All ten questions from the NCERT textbook Indian Constitution at Work, Chapter 3, «Election and Representation», with complete model answers. Try answering each question yourself first, then check your answer here.
1 Which resembles direct democracy most
Q. 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: (d). In a Gram Sabha, all adult members of the village take part directly in the meeting and decide openly, without going through any representative. This is the closest real example of direct democracy. A family meeting is not a formal political process, electing a class monitor is itself an act of choosing a representative, a party’s candidate selection is an internal process, and a media opinion poll is not a binding decision at all.
2 Which task is not performed by the Election Commission
Q. 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: (b) and (e). Nomination of candidates is done by the candidate or their party, the Election Commission only oversees the process of scrutinising nominations, it does not nominate anyone itself. Panchayat and municipal elections are supervised by the State Election Commissioners, not the Election Commission of India. Preparing electoral rolls, setting up polling booths, and implementing the model code of conduct are all genuine Election Commission tasks.
3 What is common to Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha elections
Q. 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: (c). In both systems, every vote carries equal weight. The other options are wrong: (a) Rajya Sabha voters are MLAs, not ordinary citizens, so the age-18 rule applies only to Lok Sabha elections. (b) Preference ordering only happens in the Rajya Sabha’s STV system, not in Lok Sabha’s FPTP. (d) Rajya Sabha winners must cross a quota, but Lok Sabha winners need not get more than half the votes.
4 Who is declared winner under FPTP
Q. 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 the 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: (c). Under FPTP, the winner is simply whoever gets more votes than every other candidate in their own constituency, regardless of whether that is less than half the total votes cast there. The party’s national vote tally or the count of postal ballots specifically has nothing to do with who wins.
5 Reservation versus separate electorate
Q. 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:
1. Difference: Under a separate electorate, only voters belonging to a particular community elected that community’s representative, meaning the voters themselves were divided along community lines. Under reservation, all voters of a constituency, of any community, can vote, but only a candidate belonging to the reserved community can stand.
2. Why it was rejected: Members of the Constituent Assembly, such as Tajamul Husain, warned that separate electorates had been a curse to India and had done incalculable harm to the country.
3. The fear was that this system would keep communities isolated from the national mainstream rather than helping them integrate into it, weakening national unity.
4. Adivasi representatives like Jaipal Singh also supported reservation of seats over separate electorates, saying they wanted to mix into the nation, not remain apart from it.
6 Correct the incorrect statement
Q. 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:
(a) is incorrect. Correction: “FPTP system is followed for most elections in India” (the Rajya Sabha, President and Vice President elections use PR/STV instead, so ‘all’ is wrong).
(c) is incorrect. Correction: “President of India can remove an Election Commissioner” (the President can remove Election Commissioners, though removing the Chief Election Commissioner needs a special majority recommendation of both Houses).
(b) and (d) are correct statements.
7 Improving women’s representation
Q. Indian electoral system aims at ensuring representation of socially disadvantaged sections. However we have only 12 percent women members in our legislatures. What measures would you suggest to improve the situation?
Answer:
1. Legal reservation: Fully implement the Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam, 2023, which provides for women’s reservation in the Lok Sabha and Assemblies.
2. Better ticket distribution: Encourage or require political parties to set a minimum share of women candidates in their lists.
3. Building political participation: The experience of women’s reservation already in place in local bodies shows that it raises both women’s participation and their leadership skills, this same experience can be extended to higher levels.
4. Awareness and support: Run awareness campaigns to build voter confidence in women candidates, and provide elected women representatives with training and resources.
8 FPTP or PR : four wishes
Q. 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:
(a) FPTP is suitable. Each constituency has only one representative under FPTP, so voters clearly know whom to approach.
(b) PR is suitable. Small, scattered linguistic minorities cannot form a majority in any single constituency, so FPTP would give them almost no seats anywhere. PR can add up their votes across the whole country and give them fair representation.
(c) PR is suitable. PR is defined by giving every party seats exactly in proportion to its votes, so there is no discrepancy between votes and seats.
(d) FPTP is suitable. In FPTP, the voter votes directly for a candidate, so they can pick a good individual candidate even from a party they otherwise dislike. In PR, the voter votes for a party, and individual choice of this kind is lost.
9 A former CEC contesting an election
Q. A former Chief Election Commissioner joined a political party and contested elections. There are two views on this. One view is that a former CEC is an independent citizen with a right to join any party and contest. The other view is that leaving this possibility open can affect the impartiality of the Election Commission, so former CECs should not be allowed to contest any elections. Which position do you agree with and why?
Answer: The second view carries more weight, for these reasons:
1. The Election Commission’s greatest strength is its perceived impartiality. If a CEC can join a party right after leaving office, there is a real risk that decisions taken while still in office could be shaped by future political ambitions.
2. Even the mere suspicion is damaging, because the Commission’s credibility rests not only on being impartial but on being seen as impartial by the public.
3. Still, the individual-rights argument is not weak either, every citizen has a fundamental right to participate in politics and contest elections, and that right should not be permanently taken away because of one former position.
4. A balanced solution could be a fixed ‘cooling-off period’ after a CEC or Election Commissioner leaves office, during which they cannot take up a political position, similar to restrictions placed on some other constitutional posts.
10 Is India ready to shift to PR?
Q. “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: This is an open question, either side can be argued with sound reasoning.
In favour of shifting to PR:
1. FPTP can produce large gaps between votes and seats, as seen in the 1984 example.
2. PR could give better representation to small and scattered communities.
Against shifting to PR:
3. FPTP’s simplicity and clear accountability are its biggest strengths, PR makes it harder for a voter to identify their own personal representative.
4. In a vast and diverse country like India, PR could make forming a stable parliamentary government harder, as Israel’s frequent coalition governments suggest.
5. FPTP has so far delivered peaceful transfers of power and stable governments, abandoning it entirely could be risky.
A balanced conclusion: Rather than fully switching to PR, India might consider a mixed model combining both systems, as some countries already do, to keep simplicity and stability while improving representation.