Notes on Electoral Politics | MCQs and Q&A

Multiple Choice Questions of ELECTORAL POLITICS

CBSE| Class 9 | Social Science | Chapter 04 - Electoral Politics

Notes on Electoral Politics

1. Which of these is not a good reason to say that Indian elections are democratic?
a) India has the largest number of voters
b) India’s Election Commission is very powerful
c) In India, everyone above the age of 18 has a right to vote
d) In India, the losing parties accept the electoral verdict

2. Who appoints the Chief Election Commissioner (CCE) of India?
a) The Chief Justice of India
b) The Prime Minister of India
c) The President of India
d) The People of India

3. What is the age of a person who can contest election for Lok Sabha in India?
a) 25 Years
b) 30 Years
c) 35 Years
d) 40 Years

4. The number of Lok Sabha Constituencies in India at present is:
a) 541
b) 546
c) 543
d) 540


5. The voter’s list is also known as:
a) Election
b) Voter Identity Card
c) Electoral Roll
d) None of these

6. Which of the following statements is against the democratic process of elections?
a) Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections
b) Elections must be held regularly immediately after the term is over
c) The Right to Vote should be given to selected people only
d) Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner

7. The number of seats reserved for scheduled caste in Lok Sabha is:
a) 59
b) 79
c) 89
d) 99

8. Which one of the following provisions fails to ensure fair and equal chance to compete to candidates and political parties?
a) No party or candidate can bribe or threaten voters
b) No party or candidate is bound by the model code of conduct
c) No party or candidate can use government resources for election campaign
d) Nobody can appeal to the voters in the name of caste or religion

9. Which of the following statements about the reasons for conducting elections are false?
a) Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government
b) People select the representative of their choice in an election
c) Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary
d) People can indicate which policies they prefer

10. What makes an election democratic? Select the correct option.
a) Universal Adult Franchise
b) Fundamental Rights
c) Directive Principles of State Policy
d) Free and fair Election.

11. Which of the following does not include election procedure?
a) Voting
b) Nomination of Candidate
c) Booth capturing
d) Canvassing

12. Which of the following is not allowed while carrying out an election campaign?
a) Giving money to voters to cast vote for particular candidate
b) Using television channels.
c) Door-to-door canvassing.
d) Contacting voters on phone.

13. Is it good to have Political Competition? Which of the following statements justify this?
a) It creates a sense of disunity and factionalism
b) Political Competition helps to force political parties and leaders to serve people
c) It gives fair chance to people for the responsible government
d) Political competition causes divisions and some ugliness

14. What are the main challenges to free and fair elections in India? Select the correct options.
a) Model of Code of Conduct
b) Lack of Internal Democracy among Political Parties
c) Influence of Money and Muscle Power
d) Dynastic Rule

15. During election the voters make many choices. Select the correct options.
a) Who will make laws for them?
b) Who will grant Fundamental Rights?
c) Who will form the government and take major decisions?
d) Who will check the functioning of courts?

16. Which among the following is not correct?
a) The Election Commission conducts all elections for the Parliament and Assemblies.
b) The Election Commission directs and controls the preparation of electoral rolls.
c) The Election Commission cannot fix the election dates
d) The Election Commission does the scrutiny of Nomination papers.

17. Which is the new reform introduced in the electoral process by the Election Commission?
a) Indelible ink
b) Electronic voting machine
c) Polling booths
d) Voters list

18. Which of the following statements regarding elections and election commission hold true?
(i) Election Commission of India has enough powers to conduct free and fair elections in the country.
(ii) There is a high level of popular participation in the elections in our country.
(iii) It is very easy for the party in power to win an election.
(iv) Many reforms are needed to make our elections completely free and fair.

a) (i), (ii), and (iii)
b) (i), (ii') and (iv)
c) (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv)
d) only (iii)

19. Which of the following is not a feature of Election system in India?
a) Universal Adult Franchise
b) Secret Voting
c) Reservation of seats in the legislature for the members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes
d) Communal Electorate

20. Elections in India for Parliament and State Legislatures are conducted by
a) President
b) Prime Minister
c) Governor
d) Election Commission of India

21. Members of Election Commission are appointed by
a) President of India
b) Prime Minister of India
c) Elected by the people
d) Chief Justice of India

22. By-Election is the election which is held
a) Directly
b) Indirectly
c) To fill up a vacancy in the legislature
d) When a legislature is dissolved before the expiry of its normal term.

