notes of electoral politics class 9th
Answers
After going through these CBSE notes, you will get to know the points that make an election democratic. These CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes will help you in revision as well.
Why Do We Need Elections?
Elections take place regularly in any democracy. There are more than 100 countries in the world in which elections take place to choose people’s representatives. The mechanism by which people can choose their representatives at regular intervals and change them whenever they want to is called an election.
In an election the voters make many choices:
They can choose who will make laws for them.
They can choose who will form the government and take major decisions.
They can choose the party whose policies will guide the government and law making.
What Makes an Election Democratic?
Minimum conditions of a democratic election include the following points.
Everyone should be able to choose their own representative.
Parties and candidates should be free to contest elections and should offer some real choice to the voters.
Elections must be held regularly after every few years.
The candidate preferred by the people should get elected.
Elections should be conducted in a free and fair manner where people can choose as they really wish.
Is it Good to have Political Competition?
Elections are all about political competition. This competition takes various forms. At the constituency level, it takes the form of competition among several candidates. Here are a few reasons that support political competition as being good for people.
Regular electoral competition provides incentives to political parties and leaders.
Political parties know that if they raise issues that people want to be raised, their popularity and chances of victory will increase in the next elections. On the contrary, if they fail to satisfy the voters with their work, they will not be able to win again
If a political party is motivated only by the desire to be in power, despite that, it will be forced to serve the people.
What is Our System of Election?
Elections are held in India in Lok Sabha and Vidhan Sabha (Assembly) regularly after every 5 years. After 5 years, the term of all the elected representatives comes to an end.
Use any place of worship for election propaganda
Use government vehicles, aircraft and officials for elections
Once elections are announced, Ministers shall not lay foundation stones of any projects, take any big policy decisions or make any promises of providing public facilities
Polling and Counting of Votes
The day when the voters cast or ‘poll’ their vote is called the election day. The voting is done in the following manner.
The machine shows the names of the candidates and the party symbols.
The voter has to just press the button against the name of the candidate she wants to give her vote to.
Once the polling is over, all the EVMs are sealed and taken to a secure place.
A few days later, all the EVMs are opened and the votes secured by each candidate are counted.
The candidate who secures the highest number of votes from a constituency is declared elected.
What Makes Election in India Democratic?
1) Independent Election Commission
In India, elections are conducted by the Election Commission (EC). The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) is appointed by the President of India. Election Commission is independent and has a wide-range of powers which are:
In India, the poor, illiterate and underprivileged people vote in larger proportion as compared to the rich and privileged sections.
Common people in India feel that through elections they can bring pressure on political parties to adopt policies and programmes favourable to them.
The interest of voters in election related activities has been increasing over the years.
3) Acceptance of Election Outcome
One final test of the free and fairness of the election is the outcome of the election.
The ruling parties routinely lose elections in India both at the national and state level.
In the US, an incumbent or ‘sitting’ elected representative rarely loses an election. In India, about half of the sitting MPs or MLAs lose elections.
Candidates who are known to have spent a lot of money on ‘buying votes’ and those with known criminal connections often lose elections.
Barring very few disputed elections, the electoral outcomes are usually accepted as ‘people’s verdict’ by the defeated party.
Challenges to Free and Fair Elections
Elections in India are essentially free and fair. Sometimes this may not be true for every constituency. There are many limitations and challenges to Indian elections. These include:
Answer:
In Chapter 3 of Class 9 Civics, you will understand how the representatives are elected. The chapter begins with the topic of why elections are necessary and useful in a democracy. Then it further explains how electoral competition among parties serves the people. The basic idea that this chapter tries to convey is to distinguish democratic elections from non-democratic elections. So, go through CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 3 on Electoral Politics and get a deep understanding of this chapter.
In Chapter 3 of Class 9 Civics, you will understand how the representatives are elected. The chapter begins with the topic of why elections are necessary and useful in a democracy. Then it further explains how electoral competition among parties serves the people. The basic idea that this chapter tries to convey is to distinguish democratic elections from non-democratic elections. So, go through CBSE Notes Class 9 Political Science Chapter 3 on Electoral Politics and get a deep understanding of this chapter.After going through these CBSE notes, you will get to know the points that make an election democratic. These CBSE Class 9 Social Science Notes will help you in revision as well.