The era of one-party dominance in India primarily refers to the period from 1947 to the late 1980s, during which the Indian National Congress (INC) held a near-monopoly on political power. Under leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi, the Congress Party implemented a sociali...
Class-XII-POlITICal sCIENCE
ERa OF ONE PaRTY DOMINaNCE {2024-25}
1. Mention any two characteristics of the party system in India.
Ans:
A}In India, the multi-party system exists and these parties represent diverse interests.
B}Though there have been a large number of political parties, there has been a dominance of the
Congress party both at the center and the state level .
2.Analyze the reasons for the dominance of the Congress Party in the first three general
elections. (C.B.S.E. 2014) Or
Identify the factors that contributed to the dominance of the Congress party during the early
years of independence. (C.B.S.E. Sample Q.P. 2017) Or
State the causes responsible for the rise of the Congress system in India. (C.B.S.E. Sample
Paper 2018) Or
Highlight any three major reasons for the dominance of the Congress Party in the first three
general elections after Independence. (C.B.S.E. 2019)
Ans: After Independence, the Congress Party dominated the political scene at the center as well as in
states before 1967. The Congress secured 364, 371, 361, seats in the elections of 1952, 1957, 1962,
respectively. The dominance of Congress was due to many reasons:
1. The Congress Party was established in 1885 and it played a very important role in the national
movement. In fact, the history of the national movement is almost the history of the Congress Party.
2. Congress provided able leadership to the Indian masses from 1885 to 1947. The Congress Party
was led by such great personalities as Mahatma Gandhi, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel, Mrs. Indira Gandhi.
3. The Congress Party was a well-organized party and no other political party had such a well-knit
organization.
4. After Independence, The Congress Party not only tried to solve the problems of the masses but also
faced the challenges before the nation.
5. Moreover, the Congress Party represents a mixture of almost all shades of opinion. It is, in fact, a
‘Grand Coalition’. It was rather a privileged party to harbor all sorts of political ideologies under the
garb of freedom struggle.
3. Describe the difficulties that the Elections Commission of India faced in holding the first
general elections after Independence. (C.B.S.E. 2019) Or
Describe the various steps taken to hold the First General Elections in India. How far were
these elections successful? (Imp. C.B.S.E. 2014)
How did the dominance of Congress Party in the first three general elections help in
establishing a democratic set-up in India?
Ans: Indian Constitution came into effect on 26 January 1950. Under the Indian Constitution,
democracy was established in India. The Election commission of India was set up in January 1950.
, Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner of India. The country’s first general elections
were held in 1952.
The first general election of 1952 is considered as a landmark in the history of democracy in the whole
world.
A}There were more than 17 crore voters, which was a record in itself in the whole world.
B} The strength of the Lok Sabha was 489 and about 3,200 MLAs of all the Legislative Assemblies of
India. These members were to be directly elected by the voters on the basis of single-member
constituencies.
C}More than 3 lakh officers and polling staff were trained to conduct the first general elections.
D} The first general election was also the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate country.
Before that, elections were conducted in prosperous and literate countries of Europe and North
America.
E} First general elections were conducted on the basis of the Universal Adult Franchise whereas in
many countries of Europe women did not enjoy the right to vote. In India, all adult citizens were given
the right to vote.
Thus,. It was really a great achievement for India.
4.Describe the changing methods of voting in India from 1952 to today. (C.B.S.E 2019)
Ans: India is the largest democratic country in the world. Therefore regular election is going on by the
election commission of India. For the passage of time, there is a change in the voting method of
election.
In the general elections of 2019 Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) was used to record voters’
preference whereas in the first general election, in each polling booth, a box for each candidate with
the election symbol of that candidate was placed. Each voter was given a blank ballot paper which
they had to drop into a box of the candidate they want to vote for.
But it was a very time consuming and expensive method. Booth capturing was another drawback of
the ballot paper system, therefore, the government of India and election commission of India decided
to go with EVM as a pilot project in the general election held in 2004, in 2019 Loksabha election the
entire election held with EVM and V.V.PAT (Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail).
5.What distinguished the dominance of the Congress Party in India from the one-party
dominance in other countries? Explains, (All India 2017) OR
What distinguished the dominance of the Congress Party in India from other examples of one
party dominance in other countries? Explain. (Delhi 2016) OR
How was one party dominance of India different from the other examples of one-party
dominance in the world? (HOTS; Delhi 2008)
Ans: One-party dominance in India and other country have dissimilarities.
Indian political system is multi-party system. During 1952 to 1962, in every election Congress party
won the elections. Elections held at regular intervals in India in free and fair atmosphere.
Many other political parties also participated but charismatic, effective and inspiring leadership of
Congress leaders and the glorious legacy of Congress party continue the dominance of the Congress
party in India. In Countries like China, Cuba, Syria and Mexico, Constitution permit only a single party
to rule the country.
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