23. In Democracy Elections are important because
a) The formation of government becomes easy
b) They help in the formation of opposition party
c) They are a check on the working of the government
d) All of the above

24. Following is a weakness (challenge to) Indian election system:
a) Secret Ballot
b) Use of Electronic Voting Machines
c) Misuse of Official Machinery
d) Universal Adult Franchise


SUGGESTED POST:
9 Tips to Perform Well in CBSE
10 Tips for BOARD Exam

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS
1. a) India has the largest number of voters
2. c) The President of India
3. a) 25 Years
4. c) 543
5. c) Electoral Roll
6. c) The Right to Vote should be given to the selected people only
7. b) 79
8. b) No party or candidate is bound by the model code of conduct
9. a) & c)
10. a) and d)
11. c) Booth capturing
12. a) Giving money to voters to cast vote for particular candidate
13. b) and c)
14. a), c) and d)
15. a) and c)
16. c)
17. b) Electronic voting machine
18. b) (i), (ii') and (iv)
19. d) Communal Electorate
20. d) Election Commission of India
21. a) President of India
22. c) To fill up a vacancy in the legislature
23. d) All of the above
24. c) Misuse of Official Machinery

QUESTION-ANSWERS OF ELECTORAL POLITICS

Q1:
Which of the following statements about the reasons for conducting elections are false?

(a) Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government.

(b) People select the representative of their choice in an election.

(c) Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary.

(d) People can indicate which policies they prefer.

Answer:
Statement ‘c’ is false


Q2:
Which of these is not a good reason to say that Indian elections are democratic?

(a) India has the largest number of voters in the world.

(b) India’s Election Commission is very powerful.

(c) In India, everyone above the age of 18 has a right to vote.

(d) In India, the losing parties accept the electoral verdict.

Answer:
Statement ‘a’ is not a good reason to say that Indian elections are democratic.


Q3:
Match the following:
(a) It is necessary to keep the voters’ list up to date because (i) there is a fair representation of all sections of our society

(b) Some constituencies are reserved for SCs and STs so that (ii) everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representatives

(c) Everyone has one and only one vote so that (iii) all candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections

(d) Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicles because (iv) some people may have moved away from the area where they voted last

Answer:
(a) It is necessary to keep the voters’ list up to date because (iv) some people may have moved away from the area where they voted last

(b) Some constituencies are reserved for SCs and STs so that (i) there is a fair representation of all sections of our society

(c) Everyone has one and only one vote so that (ii) everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representatives

(d) Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicles because (iii) all candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections


Q4:
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:
The following is a list of the different election-related activities arranged in a time sequence −

Making of voters’ list, announcing election schedule, filing nomination, releasing election manifestos, election campaign, casting of votes, ordering of re-poll, counting of votes, declaration of election results.


Q5:

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

(b) Polling day

(c) Counting day

Answer:
(a) Election campaign − For this, Surekha will have to focus on seeing that the candidates do not bribe or threaten the voters; appeal to them in the name of caste or religion; use government resources for election campaign, and spend more than 10 lakh rupees to fund their campaigns. In addition to this, she will have to see that places of worship are not used for election propaganda; that ministers do not use government vehicles for their campaign, and that they do not take major policy decisions after the elections are announced.

(b) Polling day − For this, Surekha will have to ensure that incidents of rigging and booth capturing do not take place.

(c) Counting day − For this, Surekha will have to see that the agents of all the candidates are present to ensure that counting is done properly.


Q6:
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. 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.


                                            Proportion of the community (in per cent) in the

                                        House of Representatives      |       Population of US

                      Blacks                           8                               |                  13

                      Hispanics                      5                               |                  13

                      Whites                           86                              |                  70

Answer:-
Based on the table, a reservation for the Hispanic community is a good idea. This is to make their representation in proportion to the percentage of their population.


Q7:
Can we draw the following conclusions from the information given in this chapter? Give two facts to support your position for each of these.

(a) Election Commission of India does not have enough powers to conduct free and fair elections in the country.

(b) There is a high level of popular participation in the elections in our country.

(c) It is very easy for the party in power to win an election.

(d) Many reforms are needed to make our elections completely free and fair.

