{"slug":"cbse-class-10-social-science-political-parties","title":"Political Parties","description":"What parties are and do, why democracies need them, party systems, national and state parties, and party reform.","board":"CBSE","grade":"Class 10","subject":"Social Science","chapter":"Political Parties","url":"https://www.flipnlearn.app/deck/cbse-class-10-social-science-political-parties","studyUrl":"https://www.flipnlearn.app/deck/cbse-class-10-social-science-political-parties/study","cards":[{"id":"political-party","kind":"term-definition","front":"Political party","back":"An organised group whose members join together to contest elections and win power in government. Its members share a set of policies and programmes meant to serve the common good, and it tries to convince people that its policies are better than those of rivals."},{"id":"partisanship","kind":"term-definition","front":"Partisan / partisanship","back":"A partisan is a person strongly committed to a party, group or faction. Partisanship is the tendency to take a side and the inability to take a balanced view of an issue. Parties involve partisanship because each stands for a part of society."},{"id":"three-components-of-a-political-party","kind":"term-definition","front":"Three components of a political party","back":"The leaders, the active members and the followers."},{"id":"parties-contest-elections-and-choose-candidates","kind":"concept-question","front":"How do parties select candidates to contest elections, and how does this differ between countries?","back":"Elections in most democracies are fought mainly between candidates put up by parties. In the USA, a party's members and supporters choose its candidates, a method more countries are adopting. In India, top party leaders choose the candidates."},{"id":"parties-put-forward-policies","kind":"concept-question","front":"How do parties help voters choose among policies?","back":"No government can handle the vast variety of individual opinions. A party reduces this multitude of opinions to a few basic positions, voters choose between these programmes, and the government is expected to base its policies on the ruling party's line."},{"id":"role-of-parties-in-making-laws","kind":"concept-question","front":"What role do political parties play in making laws?","back":"Laws are formally debated and passed in the legislature, but most legislators belong to a party and follow its leadership's direction whatever their personal opinions. So parties play a decisive role in law-making."},{"id":"parties-form-and-run-governments","kind":"concept-question","front":"How do parties form and run governments?","back":"Big policy decisions are taken by the political executive, which comes from the parties. Parties recruit leaders, train them and make them ministers, so the government runs the way the ruling party wants."},{"id":"role-of-opposition-parties","kind":"concept-question","front":"What role do opposition parties play in a democracy?","back":"Parties that lose elections act as the opposition to the parties in power. They voice different views, criticise the government for its failures or wrong policies, and mobilise opposition to the government."},{"id":"parties-shape-public-opinion","kind":"concept-question","front":"How do political parties shape public opinion?","back":"They raise and highlight issues through lakhs of members and activists across the country; many pressure groups are their extensions in different sections of society. They sometimes launch movements to resolve people's problems, and opinion often crystallises along the lines parties take."},{"id":"parties-give-access-to-government","kind":"concept-question","front":"How do parties give people access to government machinery and welfare schemes?","back":"An ordinary citizen finds a local party leader far easier to approach than a government officer, so people turn to parties for help with government machinery and welfare schemes, even when they distrust them. Parties must respond to such needs, or voters can reject them at the next election."},{"id":"why-democracies-need-political-parties","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why can modern democracies not exist without political parties?","back":"Without parties every candidate would be independent, so no one could promise major policy changes and no one would be responsible for how the country is run. Large representative democracies need an agency to gather views, form responsible governments, and support or restrain them. Even non-party panchayat polls split into panels."},{"id":"one-party-system","kind":"concept-question","front":"What is a one-party system, and why is it not a good option?","back":"A system in which only one party is allowed to control and run the government, as with the Communist Party in China. It is not democratic, because any democracy must allow at least two parties to compete and give them a fair chance of coming to power."},{"id":"two-party-system","kind":"term-definition","front":"Two-party system","back":"A party system in which government usually alternates between two main parties. Smaller parties may contest and win a few seats, but realistically only the two main parties can win a majority. The USA and the UK are examples."