Political Science Test - 1

The Correct answer is Communist Party of India (CPI).

Key Points

• The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1957 was the first assembly election in the Indian state of Kerala. The Communist Party of India (CPI) won the election with 60 seats. The election led to the formation of the first democratically elected communist government in India
• E.M.S.Namboodiripad was elected chief minister. During his tenure, he oversaw land reforms, increased salaries for civil servants, and helped attract new private industrial investment to the state. 
• In 1959 the national government in Delhi, fearing that communism would spread beyond Kerala, dismissed the Kerala state government and imposed presidential rule.

Additional Information

• Following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Malabar District of Madras state merged with Travancore-Cochin to form the new state of Kerala on 1 November 1956.
• The merger helped the Communist Party of India to increase its base in the region. The ruling Indian National Congress lost prominence due to the factionalism within the party. Furthermore, communalism and struggles against feudalism played a major role.

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

• Ashok Mehta was an Indian freedom fighter and socialist politician. He helped organize the socialist wing Congress Socialist Party of the Indian National Congress, along with Rambriksh Benipuri, and Jaya Prakash Narayan, and was heavily involved in the politics and government of the city of Bombay.
• Ashoka Mehta was a founder member of the Socialist Party and when, in September 1952, the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party and the Socialist Party merged to form the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in which the major cementing role was played by Ram Manohar Lohia and Mehta, Asoka Mehta was appointed the General Secretary of the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) and later served as the President of the party from the year 1959 to 1963. He became the new party's general secretary. He was Praja Socialist Party's president from 1959 to 1963.
• Minoo Msanai was a socialist leader who joined the Constituent Assembly from Bombay on a Congress Party ticket and represented the Assembly's socialist strand.
• In 1959, Masani helped found the Swatantra Party alongside C. Rajagopalachari and other senior congressmen. Nehru was deeply critical of the Party, dubbing it the ‘Maharaja Party’. But the organizing work done by Masani ensured that the Party had become the principal opposition to the Congress in the Lok Sabha by 1967. 
• SA Dange was an Indian Politician who was a founding member of the Communist Party of India (CPI) and a stalwart of the Indian trade union movement. during The British Raj Dange was arrested for communist and trade union activities. He was jailed for a total period of 13 years. In 1922 he launched the first socialistic journal called The socialist.
• Dr.Shyama Prasad Mukherjee was an academician and barrister who was part of the first cabinet as Minister of Industry and supply. he resigned as his protest to the Nehru-Liaquat Pact. He went onto form Bharatiya Jana Sangh with help from Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh. It was the ideological predecessor of the Bhartiya Janata Party.

The Correct Answer is Option (3) i.e. 489, 364.

Key Points

• The First Lok Sabha Election of India (1952) had 489 elective seats and the Congress secured 364 seats out of it.
• The First Lok Sabha Election of India (1952) had 14 National Parties and 39 parties participating in it.
• Jawaharlal Nehru became the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the country.
• The 17^th Lok Sabha election was held in 2019 wherein the Bhartiya Janata Party won 303 seats out of 543 seats. Narendra Modi was chosen as the Prime Minister of India for the second term.

The Correct Answer is Option 2.

Key Points

• In 1925 the Indian Communist Conference at Kanpur was held and the Communist Party of India (CPI) was formed in December 1925 in India by M.N. Roy.
• However, the Communist Party of India (CPI) was formed in 1920 in Tashkent by M.N. Roy, Abani Mukherjee, and others. (As it was same as in India but formed officially in India only in 1925 by the same founders).
• Communist Party of India (CPI) is a national party out of 8 national parties at present.
• The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is also a national party that was separated from the CPI in 1964 following an ideological rift.
• Recognized National Parties of India are - Bahujan Samaj Party, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, Nationalist Congress Party, TMC.

The correct answer is 1948.

Key Points

• The Socialist Party was formed out of the Original Congress Socialist party in 1948. 
• The socialist faction of the Indian National Congress, fused in 1948 with the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI) and formed the Socialist Party in 1948 when Jayprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Basawon Singh (Sinha), Acharya Narendra Dev led Congress Social Party members out of it and further dissolved it in 1948.
• In the 1951 Elections Socialist Party was placed 3rd and garnered 12 seats in total in the Lok Sabha.

