Class 9 Civics Chapter 4 Extra Questions and Answers Electoral Politics

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Class 9 Civics Chapter 4 Extra Questions and Answers Electoral Politics

Electoral Politics Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 4 Very Short Answers Type

Question 1.
What is called election?
Answer:
The mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change them if they wish to do so is called election.

Extra Questions and Answers Electoral Politics

Question 2.
Mention one demerit of an electoral competition.
Answer:
Electoral competition creates a sense of disunity and factionalism in every locality.

Very Short Questions and Answers Electoral Politics

Question 3.
Mention one merit of an electoral competition.
Answer:
Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders. It helps to force political parties and leaders to serve the people.

Question 4.
What are called electoral constituencies?
Answer:
The country is divided into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called electoral constituencies.

Question 5.
Who is called of Member of Parliament or a M.P.?
Answer:
The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or a M.P.

Question 6.
How many seats are reserved in rural and urban local bodies for women candidates?
Answer:
One-third of the seats are reserved in rural and urban local bodies for women candidates.

Question 7.
What is called the Electoral Roll or the Voters’ List?
Answer:
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 called the Electoral Roll or the Voters’ List.

Question 8.
In our country, who can vote in an election?
Answer:
In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election. Every citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his/her caste, religion or gender.

Question 9.
Name the card the voters are required to carry when they go out to vote. Why should they carry this card?
Answer:
The voters are required to carry Election Photo Identify Card or EPIC when they go out to vote. They should carry this card so that no one can vote for someone else.

Question 10.
What are the proofs of identity other than EPIC that the voters can show for voting?
Answer:
The proofs of identity other than EPIC that the voters can show for voting are—the ration card or the driving licence.

Question 11.
What is called party‘ticket’?
Answer:
Political parties nominate their candidates who get the party symbol and support. Party’s nomination is often called party ‘ticket’.

Question 12.
What is the main purpose of election?
Answer:
The main purpose of election is to give people a chance to choose the representatives, the government and the policies they prefer.

Question 13.
Which slogan was given by Janata Party in the Lok Sabha election held in 1977?
Answer:
Save Democracy was the slogan given by Janata Party in the Lok Sabha election held in 1977.

Question 14.
Name the leader who used the slogan ‘Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus’ in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 1983.
Answer:
N.T. Rama Rao.

Question 15.
Why is it necessary to regulate election campaigns?
Answer:
It is sometimes necessary to regulate election campaigns to ensure that every political party and candidate get a fair and equal chance to compete.

Question 16.
What is a ballot paper?
Answer:
A ballot paper is a sheet of paper on which the names of the contesting candidates along with party name and symbols are listed.

Question 17.
Which machine is used to record votes nowadays?
Answer:
Nowadays electronic voting machines are used to record votes.

Question 18.
What does electronic voting machine or EVM show?
Answer:
The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.

Question 19.
Who is declared elected?
Answer:
The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected.

Question 20.
Who appoints the Chief Election Commissioner or CEC?
Answer:
The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commissioner.

Question 21.
How is people’s participation in election measured?
Answer:
People participation in election is usually measured by voters turnout figures. Turnout indicates the per cent of eligible voters who actually cast their votes.

Question 22.
Who vote in large proportion in India?
Answer:
In India, the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in large proportion.

Question 23.
Under whose control do government officers work when on election duty?
Answer:
When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the Election Commission and not the government.

Question 24.
What do candidates do during the period of election campaigns?
Answer:
During the election campaigns the candidates contact their voters, political leaders, address elections meeting and political parties mobilise their supporters.

Question 25.
What is called a general election?
Answer:
Election are held in all constituencies at the same time, either on the same day or within a few days. This is called a general election.

Question 26.
When does the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha stand dissolved?
Answer:
Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha elections are held regularly after five years. After five years the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end and the Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha stands dissolved.

Question 27.
What is called a by-election?
Answer:
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.

Question 28.
What is meant by Members of Parliament or MP?
Answer:
The representative elected from each constituency is called a Member of Parliament or an MP.

Question 29.
What is meant by Member of Legislative Assembly?
Answer:
Each state is divided into a specific number of assembly constituencies. In this case, the elected representative is called the member of Legislative Assembly or MLA.

Question 30.
What is the condition for contesting an election in India?
Answer:
In order to be a candidate the minimum age is 25 years, while it is only 18 years for being a voter. There are some other restrictions on criminals, etc. But these apply in very extreme cases.

