Please see Political Parties Exam Questions Class 10 Social Science below. These important questions with solutions have been prepared based on the latest examination guidelines and syllabus issued by CBSE, NCERT, and KVS. We have provided Class 10 Social Science Questions and answers for all chapters in your NCERT Book for Class 10 Social Science. These solved problems for Political Parties in Class 10 Social Science will help you to score more marks in upcoming examinations.
Exam Questions Political Parties Class 10 Social Science
Objective Type Questions
Question. The _______ is a national party.
(a) Aam Aadmi Party
(b) Rashtriya Janata Dal
(c) Samajwadi Party
(d) Bharatiya Janata Party
Answer : (d) Bharatiya Janata Party
Question. ________ has a Bi-party system.
(a) Pakistan
(b) India
(c) Britain
(d) China
Answer : (c) Britain
Question. Every political party in India has to register itself with the
(a) Election Commission
(b) Prime Minister of India
(c) Parliament of India
(d) President of India
Answer : (a) Election Commission
Question. Which is the most visible institution of democracy?
(a) Elections
(b) Political parties
(c) Adult franchise
(d) Seats reservation
Answer : (a) Elections
Question. What does the opposition party do?
(a) They keep a close eye on the ruling party and criticise the wrong steps taken by the ruling party.
(b) They ensure that the ruling party does not misuse its power.
(c) They highlight some issues and pressurise the government to fulfil their demands.
(d) All of the above
Answer : (d) All of the above
Question. Which among the following bodies passed an order making it necessary for poltical parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns?
(a) The Election Commission
(b) The Supreme Court
(c) The President of India
(d) The Central Vigilance Commission
Answer : (a) The Election Commission
Question. The quality of ______________ depends on the degree of public participation.
Answer : democracy
Question. The Constitution was amended to prevent elected ______________ and ______________ from changing political parties.
Answer : MLAs ; MPs
Question. State whether the following statements are true or false
It is good that political parties tend to use short-cuts to win elections.
Answer : False
Question. Correct the following statement and rewrite
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was formed under the leadership of Mayawati.
Answer : Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was formed under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
Question. In the question given below, there are two statements marked as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). Read the statements and choose the correct option:
Assertion (A): INC is one of the oldest parties in the world.
Reason (R): Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India.
Options:
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Answer : (b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
Very Short Answer Type Questions
Question. How can democratic reforms be carried out by political parties?
Answer : Democratic reforms be carried out by political parties through:
(i) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
(ii) It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members.
Question. How do parties run the government of a country?
Answer : Parties recruit leaders, train them and make them ministers to run the government in the way they want.
Question. What is the requirement laid down by the Election Commission for a political party to be recognized as a ‘State Party’?
Answer : 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 is recognized as a state party.
Question. What is an affidavit?
Answer : A signed document submitted to an officer, where a person makes a clear statement regarding her/his personal informations.
Short Answer Type Questions
Question. What do you understand by the bi-party system? Write its one merit and one demerit.
Answer : In bi-party system, the government is formed by one party and the other plays the role of opposition.
Bi-party in some countries, power usually changes between two main parties. It is also known as two party system.
Merit: This system allows stability of government as no coalition is there.
Demerit: In this system, only two main parties have a serious chance of winning majority seats to form the government.
Question. What is meant by a ‘national political party’? State the conditions required to be a national political party.
Answer : National political party have units in the various states, they follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.
Conditions required:
(i) A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in general elections of Lok Sabha or assembly elections in four states.
(ii) Wins at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha.
Question. “Serious efforts were made by the legal organisations to reform political parties in India.” Support the statement.
Answer : Efforts made by the legal organizations to reform political parties in India:
(i) To check defection, the Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties.
(ii) The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals, by making it mandatory to produce an affidavit giving details of property and criminal cases pending.
(iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organizational election and file their income tax returns.
Question. What is a political party? State any two points of the ideology of Bharatiya Janata 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 programmers for the society with a view to promote the collective good.
Ideology of BJP :
(i) Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
(ii) A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion.
(iii) Cultural nationalism.
