MSBSHSE Class 10 Social Science Political Science Chapter 3 Political Parties

Q1. Choose the correct option from the given options and complete the sentences.

(1) When people come together and participate in the electoral process, to acquire political power, such organisations are called ………….

(a) Government

(b) Society

(c) Political parties

(d) Social organisations

(2) National Conference is a party in …………State.

(a) Orissa

(b) Assam

(c) Bihar

(d) Jammu and Kashmir

(3) Justice Party-a non-Brahmin movement was transformed into ………. Political Party.

(a) Assam Gan Parishad

(b) Shivsena

(c) Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam

(d) Jammu and Kashmir National Conference

Answer 1: When people come together and participate in the electoral process, to acquire political power, such organisations are called Political party.

Answer 2: National Conference is a party in Jammu and Kashmir state.

Answer 3: Justice Party-a non-Brahmin movement was transformed into Dravid Munnetra Kazhagam Political Party.

Q2. State whether the following statements are true or false. Give reasons for your answer.

(1) Political parties act as a link between government and people.

(2) Political parties are social organisations.

(3) Coalition politics leads to instability.

(4) Shiromani Akali Dal is a national party.

Answer 1: The statement is true. Political parties act as a link between government and people. They communicate the demands and the complaints of the people to their elected representatives in the government. The government, on the other hand, tries to get support of the people for its policies through the political parties.

Answer 2: The statement is true. Political parties are social organizations because they are chosen by people and it did work for every person equally.

Answer 3: The statement is true . Because if the main party in the coalition government takes any step which is against the interest of the supporting parties, then the supporting party may take away their support which leads to the fall of the government.

Answer 4: The statement is false. The Shiromani Akali Dal, is an Indian political party.

Q3. Explain the following concepts.

(1) Regionalism

(2) National Parties

Answer 1: Regionalism –The feeling of affinity developed about our language and region gradually turns into identity consciousness and finally gives rise to regionalism. People start thinking primarily about the interest and development of their own region. They start feeling proud of their language, literature, traditions, history of social reforms, educational and cultural movements and this gives rise to the development of linguistic identity. Regional identity develops from the consciousness about the development of a region and the feeling that people belonging to the region should have claim over resources and employment opportunities.

Answer 2: National Parties are political parties consisting of a group of individuals who congregate together to contest for elections. For political parties to be identified as National Parties in India, they require to fulfill the following conditions; First, the party should be recognized as a state party in at least four States. Secondly, the party should also be able to win 2% of Lok Sabha seats from at least three states. India today has seven major National parties, namely: Communist Party of India (CPI), Indian National Congress (INC), National Congress Party (NCP), Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and All India Trinamool Congress (AITC).

Q4. Answer the following questions in brief.

(1) What are the major characteristics of political parties?

(2) What changes have taken place in the nature of political parties in India?

Answer 1: The major characteristics of political parties are as follows:

1. To be in power: Achieving power through elections is the main objective of political parties. Thus different political parties compete with each other to get power. There is nothing wrong in this competition, but the competition should be fair.
2. To pursue an ideology: Every political party has some policies and world views. Parties have a particular stand about social issues. These together make party ideology. The people who consider any specific party ideology as acceptable support that political party. Social support received by a political party is called the ‘mass base’ of political party. In modern days ideologies of all political parties appear to be similar hence it has become difficult to differentiate between the parties on the basis of ideologies.
3. To have a Party Agenda: Political parties prepare their party’s agenda on the basis of party ideology. They implement the agenda after they get political power. Even if they do not get political power, political parties try to get support of people on the basis of this agenda.
4. To Establish a Government: Political parties establish the government and govern the nation. The political party which gets the majority in elections forms the government. The parties which do not get majority act as opposition parties.
5. To act as a link between the Government and the people: Political parties work as a link between the Government and the people. Political parties communicate the demands and complaints of the people to the government. The government tries to get support of the people for its policies and programmes through political parties.

Answer 2: The changes that have taken place in the nature of political parties in India are as follows:

• The Congress was a strong political party in the post-independence period. Congress had a majority at the Centre and in most of the States. Indian politics was controlled by the Congress Party. This era was described as the Era of ‘Single dominant party system’.
• The non-Congress parties came together and challenged the ‘Single dominant party system’ in 1977.