and Federalism.
• This party wants that high offices in government be confined to natural born citizens of the country.
• A major party in Maharashtra and has a significant presence in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.
• In present (2020) this party is a coalition partner in the state of Maharashtra in alliance with the Congress. Since 2004, this party is a member of the United Progressive Alliance.

Question 3. 
What is the role of Election Commission in relation with political parties?
Answer:
Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission while the commission treats all parties equally. It offers some special facilities to large and established parties. These parties are given a unique symbol. Only the official candidates of that party can use that election symbol. Parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities are recognised by the election commission for this purpose. That is why these parties are called ʻrecognised political parties'.

Question 4. 
Write three challenges before political parties and three suggestions to reform them.
Answer:
There are three challenges before Indian political parties-

1. Lack of internal democracy within parties.
2. Challenge of dynastic succession.
3. Challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties.

Three suggestions to reform political parties-

1. A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
2. It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third to women candidates.
3. There should be a quota for women in the decision-making bodies of the party.

Question 5. 
What are the criteria to recognition of national political party in India?
Answer:
A party that secures at least six percent of total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four states and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national party.

Question 6. 
How many recognised national parties are there in India as of 2017 ? Write their names.
Answer:
As of 2017, there are seven national parties recognised in India. Their names are as follows-

• Indian National Congress (INC) 
• Bharatiya Janata Party 
• Bahujan Samaj Party
• Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
• Communist Party of India (CPI) 
• Nationalist congress Party (NCP) 
• All Indian Trinamool congress (AITC)

Question 7. 
Briefly describe the All Indian Trinamool Congress Party.
Answer:
The description of all India trinamool congress party is clear in the following points-

• This party was launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.
• It is recognised as a national party in 2016.
• The party's symbol is flowers and grass. 
• Committed to secularism and federalism.
• This party has been in power in West Bengal since 2011. Also has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
• In the General Elections held in 2019, it got 4.07 percent votes and won 22 seats, making it the fourth largest party in the Lok Sabha. 

Long Answer Type Questions

Question 1. 
Write four policies-programmes of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress.
Answer:
Four Major Policies and Programmes of BJP:

1. Cultural nationalism is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics.
2. Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
3. A uniform Civil Code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion.
4. A Ban on religious conversions.

Major Programme and Policies of Indian National Congress:

1. A centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist).
2. In favour of secularism.
3. The party espouses welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
4. It supports new economic reforms.

Question 2. 
What improvements have been done to reform political parties in India?
Answer:
There are following improvements to reform political parties in India-

• The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. 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 bring defection down.
• 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 election commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections.
• Election commission has also made it mandatory for all parties to fill income tax returns.

Question 3. 
Explain the different kinds of party system in politics.
Answer:
Kinds of Party System:
There are three kinds of party system in politics- 1. One-party system 2. Two-party system 3. Multi-party system.
1. One-party System- In some countries only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one-party systems. In China, only the communist party is allowed to rule.

2. Two Party System- In some countries, power usually changes between two main parties, such a party system is called two party system. The United States of America and the United Kingdom are examples of two party system.

3. Multi-party System- If several parties compete for power and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either of their own strength or in alliance with others, we call it a multi-party system.

Question 4. 
Briefly describe Bahujan Samaj Party.
Answer:
Bahujan Samaj Party- The main points of Bahujan Samaj Party are described in the following points

• Bahujan Samaj Party was formed in the year 1984 under the leadership of late Kanshi Ram.
• It is currently a national party of India.
• Bahujan Samaj Party's election symbol is Elephant.
• This Party seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan samaj which includes the dalits, adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.
• The party dreams inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
• This party stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the dalits and oppressed people.
• It has its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh and substantial presence in neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab.
• It formed government in Uttar Pradesh several times by taking the supoort of different parties at different times.
• In the Lok Sabha elections held in 2019, it polled about 3.63 per cent votes and secured 10 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Question 5. 
What do you know about the Bharatiya Janata Party ? Explain.
Answer:
Bharatiya Janata Party-The description of Bharatiya Janata Party is given in the following points-

• It was founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951.
• Bharatiya Janata Party is a national party of India.
• The election symbol of this party is the Lotus flower.
• Wants to build a strong and 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 its conception of Indian nationhood and politics.
• It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
• Bharatiya Janata Party is a uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion, and ban on religious conversions.
• Earlier limited to north and west and to urban areas, the party expanded its support in the south, east, the north-east and to rural areas.
• It canie to power in 1998 as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) including several regional parties.
• Emerged as the largest party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
• It currently leads the ruling NDA government at the Centre.

Question 6. 
What do you know about the Indian National Congress ? Describe.
Answer:
Indian National Congress- The description of Indian National Congress is given in the following points-

• The Indian National Congress was formed in 1885. It is one of the oldest parties in the world.
• This party is usually called the Congress Party.
• Since the formation in 1885, there have been many splits in this party till now
• It is a national party of India.
• Played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national and state level for several decades after India's Independence.
• Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India.
• The mark of the hand clan is the election symbol of this party.
• Ruling party at the centre till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989. After 1989, its support declined, but it continues to be present throughout the country, cutting across social divisions.
• This party is a centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist).
• The party espouses secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
• The INC supports new economic reforms but with a human face.
• The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led this party from 2004 to 2019.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha election it won 52 seats.

Question 7. 
Describe the main points of the Communist Party of India (CPI) ?
Answer:
Communist Party of India (CPI)- 
The main points of this party are given in the following points-

• The Communist Party of India was formed in 1925
• It is currently a national party of India.
• "Bali Hansia" is the election symbol of this party.
• This party believes in Marxism- Leninism, secularism and democracy and oppposed to the forces of secessionism and communalism.
• Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interests of the working class, farmers and the poor.
• In the year 1964, there was a split in this party and CPI (M) seperated from it.
• After the seperation of CPI (M), its base has shrunk but Kerela, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu are still in a good positon,
• It secured less than 1 percent votes and 2 seats in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
• Advocates the coming together of all left parties to build a strong left front.

Question 8. 
What do you know about the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) ? 
Answer:
The main points of this party are clear in the following points

• This party was formed from the communist party of India (CPI) in the year 1964.
• This party is currently a national party of India.
• Hansia-Hathoda and Tara’ is the election symbol of this party.
• This party believes in Marxism-Leminism.
• This party supports socialism, secularism and democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism.
• This party accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socio-economic justice in India.
• The party enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.
• This party has a good grip mong the poor, factory workers, farmers, agricultural labourers and the inelligentsia.
• The party is critical of the new economic policies that allow free flow of foreign capital and goods into the country.
• This party was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34 years.
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won about 1.75 percent of votes and 3 seats.