Democracy in India

 DEMOCRACY IN INDIA

What is Universal Adult Franchise?

Universal Adult Franchise is the right to vote given to all adult citizens irrespective of cast, religion, gender, etc.

 

What is election?

The procedure to organize voting by the public for the formation of the government is called election. 

GENERAL ELECTIONS:

 General elections are held for electing the leaders who  who would represent the people  in the Parliament ( Lok Sabha).Since they are held all over the country at once they get are known as General Elections. These are usually held after every five years.

                                         There are other elections such as Assembly Elections State Level), Panchayat Elections (Panchayat level) and so on.

MID TERM ELECTIONS: If a government fails before completing its five years,elections could be held immediately to elect a fresh government. Such elections which are held before the completion of the full term of the government are called mid term elections.  

By - elections: The elections which may be held for a specific or limited seats for a specific reason is known as By- elections.They could be held if some particular seat falls vacant due to resignation or death of an elected member.

ELECTION COMMISSION: 

 

The Election Commission is a statutory body.  Elections are organised by this commission.The commission performs several functions:

1.The Election Commission is responsible to announce the schedule of elections.

2) It gives out the schedule for filling nomination papers by the candidates . It also responsible to scrutinize their application forms for correctness.

3. It spells out a date for withdrawal of candidate also.

4. Election symbols are allotted to the candidates depending on their political affiliation or independent status.       

5. The commission is responsible to oversee that unfair means are not adopted by the candidates to woo the voters.

6.The Election Commission is responsible to ensure that the list of voters is prepared in time.

7. The Commission organises the polling booths, the staff and  the security at these locations so that the elections are fair.

8. It ensures that the ballot papers or voting machines are functional and available at the booths.

9.  It moves the ballot boxes and the voting machines to a suitable place  or counting centres.     

Secret Ballot: 

The people have the power to keep secret as to whom they are voting for.  Secret ballot is a system where  who a voter has voted for is kept a secret.

What is absolute majority?

When an election is conducted, some political party or a group of parties has more number of seats as compared to others. If the party or group of parties get more than 50% of the seat share of the house is said to have 'absolute majority'.

 

 Candidate:

A person who wishes to contest in the elections and gets his name registered for the purpose is called a candidate.

        A candidate has to fulfill some conditions laid down by the constitution to be eligible to contest. He/She is allotted  an election symbol so even people who cannot read and write can recognize the symbol on the voting machine.

POLITICAL PARTIES: 

Political parties are a group of people who agree on same policies, formulate an agenda and programme for the society with a view to promote collective good. 

What are the functions of Political Parties?

The functions of political parties are -

1) They contest elections by putting up their selected candidates from different constituencies.

2) They offer different policies and programmes and give choice to the voters through announcement of manifesto.

3) They organise and hold election rallies and door to door campaign. These are done to spread their agenda  on governance and policies they promise to implement if elected to power.

4) The majority party forms and runs the government and takes big policy decisions. They select and appoint their ministers to run the government as per their needs. They play a decisive role in making laws for the country.

5) The political party which does not get majority plays the role of opposition in parliament. 

What is Coalition Government?

A government formed by group of political parties that decide to work together is called coalition government. 

Here, a list of State wise number of Parliamentary Constituencies:

STATE                            NO. of constituencies

1. Andhra Pradesh                           25

2.Arunachal Pradesh                         2

3. Assam                                             14

4. Bihar                                               40

5. Goa                                                   2

6.Gujrat                                               26

7.Haryana                                           10

8. Himachal Pradesh                          4

9. Jammu & Kashmir                        6

10. Karnataka                                    28

11.Kerala                                             20

12. Madhya pradesh                          29

13. Maharashtra                                 48

14.Manipur                                          2

15. Meghalaya                                     2

16. Mizoram                                        1

17. Nagaland                                        1

18. Odisha                                           21

19. Punjab                                          13

20.Rajasthan                                      25

21. Sikkim                                            1

22. Tamil Nadu                                  39

23. Telangana                                     17

24. Tripura                                          2

25. Uttar Pradesh                              80

26. West Bengal                                 42

27. Chhattisgarh                               11

28. Jharkhand                                  14

29. Uttarakhand                                5

30. Andaman & Nicobar                  1

Islands

31.Chandigarh                                  1

32. Dadra & Nagar Haveli               1

33. Daman & Diu                              1

34. Delhi                                             7

35. Lakshadweep                               1

36. Pondicherry                                 1

Choose the correct option : 

1.India was a colony of 

a) Great Britain  b) Germany  c) Italy   d) France

Ans : Great Britain.

2. Mid - term elections are held in case 

a)  A member resigns  b) A member passes away

c) A member shifts party   d) Government fails to retain its majority.

Ans: Government fails to retain its majority.

3. By - elections are held when 

a) a member resigns    b) A member passes away    c) Both i &ii    d) government fails to retain its majority.

Ans: Both i & ii

4) Elections are organised by 

a) President   b) Prime Minister   c) UPSC   d) Election Commission.

Ans: Election Commission

5. Who prepares the list of voters? 

a) Chief Minister  b) President   c) Election Commission   d) Governor

Ans: Election Commission.

6) National parties are political parties which are recognised  in at least

a) two states  b) three states   c) four states   d) ten states.

Ans: four states. 

7) Political parties offer different policies to the people through

a) manifestos  b) election rallies  c) door- to- door campaign  d) all of these.

Ans: all of these.

8) Role of opposition is

a) to raise questions to the government on their failure

b) shape public opinion

c)critically examine the policies of the government

d) all of the above.

Ans: all of the above.

Fill in the blanks:

1) In India all citizen who have attained the age of 18 are eligible to vote.

2) A person who wishes to contest the election is called a candidate.

3)The party with absolute majority forms the government.

4) The party that does not get majority plays the role of opposition in the parliament.

5) The votes are counted in the presence of the representatives of the candidates or political parties.

State whether true or false.

1. India has got a democratic form of government.

Ans: True.

2) In India, the concept of secret ballot is not followed.

Ans: False.

 3) The government once elected, cannot be removed before five years.

Ans: False.

4) People have to write their name on ballot paper.

Ans: False.

5) Political parties hold election rallies.

Ans: True.

6) The leader of the majority party in the state is called Prime Minister.

Ans: False.