Electoral Politics Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 4 Short Answers Type

Question 1.
Describe why democracies need to have elections.
Or
Why do democratic countries need to hold elections?
Answer:
Democratic countries need to hold elections for the following reasons:

  • We cannot imagine a democracy without elections. A rule of the people is possible without any elections of all the people can sit together everyday and take all the decisions. But this is not possible in any large community.
  • It is also not possible for everyone to have time and knowledge to take decisions on all matters. Therefore in most democracies people rule through their representatives.
  • These representatives are chosen by a mechanism called election, which takes place at regular intervals so that people change them if they wish to do so.

Question 2.
What are the demerits of an electoral competition?
Answer:
An electoral competition has many demerits. Some of them are:

  • 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 to win elections. Some people say that this pressure to win electoral fights does not allow sensible long-term policies to be formulated.

Question 3.
In an election the voters makes many choices. Mention them.
Answer:
In an election the voters make the following choices:

  • They can choose who 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 making.

Question 4.
What is the principle of universal adult franchise? What does it mean in practice?
Answer:
In practice the principle of universal adult franchise means that everyone should have one vote and each vote should have equal value. No one should be denied the right to vote without a good reason. Different citizens differ from one another in many ways—some are rich, some are poor, some are highly educated, some are not so educated or not educated at all; some are kind , others are not so kind. But all of them are human beings with their own needs and views. That is why, all of them deserve to have an equal say in decisions that affect them.

Question 5.
What details are mentioned in the legal declaration made by candidates? Why is this information made public?
Answer:
Every candidate has to make a legal declaration, giving full details of:

  • Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate;
  • Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his/her family; and
  • Educational qualifications of the candidate. This information is made public because this provides an opportunity to the voters to make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidates.

Question 6.
What happens once the polling is over?
Answer:
(i) Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place. A few days later, on a fixed date, all the EVMs from a constituency are opened and the votes secured by each candidate are counted.

(ii) The agents of all candidates are present there to ensure that the counting is done properly. The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected.

(iii) In a general election, usually the counting of votes in all the constituencies takes place at the same time, on the same day. Within a few hours of counting, all the results are declared and it becomes clear as to who form the next government.

Question 7.
Mention some of the unfair practices used in elections.
Answer:
Some of the unfair practices used in elections are:

  • Inclusion of false names and exclusion of genuine names in the voters’ list.
  • Misuse of government facilities and officials by the ruling party.
  • Excessive use of money by rich candidates and big parties.
  • Intimidation of voters and rigging on the polling day.

Question 8.
Why is it necessary for the Election Commission of India to be independent and powerful?
Answer:
(i) In our country elections are conducted by an independent and very powerful Election Commissioner or EC. It can reprimand the government and administration for their lapses.

(ii) When election officials come to the opinion that polling was not fair in some booths or even an entire constituency, they order a repoll.

(iii) The ruling parties often do not like what the EC does. But they have to obey. This would not have happened if the EC was not independent and powerful.

Question 9.
What is the significance of the voters’ list in a democratic election?
Answer:
In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to everyone. This is called the voters’ list. This is an important step for it is linked to the first condition of a democratic election. Everyone should get an equal opportunity to choose representatives. No one should be denied the right to vote without a good reason.

The voters’ list needs to be revised time to time. It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all the eligible voters put on the voters’ list. As new persons attain voting age names are added to the voters’ list. Names of those who move out of the place or those who are dead are deleted. A complete revision of the list takes place every five years. This is done to ensure that it remains up to date.

Question 10.
Why are election campaigns important in a democracy? When do these take place in our country?
Answer:
Elections are the centerpiece of democracy. They give people a chance to choose the representatives, the government and the policies they prefer. Therefore it is necessary to have a free and open discussion about who is a better representative, which party will make a better government or what is a good policy. This is what happens during election campaigns. In the absence of election campaigns, people would be in utter confusion.

In our country such campaigns take place for a two-week period between the announcement of the final list of candidates and the date of polling.

Question 11.
What do political parties and candidates do during election campaigns?
Answer:

  • During election campaigns political parties mobilise their supporters. They try to focus public attention on some big issues. They want to attract the public to that issue and get them to vote for their party on that basis.
  • During this period the candidates contact their voters, and try to convince them that their party is  better than others.
  • This is also the period when newspapers and television news are full of election related stories and debates.