},{"id":"multiparty-system","kind":"term-definition","front":"Multiparty system","back":"A party system in which three or more parties have a realistic chance of forming government, alone or in alliance. It can appear messy and unstable, but it gives political representation to a wide range of interests and opinions. India has a multiparty system."},{"id":"alliance-or-front","kind":"term-definition","front":"Alliance or front","back":"Several parties in a multiparty system joining hands to contest elections and win power. In the 2004 elections India had three major ones: the National Democratic Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front."},{"id":"why-india-has-a-multiparty-system","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why has India evolved a multiparty system?","back":"A party system is not chosen; it evolves from a society's nature, its social and regional divisions, political history and electoral system. India's social and geographical diversity is too great to be absorbed by two or even three parties."},{"id":"participation-in-political-parties-in-india","kind":"concept-question","front":"What does survey evidence show about Indians' trust in and participation in political parties?","back":"Parties are among the least trusted institutions in South Asia and worldwide. Yet party membership in India is higher than in countries such as Canada, Japan, Spain and South Korea, and the share of people who are members or feel close to a party has risen steadily."},{"id":"recognised-national-and-state-parties","kind":"concept-question","front":"How does the Election Commission recognise a state party and a national party?","back":"A state party needs at least 6 per cent of votes in a state assembly election and at least two seats. A national party needs at least 6 per cent of votes in Lok Sabha or assembly elections in four states and at least four Lok Sabha seats. Recognised parties get a unique election symbol."},{"id":"how-state-parties-strengthened-federalism","kind":"concept-question","front":"How has the rise of state parties strengthened federalism and democracy?","back":"State parties have grown in number and strength, making Parliament more diverse. Until 2014 no national party won a Lok Sabha majority alone, so national parties had to ally with state parties. Since 1996 nearly every state party has been part of some national coalition government."},{"id":"lack-of-internal-democracy-in-parties","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why is lack of internal democracy a challenge for political parties?","back":"Power concentrates in one or a few leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, hold meetings or conduct regular internal elections, and ordinary members lack information and influence. Those who disagree find it hard to stay, and personal loyalty to the leader outweighs loyalty to principles."},{"id":"dynastic-succession","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why is dynastic succession a challenge for political parties and for democracy?","back":"Without open, transparent procedures, ordinary workers rarely rise to the top, and leaders favour people close to them or family members. This is unfair to other members, and it puts people without enough experience or popular support into positions of power."},{"id":"money-and-muscle-power","kind":"concept-question","front":"How do money and muscle power undermine political parties?","back":"Focused only on winning, parties nominate candidates who have or can raise money, and sometimes support criminals who can win. Rich people and companies who fund parties gain influence over their policies and decisions."},{"id":"lack-of-meaningful-choice","kind":"concept-question","front":"Why do parties often fail to offer voters a meaningful choice?","back":"Ideological differences between parties have declined worldwide; Britain's Labour and Conservative parties differ only in details, and India's major parties differ little on economic policy. The same leaders also keep shifting between parties, so voters cannot choose really different leaders either."},{"id":"defection-and-anti-defection-law","kind":"concept-question","front":"What is defection, and how did the anti-defection amendment change it?","back":"Defection is changing allegiance from the party on which one was elected to another, often for a ministerial post or cash. The Constitution was amended so an MLA or MP who changes parties loses the seat. This reduced defection but made dissent harder, since legislators must accept the leaders' decisions."},{"id":"recent-efforts-to-reform-parties","kind":"concept-question","front":"What steps have the Supreme Court and Election Commission taken to reform parties, and how effective are they?","back":"The Supreme Court made every candidate file an affidavit declaring property and pending criminal cases; this informs the public, but there is no check on its truth. The Election Commission made parties hold organisational elections and file income tax returns, though this is sometimes a mere formality."}]}