CBSE 10 | Chapterwise 20 PYQS- Least to the Most

SUBJECT: Civics
CLASS: X
No. of PYQs:20

Sl No QUESTIONS MARK

1 State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy? (5 5

marks) (2017,2019)

Answer: The various functions political parties perform in a

democracy are:

● Candidates are put forward by political parties to contest in

elections. These candidates may be chosen by the top leaders,
or by members of the party.
● Parties put forward their policies and programmes for voters to
choose from them.
● Political parties play a major role in making laws for the
country. No law can become a bill unless majority parties
support it.
● Political parties form and run governments.
● Parties that lose elections play the role of opposition to the
party in power.
● Parties shape public opinion.

2 What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party 3

system? Explain. (3 marks) (2015)

Answer: India adopted multi-party system because:

● It strengthens democracy.
● India is geographically a very large country
● India is socially a very diverse country
● India is culturally and religiously a diverse country.
● All these diversities can be accommodated if there is a
multi-party system and just 1 party or 2 party system will not
help in more representation and participation of people in
 democratic processes.

3 Describe any five functions of a political party. (5 marks) (2020) 5

Answer: Functions of Political Parties -

Contesting elections and winning power- The main function of

political parties is to contest elections and win power. Most of the
electoral fight happens between candidates put forward by different
political parties.

Selecting candidates and Election Campaigning- Political parties

select candidates which will represent them in the elections and also
conduct election campaigns in order to win public support.

Formulating public opinion - Political parties shape the opinions of

the general public. They also raise the issues concerning the general
public in their day to day lives.

Governing the country- The party or coalition of parties which wins

a majority of seats form the government and governs the country. They
make laws and policies for the welfare of the people.

Sitting in the opposition- The parties which fail to become a part of

government sit in the opposition. They play a very important role in
keeping a check on the ruling government and also raise the issues and
demands of the people.

4 Define a multi-party system. Explain its merits and 5

demerits.(1+2+2=5) (2023)

Answer: Multiparty system: If several parties compete for power and

more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power
either on their own strength or in alliance with others we call it a
multi-party system.

Merits:

i This system allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy

political representation.
 ii People can make a choice between several candidates.

Demerits:

i No one party is likely to gain power alone. Therefore it leads to

difficulty in formation of government.

ii Leads to political instability and often appears to be very messy.

5 How are political parties recognized as regional and national parties in 3

India? Explain with examples. (1 1/2 + 1 1/2 = 3) (2019)

Answer: Political parties as regional parties. A regional party is a

party that is present in only some states, Regional parties or State
parties need not be regional in their ideology. They have state identity
as they are present only in some states.

Some of these parties are all India parties that happen to have
succeeded only in states.

For Example, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janta Dal, Trinamool

Congress, Shiv Sena, etc.

Conditions required for a party to be recognized as a regional political

party:

(i) A party that secures at least six percent of the total votes in an
election to the legislative assembly of a state.

(ii) Wins at least two seats in the legislative assembly.

Political parties as national parties. National political parties have their

units in various states. By and large all these units follow the same
policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.

For Example, BJP, Indian National Congress.

Conditions required to be a national political party:

(i) A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in general

 elections of Lok Sabha or assembly elections in four states

(ii) A party that wins at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha.

6 Describe the necessity of political parties in democracy. (5 marks) 5/3/3

(2020)

Assess the importance of political parties in democracy? (3 marks)

(2017)
“Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.” Analyze
the statement with examples. (3 marks) (2017)

Answer: Political parties have a special role in democracy. They

perform the following functions:

1. Political parties set their programmes. During elections, they

prepare their manifestoes and present them before the people.
Through them, people come to know the national problems and
then form their own opinions.
2. Political parties help in the formulation of public opinion.
3. They contest elections.
4. The party that secures a majority in the election, forms the
government.
5. The party with minority membership forms the opposition.
6. The political parties give political education and training to the
people.

7 Explain any three functions of a Political Party. (2023) 3

Answer: Functions of Political Parties -

Contesting elections and winning power- The main function of

political parties is to contest elections and win power. Most of the
electoral fight happens between candidates put forward by different
political parties.

Selecting candidates and Election Campaigning- Political parties

 select candidates which will represent them in the elections and also
conduct election campaigns in order to win public support.

Formulating public opinion - Political parties shape the opinions of

the general public. They also raise the issues concerning the general
public in their day to day lives.

8 Explain the role of Election Commission in the ‘registration and 3/1

Recognition’ of political parties in India. (2022)

Which organization does ‘recognise’ in India? (2017)

Answer: The role of the Election Commission can be summarized as

follows:

1. The Election Commission controls the election machinery to

conduct free and fair elections as it supervises and makes changes if
needed in the electoral rules of the elections.

2. It prepares the voters. list who enjoy the right to vote as well as
considers objections also to be raised by voters in reference to voters.
list.

3. It provides the election symbols to the political parties as well as to

independent candidates. As the Congress (I) has been assigned the
symbol of Hand, and Lotus has been provided to BJP. The independent
candidates are provided symbols on a temporary basis.

4. The Election Commission declares and recognises the political

parties as national or regional.

5. Restriction on (exit polls, ceiling on election expenditure) ( Rs.

50-70 lakhs for the Lok Sabha election and Rs. 20-28 lakhs for the
Assembly election) and the use electoral bonds in elections funding are
some of the major reforms initiated by the Election Commission of
India that have sought to bring about revolutionary changes in the
electoral process and the voter behavior in contemporary India.

