Which one of the following features is correct about the 'First Past the Post System' of election ?
- A.A candidate who wins may not get the majority of votes
- B.More than one representative may be elected from one constituency
- C.Voters vote for the party, not the candidate
- D.Every party gets seats in the legislature in proportion to percentage of votes that it gets
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, A candidate who wins may not get the majority of votes. Under First Past the Post, the candidate with the most votes wins, even if that is far less than half of all votes cast. This is also UPSC's official key.
India uses this system, also called the simple plurality system, for elections to the Lok Sabha and the state Legislative Assemblies. The country is divided into constituencies, each electing one member, and voters choose a candidate rather than a party. In a contest of many candidates, someone with 35% of the votes can win if no rival does better. As a result, a party's share of seats can be much larger or smaller than its share of votes.
B is wrong: First Past the Post uses single-member constituencies, so each one elects only one representative.
C is wrong: voting for a party list is a feature of proportional representation, not of First Past the Post.
D is wrong: seats in proportion to votes is exactly what proportional representation aims at.
Exam tip: India uses FPTP for Lok Sabha and Assemblies, and proportional representation by single transferable vote for Rajya Sabha and the President.
Practice Questions
View allWhich of the following pairs of list and contents is/are correctly matched ? 1. State list : Public health and sanitation 2. Union list : Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens 3. Concurrent list : Legal, medical and other professions Select the correct answer using the code given below :
- A.1 only
- B.1,2 and 3
- C.2 and 3 only
- D.3 only
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 1, 2 and 3. All three subjects sit in the list named against them in the Seventh Schedule.
The Seventh Schedule, read with Article 246, divides law-making powers into three lists. Public health and sanitation, hospitals and dispensaries is entry 6 of the State List, so states run most health services. Citizenship, naturalisation and aliens is entry 17 of the Union List, which is why only Parliament made the Citizenship Act, 1955. Legal, medical and other professions is entry 26 of the Concurrent List, so both Parliament and the states can make laws on them, as with the Advocates Act and the National Medical Commission Act.
A is wrong: pair 1 is correct, but pairs 2 and 3 are correct too.
C is wrong: it leaves out the correct pair 1.
D is wrong: it leaves out the correct pairs 1 and 2.
Exam tip: Seventh Schedule with Article 246; public health = State List, citizenship = Union List, professions = Concurrent List.
Consider the following statements relating to short notice questions asked in the Legislature : 1. These relate to matters of urgent public importance and can be asked for oral answer at a notice less than 10 days 2. Short notice questions can be admissible if the Minister concerned agrees to answer to it 3. Short notice questions are asked during question hour Which of the statements given above are correct ?
- A.1,2 and 3
- B.1 and 2 only
- C.2 and 3 only
- D.1 and 3 only
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 1 and 2 only. A short notice question is an urgent oral question taken up only with the Minister's consent, and it is answered after Question Hour, not during it.
Under the Rules of Procedure of the Lok Sabha, a member may ask a question on a matter of urgent public importance with less than the usual ten clear days' notice, stating the reason for urgency. It is admitted only if the Minister concerned agrees to answer it at short notice. Such a question is taken up for oral answer immediately after the questions for oral answer of that day have been disposed of, that is, after Question Hour.
A is wrong: it includes statement 3, but these questions come after Question Hour.
C is wrong: it drops the true statement 1 and keeps the false statement 3.
D is wrong: it keeps statement 3 and leaves out the true statement 2.
Exam tip: starred = oral, unstarred = written, short notice = urgent, under ten days, needs the Minister's consent, taken after Question Hour.
One of the implications of equality in society is the absence of
- A.Privileges
- B.Restraints
- C.Competition
- D.Ideology
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is A, Privileges. Equality means that no person or group enjoys special rights denied to others, so it implies the absence of privileges.
In political theory, equality rests on the idea that all people deserve equal concern and respect. Harold Laski described equality first of all as the absence of special privilege, along with adequate opportunities for all. The Indian Constitution reflects this: Article 14 gives equality before the law, Article 15 bars discrimination, Article 17 abolishes untouchability and Article 18 abolishes titles, all of which remove privileges based on birth, caste or status.
B is wrong because a society of equals still has laws and restraints that apply to everyone alike.
C is wrong because equality of opportunity actually allows fair competition rather than removing it.
D is wrong because equality is itself an ideal and does not require the absence of ideology.
Exam tip: Laski: equality means the absence of special privilege and adequate opportunities for all; Articles 14 to 18 are the Right to Equality.
With reference to the Parliament of India, consider the following statements :
1. A private member's bill is a bill presented by a Member of Parliament who is not elected but only nominated by the President of India.
2. Recently, a private member's bill has been passed in the Parliament of India for the first time in its history.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
- A.1 only
- B.2 only
- C.Both 1 and 2
- D.Neither 1 nor 2
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is D, Neither 1 nor 2. A private member's bill is one introduced by any MP who is not a minister, whether elected or nominated, and such bills have become law in the past.
Statement 1 is wrong: the test is not election or nomination but whether the member is a minister. A bill moved by a minister is a government bill; a bill moved by any other member is a private member's bill, and it needs a month's notice before introduction. Statement 2 is wrong: fourteen private members' bills have been passed by both Houses and received assent, the last of them in 1970. The Rights of Transgender Persons Bill, 2014, passed by the Rajya Sabha in 2015, was notable only as the first such bill passed by that House in decades; it never became law in that form.
A is wrong because nominated status has nothing to do with it.
B is wrong because private members' bills had become law long before.
C is wrong because both statements are false.
Exam tip: private member = any MP who is not a minister; 14 such bills have become law, the last in 1970.
Consider the following statements :
1. In the first Lok Sabha, the single largest party in the opposition was the Swatantra Party.
2. In the Lok Sabha, a "Leader of the Opposition" was recognised for the first time in 1969.
3. In the Lok Sabha, if a party does not have a minimum of 75 members, its leader cannot be recognised as the Leader of the Opposition.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- A.1 and 3 only
- B.2 only
- C.2 and 3 only
- D.1, 2 and 3
Show answer
Explanation
The correct answer is B, 2 only. The first Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha was recognised in 1969, when Ram Subhag Singh of the Congress (O) was given the post.
Statement 1 is wrong: the Swatantra Party was founded only in 1959, years after the first Lok Sabha (1952–57); the largest opposition party then was the Communist Party of India. Statement 3 is wrong: the practice, based on the Speaker's direction, is that a party needs at least one-tenth of the House's strength, that is 55 members, not 75. The Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Act, 1977 later gave the post statutory recognition.
A is wrong because both statements 1 and 3 are false.
C is wrong because the minimum is one-tenth of the House (55), not 75.
D is wrong because only statement 2 is true.
Exam tip: first LoP recognised in 1969; the one-tenth rule means 55 seats in a 543-member Lok Sabha.