GREEN VALLEY SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN

Std. X– Social Science (2025-26)

(Political Science) Ch. 4: Political Parties Notes

Name: ________________________ Sec: ______ Roll No. _____ Date___________

Q1. State and explain the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.
a) Parties contest elections: Candidates contest elections on behalf of a party. Parties select
their candidates in different ways. For example in USA, members and supporters of a party
choose their candidates. In India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting
elections.
b) Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from
them: In a democracy each of us may have different opinions and views. A party reduces a
these varied opinions into a few basic positions which its supports. A government is expected
to base its policies on the line taken by the ruling political party.
c) Parties make laws for a country: Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
Laws are debated and passed in the legislature. As most of the members belong to one
party, they go by the direction of party leadership.
d) Parties form and run governments: The big policy decisions are taken by the political
executive who are from the ruling political party/parties. The parties recruit leaders, train
them and make them ministers to run the government.
e) Role of opposition: The parties that lose elections play the role of opposition. They voice
different views and criticise the government for its failures. They also mobilise opposition to
the government.
f) Parties shape public opinion: The parties raise and highlight issues. The party members
and the activists all over the country aid in forming a public opinion. They also launch
movements for the resolution of problems faced by the people.
g) To provide access to government machinery and welfare schemes: The parties provide
people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by the
governments. They must be responsible and responsive to the people’s needs and
demands to find a place in the next elections. For an ordinary citizen, a local leader is more
approachable than a government official.

Q2. Write a short note on two – party system.

a) When two major parties exist in the country and the power usually changes between them,
the system is known as the two - party system. The Unites States of America and the United
Kingdom are examples of two - party system.
b) Power usually changes between two main parties while several other parties may exist,
contest elections and win a few seats in the national legislatures.
c) But only the two main parties have a serious chance of winning majority of seats to form
government.
d) The government in this party system would be very stable as it comes to power by a majority
and thus, there will be continuity of policies and programmes.
e) Sometimes, the two-party system is considered undemocratic as the choice is limited to two
parties.

Q3. Define multi-party system along with its features. State its merits and demerits.
When 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 multiparty
system.
a) In this system, the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition.

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 b) 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.
c) For example, in India there were three such major alliances in 2004 parliamentary elections-
the National Democratic Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front.
Merits:
a) This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation. For
example, in India more than 750 political parties are registered with the Election
Commission.
b) Multiparty system is more representative and accountable to democratic ideals.
c) It creates a system of internal checks and balances within a coalition government.
Demerits:
a) This system often appears very messy and leads to political instability.
b) Due to the formation of alliance / coalition, quick decision making becomes difficult as different
opinions must be taken care of.

Q4. Differentiate between National Political Party and Regional Political Party.

National Political Party Regional Political Party

1. A National Political Party have units 1. A Regional Political Party is a party that is
in various states. present only in few states.
2. They follow same policies, 2. They may follow different policies, programme,
programmes and strategy that is and strategies according to the requirement of
decided at the national level. the state.
3. A party that secures at least 6% of total 3. A party that secures at least 6% of the total
votes in Lok Sabha elections or votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly
Assembly elections in four states and of a state and wins at least two seats in
wins at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha is Legislative Assembly is recognised as a State /
recognised as a National Party. Regional Party.
4. National parties exist, operate and 4. Regional parties exist, operate and function at
function throughout the country and the regional (state level) and raise regional
raise national issues issues.
5. For example: AAP, BSP, BJP, CPI-M, 5. For example: Samajwadi Party,
INC and NPP. Rashtriya Janata Dal, DMK etc.

Q5. There are six recognised national parties in the country as per the notification of the
Election Commission of India issued in 2023. Compare the ideology and working of
these six National Political Parties.

1) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP):

a) Formed on 26 November 2012, following the 2011 anti-corruption movement.
b) The party was founded on the idea of accountability, clean administration, transparency and
good governance.
c) AAP emerged as the second largest party in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election. It
formed a government with the support of Indian National Congress (INC) in 2013. In 2015
and 2020 AAP had formed government in Delhi without the support of the INC.
d) It also emerged as the third front in the politics of Gujarat after 2022 Gujarat Legislative
Assembly election.
e) Presently, AAP is the ruling party in Punjab. In the Lok Sabha election held in 2019, it secured
one seat in the Lok Sabha.

2) Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP):

a) Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.

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 b) Seeks to represent and secure power and welfare for the Bahujan Samaj which includes the
dalits, adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.
c) Inspired by teachings of Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and B.R Ambedkar.
d) Has its main base in Uttar Pradesh and substantial presence in neighbouring states.
e) Formed government in Uttar Pradesh several times by taking the support of different
parties at different times.

3) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP):

a) Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
b) Goal- to build strong and modern India and promote cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva).
c) Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India and
demands uniform civil code.
d) Party came to power in 1998 and remained in power till 2004 (NDA) including several
regional parties.
e) Emerged as the largest party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
Currently leads the ruling NDA government at the Centre.

4) Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M):

a) Founded in 1964. Believes in socialism, secularism, and democracy (Marxism – Leninism)
and opposesimperialism and communalism.
b) Seeks to secure the objective of socio-economic justice especially for the poor, factory
workers, farmers, agricultural labourers, and the intelligentsia.
c) Was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34 years and enjoys strong support in West
Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.
d) Critical of the new economic policies that allow free flow of foreign capital and goods into the
country.

5) Indian National Congress (INC):

a) Formed in 1885 – oldest party - popularly known as the Congress Party.
b) Sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India under the leadership of
Jawaharlal Nehru.
c) Played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national and state level for several decades
after India’s Independence.
d) A Centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist) in its ideology, Espouses secularism and works for
the welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
e) Supports new economic reforms but with a human face, leader of the United Progressive
Alliance (UPA) government from 2004 to 2019.

6) National People’s Party (NPP):

a) Formed in July 2013 under the leadership of P.A Sangma.
b) NPP is the first political party from North East India to have attained the status of a national
party.

c) It believes in diversity of the country and recognises that different regions have different
developmental challenges.
d) The core philosophy of the party is education and employment to all as well as empowerment
of all sections of the society.
e) It formed government in Meghalaya and has presence in many of North Eastern States.

Q6. ‘Political parties need to face certain challenges in order to remain effective
instruments of democracy.’ Explain the statement.
1) Lack of internal democracy:
a) Within the parties, the concentration of power is in the hands of one or few top leaders.
b) Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organizational meetings, and do not
conduct internal elections regularly.

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 c) The ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information about the working of the
party. Hence, lack of connection leads to the leaders assumimg greater power to make
decisions in the name of the party.
d) Since a few leaders exercise supreme power in the party, those who disagree with the
leadership find it difficult to continue in the party.
e) More than loyalty to the party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes
more important.

2) Dynastic succession:
a) Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning.
b) At times it becomes difficult for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.
c) In many parties, the powerful leaders at the top positions favour people close to them or
even their family members. This is unfair to the other members of that party.
d) Usually, the top positions in the party are always controlled by the members of one family.
e) At times, people with inadequate experience or popular support come to occupy positionsof
power.

3) Money and muscle power:

a) The focus of the political parties is only to win elections, so they tend to use short cuts.
b) To win elections, the parties tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise funds
for the party.
c) Rich people or companies who provide funds, tend to have influence on the policies and
decisions of the party.
d) In some cases, parties hire / nominate / support criminals who can win elections for them.
e) The growing role of money and muscle power (rich people and big companies) is a worry for
the democrats all over the world.

4) Lack of meaningful choices:

a) Often the political parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters.
b) They are like each other in actions and policies. Hence, the parties must be significantly
different so that the people get real choices to cast their vote.
c) In recent years, there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most
parts of the world. For e.g. The Labour Party and the Conservative party in Britain agree on
more fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how policies are to be framed and
implemented.
d) In India, the differences among all the major parties on the economic policies have reduced.
e) Those who want different policies have no option available to them.
f) Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either because the same set of
leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

Q7. Explain any three recent efforts made to reform political parties in India.
a) Anti-Defection law:
1) The constitution was amended and a new anti-defection law was passed to prevent MLA’s and
MPs from changing their parties.
2) Now, if any MLA or MP changes his/her party, he/she will lose his/her seat in the legislature.
3) This new law has made any dissent even more difficult. MPs and MLAs have to accept
whatever the party leaders decide.

b) Details of property and criminal proceedings during nomination:

1) The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals.
2) It has made it mandatory for every candidate who contest elections to file an AFFIDAVIT
giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him.
3) The new system has made a lot of information available to the public which will help them to
take proper decision.