Answer:
(a) We cannot come to this conclusion. The Election Commission of India is powerful enough to conduct free and fair elections. It implements the code of conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it. While on election duty, government officials work under the EC and not the government.

(b) This is a correct conclusion. It is supported by the facts that voter turnout has increased over the past years. At the same time, election-related activities in the last few years have seen a larger participation by the people.

(c) This is an incorrect conclusion. The ruling parties routinely lose elections. Candidates who are known to spend a lot of money often lose elections.

(d) This is a correct conclusion. Reforms are needed because candidates and parties with a lot of money enjoy an unfair advantage. Also some candidates have criminal connections which they use to terrorize the voters and other candidates.


Q8:
Chinappa was convicted for torturing his wife for dowry. Satbir was held guilty of practicing untouchability. The court did not allow either of them to contest elections. Does this decision go against the principles of democratic elections?

Answer:
This decision does not go against the principles of democratic elections as both Chinappa and Satbir are criminals, and hence, should be prevented from holding positions in the central or state assemblies.


Q9:
Here are some reports of electoral malpractices from different parts of the world. Is there anything that these countries can learn from India to improve their elections? What would you suggest in each case?

(a) During an election in Nigeria, the officer in charge of counting votes deliberately increased the votes of one candidate and declared him elected. The court later found out that more than five lakh votes cast for one candidate were counted in favor of another.

(b) Just before elections in Fiji, a pamphlet was distributed warning voters that a vote for former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhary will lead to bloodshed. This was a threat to voters of India origin.

(c) In the US, each state has its own method of voting, its own procedure of counting and its own authority for conducting elections. Authorities in the state of Florida took many controversial decisions that favored Mr. Bush in the presidential elections in 2000. But no one could change those decisions.

Answer:
(a) In this case, representatives of each candidate should be present to make sure that the votes are counted in a fair way.

(b) The election commission should set up an inquiry into the case and debar the candidate or party involved in distributing such pamphlets.

(c) There should be a single election commission which should be free from political influence and should be responsible for conducting elections throughout the country.


Q10:
Here are some reports of malpractices in Indian elections. Identify what the problem in each case is. What should be done to correct the situation?

(a) Following the announcement of elections, the minister promised to provide financial aid to reopen the closed sugar mill.

(b) Opposition parties alleged that their statements and campaign was not given due attention in Doordarshan and All India Radio.

(c) An inquiry by the Election Commission showed that electoral rolls of a state contain name of 20 lakh fake voters.

(d) The hoodlums of a political party were moving with guns, physically preventing supporters of other political parties to meet the voters and attacking meetings of other parties

Answer:
(a) By promising financial aid to the sugar mill, the minister announced a policy decision. This is not right since policy decisions cannot be made after the elections are announced. The minister should not be allowed to contest the elections.

(b) By not giving the opposition party’s statements and campaign due attention in Doordarshan and All India Radio, the government gained an unfair advantage over the opposition. To counter this, the opposition should be given sufficient time on the national media.

(c) The presence of the fake voters means that the elections were rigged by the authorities who prepared the electoral rolls. The election commission should supervise preparation of fresh electoral rolls.

(d) By using hoodlums, the political party is terrorising its rivals. The election commission should order the arrest of the hoodlums and bar the party from the elections.


Q11:
Ramesh was not in class when this chapter was being taught. He came the next day and repeated what he had heard from his father. Can you tell Ramesh what is wrong with these statements?

(a) Women always vote the way men tell them to. So what is the point of giving them the right to vote?

(b) Party politics creates tension in society. Elections should be decided by consensus not by competition.

(c) Only graduates should be allowed to stand as candidates for elections.

Answer:
(a) The statement is wrong because the policy of secret ballot ensures that an individual can vote for whoever he/she wants. Women are fully capable of taking decisions on their own and selecting the candidate they like.

(b) It is true that party politics creates tension in the society, but it is wrong to say that elections should be decided by consensus. Competition in politics works out for the good of the people as politicians compete with each other in fulfilling their promises. They might not be honest, but they know that they need to work to be elected. Thus, even their selfish actions benefit the people.

(c) Educational qualification is not required to understand the people’s needs, and to represent their interests. Thus, it is not necessary for politicians to be graduates.


If you couldn't find the answer to the question you were searching for, ask your question in comments. We'll try to answer your question as fast as possible!!