Electoral Politics
NCERT Exercise Solution
Part 1
Question 1: Which of the following statements about the reasons for conducting elections are false?
- Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government.
- People select the representative of their choice in an election.
- Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary.
- People can indicate which policies they prefer.
Answer: (c) Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary
Question 2: Which of these is not a good reason to say that Indian elections are democratic?
- India has the largest number of voters in the world.
- India’s Election Commission is very powerful.
- In India, everyone above the age of 18 has a right to vote.
- In India, the losing parties accept the electoral verdict.
Answer: (a) India has the largest number of voters in the world
Question 3: Match the following:
| Column I | Column II |
|---|---|
| (a) It is necessary to keep the voters list up to date because | (1) There is fair representation of all sections of our society |
| (b) Some constituencies are reserves for SCs and STs so that | (2) Everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representative |
| (c) Everyone has one and only one vote so that | (3) All candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections |
| (d) Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicle because | (4) Some people may have moved from the area where they voted last |
Answer:a ⇨ 4, b ⇨ 1, c ⇨ 2, d ⇨ 3
Question 4: List all the different election related activities mentioned in the chapter and arrange them in a time sequence, beginning with the first activity and ending with the last. Some of these activities are given below: releasing election manifestos; counting of votes; making of voters’ list; election campaign; declaration of election results; casting of votes; ordering of re-poll; announcing election schedule; filing nomination.
Answer: Making of voters’ list ⇨ Announcing election schedule ⇨ Releasing election manifesto ⇨ Election campaign ⇨ Filing nomination ⇨ Casting of votes ⇨ Ordering of re-poll ⇨ Counting of votes ⇨ Declaration of election results
Question 5: Surekha is an officer in-charge of ensuring free and fair elections in an assembly constituency in a state. Describe what should she focus on for each of the following stages of election:
(a) Election campaign
Answer: She should see to it that expenditure limit is not crossed by a candidate. She should see to it that no misuse of government machinery takes place. She should also see to it that no candidate invokes religion or caste during canvassing.
(b) Polling day
Answer: She should crosscheck the voters’ list and check ID proof of the voters. She should take the help of security personnel in ensuring peaceful polling.
(c) Counting day
Answer: Counting should be done in systematic manner and polling agents of political parties should be kept at bay during the counting.
Question 6: The table below gives the proportion of different communities among the candidates who won elections to the US Congress. Compare these to the proportion of these communities in the population of the US.
| Proportion of the community (in per cent) | ||
|---|---|---|
| House of Representatives | US population | |
| Blacks | 8 | 13 |
| Hispanics | 5 | 13 |
| Whites | 86 | 70 |
Based on this, would you suggest a system of reservations in the US Congress? If yes, why and for which communities? If no, why not?
Answer: Blacks and Hispanics should be given reservation in the US Congress as per their percentage in the US population because their representation is not commensurate with their share in population.