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 c) Mandatory Organisational Elections and IT Returns:
1) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold
their organisational elections and file their income tax return.

Q8. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well.
Some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well are:
a) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
b) It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register for its members, to
follow its own constitution, to have an independent authority, to act as a judge in case of party
disputes, to hold open elections to the highest posts.
c) It should be made mandatory for the political parties to give a minimum number of tickets,
about 1/3rd seats to women candidates. They should provide a quota for women in the
decision-making bodies of the party.
d) The government should give parties the money to support their election expenses in cash or
kind, based on the votes secured by the party in the last election.
e) The government should encourage more and more youth of the country to join politics or form
new political parties so that fresh and meaningful ideas can be generated. This will enable to
bring more leaders who can contribute from the grassroot level for the progress of the country.

Q9. Explain any other two ways in which political parties can be reformed.
The other ways that can help in reforming political parties are as follows:
a) Pressure should be put on the political parties. This can be done through petitions and agitations.
Ordinary citizens, pressure groups, movements and the media can bring about reforms if they
join hands. If political parties feel that they would lose popular support, they will have to reform.
b) Political parties can improve if they allow more and more people to join their organisation. The
quality of democracy improves if there is maximum participation by the public. If the public
only criticises from outside, it has no effect. To improve bad politics, more and better politics
must take charge.

Q10. Why do the parties not give enough tickets to women? Is that also due to the lack of
internal democracy?
a) It reflects the patriarchal mentality of the Indian society. Most of the political parties think
women should do household chores and they cannot contest elections.
b) They think that women lack financial support, family backing and its difficult for them to survive
in a male dominated set up of the country.
c) Due to the patriarchal Indian society, many political parties fear that they will lose elections if
women are given tickets to contest.
d) Many male members of the political parties believe if tickets are given to women, steadily the
power will go in the hands of these women.
e) Parties remain consumed by the false notion that they are taking a risk by giving tickets to
women. They have a perception that women are weaker candidates.

Q11. How do state or regional parties contribute in strengthening federalism and

democracy in India? Explain with examples.
a) Many regional parties have grown in prominence over the last three decades. They have made
the Parliament of India politically more diverse.
b) State parties represent various regional issues of development at the national level and
provide a platform for the diverse social groups and communities.
c) They give support to the national parties to form a government.
d) Every state party has got an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level
coalition government.
e) This is a sign of expansion and deepening of democracy in India.
They have contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country.
Shiromani Akali Dal, Janata Dal, AIADMK, DMK, etc. are examples of regional parties.

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Q12. How is one party system different from two party system? Explain with examples.
A one-party system features a single political party holding power, limiting political competition
and dissent, exemplified by the Communist Party of China.
In contrast, a two -party system involves two dominant or major parties, such as the Democrats and
Republicans in the United States, providing voters with distinct policy choices and fostering
competitive elections.

Q13. Explain the three components of ‘political party’.

The three components of political party are as follows:
a) The leaders: Every political party has some prominent leaders who formulate policies and
programmes of the party and choose candidates for contesting elections.
b) The Active members: They are involved in different committees of the party and participate
directly in their activity.
c) The followers: They believe in the party’s ideology and support the party by casting their votes
in favour of the party at the time of the elections.

Q14. Explain, how the rise of political parties are directly linked to the emergence of
representative democracies.
The rise of political parties is closely tied to the emergence of representative democracies.
a) As societies grew larger and more complex, there arose a need for mechanisms to gather
diverse viewpoints and present them to the government.
b) Political parties serve this purpose by bringing together various representatives, forming
policies and providing a means for citizens to participate in governance, thus facilitating the
functioning of representative democracies.

Q15. What is meant by a political party? Explain its characteristics.

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in
the government.
a) They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote collective
good.
b) Parties reflect fundamental political divisions in society.
c) They try to persuade people to implement the policies by winning popular support through
elections.
d) Thus, a party is known by which part of society it stands for, which policies it supports and
whose interests it upholds.

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