Additional Information

• Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was a socialist group within the Indian National Congress (INC). It was founded in 1934 by socialists such as Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya Narendra Dev.
• When Civil Disobedience Movement was suspended in 1934, some Congress members decided to enter into legislatures and work for the Congress’ cause within the govt.
• Some of the socialists figured this would erode the revolutionary character of the Congress. So they had decided to form a socialist party within the Congress named Congress Socialist Party (CSP).

The Correct Answer is Market Based Economy.

Key Points

• Swatantra Party was founded in the year 1959 by leaders opposing the socialistic policies of the Congress government.
• Some of the prominent leaders of the time including C Rajagopalachari, Minoo Masani and NG Ranga collaborated to form a liberal and conservative party. The party stood for a Market-based economy and the dismantling of the license raj.
• In its first party convention held in Bombay on 1st August 1959, several regional parties and erstwhile Kings and Princes including the Maharajas of Jaipur and Patiala joined the alliance to form a strong liberal front opposing the socialist and communist political ideology then dominating Indian political discourse. It was hence disparagingly refered to as party of Maharajas also.
• The Swatantra Party contested its first general election in the year 1962 and won 25 seats in the third Lok Sabha of 1962-1967.
• After the death of Rajaji in the year 1972 the party lost its momentum and finally merged into the Bharatiya Kranti Dal in 1974.

Indian National Congress is known as 'Umbrella Organisation' in Indian Political Party System.

Key Points

• An umbrella organization provides resources and identity to the smaller organization.
• The Congress party was an umbrella party before 1969.
• It provided voices to the leaders and workers of diverse ideologies.
• Palmer addressed Congress as an 'Umbrella Organisation',

Additional Information

• The Indian National Congress was founded at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College on 28 December 1885.
• It was founded by Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Edulji, and A.O. Hume where Hume was the General Secretary.
• After 1970, Congress declared itself as the only socialist and with a particular ideology.

The correct answer is Option 2.

Key Points

• According to Dr. Rajni Kothari, The Indian system can be described as a system of one-party dominance by (which, it may be noted, is very different from what is generally known as a one-party system). It is a competitive party system but one in which the competing parts play rather dissimilar roles. It consists of a party of consensus and parties of pressure.
• The latter function on the margin and, indeed, the concept of a margin of pressure is of great importance in this system. Inside the margin are various factions within the party of consensus.
• Outside the margin are several opposition groups and parties, dissident groups from the ruling party, and other interest groups and important individuals. These groups outside the margin do not constitute alternatives to the ruling party.
• Their role is to constantly pressurize, criticize, censure and influence it by influencing opinion and interests inside the margin and, above all, exert a latent threat that if the ruling group strays away too far from the balance of effective public opinion, and if the factional system within it is not mobilized to restore the balance, it will be displaced from power by the opposition groups. Both the ideas of an in-built corrective through factionalism within the ruling party, and the idea of a latent threat from outside the margin of pressure are necessary parts of the one-party dominance system.

The Constituent Assembly is the drafting committe of the Indian constitution that was formed by the Cabinet mission plan. 

Important Points

•  The draft was released in January 1948, and the people of the country were given eight months to provide criticism and suggestions.
• The final session took place from November 14 to November 26, 1949. 
• On January 26, 1950, the constitution went into effect (which is celebrated as Republic Day).

Additional Information

•  On November 26, 1949, the legislature voted and ratified the constitution.
• On 15th August India became Independent but not in 1950.

​Hence, the Constitution of India came into force on 26th January 1950

The correct answer is Dr. Shyamaprasad Mukherjee.

• The founder of 'BHARTIYA JANSANGH' was Dr Shyamaprasad Mukherjee.

Key Points

• Syama Prasad Mukherjee, founder of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
  • The Bharatiya Jana Sangh was an Indian right-wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the political arm of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist volunteer organisation.
  • In 1977, it merged with several other left, centre and right parties opposed to the Indian National Congress and formed the Janata Party.
  • In 1980, the Jana Sangh faction broke away from Janata Party over the issue of dual membership (of the political Janata Party and the social organization RSS) and formed Bharatiya Janata Party.
  • Syama Prasad Mukherjee was an Indian politician, barrister and academician, who served as the Minister for Industry and Supply in Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru's cabinet.
  • After falling out with Nehru, protesting against the Nehru-Liaquat Pact, Mukherjee resigned from Nehru's cabinet.