Social Science 3 Marks Each

Political parties contest the elections which are conducted by the Election Commission.
→ Every political organisation / party which desires to take part in the election is required to register itself with the Election Commission. There were 1,593 registered political parties in India till 10th March, 2014.
→ Since there are a very large number of the registered political parties, few are serious contenders at the election. The Election Commission recognises some of these as national and regional political parties on the basis of their past performance.
→The Election Commission reserves election symbols for the recognised national and regional parties and allots unreserved symbols to unrecognised parties and independent candidates.
→ The Election Commission issues 'Code of Conduct for political parties and is vigilant about its observance. It takes action against candidates/political parties for violation of the 'Code of Conduct', which includes disqualification.
→The Election Commission allots time to the recognised political parties for broadcast on the radio and telecast on the national television.

The political parties in India are broadly classified into registered, recognised and unrecognised parties, besides the independent candidates.
→ Till 10th March, 2014, there were 1.593 registered political parties in India.
→ Some of these are very large number of political parties, which are recognised by the Election Commission as national and regional political parties.
→ Those political parties which had secured minimum 4% votes in at least 4 states are recognised as All India or National parties. An election symbol for these parties is reserved by the Election Commission.
→The Indian National Congress, the Bhartiya Janata Party, the CPI, the CPIM, the BSP and the NCP are recognised national parties.
→ Those political parties which had secured minimum 4% votes in at least one state are recognised as regional parties. An election symbol for these parties is reserved in their respective states by the Election Commission.
→ The DMK. the AIADMK. the TDP, the AGP, the Akali Dal. Shiv Sena are some of these recognised regional political parties.
→ Besides these, there are a large number of unrecognised political parties and independent candidates. These are allotted election symbols from 'unreserved' symbols by the Election Commission.
→ India has multi-party system and multi-cornered elections due to the presence of a very large number of political parties.

The largest number of voters make India the largest democracy in the world. Free and fair elections is an important feature of Indian democracy. Provisions have been made to ensure free and fair elections in the constitution.
→ There is an autonomous (independent) Election Commission consisting of the Chief Election Commissioner and the other Election Commissioners. They are appointed by the President of India for a term of 5 years. Their service conditions have been laid down in the Constitution.
→ The government cannot interfere in the working of the Election Commission.
→ The responsibility of conduct, regulation and supervision of the elections in India has been assigned to the Election Commission.
→ Elections to the two Houses of Parliament, the State Legislature and the offices of the President and the Vice-President of India are conducted by the Election Commission.
→ Elections are by secret ballot. The EVMs have been introduced for the speedy conduct of elections. 
→ The Election Commission holds General Elections, mid-term elections and bye-elections.
→ The Election Commission declares the programme of elections, undertakes scrutiny and counting of votes and declares results.
→ It issues 'Code of Conduct for political parties and is vigilant about the observance of the code of conduct by the candidates and political parties.
→ The political parties issue their Election Manifesto, conduct election campaign and propagate their views to influence the voters.
→ The election campaign receives publicity in the print and electronic media and influences the voters' decision.

The emergence of electronic media is an outcome of technological inventions in the 20th century.
→Like the print media, the electronic media, too, enjoys the freedom of thought and expression (freedom of press) in a democratic state like India.
→ Radio and television have reached almost every household. The news broadcasts on the radio and news telecast on the television reach even the illiterate persons.
→ The television channels are now operating 24 x 7. These provide latest information on the events around the world. There is live-telecast of the important events like the address of the Prime Minister to the UN General Assembly at New York. The discussions on various subjects bring out the argument for and against the topic.
→The films or cinema is primarily an entertainment media. However, many films carry social message of the issues like exploitation of workers. untouchability, dowry and poverty and thereby influence public opinion.

The Print Media is regarded as the 'Fourth Column' of democracy. It performs the vital task of moulding public opinion and exercising control over the government.
→The print media plays an important role in democracy as there is 'freedom of press'; whereby the media pays compliments to the government for its achievements and criticises it for its failures and misdeeds.
→ The newspapers and periodicals in English. Hindi and the regional languages constitute the print media.
→The news items, the news reports, the articles. the editorials discuss the current affairs and issues before the country.
→ An impartial and fair assessment of the working of government is essential for formation of sound public opinion and success of democracy.