Question. Name the ‘regional political parties’ that are predominant in Jharkhand, Maharashtra and Odisha respectively with their symbols.
Answer : Jharkhand – Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM)
Maharashtra – Shiv Sena
Odisha – Biju Janata Dal (BJD)
Question. Which three challenges do you feel are being faced by political parties in India? Give your opinion.
Answer : The challenges faced by political parties in India are:
(i) Lack of internal democracy.
(ii) Challenge of dynastic succession
(iii) Growing role of money and muscle power.
(iv) Often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters.
Question. What is the role of an ordinary citizen in reforming the political parties?
OR
“The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation.” Explain.
Answer : There are two ways by which people can reform the political parties:
• People can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity and agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and media can also pressurise the government.
• Political parties can improve if those who are interested to join the political parties. If political parties feel that they would lose public support by not taking up reforms they would become more serious about reforms.
Question. How do political parties form public opinion?
Answer : • The political parties talk about their policies in the public and try to gain support for their policies and programmes.
• They organize demonstrations, public meetings and speeches to tell the voters about their policies.
• They sometimes launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people.
• They raise and highlight issues and their lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country.
Question. What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party system? Explain.
Answer : If several parties compete for power and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others, we call it a multi-party system.
India adopted a multi party system because:
(i) There is social and geographical diversity in India.
(ii) India is such a large country which is not easily absorbed by two or three parties.
(iii) The system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
Question. What is meant by ‘regional political party’? State the condition required to be recognised as a ‘regional political party’.
Answer : A regional party is a party that is present in only some states. Conditions required for a party to be recognized as a regional political party are:
(i) A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state.
(ii) Wins at least two seats in the Legislative Assembly.
Question. “Nearly every one of the state parties wants to get an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition.” Support the statement with arguments.
Answer : State parties seeking national level coalition: Before general election of 2014, in three general elections, no one national party was able to secure on its Own a majority in Lok Sabha. With the result, the national parties were compelled to form alliances with state or regional parties. Since 1996, nearly everyone of the state parties has got an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level coalition government. This has contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy.
Question. “All over the world, people express their dissatisfaction with the failure of political parties to perform their functions well.” Analyse the statement with arguments.
Answer : People express their dissatisfaction with the failure of political parties to perform their functions well because:
(i) Lack of internal democracy within parties.
(ii) Dynastic succession. Growing role of money and muscle power in parties.
(iii) There is not a meaningful choice to the voters.
Long Answer Type Questions
Question. “Political parties play a major role in democracy.” Explain any five points to justify this statement.
OR
“Political parties are rightly called the government in disguise.” Justify the statement in reference to democratic politics by giving five arguments.
OR
Describe any five major functions of political parties performed in a democracy.
OR
Explain the role of political parties in a democracy.
OR
Describe the role of political party in India.
OR
Describe the role of political parties in modern democracy.
Answer : In a democracy political parties performed the following major functions:
(i) In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties. Parties select their candidates in different ways. In India top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.
(ii) Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them. In a democracy, a large number of similar opinions have to be grouped together to provide a direction in which policies can be formulated by the governments. A government is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the Ruling party.
(iii) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Formally laws are debated and passed in the legislature. But since most of the members belong to a party, they go by the direction of the party leadership, irrespective of their personal opinions.
(iv) Parties form and run governments. Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the government in the way they want.
(v) Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power by voicing different views and criticising government for its failure or wrong policies.
(vi) Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues. Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people. Often opinions in the society crystallise on the lines parties take.
(vii) Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments.
Question. Why is there a lack of internal democracy within the political parties in India? Explain with examples.
Answer : There are various reasons for lack of internal democracy within the political parties in India:
(i) Concentration of power in one or a few leaders at the top.
(ii) Details of membership are not registered in the parties.
(iii) No organisational meetings.
(iv) No internal elections for membership within the party.
(v) Top leaders have unanimous power of decision making.
Question. Suggest and explain any five measures to reform political parties.
OR
Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well.
OR
Suggest any five effective measures to reform political parties.
