NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4 Political Parties: Download Free PDF

In NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4, we have provided summarised notes of what you have learned in the chapter. You also, get a free PDF of the solutions for you to download. These notes will help you recap the chapter within minutes and will serve you as a quick method of revision. Thereafter, you will come across the solutions to the exercise in the book. Let’s proceed!

Download the NCERT Solutions of Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4 Political Parties

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NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4: Why do We Need Political Parties?

Political parties are a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. Here are some of the features of political parties:

• They agree and make some policies and programs for the collective good of the society. 
• Political parties seek to implement their policies by winning elections.
• They reflect fundamental political divisions in a society.
• Parties involve partisanship.
• A political party has three components:

                   * The leaders

                   * The active members

                   * The followers

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Functions of Political Parties

Political parties play different roles in a democracy. Here are the key functions of these organisations:

1. They contest elections.

• They put forth their candidates in elections that represent them. 
• In India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.

2. Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.

• Depending on their different views and opinions, parties put forth different policies and programs for the betterment of society. 
• A large number of similar opinions have to be grouped to provide a direction in which policies can be formulated by the governments.
• A government is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the ruling party.

3. Parties play a decisive role in making laws.

• Laws are made in the direction of the party leadership, irrespective of personal opinions. 

4. Parties form and run governments.

• Big policy decisions are taken by the political executive that comes from the political parties.
• Parties recruit leaders, make them ministers and then they run governments in the way the party wants. 

5. The losing parties in elections, form opposition.

• They voice different views and criticise the government for its failures. 
• They also mobilise opposition to the government. 

6. Political parties shape public opinion.

• They raise and highlight issues.
• Many of the pressure groups are the extensions of political parties among different sections of society.
• Often opinions in the society crystallise on the lines parties take.

7. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes that are implemented by the government. 

• Parties have to be responsive to people’s needs and demands. And hence convey the same to the government leaders. Otherwise, people can reject those parties in the next elections.

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Why do we need political parties?

We need political parties because of the following functions:-

• Democracies cannot exist without political parties.
• They help make major policy changes.
• The utility of the government will be certain.
• Elected representatives will be accountable for their actions. 
• The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. 
• Parties represent people and convey people’s opinions to government officials.
• Parties are a necessary condition for the proper functioning of a democracy. 

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Party Systems Across the World

In this section of NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4, we will explore different types of party systems across the world. Also, we will learn about the number of political parties in India. 

• As of now, more than 750 parties are registered with the government of India. 
• In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called ‘one-party systems’.
• Several other parties may exist, contest elections and win a few seats in the national legislatures. But only the two main parties have a serious chance of winning a majority of seats to form the government. Such a party system is called a ‘two-party system’. For example, the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
• several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their strength or in alliance with others, we call it a ‘multiparty system’. India is an example of a multi-party system. 
• When several parties in a multi-party system join hands to contest elections and win power, it is called an alliance or a front. For example, in India, there were three such major alliances in the 2004 parliamentary elections– the National Democratic Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left Front.

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NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4: National Parties

Furthermore, in this part of NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4, we have summarised notes on National Parties. You will come across the definition of national party and top national parties in India.

• There are some country-wide parties, which are called ‘national parties’.These parties have their units in various states. But by and large, all these units follow the same policies, programmes and strategies that are decided at the national level. 
• The large parties are given a unique symbol by the Election Commission of India along with some other facilities. These parties are called ‘Recognised Political Parties’.
• A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State and wins at least two seats is recognised as a State party. A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national party.

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Recognised National Parties in India

According to this, in the year 2019, there were 7 recognised national parties in India. Those parties are mentioned below:-

1. All India Trinamool Congress (AITC):-  

• Launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee. 
• Recognised as a national party in 2016. 
• The party’s symbol is flowers and grass. Committed to secularism and federalism. ]
• Has been in power in West Bengal since 2011. Also has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura. 
• In the General Elections held in 2019, it got 4.07 per cent votes and won 22 seats, making it the fourth-largest party in the Lok Sabha.

2. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

• Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. 
• Aspires to represent and secure power for the Bahujan samaj which includes the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs, and religious minorities. 
• Draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker, and Babasaheb Ambedkar. 
• Stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the Dalits and oppressed people.

3. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

• Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951. 
• Wants to build a strong and modern by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s ideas of integral humanism and Antyodaya.
• Religious nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics.

4. Communist Party of India (CPI)

• Formed in 1925. 
• Believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism and democracy. 
• Opposed to the forces of secessionism and communalism. 
• Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interests of the working class, farmers and the poor. 

5. Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M)

• Founded in 1964. 
• Believes in Marxism-Leninism. 
• Supports socialism, secularism and democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism. 
• Accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socioeconomic justice in India. 
• Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, especially among the poor, factory workers, farmers, agricultural labourers and the intelligentsia.

