4. Mention the provisions laid down under the Model Code of Conduct to regulate the
election campaign.
5. In which way does the Election Commission enjoy the same kind of independence as
the judiciary?
6. What are the trends of popular participation in India?
7. Write about any three challenges which an ordinary citizen would have to face if he
wants to contest an election.
8. Differentiate between general election and by-election.
(MBOSE 2014)
9. How many political parties are recognised by the Election Commission of India as the
National Parties and State parties. (As per 2014 General Elections). (MBOSE 2015)
IIL. LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
Answers
Answer:
4- MODEL CODE OF CONDUCT-
No party or candidate shall include in any activity which may aggravate existing differences or create mutual hatred or cause tension between different castes and communities, religious or linguistic.
Criticism of other political parties, when made, shall be confined to their policies and programme, past record and work.
5-An election commission is an Independent body responsible for holding free and fair elections in India. To make sure that election commission doesn't act in a partisan manner nor under the influence of legislature or executive branch of the government , there are sufficient provisions that guarantees its independence and makes it powerful.
Just like the Judiciary of our country which is an independent institution , which acts in a fair and impartial manner and not in a partisan manner. Its decisions are not influenced either by the legislative or the executive branch of the government. The Judiciary acts on the basis of evidence and not as per the whims and fancies of any party, the election commission also enjoys a degree of autonomy
a. An EC is an autonomous body , independent of government control.
b. The President of India appoints the Chief Election Commission (CEC).After the appointment, the CEC is neither answerable to the government nor the President.
c.EC takes all decisions related to elections. It declares the election dates, prepare electoral rolls, declare results.
d.The EC has the power of punishing those candidates/parties who violate the Model Code of Conduct.
e. During elections, the EC sets guidelines for the government, so that government does not misuses its powers.
g.The government officials, who are on election duty, work under the EC and not the government.
In this way, election commission ensures equality in exercising one's franchise and also in contesting elections.
6-The trends of popular participation in India are:
(i) People’s participation in election is usually measured by voter turnout figures. In India the turnout over all these years has either remained stable or gone up.
(ii) In India, the poor illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to rich sections.
(iii) Common people in India attach a lot of importance to elections as they feel that through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies favoring them.
7-An ordinary citizen would have to face some of the following challenges if he wants to contest the elections:
(i) Candidates with lot of money enjoy a big and unfair advantage over contestants.
(ii) Sometimes candidates with criminal connections push others out of the electoral race and secure a ‘ticket’.
(iii) Some families tend to dominate political parties.
8-A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections. A general election day may also include elections for local officials.
9- India has a multi-party system with recognition accorded to national and state and district level parties. The status is reviewed periodically by the Election Commission of India (ECI). Other political parties that wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India. Registered parties are upgraded as recognized national or state level parties based upon objective criteria. A recognized party enjoys privileges like a reserved party symbol broadcast time on state run television and radio, a consultation in setting of election dates and giving input in setting electoral rules and regulations.
This listing is according to the 2019 Indian general election and Legislative Assembly elections and any party aspiring to state or national party status must fulfil at least one of the concerned criteria. In addition, national and state parties have to fulfill these conditions for all subsequent Lok Sabha or State elections, or else they lose their status. As per latest publication from Election Commission of India, the total number of parties registered was 2598, with 8 national parties, 52 state parties and 2538 unrecognized parties.
All registered parties contesting elections need to choose a symbol from a list of available symbols offered by the EC. All 28 states of the country along with the union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Puducherry have elected governments unless President's rule is imposed under certain conditions.