OR
Suggest and explain any five ways to reform political parties in India.
Answer : Effective measures to reform political parties are:
(i) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
(ii) It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members.
(iii) It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets; about onethird to its women candidates.
(iv) There should be a quota for women in the decision-making bodies of the party.
(v) There should be state funding of elections.
(vi) The government should give parties money to support their election expenses in kind, for example, petrol, paper, telephone, etc., or in cash.
(vii) Vote casting should be made compulsory in each election.
(viii) Data regarding caste and religion, OBC, SC, ST should not be utilized during election period in any form.
Question. Illustrate the situations which display lack of internal democracy within a political party.
Answer : Situations which display lack of internal democracy within a political party–
(i) Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.
(ii) Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party.
(iii) They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the decisions. As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.
(iv) 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.
(v) More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.
Question. Mention the laws made by the Election Commission to reform the political parties in India.
Answer : (i) Defection: The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties because many elected representations change their parties in order to become Minister or for cash rewards. Now the law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the Legislative.
(ii) To file an Affidavit: The Supreme Court made it compulsory for every candidate, who contests elections to file an affidavit giving details of
(a) his property
(b) educational qualifications
(c) criminal cases pending against him
(iii) To file income tax returns: The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns. This is done to control the money and muscle power in politics.
(iv) Reserved Seats: Parties should give one-third seats to women candidates.
(v) Maintain transparency: Parties should maintain a register of its members, to follow its own constituency, to have an independent authority. To hold open elections to the highest posts in case of any disputes.
Question. What is the need of the political parties? How would its absence affect any country?
OR
What is the necessity of political parties in a democratic set-up? Explain any four points.
Answer : (i) We cannot think modern democracies without political parties. In case there are no political parties every candidate in the elections will be independent, no one will be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes. The government may be formed, but its utility will remain always uncertain.
(ii) Elected representatives will be account- able to their constituency for what they do in the locality. But, no one will be responsible for how the country will run. Just look at the non-party based elections to the Panchayats in many states. Although, the parties do not contest formally, it is generally noticed that the village gets split into more than one faction, each of which puts up a ‘panel’ of its candidates. This is why we find political parties in almost all countries of the world.
(iii) Political parties agree on policies and programmes to promote collective good and influence people to know why their policy is better than others. They try to implement the policies by winning popular support through elections. They reflect fundamental division in a society.
(iv) The absence of political parties would affect a democracy badly. The interest of all the people would not reach the Parliament and, therefore, some sections of people would remain behind the mainstream. They won’t get all the welfare measures.
Question. Write about the national parties of India in detail.
Answer : In India, now we have eight national parties. They are
(i) Indian National Congress (INC): The Congress Party was founded in 1885. It played an important role in Indian politics at the national and state levels after the independence. The party supports secularism and welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
(ii) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): It was founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh. 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.
In 2014 Lok Sabha Elections, BJP won 282 seats and emerged as a largest party. In 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, again BJP got victory. This time it won 303 seats and once again merged as a largest party. Currently leads the ruling National democratic government at the centre with Narendra Modi as the Prime Minister since 2014.
(iii) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP): It was formed in 1984, under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. The party seeks to represent and secure the power for Bahujan Samaj which includes dalits, adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities. It draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar. It stands for the cause of securing interest and welfare of dalits and oppressed people.
(iv) Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M): It was founded in 1964. The party believes in Marxism and Leninism. It supports socialism, secularism and democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism. It accepts democratic elections as useful means to secure the objective of socioeconomic justice in India.
(v) Communist Party of India (CPI): It was formed in 1925. The party believes in Marxism and Leninism, secularism and democracy and is opposed to the forces of secessionism and communalism. It accepts parliamentary democracy as the means of promoting the interest of working class, farmers and the poor.
(vi) National Congress Party (NCP): It was formed in 1999 following a split in Congress Party. The party supports democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and federalism. It wants high offices in the government to be confined to the natural born citizens.
(vii) All India Trinamool Congress (AITC): It was founded on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. The flag of the party is symbolised from ‘flowers and grass’. It believes in secularism and federalism party in the Lok Sabha.
