Social Science (087) — AI-generated practice question

Political parties in India face four major challenges:

1. Lack of internal democracy: Power is concentrated in the hands of a few leaders. Ordinary members have little say in decision-making. This is harmful because it prevents parties from being truly democratic institutions, making them authoritarian in character.

1. Dynastic succession: Party positions pass from parents to children rather than through merit or election. This undermines democratic values, as leadership should be based on ability and popular support, not birth.

1. Money and muscle power: Parties rely increasingly on wealthy candidates and criminal elements to win elections. This means ordinary citizens cannot participate fairly, and elections cease to represent the will of the people.

1. Lack of meaningful choice: Parties offer no significant difference in policies or ideology. When parties do not represent distinct choices, voters cannot make informed decisions, weakening accountability in democracy.

Source: Chapter 4, Democratic Politics

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• Examiners expect four clearly labelled challenges with a brief explanation of why each is harmful — linking each point back to democracy is essential for full marks.
• Avoid listing challenges without the "harmful to democracy" part — that link earns the marks.
• Keep each point to 2–3 lines; do not over-explain any single point at the cost of covering all four.
• These four challenges are directly from the textbook section "Challenges to Political Parties."