summary of.... ELECTORAL POLITICS.... class 9 ✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️✌️
Answers
≡
my_logo
Class 9 Civics
Electoral Politics
PrevNext
Why do we need elections?
Through elections:
Voters can choose the people who would make law for them.
Voters can choose the people who would form government and take major decisions for them.
Voters can choose the political party which would guide the government and law making.
Features of a democratic election:
Every adult citizen should be able to choose. This means that every adult citizen should have one vote and each vote shall carry equal weight.
Elections should offer choices to the people. There should be various political parties and candidates to choose from.
The choice of selecting the rulers should be offered at regular intervals. In India, elections are normally held after every five years.
The most preferred candidate should get elected. In India, we follow the first past the post system, i.e. the candidate who secures the maximum number of valid votes is declared a winner.
Elections should be held in free and fair manner and people should be in a position to cast their votes without fear or favour.
Is it good to have political competition?
People often complain that political competition is not good for the society as it tends to breed unhealthy attitude and corruption. Politicians try to win an election by hook or crook. But we should look at the positives also. There are many examples of a powerful politician getting defeated in an election. Many politicians lose elections in spite of putting all the money and muscle power at his disposal. Since politicians have a fear of losing the election so they have no other way but to work for people’s welfare. Chances of winning in an election also work as a motivational factor for a politician. Bay and large, elections are fair in India and political competition plays an important role in making it fair.
System of Elections in India
Electoral Constituency: For parliamentary elections, the country is divided into more than 543 electoral constituencies. A constituency is usually made on the basis of population of a particular geographical area. Similarly, assembly constituencies are made in different states for the elections to the state assemblies. Voters in a constituency elect their representative.
Reserved Constituency: The constitution makers were of the opinion that people from the oppressed sections of the society should be given some leverage so that they could enhance their political representation. They made the provision for reserved constituencies for members of the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes. As on 1st September 2012, there are 84 seats reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 47 seats reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. Only the candidate from SC or ST can contest from these seats. But voters from all communities shall vote for the candidates in such constituencies. Now-a-days, reservation for OBCs (Other Backward Classes) is also given for elections to the local government bodies; like panchayats and municipalities. The percentage of reserved seats is same as the percentage of these communities in the population of India.
Voter’s List: A list of all eligible voters is prepared for each constituency a few months before the elections. Voter’s list is updated from time to time to include the new voters and delete those who may have left the area or may have died. Voter’s list is also called electoral roll.
Election Photo Identity Card: Once the voter’s list is finalized, all the voter’s are expected to come to get election photo identity card or voter ID card. The provision for voter ID card has been made to prevent surrogate voting and bogus voting. But it is not necessary to carry your voter ID card to the polling booth. You can also carry any other valid ID proof; like driving license, ration card or PAN card.
Nomination of Candidates: Once the election dates are announced, the candidates need to file their nomination. When a candidate is selected by a political party as a candidate, it is usually known as party ‘ticket’. While filing the nomination, the candidate has to provide certain details and some security deposit. Some of the details required from the candidate are as follows:
Details of serious criminal cases pending against the candidate.
Details of assets and liabilities of the candidate and family members.
Educational qualification of the candidate.