(viii) The National People’s Party (NPP): The Party was founded by PA Sangma after his expulsion from the NCP in July 2012. It was accorded National Party status on 7 June 2019. It is the first political party from northeastern India to have attained this status. Its election symbol is a book.
Question. Mention the challenges faced by political parties in democracies all over the world. Explain in detail.
OR
“Political parties need to face certain challenges in order to remain effective instrument of democracy.” Explain the statement with examples.
Answer : Challenges faced by political parties are:
(i) Lack of internal democracy: All over the world, there is a tendency of political parties towards the concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top.
• Parties do not keep membership register.
• They do not regularly hold organisational meetings.
• Ordinary members of the party do not have sufficient informations as to what happens inside the party.
• As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.
(ii) Dynastic Succession: Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning.
• There are very few ways for an ordinary workers to rise to the top in a party.
• In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family. This is unfair to other members of that party.
• Some people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy good positions of power.
(iii) Money and Muscle Power
• Since parties are focused only on winning elections, they tend to use shortcuts to win elections.
• They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money.
• Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
• In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.
• Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics.
(iv) Meaningful Choice: In recent years, there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world.
• Those who want really different policies have no option available to them.
• Sometimes people cannot elect very different people either because some group of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.
(v) Corruption: It adversely affects the economy of the country. It is the big reason of inequalities in the societies and communities. Sometimes leaders use their powers to earn illegal money in spite of working for the country’s benefits.
Question. Explain two functions each of the ruling party as well of the opposition parties.
Answer : Functions of the ruling parties:
(i) They play a major role in making laws for the country.
(ii) They form the government and run the country.
(iii) They recruit leaders, train them and then make ministers to run the government.
Functions of the opposition parties:
(i) They oppose the government by voicing different views.
(ii) They criticise government for its failure and wrong policies.
(iii) They mobilise opposition to the government.
Picture Based Questions
Question. Study the cartoon given below and answer the question.
Do you agree that this form of reforming political parties will be acceptable to them?
Answer : I do not agree that reforming political parties will be acceptable to them, because the democratic size of India is so large that it is impossible to form a coherent group of people who advocate the same policy as propagated by any political party. Additionally, the issues vary from place to place in the electoral politics of India.
Case Based Questions
Question. Read the source given below and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate option.
We have seen how crucial political parties are for the working of democracy. Since parties are the most visible face of democracy, it is natural that people blame parties for whatever is wrong with the working of democracy. All over the world, people express strong dissatisfaction with the failure of political parties to perform their functions well. This is the case in our country too.
The parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. 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. They agree on more fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how policies are to be framed and implemented. In our country too, the differences among all the major parties on the economic policies have reduced. Those who want really different policies have no option available to them. Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.
(i) Which of the following is one of the challenges within the political parties
(a) Lack of internal democracy
(b) Open and transparent procedures
(c) Growing role of money and muscle power
(d) All of the above
Answer : (d) All of the above
(ii) The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a ___________ to the voters.
(a) dynastic succession
(b) meaningful choice
(c) democratic system
(d) money power
Answer : (b) meaningful choice
(iii) In which country does the labour party exist?
Answer : Britain
(iv) How are political parties viewed in a democracy?
Answer : Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.
Question. Read the source given below and answer the questions by choosing the most appropriate option.
Party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections. These cannot be changed very quickly. Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances. For example, if India has evolved a multiparty system, it is because the social and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties. No system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
(i) India has adopted a multi-party system because–
(a) This system keeps people informed about the political activities.
(b) This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
(c) The second and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties.
(d) All of the above
Answer : (d) All of the above
(ii) Each country develops a __________ that is considered by its special circumstances.
(a) national party
(b) party system
(c) series of functions
(d) political system
Answer : (b) party system
(iii) Why is one party system not considered a good democratic system?
Answer : Because it has no democratic option
(iv) Why do we need at least two parties in a democratic set up?
Answer : Because it gives a fair chance to the parties to compete in election to come in power.
