Political Parties

Political parties are among the most visible institutions in a democracy. A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government, agreeing on policies and programmes for society with a view to promoting the collective good. In this chapter you will study the three components of a party, the leaders, the active members and the followers, and the functions parties perform: contesting elections, putting forward policies, making laws, forming and running governments, playing the role of opposition, shaping public opinion and providing people access to government machinery and welfare schemes. You will learn why modern democracies cannot exist without parties, and compare one-party, two-party and multiparty systems, including alliances and coalitions in India. You will study how the Election Commission recognises national and state parties, and learn about India's major national parties and the role of regional parties. Finally, you will examine challenges to political parties, such as lack of internal democracy, dynastic succession, money and muscle power and lack of meaningful choice, and the reforms suggested to address them.

Detailed Worksheet: Political Parties Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is a political party? Name its three components. (2 marks) 2. State any two functions of political parties in a democracy. (2 marks) 3. What is a multiparty system? Why has India adopted it? (2 marks) 4. What is an alliance or a coalition government? Give one example from India. (2 marks) 5. What is the anti-defection law? Why was it passed? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. The Election Commission recognises a party as a state party if it secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the legislative assembly of a state and wins at least 2 seats. Party X got 8% of the votes and 1 seat, Party Y got 6.5% and 3 seats, and Party Z got 4% and 5 seats. Using only this rule, which party qualifies? Explain. (3 marks) 7. In a Lok Sabha election, Party A won 240 seats out of 543. Calculate its share of seats in percent. How many more seats did it need for a simple majority? What would it have to do to form the government? (3 marks) 8. In a constituency, five candidates got 42,000, 38,000, 12,000, 5,000 and 3,000 votes. Calculate the total votes and the vote share of the winner. Explain why a candidate can win with less than 50% of the votes under the first-past-the-post system. (3 marks) 9. In a state assembly of 90 seats, a coalition of three parties has 28, 12 and 8 seats. Does the coalition have a majority? If one party with 12 seats leaves, how many seats short of majority will the remaining parties be? (3 marks) 10. Arrange in chronological order and give the years: the anti-defection law (52nd Amendment); the first general elections in India; the Supreme Court order requiring candidates to file affidavits on criminal cases and assets; the Election Commission's recognition of the Aam Aadmi Party as a national party. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a flowchart showing the functions of political parties in a democracy. (4 marks) 12. Draw a chart comparing one-party, two-party and multiparty systems, with one example of a country for each. (3 marks) 13. Draw the election symbols of any three national parties of India and write the names of the parties below them. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. 'Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.' Explain this statement. What would happen if there were no political parties and every candidate in elections was independent? (5 marks) 15. Describe the main challenges faced by political parties in India: lack of internal democracy, dynastic succession, growing role of money and muscle power, and absence of meaningful choice. Give examples to show how each challenge weakens democracy. (5 marks) 16. Suggest reforms to strengthen political parties so that they perform their functions well. Evaluate the efforts already made, such as the anti-defection law, affidavits by candidates and the Election Commission's orders on organisational elections and income tax returns. Why is pressure from the people important? (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Answer with examples from Indian politics. Draw charts neatly with titles and labels. Use calculations where asked.