Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Political parties perform the following key functions in a democracy:

1. Contesting Elections: Parties select and put up candidates to contest elections, giving voters a structured choice.

1. Policies and Programmes: Parties place different policies before voters. They reduce vast public opinion into a few basic positions for the government to follow.

1. Law Making: Parties play a decisive role in making laws, as legislators follow their party's direction in the legislature.

1. Forming Governments: Parties recruit and train leaders who run the government as ministers and political executives.

1. Role of Opposition: Parties that lose elections act as opposition, criticising wrong policies and mobilising public opinion against the government.

1. Shaping Public Opinion: Parties raise issues and highlight people's problems through their vast network of members and activists.

1. Access to Government: Parties help ordinary citizens access government machinery and welfare schemes.

Without parties, every candidate would be independent with no policy commitments, no one would be accountable for running the country, and no stable government could be formed. Parties are therefore a necessary condition for a democracy.

Source: Democratic Politics (Class X), Chapter 4 — Why do we need political parties?

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• The examiner expects all 7 functions listed in the textbook, stated briefly (1 point each).
• The second part — "why democracy cannot function without them" — must be addressed separately using the "Necessity" argument from the textbook (imagining elections without parties).
• Avoid padding; crisp numbered points score better than long paragraphs for this type of question.
• Key phrases like "necessary condition," "opposition," and "shape public opinion" are textbook terms — use them exactly.