Goa Board Class 9 Solutions for Civics – Electoral Politics (English Medium)
Page No. 74:
Question 1:
Which of the following statements about the reasons for conducting elections are false?
- Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government.
- People select the representative of their choice in an election.
- Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary.
- People can indicate which policies they prefer.
Solution:
1. Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary.
Question 2:
Which of these is not a good reason to say that Indian elections are democratic?
- India has the largest number of voters in the world.
- India’s Election Commission is very powerful.
- In India, everyone above the age of 18 has a right to vote.
- In India, the losing parties accept the electoral verdict.
Solution:
1. India has the largest number of voters in the world.
Question 3:
Match the following:
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Solution:
1. 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 |
2. Some constituencies are reserved for SCs and STs so that | i. There is a fair representation of all sections of our society |
3. Everyone has one and only one vote so that | ii. Everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representative |
4. Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicles because | iii. All candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections |
Page No. 75:
Question 4:
List all different election related activities mentioned in this 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.
Solution:
- Making voters’ list
- Announcing the election schedule
- Filing nomination
- Releasing election manifestos
- Election campaign
- Casting of votes
- Ordering a re-poll
- Counting of votes
- Declaration of election results
Question 5:
Surekha is an officer in-charge of ensuring free and fair elections in an assembly constituency in a state. Describe what she should focus on for each of the following stages of election:
- Election campaign
- Polling day
- Counting day
Solution:
Election campaign: She should ensure the following actions are taken:
- Elections are conducted in a fair and peaceful manner.
- Expenditure limit is not crossed by the candidate.
iii. Muscle power is not used to threaten people to cast their votes against a particular party.
- Bribery is not used to influence voters.
- Government resources are not used or any kinds of misuse of government machines do not take place.
- There should be no invoking candidates on the basis of religion or caste during canvassing.
vii. No places of worship have been used for election propaganda by the various parties or candidates.
viii. There is no distribution of money or other materials such as saris, sewing machines and food grains among the voters.
- Polling Day: She should focus on ensuring the following
- Peaceful polling takes place.
- There is no capturing of polling booth.
iii. No canvassing is allowed within the premises of the booth.
- No fake or bogus are cast.
- Weaker and poorer sections are able to cast their vote freely and without fear.
- Counting Day: She should see to it that
- Counting is done in a systematic and peaceful manner.
- No unauthorised person except the counting agents of the candidates is allowed to enter the counting centre.
iii. The candidates and political parties are kept away from the voting machine during the counting.
- After counting, the results are declared by the authorised official.
Question 6:
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.
Proportion of the community (in per cent) in the | ||
House of representatives | Population of US | |
Blacks | 8 | 13 |
Hispanics | 5 | 13 |
Whites | 86 | 70 |
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?
Solution:
Based on the given table, the Hispanic community should be provided with reservation in the House of Representatives. This is because the reservation provided to them is much less compared to their population. However, the whites should not be provided with reservations as they are already over-represented in proportion to their population in the country.
Question 7:
Can we draw the following conclusions from the information given in this chapter? Give two facts to support your position for each of these
- Election Commission of India does not have enough powers to conduct free and fair elections in the country.
- There is a high level of popular participation in the elections in our country.
- It is very easy for the party in power to win an election.
- Many reforms are needed to make our elections completely free and fair
Solution:
- The statement given here is wrong. Election Commission of India (EC) is very powerful and can conduct free and fair elections in the country. The Constitution has entrusted the EC with the responsibility to conduct free and fair elections. Moreover, the EC has the right to re-conduct the elections in case unfair means are used during elections. In addition, it can also punish a party or a candidate if found to be violating the code of conduct for elections.
- It is true. In our country, a higher level of voter participation in elections is observed because now-a-days people have become more aware of the importance of voting. In addition, they have realised that through elections that they can bring about much needed change required in the country.
- The statement given is not correct. It is not at all easy for the party in power to win elections because the anti-incumbency factor always works against it. Because no party in power is able to fulfill all the promises made to the people during the last elections, a large number of voters turn against it and try to change the government.
- The statement given is correct. Though the role of money and muscle power has been reduced tremendously, there is a need to control it further. There are many political parties that take advantage of money to win in elections. Moreover, many candidates having criminal records utilise their strength to threaten candidates to vote in their favour.
Question 8:
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?
Solution:
The Court’s decision of preventing Chinappa and Satbir from contenting elections did not go against the principles of democratic elections because both of them were guilty of committing offenses and violating laws. Moreover, the law provides that a person who has been convicted by a court cannot fight election. Thus, they should not be allowed to hold any position of power.
Question 9:
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?
- During an election in Nigeria, the officer who was in charge of counting votes deliberately increased the votes of one candidate and declared him as elected. The court later found out that more than five lakhexercised votes cast for one candidate were counted in favour of another.
- Just before elections in Fiji, a pamphlet was distributed warning voters that a vote for former Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, will lead to bloodshed. This was a threat to voters of Indian origin.
- 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 favoured Mr. Bush in the presidential elections in 2000. But no one could change those decisions.
Solution:
- To make sure that votes are counted in a fair manner, a representative of each candidate should be present. Moreover, if it is proved that malpractice has taken place, then the election should be declared null and void and re-elections should be held. The officer in-charge of the counting should be given strict punishment for committing such wrongdoing.
- This definitely indicates electoral malpractice. An enquiry should be set up and the candidate responsible for this malpractice should be debarred from contesting any elections.
- US too should follow the procedure of having a single Election Commission. It should be free from any political influence and be made responsible for conducting elections throughout the country.
Page No. 76:
Question 10:
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?
- Following the announcement of elections, the minister promised to provide financial aid to reopen closed sugar mills.
- Opposition parties alleged that their statements and campaign was not given due attention in Doordarshan and All India Radio.
- An inquiry by the Election Commission showed that electoral rolls of a state contain name of 20 lakh fake voters.
- 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.
Solution:
- With the announcement of elections, the code of conduct comes into force. According to the model code of conduct, after elections are announced, ministers are not allowed to lay foundation stones of any project or take any major policy decision or make any promise of providing public facilities. Therefore, the minister should be stopped from making such promises.
- All parties are entitled to get adequate time to express their views on Doordarshan and All India Radio. This has already been done by the Election Commission and time is fixed for different political parties.
- The electoral rolls of that state should be fully revised and names of all the fake voters should be removed from the voter’s list.
- This is also a malpractice adopted by certain candidate and even by political parties during the elections. Movement of people with guns and other arms should be strictly banned and anyone following it should be arrested and punished. The candidates must be provided with security by the state and steps should be taken to ensure that meeting of other parties are not disturbed or attacked.
Question 11:
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?
- Women always vote the way men tell them to. So what is the point of giving them the right to vote?
- Party politics creates tension in society. Elections should be decided by consensus not by competition.
- Only graduates should be allowed to stand as candidates for elections.
Solution:
- This statement is wrong because we practise the policy of secret ballot; it is not possible to tell who votes for whom. Also, Ramesh’s father is being biased towards women as he is denying women their right to vote as they like. Moreover, the Constitution has also promised equality and no discrimination based on gender.
- Even though party politics creates tension in society, there is no option. In places where the population is very large, it is not possible to have consensus on election. Moreover, competition works as both deterrent and motivator for political candidates. A fear of losing the election and a motivation for winning the elections works in favour of people.
- It is not necessary that only a graduate can understand the mood of people and be a good leader and administrator. Moreover, given the very low percentage of graduates in India, allowing only graduates to contest elections would deprive majority of the citizens the right to contest elections.