Class IX – Electoral Politics

Ans. Chaudhary Devi Lal led a movement called ‘Nyaya Yudh’ (stuggle for justice)

Ans. Devi Lal promised that if his party won the elections, his government would waive the loans of farmers and small businessman.

Ans. Voters may choose who will form the government and take major decisions.

Ans. (i) There should be one vote and one value for all voters.

(ii) Elections should be held at regular intervals.

Ans. Political competition allows the voters to punish the leaders who have not done anything for their welfare. On the other hand, competition allows the voters to reward allows the voters to reward leaders for serving the people.

Ans. The country is dived into different areas for purposes of elections. These areas are called electoral constituencies.

Ans. Each village is divided into several ‘wards’ that are like constituencies. Each ward elects one member of the Village Panchayat.

Ans. (i) Scheduled Castes – 84 seats

(ii) Scheduled Tribes – 47 seats.

Ans. In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote without any discrimination on account of caste, religion or gender. Each vote has equal value.

Ans. 25 years

Ans. By conducting elections

Ans. When election is held only for one constituency to fill the vacancy caused by death or resignation of a member.

Ans. 543

Ans. The Congress Party led by Indira Gandhi gave the Slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971.

Ans. Introduction of Election Photo Identity Card.

Ans. (i) Inclusion of false names and exclusion of genuine names in the voters’ list.

(ii) Misuse of government facilities and officials by the ruling party.

Ans. It is an electronic device for casting votes. It shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.

Ans. The elections are conducted by an independent and powerful Election Commission.

Ans. They feel through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programmes favourable to them.

Ans. He is a holder of an office.

Ans. (a) Chaudhary Devi Lal, an opposition leader led the movement ‘Nyaya Yudh’ (Struggle for Justice) and formed a new party Lok Dal.

(b) In the election campaign Devi Lal promised that if his party won, the first action of his government would be to waive the loans of farmers and small businessmen.

(c) In the results, Lok Dal and its partners won 76 out of 90 seats and on becoming Chief Minister, Devi Lal issued an order waiving the outstanding loans as promised.

Ans. (i) It creates a sense of disunity and factionalism. People get divided on the basis of their loyalty towards a political party.

(ii) Different political parties and leaders start levelling allegations against each other.

(iii) Dirty tricks are used by the candidates and parties to win elections.

(iv) Sometimes the pressure to win elections does not allow sensible long-term policies to be formulated. Eminent people such as scientists, educationists do not join politics due to political competition. They do not like this unhealthy competition. They do not like the idea of being dragged into unhealthy competition.

Ans. Main features of holding elections to Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha are as mentioned below:

(i) Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) elections are held regularly after every five years.

(ii) After five years the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end. The Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha stands ‘dissolved’.

(iii) Elections are held in all constituencies at the same time. Either on the same day or within a few days. This is called General Election.

(iv) 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.

Ans. (i) Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) is issued to every person on the voters’ list to avoid bogus voting by others.

(ii) A voter is expected to show Photo Identity Card or any other proof like driving license at the time of voting but only in rare situations.

(iii) the Photo Identity Card has been issued to ensure that no one can vote for someone else. For voting the voters can show any other proof of identity like ration card or the driving license.

Ans. (a) In India anyone who is a voter can contest elections provided he has attained the age of 25 years. Criminals and persons with unsound mind can, however, be debarred from contesting elections.

(b) As per direction of the Supreme Court, every candidate has to make a legal declaration giving following information which should be made public:

(i) Serious criminal cases pending against the candidate.

(ii) Details of the assets and liabilities of the candidate and his or her family.

(iii) Educational qualifications of the candidate.

This information is made public so that the voters may make their decision on the basis of the information provided by the candidates.

Ans. (a) The Congress party led by Indira Gandhi gave the slogan of Garibi Hatao (Remove Poverty) in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971. The party promised to reorient all the policies of the govt. to remove poverty from the country.

(b) Save democracy was the slogan given by Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1977. The party promised to undo excesses committed during emergency and restore civil liberties.

(c) Land to the Tiller: The Left Front used their slogan in the West Bengal Assembly elections held in 1977.

(d) ‘Protect the Self-Respect of the Telugus’ was the slogan used by N.T. Rama Rao in Andhra Pradesh Assembly elections in 1983.

Ans. (i) On the day of election, voters cast their vote after their identification has been verified by the election officials.

(ii) A mark is put on the figure of the voter and he goes inside the polling booth and casts his vote.

(iii) EVMs are used to record votes.

(iv) After polling, EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place.

(v) On a fixed day, EVMs are opened and counting takes place. Whosoever gets highest votes is declared elected.

Ans. The following features of elections in India make elections in India democratic.

(i) Independent Election Commission: Election Commission works independently and is powerful. It enjoys the same kind of independence the judiciary enjoys. The chief Election Commissioner is appointed by the President of India. He is, however, not answerable to the President or the government.

(ii) Population participation: In India, the participation of voters has either remained stable or actually increased particularly, the participation of the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people. In addition to this more and more people are taking part in election related activities.

(iii) Acceptance of election result: The winning or losing of the election by the candidate or party is not questioned. Everyone accepts the results “as people’s verdict”.