NCERT Class 11 Political Science Chapter 3 Election and Representation

1. Which of the following resembles most a direct democracy?

(d) Decisions taken by the Gram Sabha.
Reason: In a Gram Sabha, all adult members of the village come together to discuss and make decisions directly, which is the essence of direct democracy (rule by the people directly, not through representatives).

2. Which of the following tasks are not performed by the Election Commission?

(e) Supervising the Panchayat elections.
Reason: Panchayat and Municipal elections are supervised by the separate State Election Commissions, not the Election Commission of India.

3. Which of the following is common to the method of election of the members of Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha?

(c) Every vote has equal value.
Reason: While the methods differ (Proportional Representation for Rajya Sabha vs. FPTP for Lok Sabha), the democratic principle that every valid vote cast has equal weight applies to both. (Note: Option ‘a’ is incorrect as citizens don’t vote directly for Rajya Sabha; ‘b’ applies only to Rajya Sabha; ‘d’ applies to neither strictly).

4. In the First Past the Post system, that candidate is declared winner who:

(c) Has more votes than any other candidate in the constituency.
Reason: In the FPTP system, a simple plurality is enough. The winner does not need a majority (50% + 1), just more votes than the nearest rival.

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?

Separate Electorate	Reserved Constituencies
Only voters of a specific community elect the representative of that community.	All voters in a constituency elect the representative, but the candidate must belong to a specific community (SC/ST).
Divides society and voters on communal lines.	Promotes unity while ensuring representation for disadvantaged groups.

Reason for Rejection: The Constitution makers rejected separate electorates because they believed it would permanently divide Indian society, foster communalism, and work against national integration. They saw it as a tool used by the British (“Divide and Rule”) that led to Partition.

8. FPTP vs Proportional Representation (PR): Which is suited for these wishes?

(a) People should clearly know who is their representative… accountability: FPTP. (Constituency-based accountability).
(b) We have small linguistic minorities spread all over… ensure fair representation: Proportional Representation (PR). (PR ensures votes are not wasted even if spread out).
(c) There should be no discrepancy between votes and seats: Proportional Representation (PR). (Ideally, % votes = % seats).
(d) People should be able to elect a good candidate even if they do not like his party: FPTP. (Voters vote for individual candidates).

6. Which of the following statements are incorrect? Identify and correct them.

(a) Incorrect. Correction: FPTP system is followed for Lok Sabha and Assembly elections, but PR is used for President, Vice President, and Rajya Sabha elections.
(b) Correct. (ECI supervises national/state elections; State ECs supervise local ones).
(c) Incorrect. Correction: President of India can remove an Election Commissioner (on the recommendation of the CEC).
(d) Incorrect. Correction: Appointment of more than one Election Commissioner is not mandatory (The EC was a single-member body for a long time).

7. We have only 12% women members in legislatures. What measures would you suggest to improve the situation?

To address this gender representation gap:

Women’s Reservation Bill: Legally reserving 33% of seats in Parliament and State Assemblies for women (similar to the reservation in Panchayats).
Party Quotas: Political parties should voluntarily or mandatorily field a certain percentage of women candidates in elections.
Awareness & Education: Promoting political literacy and leadership training among women at the grassroots level.

9. Former Chief Election Commissioner contesting elections: Should they be allowed? Which position do you agree with?

I agree with the view that former Election Commissioners should not be allowed to contest elections or join political parties immediately after retirement.
Reason: The Election Commission is a constitutional body requiring absolute neutrality. If Commissioners anticipate political favors or tickets post-retirement, it may compromise their impartiality while in office. A “cooling-off period” is essential to uphold the sanctity and public trust in the institution.

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?

Argument Against the Shift (Support for FPTP):
I do not fully agree. While PR is mathematically fairer, the FPTP system is still more suitable for India because:

Stability: FPTP tends to produce stable majority governments, whereas PR often leads to unstable coalitions.
Simplicity: For a vast country with diverse literacy levels, voting for a specific candidate is simpler than understanding complex PR formulas.
Accountability: FPTP maintains a direct link between the voter and the representative of a constituency. In PR, this link is broken as voters choose parties, not people.