RBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 Electoral Politics

These comprehensive RBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 Electoral Politics will give a brief overview of all the concepts.

RBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes Civics Chapter 3 Electoral Politics

→ Representative Democracy:
In modern times, in most democracies people rule through their representatives because this is not possible in any large community that all the people can sit together everyday and take all the decisions. Nor is it possible for everyone to have the time and knowledge to take decisions on all matters.

→ Election means:
Election is a mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals.

→  Why do we need elections?

• For the public to choose the representatives of their choice.
• Elections are required to remove the representatives that the public does not like.

→ Who is selected?
In an election the voters make many choices:

• They can choose who will make laws for them.
• They can choose who will form the government and take major decisions.
• They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law

→ What makes an election democratic?
A simple list of the minimum conditions of a democratic election:

• Everyone should have one vote and every vote should have equal value.
• There -should be something to choose from.
• Elections must be held at regular intervals.
• The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
• Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner.

→ Is it good to have political competition?
Elections are all about political competition. This competition is mainly seen in two forms:

• Among political parties
• Among several candidates.

Disadvantages of political competition:

• It creates a sense of disunity and‘factionalism’in every locality.
• Different political parties and leaders often level allegations against one another.
• Parties and candidates often use dirty tricks, money and pressure to win elections.
• Some good people who may wish to serve the country do not enter this arena. 

Advantages of political competition:

• Only through this, the public can choose the politicians who serve the people.
• Political competition helps to force political parties and leaders to serve the people.

→ What is our System of Elections?
(1) Elections after every 5 years: In India Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) and Local self-government elections are held regularly after every five years. This is called a general election.

(2) By-election: Sometimes election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member. This is called a by-election.

(3) Electoral constituencies: The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections of Lok Sabha, Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) and Local self-government institutions. Each constituency should have a roughly equal population living within it.

(4) Reserved Constituencies: In our constitution, special provision has also been made for reserved constituencies for weaker sections, Scheduled Castes [SC] and Scheduled Tribes [ST].

(5) Voters’ List: In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to everyone. This list is officially known as Electoral Roll and is commonly known as the Voters’ List..In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election. It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all the eligible voters put on the voters’ list. A complete revision of the list takes place every five years. In the last few years, a new system of Election Photo Identity Card [EPIC] has been introduced to prevent fake voting.

(6) Nomination of candidates: In our country, any voter whose age is 25 years or more can be a candidate. Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol and support.

(7) Election Campaign: In our country election campaigns take place for a two- week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling. During this period the candidates contact their voters, political leaders address election meetings and newspapers and television news are full of election related stories and debates.

(8) Election Code of Conduct: In addition to the laws, all the political parties in. our country have agreed to a Model Code of Conduct for election campaigns.
According to this, no party or candidate can:

• use any place of worship for election propaganda.
• use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for elections.
• Once the elections are announced, Ministers shall not lay foundation stones of . any projects, take any big policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities.

(9) Polling and counting of votes: The final stage of an election is the day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote. Once the polling is over, the votes secured by each candidate are counted and the candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected. In a general election, usually the counting of votes in all the constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day and media reports this event. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to who will form the next government.

→ What Makes Elections in India Democratic?
(1) Independent and Powerful Election Commission: In our country, elections are conducted by an independent and very powerful Election Commission (EC). It enjoys the same kind of independence that the judiciary enjoys.

• EC takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
• It implements the Code of Conduct.
• During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines. 
• When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the government.

It is very common now for the Election Commission to reprimand the government and administration for their lapses. When election officials come to the opinion that polling was not fair in some booths or even in an entire constituency, they order a repoll.
Therefore, it is clear that Election Commission’s independent and powerful role ensures elections in India are democratic and are held in a free and fair manner.

(2) Popular participation: Another way to check the quality of the election process is to see whether people participate in it with enthusiasm. If the election process is not free or fair, people will not continue to participate in the exercise. Some conclusions about participation in India:-

• In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections.
• In India the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up. In the past, the voting level in India has been between 55 percent and 62 percent. Currently, the turnout has increased.
• Common people in India attach a lot of importance to elections. They feel that through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programmes favourable to them.
• The interest of voters in election related activities has been increasing over the years. In India, where the percentage of people participating in any election related activity was 8 per cent in 1996, has increased to 32 per cent in 2004.

(3) Election outcomes are evidence of fair and free elections: One final test of the free and fairness of election has in the outcome itself. Election results in India are proof of free and fair elections because:-

• The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state level.
• In India, about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections.
• Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on ‘buying votes’ and those with known criminal connections often lose elections.
• The electoral outcomes are usually accepted as ‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.

→ Challenges to free and fair elections
Although-elections in India are basically free and fair, but there are minor exceptions to this general rule that bring the many limitations and challenges of Indian elections to our attention. These include: 

• Candidates with a lot of money enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents.
• In some parts of the country, candidates with criminal connection have been able to push others out of the electoral race and to secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.
• Some families tend to dominate political parties; tickets are distributed to relatives from these families.
• Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens, for both the major parties are quite similar to each other both in policies and practice.
• Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage.