Class 10 Social Science Chapter 17 Political Parties (Civics) Practice Paper 1

Class: X Subject: Political Science Session: 2025-26 Chapter: 04 - Political Parties Time: 1½ Hours Max. Marks: 40

General Instructions:

1. All questions are compulsory.

2. This question paper contains 20 questions divided into five sections A, B, C, D and E.

3. Section A contains 10 MCQs of 1 mark each.

4. Section B contains 4 questions of 2 marks each.

5. Section C contains 3 questions of 3 marks each.

6. Section D contains 1 question of 5 marks.

7. Section E contains 2 Case Study Based questions of 4 marks each.

SECTION A - Multiple Choice Questions (1 mark each)

Q1. A political party is a group of people who come together to:
(a) Discuss social issues
(b) Contest elections and hold power in government
(c) Organize cultural programs
(d) Promote sports activities

Q2. Which of the following is NOT a function of political parties?
(a) Contest elections
(b) Form and run governments
(c) Implement economic policies directly
(d) Shape public opinion

Q3. The party that loses elections plays the role of:
(a) Ruling party
(b) Opposition
(c) Alliance
(d) Coalition

Q4. A system where only one party is allowed to rule is called:
(a) Two-party system
(b) Multi-party system
(c) One-party system
(d) Coalition system

Q5. The United States of America follows which party system?
(a) One-party system
(b) Two-party system
(c) Multi-party system
(d) No-party system

Q6. Which political party was founded by Kanshi Ram?
(a) BSP
(b) BJP
(c) INC
(d) CPI-M

Q7. The guiding philosophy of BJP is:
(a) Socialism
(b) Integral humanism and Hindutva
(c) Marxism-Leninism
(d) Secularism only

Q8. How many national parties are currently recognized in India?
(a) 4
(b) 5
(c) 6
(d) 7

Q9. Defection means:
(a) Changing party allegiance after election
(b) Winning elections
(c) Forming alliances
(d) Contesting elections

Q10. The first challenge faced by political parties is:
(a) Lack of funds
(b) Lack of internal democracy
(c) Too many members
(d) Foreign interference

SECTION B - Short Answer Questions (2 marks each)

Q11. What is partisanship? Why is it important for political parties?

Q12. Explain the term 'ruling party' and give an example.

Q13. What is an affidavit in the context of elections?

Q14. Name any four national parties of India currently recognized by the Election Commission.

SECTION C - Short Answer Questions (3 marks each)

Q15. Explain any three functions of political parties in a democracy.

Q16. What are the conditions for a party to be recognized as a national party by the Election Commission?

Q17. Describe the challenge of dynastic succession in political parties.

SECTION D - Long Answer Question (5 marks)

Q18. "Political parties are necessary for democracy." Justify this statement with five reasons.

SECTION E - Case Study Based Questions (4 marks each)

Q19. Read the following passage and answer the questions: "The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) was formed on 26 November 2012, following the 2011 anti-corruption movement. The party was founded on the idea of accountability, clean administration, transparency and good governance. In the year after its formation, AAP emerged as the second largest party in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election."
(a) When was AAP founded? (1 mark)
(b) What were the founding principles of AAP? (2 marks)
(c) Why do you think a new party could emerge as the second largest party in Delhi? (1 mark)

Q20. Read the following passage and answer the questions: "In India, we have a multiparty system. In this system, the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition. When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front."
(a) What is a multi-party system? (1 mark)
(b) What is a coalition government? (1 mark)
(c) Name any two major alliances that existed in India in 2004. (2 marks) DETAILED ANSWER KEY - PAPER 01

SECTION A - Answers to MCQs

Ans 1.
(b) Contest elections and hold power in government Ans 2.
(c) Implement economic policies directly Ans 3.
(b) Opposition Ans 4.
(c) One-party system Ans 5.
(b) Two-party system Ans 6.
(a) BSP Ans 7.
(b) Integral humanism and Hindutva Ans 8.
(c) 6 Ans 9.
(a) Changing party allegiance after election Ans 10.
(b) Lack of internal democracy

SECTION B - Answers to Short Answer Questions

Ans 11. Partisanship is a tendency to be strongly committed to a party, group or faction. It is marked by taking a side and inability to take a balanced view on an issue. Partisanship is important for political parties because parties represent a part of the society and thus involve taking sides. A party is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose interests it upholds. This helps voters understand what the party represents. Ans 12. A ruling party is a political party that runs the government. After winning elections, the party that forms the government is called the ruling party. For example, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is currently the ruling party at the Centre in India as it leads the National Democratic Alliance government.

Ans 13. An affidavit is a signed document submitted to an officer, where a person makes a sworn statement regarding their personal information. In the context of elections, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an affidavit giving details of their property and criminal cases pending against them. Ans 14. Four national parties currently recognized by the Election Commission of India are:

1. Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

2. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

3. Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

4. Indian National Congress (INC) (Any four from AAP, BSP, BJP, CPI-M, INC, NPP)

SECTION C - Answers to Short Answer Questions

Ans 15. Three functions of political parties in a democracy are:

1. Contest elections: Political parties select candidates and contest elections. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties.

2. Form and run governments: Parties recruit leaders, train them and make them ministers to run the government in the way they want. The big policy decisions are taken by political executive that comes from political parties.

3. Shape public opinion: Parties raise and highlight issues. They have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country. Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people. Ans 16. Conditions for a party to be recognized as a national party by the Election Commission: 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 recognized as a national party. The Election Commission offers special facilities to recognized national parties, including a unique election symbol that only official candidates of that party can use.

Ans 17. The challenge of dynastic succession in political parties: Since most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in 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. In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family. This is unfair to other members of that party and bad for democracy, since people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.

SECTION D - Answer to Long Answer Question

Ans 18. Political parties are necessary for democracy because of the following reasons:

1. Group similar opinions: In a democracy, a large number of similar opinions have to be grouped together to provide direction in which policies can be formulated. A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which it supports. Without parties, every candidate would be independent and no one would be able to make any promises to the people about major policy changes.

2. Form responsible government: Without political parties, the government may be formed but its utility will remain ever uncertain. Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality, but no one will be responsible for how the country will be run.

3. Make laws and policies: Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Since most of the members belong to a party, they go by the direction of the party leadership. The government is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the ruling party.

4. Provide access to government: For an ordinary citizen, it is easy to approach a local party leader than a government officer. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments.

5. Essential for representative democracy: As societies became large and complex, they needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

SECTION E - Answers to Case Study Based Questions

Ans 19.
(a) AAP was founded on 26 November 2012.
(b) The founding principles of AAP were accountability, clean administration, transparency and good governance. The party emerged from the 2011 anti-corruption movement.
(c) A new party could emerge as the second largest party in Delhi because people were looking for an alternative to traditional parties. AAP's focus on anti-corruption and clean governance resonated with voters who were dissatisfied with existing parties. Ans 20.
(a) A multi-party system is one where several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others.

(b) A coalition government is formed when various parties come together and form a government, as no single party gets majority on its own.
(c) Two major alliances that existed in India in 2004 were:

1. National Democratic Alliance (NDA)

2. United Progressive Alliance (UPA)