ELECTION AND REPRESENTATION
Chapter 3
Exercises
1. Which of the following resembles most a direct democracy?
a. Discussions in a family meeting
b. Election of the class monitor
c. Choice of a candidate by a political party
d. Decisions taken by the Gram Sabha
e. Opinion polls conducted by the media
Answer:-
2. Which of the following tasks are not performed by the Election Commission?
a. Preparing the Electoral Rolls
b. Nominating the candidates
c. Setting up polling booths
d. Implementing the model code of conduct
e. Supervising the Panchayat elections
Answer:-
3. Which of the following is common to the method of election of the members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha?
a. Every citizen above the age of 18 is an eligible voter
b. Voter can give preference order for different candidates
c. Every vote has equal value
d. The winner must get more than half the votes
Answer:-
4. In the First Past the Post system, that candidate is declared winner who
a. Secures the largest number of postal ballots
b. Belongs to the party that has highest number of votes in the country
c. Has more votes than any other candidate in the constituency
d. Attains first position by securing more than 50% votes
Answer:-
5. What is the difference between the system of reservation of constituencies and the system of separate electorate? Why did the Constitution makers reject the latter?
Answer:-
6. Which of the following statements are incorrect? Identify and correct them by substituting, adding or rearranging only one word or phrase.
a. FPTP system is followed for all the elections in India.
b. Election Commission does not supervise Panchayat and Municipal elections.
c. President of India cannot remove an Election Commissioner.
d. Appointment of more than one Election Commissioner in the Election Commission is mandatory.
Answer:-
7. Indian electoral system aims at ensuring representation of socially disadvantaged sections. However we have only 12 per cent women members in our legislatures. What measures would you suggest to improve the situation?
Answer:-
8. Here are some wishes expressed in a conference to discuss a constitution for a new country. Write against each of these whether FPTP or Proportional Representation system is more suited to meet each of these wishes.
a. People should clearly know who is their representative so that they can hold him or her personally accountable.
b. We have small linguistic minorities who are spread all over the country; we should ensure fair representation to them.
c. There should be no discrepancy between votes and seats for different parties.
d. People should be able to elect a good candidate even if they do not like his or her political party.
Answer:-
9. A former Chief Election Commissioner joined a political party and contested elections. There are various views on this issue. One view is that a former Election Commissioner is an independent citizen and has a right to join any political party and to contest election. According to the other view, leaving this possibility open can affect the impartiality of the Election Commission. So, former Election Commissioners must not be allowed to contest any elections. Which position do you agree with and why?
Answer:-
10. “Indian democracy is now ready to shift from a crude First Past the Post system to a system of Proportional Representation”. Do you agree with this statement? Give your reasons for or against this statement.
Answer:-
