Ramesh was not in class when Electoral Politics was being taught. He came the next day and repeated what he had heard from his father. Can you tell Ramesh what is wrong with these statements?

a. Women always vote the way men tell them to. So what is the point of giving them the right to vote?

b. Party politics creates tension in society. Elections should be decided by consensus, not by competition.

c. Only graduates should be allowed to stand as candidates for elections.

Once the election results were announced, the sitting Chief Minister resigned. The newly elected Members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs) of Lok Dal chose Devi Lal as their leader. The Governor invited Devi Lal to be the new Chief Minister. Three days after the election results were declared, he became the Chief Minister. As soon as he became the Chief Minister, his Government issued a Government Order waiving the outstanding loans of small farmers, agricultural labourers and small businessmen. His party ruled the State for four years. The next elections were held in 1991. But this time his party did not win popular support. The Congress won the election and formed the government.

Jagdeep and Navpreet read this story and drew the following conclusions. Can you say which of these are right or wrong (or if the information given in the story is inadequate to call them right or wrong):

(a) Elections can lead to changes in the policy of the government.

(b) The Governor invited Devi Lal to become the Chief Minister because he was impressed with his speeches.

(c) People are unhappy with every ruling party and vote against it in the next election.

(d) The party that wins the election forms the government.

(e) This election led to a lot of economic development in Haryana. 

(f) The Congress Chief Minister need not have resigned after his party lost elections.

Read these cartoons carefully and write if they are close to reality also about the relationship between the voters and political leaders.

Why is the boundary of the Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency not the same as the district boundary of Gulbarga (Kalaburagi)? How many Assembly Constituencies are there in the Gulbarga Lok Sabha Constituency?

Like in panchayats, should we not have at least one-third of seats in the parliament and assemblies reserved for women?

See the map below and answer the following questions.

(a) Which states have more than 30 Lok Sabha constituencies?

(b) Why do some states have so many constituencies?

(c) Why are some constituencies small in the area while others are very big?

(d) Are the constituencies reserved for the SCs and STs evenly spread all over the entire country or are there more in some areas?