Here you will find all the questions, solutions, answers, and notes of chapter 13 Competition and Contestations in Democracy of Social Science for class 10 students studying under Nagaland Board of School Education (NBSE). However, the study materials should be used only for references and nothing more. The notes can be modified/changed according to needs.
INTRODUCTION: Political parties are the life-blood of a democratic polity. It is particularly so in a country like India which has a multi-party system. If you travel to the countryside and discuss politics with village folks, they will talk about various political parties, their leaders and their politics, though they may not know anything about our Constitution and its provisions. Most of us tend to be very critical of political parties and blame them for all the wrongs in our society. They are blamed for conflicts, divisions and unethical practices prevalent in our democracy and political life. A century ago, there were few countries that had political parties, now there are few which do not have them. Most of the countries have several political parties.
A political party is a group of people who share a common ideology and aim to form the government by contesting elections and winning a majority of the contested seats. Each political party has a set of policies and programmes declared publicly by election manifestos, for the promotion of the common good of citizens.
II. Very Short Answer Questions
1. Name three components of a political party.
Answer: The essential components of a political party:
i. the leaders
ii. the active members, and
iii. the followers.
3. What is the difference between a national party and a state party?
Answer: National parties are present in all or many of the federal units, whereas state parties are present in only one of the federal units.
III. Short Answer Questions
1. Differentiate between a ruling party and an opposition party.
Answer: A party that forms government at the central or state level is called a ruling party. On the other hand, a party other than the ruling party in a legislature is called ab opposition party.
3. Write the major objectives of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Answer: It wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values.
IV. Long Answer Questions
1. Explain how a political party can shape public opinion.
Answer: Opinion of people against and in favour of certain issues and policies of the government can make the prospects of a ruling party in the coming election. Opposition parties play a pivotal role in the formation of public opinion through organising meetings, demonstrations, protests, dharnas, distribution of posters and pamphlets and highlighting issues in the mass media. They examine and criticise the government for its failures and wrong policies.
4. ‘The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation.’ Explain. [HOTS]
Answer: The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation. It would be difficult to reform politics if ordinary people simply criticise it from the outside. The problem of bad politics can be solved by adopting better politics. That is possible only when ordinary citizens participate in the process of democracy. Constitutional institutions should be strengthened that help people’s participation and control.
Additional/extra questions and answers/solutions
1. What distinguishes one political party from another?
Answer. Each political party has its own set of policies, programmes, and ideologies. They hope to gain popular support in an election so that they may put their plans into action.
2. What is a political party’s main goal?
Answer. The main goal of an apolitical party is to create a government at the national or state level. It wants to accomplish so by gaining the greatest number of legislative seats possible.
28. What is Adult Franchise?
Answer: The right to vote given to all citizens over a certain age without any discrimination is known as the Adult franchise.
30. What is a coalition government?
Answer: A coalition government is one in which multiple parties work together to form a government. It usually occurs when no party obtains a majority in Parliament and several parties band together to demonstrate their majority.
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