Question.1 What the minimum conditions of a democratic election?
Answer:
The minimum conditions of a democratic elections are:

• Everyone should be able to choose. This means that everyone should have one vote and every vote should have equal value.
• There should be something to choose from. Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
• The choice should be offered at regular intervals. Elections must be held regularly after every few years.
• The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
• Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose them at their will. (Any three)

Question 2
“Election campaigns are needed to regulate”. Why?
Answer:
It is sometimes necessary to regulate campaigns to ensure that every political party and candidate gets a fair and equal chance to compete.
According to our election law, no party or candidate can:

• Bribe or threaten voters.
• Appeal to them in the name of caste or religion.
• Use government resources for election campaign.
• Spend more than? 25 lakh in a constituency for a Lok Sabha election or? 10 lakh in a constituency in an assembly election.

Question 3
What is the ‘Model code of Conduct’ for election campaign?
Answer:
According to the medal code of conduct, no party or candidate can:

• Use any place of worship for election propaganda. ‘
• Use government vehicles, aircrafts and officials for election.
• Once elections are announced, the Ministers shall not lay foundation stones of any projects, take any big policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities.

Question 4
Why should elections be held regularly?
Answer:
Elections should be held regularly because:

• Elections should be held regularly because it provides incentives to the political parties and leaders.
• They know that if they raise-issues that people want to raised, it would make them popular and increase their chances of victory in the next elections.
• But, if they fail to satisfy the voters with their work, they will not be able to win again.

Question 5 What are the challenges to free and fair elections in India?
Answer:
The elections in India are basically free and fair. But, a few candidates may win purely based on money power and unfair means. These challenges exist not just in India but also in many established democracies. These deeper issues are a matter of concern for those who believe in democracy. The challenges to free and fair elections in India are as follows.

• Candidates and parties with a lot of money may not be sure of their victory but they do enjoy a big and unfair advantage over smaller parties and independents.
• In some parts of the country, candidates with criminal connection have been able to push others out of the electoral race and to secure a ‘ticket’ from major parties.
• Some families tend to dominate political parties; tickets are distributed to relatives from these families.
• Very often elections offer little choice to ordinary citizens, for both the major parties are quite similar to each other both in policies and practice.
• Smaller parties and independent candidates suffer a huge disadvantage compared to bigger parties.

Question 6
How can you say that the outcome of elections is a final test of free and fair elections? Explain
Answer:
One final test of the free and fair of election has in the outcome itself. If elections are not free or fair, the outcome always favours the powerful. In such a situation, the ruling parties do not lose elections. Usually, the losing party does not accept the outcome of a rigged election.
The outcome of India’s elections speaks for itself:

• The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state level. In fact, in every two out of the three elections held in the last fifteen years, the ruling party lost.
• In the US, an incumbent or ‘sitting’ elected representative rarely loses an election. In India, about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections.
• Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on ‘buying votes’ and
  those with known criminal connections often lose elections.
• Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as ‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.

Question 7
What do you mean by Voter’s List? What is its significance?
Answer:
(i) In a democratic election, the list of those who are eligible to vote is prepared much before the election and given to everyone. This list is officially called the Electoral Roll and is commonly known as the Voters’ List.
(ii) The significance of Voter’s List is as follows:

• This is an important step for it is linked to the first condition of a democratic election. Everyone should get an equal opportunity to choose representatives.
• In our country, all the citizens aged 18 years and above can vote in an election. Every citizen has the right to vote, regardless of his or her caste, religion or gender.
• It is the responsibility of the government to get the names of all the eligible voters put on the Voter’s List. As new persons attain voting age, names are added to the voters’ list. Names of those who move out of a place or those who are dead are deleted.
• A complete revision of the list takes place every five years. This is done to ensure that it remains up to date. In the last few years a new system of Election Photo Identity Card (EPIC) has been introduced. The government has tried to give this card to every person on the voters’ list. But the card is not yet compulsory for voting. For voting, the voters can show many other proofs of identity like the ration card or the driving licence.

Question 8
Explain the role of the Election Commission in conducting the free and fair elections.
Answer:
The role of the Election Commission in conducting the free and fair elections is as follows.

• Election Commission takes decisions on every aspect of conduct and control of elections from the announcement of elections to the declaration of results.
• It implements the Code of Conduct and punishes any candidate or party that violates it.
• It allots election symbols to parties and independent candidates.
• During the election period, the Election Commission can order the government to follow some guidelines, to prevent use and misuse of governmental power to enhance its chances to win elections, or to transfer some government officials.
• When on election duty, government officers work under the control of the Election Commission and not the government.

Question 9
What are the changing trends of people’s participation in elections in India?
Answer:
The changing trends of people’s participation in elections in India are as follows:

• People’s participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures. Turnout indicates the per cent of eligible voters who cast their vote. In India, the turnout figures over last few decades have either remained stable or gone up.
• In India, the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections. This is in contrast to western democracies.
• Common people in India attach a lot of importance to elections. They feel that through elections, they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programmes favourable to them.
• The interest of voters in election-related activities has been increasing over the years. During the 2004 elections, more than one-third voters took part in a campaign-related activity.
• More than half of the people identified themselves as being close to one or the other political party. One out of every seven voters is a member of a political party.

Question 10.
What are the minimum conditions needed for a democratic election?
Solution:
There are five minimum conditions needed for a democratic election. They are :

• Everyone should have the right to vote and every vote should have equal value.
• Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and they should offer some real choice to the voters.
• Elections must be held regularly .
• Candidates preferred by the people should be elected.
• Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner.

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MCQs: Electoral Politics

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