Question 12.
How did the voters use to indicate who they wanted to vote for in earlier times? What do they do now-a-days?
Answer:

  • Earlier the voters used to indicate who they wanted to vote for by putting a stamp on the ballot paper, which was a sheet of paper on which the names of the contesting candidates along with the party name and symbols were listed.
  • Nowadays Electronic Voting Machines or EVMs are used to record votes. The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.
  • What the voter has to do is to press the button against the name of the candidate he/she wants to give his/her vote.

Electoral Politics Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 4 Long Answers Type

Question 1.
What makes an election democratic?
Or
Give a list of the minimum conditions needed for a democratic election.
Answer:
All democratic countries hold elections. But most non-democratic countries also hold some kind of elections. But they can’t really be called democratic elections. Here is a simple list of the minimum conditions of a democratic election:

  • Everyone should be able to choose. This means that everyone should have one vote and every vote should have equal value.
  • There should be something to choose from. Parties and candidate should be free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
  • The choice should be offered at regular intervals. Elections must be held regularly after every few years.
  • The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
  • Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose as they really wish.

Question 2.
What are reserved constituencies? Why are they necessary in India? What are the provisions of this system of reservation?
Answer:
Reserved constituencies are constituencies that are set aside for certain weaker sections of the Indian society. The weaker sections of the society may not stand a good chance to get elected to the Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies. They may not have the required resources, education and

contacts to contest and win elections against others. Those who are influential and resourceful may prevent them from wining elections. If that happens, our Parliament and Assemblies would be deprived of the voice of a significant section of our population.

That would make our democracy less representative and less democratic. So, a special system of reserved constituencies for the weaker sections was started to bring them in the mainstream of the country.
The Provisions of this systems are:

  • Some constituencies are reserved for people who belong to the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Schedules Tribes (STs).
  • In a SC reserved constituency only someone who belongs to the Scheduled Castes can stand for election. Similarly only those belonging to the Scheduled Tribes can contest an election from a constituency reserved for ST.
  • Currently, in the Lok Sabha, 84 seats are reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 for the Scheduled Tribes (as on 1 September 2012). This number is in proportion to their share in the total population.

Question 3.
What are the challenges to free and fair elections in India?
Answer:
There are many challenges of Indian elections. Some of them are given below:
(i) Candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents.

(ii) 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.

(iii) Some families tend to dominate political parties; tickets are distributed to relatives from these families.

(iv) 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.

(v) Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties. The above challenges exist not just in India but also in many established democracies. Unless these challenges are overcome, elections cannot be called free and fair.

Question 4.
Examine the role of the Election Commission in ensuring free and fair elections in India.
Answer:
Elections in India are conducted by an independent and very powerful Election Commission. It enjoys
the same kind of independence that the judiciary enjoys. The Chief Election Commission or CEC is appointed by the President of India. But once appointed, the CEC is not answerable to the president or the government. Even if the ruling party or the government does not like what the Commission does, it cannot remove the CEC.
The Elections Commission of India uses wide-ranging powers in ensuring free and fair elections in the country.

(i) It takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declarations of results.

(ii) It implements the code of conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.

(iii) During the election period, the EC can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some government officials.

(iv) When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the EC and not the government.

(v) The Election Commission can 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 an entire constituency, they order a repoll. The ruling parties often do not like what the EC does, but they have to obey. Thus, the EC plays a important role in ensuring free and fair elections in India.

Electoral Politics Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 4 Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) Questions

Question 1.
Mention a few successful slogans that were used by different political parties during elections campaigns.
Answer:
The most successful slogans used during election campaigns were:

  • Garibi Hatao or Remove Poverty: This slogans was used by the Congress Party led by Indira Gandhi in Lok Sabha Elections of 1971. The party promised to reorient all the policies of the government to remove poverty from the country.
  • Save Democracy: This slogan was given by Janata Party in the next Lok Sabha Election held in 1977. The party promised to undo the excesses committed during Emergency and restore civil liberties.
  • Land to the Tiller: This slogan was used by the Left Front in the West Bengal Assembly Elections held in 1977.
  • Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus: This slogan was used by N.T Rama Rao, the leader of the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh Assembly Elections in 1983.

Question 2.
How does political competition help to force political parties and leaders to serve the people?
Or
Is it good to have political competition? Give reasons.
Or
Explain how electoral competition among parties serves the people.
Answer:
An electoral competition has many drawbacks. 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 to win elections. But we cannot undermine the necessity of political competition by highlighting these demerits.