6. Indian National Congress (INC)

• Popularly known as the Congress Party.
• One of the oldest political parties in the world. 
• Founded in 1885 and has experienced many splits since its formation.
• Played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national and state level for several decades after India’s Independence. 
• In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it won 19.5% votes and 52 seats.

7. Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

• Formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party. 
• Promotes democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and federalism. 
• Wants that high offices in government be confined to natural-born citizens of the country.
• A major party in Maharashtra and has a significant presence in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.

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NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4: State Parties

Now, it is time to learn about State Parties in NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political parties Chapter 4. 

• Other than these seven parties, most of the major parties of the country are classified by the Election Commission as ‘State parties’. These are commonly referred to as regional parties.
• Over the last three decades, the number and strength of these parties has expanded.
• Since 1996, nearly every one of the State parties has had an opportunity to be a part of one or the other national-level coalition government.

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Challenges to Political Parties

Now, in this section of NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4, we will learn about the limitations of political parties in a democracy. 

• People blame parties for whatever is wrong with the working of democracy.
• People blame political parties for their failures.
• One other challenge is the lack of internal democracy within the party. 
• Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.
• As a result, the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party.
• Another challenge is there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top of a party. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their family members. 
• This is unfair to other members of that party. This is also bad for democracy since people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.
• Another challenge is the growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections. Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics.
• One of the challenges is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of leaders keeps shifting from one party to another.

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NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4: How can Political Parties be Reformed?

Now, in this part of NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4, we will learn about the need to reform political parties. 

• The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in defection in order to become ministers or for cash rewards.
• A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to have an independent authority, to act as a judge in case of party disputes, and to hold open elections to the highest posts.
• It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates. Similarly, there should be a quota for women in the decision-making bodies of the party.
• The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an affidavit giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him. The new system has made a lot of information available to the public.
• The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.
• There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support their election expenses.

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NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4 Political Parties

Finally, we have presented NCERT Solutions Class 10 Political Science Chapter 4 ‘Political Science’. This section includes important questions and answers in the Exercise part of the lesson. 

Q1. State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

Answer: The functions performed by the political parties are given below

• They contest elections. 
• They play an important role in decision-making to legislate and execute.
• They introduce various policies and programs for the people.
• These parties form and run the government when they succeed in elections.
• These parties, if they lose, become the opposition parties and play the role of criticizing the government.
• They help convey citizens’s messages to government officials. 
• The parties mould the public’s opinion on various issues. They can help them form an opinion and can also influence them to alter their opinion.

Q2. What are the various challenges faced by political parties?

Answer: There are some challenges that political parties have to face, and they are:

• Money and muscle power – The participation of smaller regional parties is less due to the growing role of muscle and money power. These powers can mostly be seen during the election period, where the candidates of rich parties can gain more votes using both of these.
• The lack of internal democracy – If there is a concentration of power in the hands of one or only a few ministers in the party, it gives space to internal conflicts.
• The dynastic succession – This has been in the political parties for a long time. The leader of the party sets a lineage, and one after another, a dynastic succession keeps taking place, that affects the chances of other ministers in the party to attain an effective position in the party.

Q3. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well.

Answer: A political party can reform itself through the following ways:

• A provision within a political party to tackle internal conflicts.
• The 1/3rd representation in the party should be given to women candidates.
• The parties should not promote candidates having criminal records.
• State funding during elections should be promoted so that candidates coming from poor backgrounds stand an equal chance to win.

Q4. What is a political party?

Answer: A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes for society, intending to promote the collective good.

Q5. What are the characteristics of a political party?

Answer: The political party has the following characteristics:

• They have members who share the same interests in policies and programmes.
• They seek to introduce policies which are for the welfare of the citizens.
• There are three components – leader, active members and followers.

Q6. A group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government is called a _____________________.

Answer: Political party.

7. Match List-I (organisations and struggles) with List-II and select the correct answer using the codes given below the lists.

	List-I	List-II
1.	Congress Party	A. National Democratic Alliance
2.	Bharatiya Janata Party	B. State party
3.	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	C. United Progressive Alliance
4.	Telugu Desam Party	D. Left Front

	1	2	3	4
(a)	C	A	B	D
(b)	C	D	A	B
(c)	C	A	D	B
(d)	D	C	A	B

Answer:

	1	2	3	4
(c)	C	A	D	B

8. Who among the following is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party?

A. Kanshi Ram

B. Sahu Maharaj

C. B.R. Ambedkar

D. Jotiba Phule

Answer: A. Kanshi Ram

9. What is the guiding philosophy of the Bharatiya Janata Party?

A. Bahujan Samaj

B. Revolutionary democracy

C. Integral humanism

D. Modernity

Answer: C. Integral humanism

10. Consider the following statements on parties.

A. Political parties do not enjoy much trust among the people.

B. Parties are often rocked by scandals involving top-party leaders.

C. Parties are not necessary to run governments.

Which of the statements given above is correct?

a. A, B, and C

b. A and B

c. B and C

d. A and C

Answer: (b) A and B

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