9 Analyze the role of political parties in India. (2022) 5

Describe the role of political parties in Indian democracy. (2020)

 Answer: Political parties are beneficial because they are representative
in nature and work as a safe and organized presentation of the public
interest. The following roles are played by political parties in a
democracy:
i. They provide a platform and representation to various sections of
society.
ii. They provide a platform for public debates and articulation of
different opinions.
iii. They contest elections and form a government. Thus, they are a
vehicle of democracy.
iv. They give shape to policies and legislation on the basis of their
election manifestos.

10 Why has India adopted a multi-party system ? Explain. (2022) 2/3

Why has India adopted a multi-party system ? (2016,2017)

Answer: India adopted multi-party system because

1. It strengthens democracy.
2. India is geographically a very large country
3. India is socially a very diverse country
4. India is culturally and religiously a diverse country.
5. All these diversities can be accommodated if there is a
multi-party system and just 1 party or 2 party system will not
help in more representation and participation of people in
democratic processes.

11 Define Political Parties. Explain any four main challenges faced by the 3
political parties. (1+4=5) (2023)

Analyse the major challenges faced by the political parties in India. (5

marks) (2022)

Examine the main challenges before political parties? (5 marks) (2017)

Which three challenges do you feel are being faced by political parties
in India? Give your opinion. (2016)

Answer: Political party is a group of people who follow an ideology

and thus come together to contest elections and hold power in the
government.

The various challenges faced by political parties are:

Lack of Internal democracy:
• Every member of the party does not have a chance to take part in the
 decision-making process.
• Every member is not consulted before taking a decision.
• There is no proper organization or registration of members.
• Power remains in the hands of a few top leaders, who do not consult
ordinary members.
• Ordinary members have no information about the internal working of
the party.
Dynastic Succession: With power in the hands of a few top leaders, all
party positions go to their family members. These members may not
be qualified or have the ability to hold their positions.

Money and Muscle Power:

• Money is needed to organize demonstrations, public meetings, and
speeches to publicize the image of the party. Parties choose those
candidates who can raise money for the party and win elections with
their money.
• Sometimes parties also support criminal candidates because they can
win elections.

The meaningful choice to others: Most of the political parties have the
same fundamental and ideological issues. Voters do not have a
meaningful choice. Even leaders keep changing parties, thus confusing
the voter.

12 The first challenge faced by the political parties is lack of internal 3

democracy within parties. What do you understand by the statement?
Explain.(2016)

Answer:

(i)All over the world,there is a tendency in political parties towards the

concentration of power In one on few leaders at the top.

(ii)Parties do not keep membership registers, do not conduct meetings

and do not contest elections regularly.

(iii)Do not hold organizational meetings.

(iv)Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information.

(v)One or few leaders exercise prominent power in the party.

13 ‘Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to 3
political parties all over the world.’ Analyze the statement. (2015)

Answer: Lack of internal democracy in political parties is the major

challenge to political parties as:

(i)All over the world,there is a tendency in political parties towards the

concentration of power In one on few leaders at the top.

(ii)Parties do not keep membership registers, do not conduct meetings

and do not contest elections regularly.

(iii)Do not hold organizational meetings.

(iv)Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information.

(v)One or few leaders exercise prominent power in the party.

14 Explain three functions of opposition political parties. (2019) 3

Answer: Following are the three functions of opposition parties:

1. They question the ruling government and make them accountable to

the public.

2. To check the government from becoming authoritarian and restrict

its power, the opposition parties keep a watch over them.

3. The main duty of opposition party is to criticize the policies of the

and government and also check the expenditure of the government.

15 Describe the role of the opposition party in a democracy? (2017 C) 5

Answer:

(1) To check the government from becoming authoritarian and to

restrict its powers, the opposition parties keep a watch over them.

(2) The main duty of the opposition party is to criticize the policies of
the government.
 (3) Outside the legislature the opposition parties attract the attention of
the press and report their criticism of the government policy in the
newspapers.

(4) The opposition parties have the right to check the expenditure of
the government also.

(5) During the question hour, the opposition parties criticism the
government generally.

16 What is the role of the opposition party in a democracy? (2017) 3

Answer:

(1) To check the government from becoming authoritarian and to

restrict its powers, the opposition parties keep a watch over them.

(2) The main duty of the opposition party is to criticize the policies of
the government.

(3) Outside the legislature the opposition parties attract the attention of
the press and report their criticism of the government policy in the
newspapers.

17 Explain the three components of a political party? (2019) 3

Answer: A political party has three components, viz. :

(i) The Leaders: Who formulate policies and programs of the party and
choose candidates for contesting elections.

(ii) The Active Members: Who are involved in different committees of

the party and participate directly in their activity.

(iii) The Followers: Who believe in the party’s ideology and support
the party by casting their votes in favor of the party at the time of the
election.

18 What are the components of a political party? (2016) 1

Answer: Leaders,Active Members,Followers.

19 In which one of the following options are political parties a necessary 1
condition?

(a) Democracy
(b) Authoritarian
(c) Dictatorship
(d) Despotism

(2023)

Answer: (a)

20 Two statements are given below as Assertion (A) and Reason (R). 1
Read the Statements and choose the correct option:

Assertion (A): Elections are the spirit of democracy.

Reason (R): Elections expand Political participation.

Options:

(A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(B) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is the not correct explanation of
(A).
(C) (A) is true, but (R) is false.
(D) (A) is false, but (R) is true.

(2023)

Answer: (A) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct
explanation of (A).