NCERT Solutions for Class 9 Civics (Political Science) Chapter 3 Electoral Politics contains answers to the exercise questions given in ‘Democratic Politics -I’. These solutions will help students for the preparation of CBSE Class 9 SST exam. All the answers are useful for exams as most of the questions are asked from the NCERT textbooks. So, students can study these solutions and score high in their exams.
Class 9 Civics Electoral Politics Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following statements about the reasons for conducting elections are false?
(a) Elections enable people to judge the performance of the government.
(b) People select the representative of their choice in an election.
(c) Elections enable people to evaluate the performance of the judiciary.
(d) People can indicate which policies they prefer.
Answer: (c) 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?
a. India has the largest number of voters in the world.
b. India’s Election Commission is very powerful.
c. In India, everyone above the age of 18 has a right to vote.
d. In India, the losing parties accept the electoral verdict.
Answer: (a) India has the largest number of voters in the world.
Question 3: Match the following:
| (a) It is necessary to keep the voters’ list up to date because | (i) there is a fair representation of all sections of our society |
| (b) Some constituencies are reserved for SCs and STs so that | (ii) everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representatives |
| (c) Everyone has one and only one vote so that | (iii) all candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections |
| (d) Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicles because | (iv) some people may have moved away from the area where they voted last |
Answer:
| (a) 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 |
| (b) Some constituencies are reserved for SCs and STs so that | (i) there is a fair representation of all sections of our society |
| (c) Everyone has one and only one vote so that | (ii) everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representatives |
| (d) Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicles because | (iii) all candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections |
Question 4: List all the different election related activities mentioned in the 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.
Answer: Making of voters’ list → Announcing election schedule → Releasing election manifesto → Election campaign → Filing nomination → Casting of votes → Ordering of 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 should she focus on for each of the following stages of election:
(a) Election campaign
Answer: She will have to focus on various duties such as ensure that candidates cannot bribe or threaten voters, expenditure limit is not crossed by a candidate, candidates not appeal to vote in the name of religion or caste, they not use worship place for campaign or use any government resources.
(b) Polling day
Answer: She will have to crosscheck the voters’ list and check ID proof of the voters, booth capturing not take place. Ensure that Free and fair election should be conducted
(c) Counting day
Answer: She had to look on counting is carried out, representatives of all parties present at counting area in order to avoid malpractices.
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. 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?
| Communities | The proportion of the Community (in per cent) | |
| House of representatives | Population of US | |
| Blacks | 8 | 13 |
| Hispanics | 5 | 13 |
| Whites | 86 | 70 |
Answer: Blacks and Hispanics should be given reservation in the US Congress as per their percentage in the US population.
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.
(a) Election Commission of India does not have enough powers to conduct free and fair elections in the country.
Answer: No. The given conclusion for the Election Commission cannot be drawn because:
- Election Commission released the code of conduct for elections and has the power to punish whoever violates them.
- During elections, the election in-charge works under the Election Commission of India and not the government.
(b) There is a high level of popular participation in the elections in our country.
Answer: Yes, the given conclusion can be drawn because:
- Voter turnout has increased over the past years.
- Election-related activities in the last few years have seen larger participation by the people.
(c) It is very easy for the party in power to win an election.
Answer: No, it is not the right conclusion
- The ruling parties routinely lose elections.
- Candidates who are known to spend a lot of money often lose elections.
(d) Many reforms are needed to make our elections completely free and fair.
Answer: Yes, the conclusion is fair because
- To ensure that independent and small parties do not suffer in elections.
- To ensure candidates with criminal records not participate.
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?
Answer: This decision does not go against the principles of democratic elections. Any person who is convicted for a crime has not right to remain a part of the society and hence has no right to contest the election.
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?
(a) During an election in Nigeria, the officer in charge of counting votes deliberately increased the votes of one candidate and declared him elected. The court later found out that more than five lakh votes cast for one candidate were counted in favour of another.
Answer: On the vote-counting day, the representatives of each party that has contested in the election should be present. Nigeria should follow this rule of the election that is practised in India.
(b) 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.
Answer: Candidates or the political party should be identified through enquiry by election commission and should be debarred from participating in elections.
(c) 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.
Answer: There should be a single election commission which should be free from political influence and should be responsible for conducting elections throughout the country.
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?
(a) Following the announcement of elections, the minister promised to provide financial aid to reopen the closed sugar mill.
Answer: After the announcement of the election, it is not legal to announce policy decisions according to the Code of Conduct. The minister should be immediately taken to task by the Election Commission.
(b) Opposition parties alleged that their statements and campaign was not given due attention in Doordarshan and All India Radio.
Answer: Election Commission should ensure free and fair representation to all parties in the government-owned media.
(c) An inquiry by the Election Commission showed that electoral rolls of a state contain name of 20 lakh fake voters.
Answer: The presence of the fake voters means that the elections were rigged by the authorities who prepared the electoral rolls. The election commission should supervise the preparation of fresh electoral rolls.
(d) 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.
Answer: Election Commission should ban the party, as use of muscle power and money power is totally illegal.
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?
(a) Women always vote the way men tell them to. So what is the point of giving them the right to vote?
Answer: In elections, the secret-ballot system is used where an individual can vote for the party he/she likes. Hence, women can also use their discretion and cast a vote as per their wish.
(b) Party politics creates tension in society. Elections should be decided by consensus not by competition.
Answer: Competition works as both deterrent and motivator for the political candidates. A fear of losing the election and a motivation for winning the elections work in favour of people.
(c) Only graduates should be allowed to stand as candidates for elections.
Answer: Being a graduate and understanding the problems in our society are not interrelated. Hence, it would be unfair if someone is not permitted to run for an election based on education qualification.