Our Constitution makers were aware of these problems. Yet they opted for free competition in elections as the way to select our future leaders. They did so because this system workes better in the long run. In an ideal world all political leaders know what is good for the people and are motivated only by a desire to serve them. Political competition is not necessary in such an ideal world.

But that is not what happens in real life. In general, political leaders are motivated by a desire to advance their political careers. They want to remain in power or get power and positions for themselves. They may wish to serve the people as well, but it is risky to depend entirely on their sense of dirty. Besides even when they wish to serve the people, they may not know what is required to do so, or their ideas may not match what the people really want.

There are two ways to deal with this real life situation. One way is to try and improve the knowledge and character of political leaders. The other way is to set up a system where political leaders are rewarded for serving the people and punished for not doing so.

And it is always the people who decide this reward or punishment through the method of electoral competition. Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders. They know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections. But if they fail to satisfy the voters with their work they will not be able to win again.

So if a political party is motivated only by desire to be in power, even then it will be forced to serve the people. Political competition may cause divisions and some ugliness, but it finally helps to force political parties leaders to serve the people.

Question 3.
How has the system of reservation extended to other weaker sections at the district and local level?
Answer:

  • The system of reservation did not remain restricted only to Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies. It was extended later to weaker sections other than the SCs and STs at the district and local level.
  • In many states, seats in rural (panchayat) and urban (municipalities and corporations) local bodies are now reserved for other backward classes or OBCs as well. However, the proportion of seats reserved varies from state to state.
  • Similarly, one third of the seats are reserved in rural and urban local bodies for women candidates.

Question 4.
Why is it necessary to regulate election campaigns?
Answer:
It is sometimes necessary to regulate election campaigns to ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and equal chance to compete. According to our election law, no party or candidate can

  • bribe or threaten voters
  • appeal to them in the name of caste or religion;
  • use government resources for election campaign; and
  • Spend more than ₹ 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or ₹ 10 lakh in constituency in an Assembly election. If they do so, their election can be rejected by the court even after they have been declared elected.

Question 5.
How is people’s participation in election measured? Why do common people in India attach a lot of importance to elections?
Answer:
People participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures. Turnout indicates the per cent of eligible voters who actually cast their vote. Over the last fifty years, the turnout has either remained stable or actually gone up.

In India the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections. This is in contrast to western democracies. Common people here 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. They also feel that their vote matters in the way things are run in the country. That’s why the interest of voters in election-related activities has been increasing over the years.

Electoral Politics Class 9 Extra Questions and Answer Civics Chapter 4 Value-based Questions (VBQs)

Question 1.
What is the advantage of regular electoral competition?
Answer:
(i) Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders. They know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections. But if they fail to satisfy the voters with their work they will not be able to win again.

(ii) If a political party is motivated only by desire to be in power, even then it will be forced to serve the people.

(iii) Political competition may cause divisions and some ugliness, but it finally helps to force political parties and leaders to serve the people.

Question 2.
Why is there no educational qualification for candidates who contest elections when some kind of educational qualification id needed for any other job in the country?
Or
What justifications are given for not making educational qualifications compulsory for the candidates?
Answer:
(i) Educational qualifications are not relevant to all kinds of jobs. What a MLA or a MP needs is the ability to understand people’s concerns, problems and to represent their interests. Whether they can do so or not is examined by lakhs of voters after every five years.

(ii) Even if education was relevant, it should be left to the people to decide how much importance they give to educational qualifications.

(iii) In our country putting an educational qualification would go against the spirit of democracy for yet another reason. It would mean depriving a majority of the country’s citizens the right to contest elections. If, for example, a graduate degree like B.A., B. Com or B. Sc. was made compulsory for candidates, more than 90 per cent of the citizens will became ineligible to contest elections.

Question 3.
What is the Model Code of Conduct for election campaigns?
Answer:
All the political parties in our country have to follow 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; and
  • once elections are announced, ministers shall not play foundation stones of any projects, take any big policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities.

Question 4.
What makes Indian elections democratic?
Answer:
Elections in India are basically free and fair. The party that wins an election and forms government does so because people have chosen it over its rivals. This may not be true for every constituency. A few candidates may win purely on the basis of money power and unfair means. But the overall verdict of a general election still reflects popular preference. There are very few exceptions to this rule in the last fifty