Q5 of 11 Page 74

Surekha is an officer in-charge of ensuring free and fair elections in an assembly constituency in a state. Describe what she should focus on for each of the following stages of election:

(a) Election campaign (b) Polling day (c) Counting day.

Surekha as an officer in-charge needs to focus on these following things:

(a) Election campaign: The expenditure in the campaign by every candidate should be inside the prescribed upper limit of set up by the election commission. Those in power should not use any government machinery for their personal campaigning. Every candidate should get equal opportunity to connect with the voters. Campaigning should be done in a way that no voters are unlawfully persuaded or pressurized.


(b) Polling day: Polling day can be marred by unruly behavior of some miscreant elements and thus it is necessary to ensure proper security is available on all polling booths. It is also necessary to coordinate with the local police and ensure that every voter gets equal chance to cast their votes. Extension of voting hours shall also be decided on per instance basis.


(c) Counting day: On the counting day or say result day there should be good security arrangement so that no party can use unfair means to affect free and fair counting of the votes.


More from this chapter

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3

Match the following:



















(1) It is necessary to keep the voters list up to date because



(a) there is a fair representation of all sections of our society.



(2) Some constituencies are reserved for SCs and STs so that



(b) everyone has equal opportunity to elect their representative.



(3) Everyone has one and only one vote so that



(c) all candidates must have a fair chance of competing in elections.



(4) Party in power is not allowed to use government vehicles because



(d) some people may have moved away from the area where they voted last.


 4

List all the different election related activities mentioned in the chapter and arrange them in a time sequence, beginning with the first activity and ending

with the last. Some of these activities are given below:


Releasing election manifestos; counting of votes; making of voters' list; election campaign; declaration of election results; casting of votes; ordering of re-poll; announcing election schedule; filing nomination.

 6

The table below gives the proportion of different communities among the candidates who won elections to the US Congress. Compare these to the proportion of these communities in the population of the US. Based on this, would you suggest a system of reservations in the US Congress? If yes, why and for which communities? If no, why not?


























Proportion of the community (in percent) in the




House of representatives



Population of US



Blacks



8



13



Hispanics



5



13



Whites



86



70


 7

Can we draw the following conclusions from the information given in this chapter? Give two facts to support your position for each of these.

1. Election Commission of India does not have enough powers to conduct free and fair elections in the country.


2. There is a high level of popular participation in the elections in our country.


3. It is very easy for the party in power to win an election.


4. Many reforms are needed to make our elections completely free and fair.