Social Science — CBSE Class 10 board question

Several reforms have been introduced to strengthen political parties in India:

1. Anti-defection law: The Constitution was amended to prevent elected representatives from changing parties for personal gains. This has reduced political instability.

1. Supreme Court order on affidavits: Candidates must file affidavits declaring their criminal records, financial assets, and educational qualifications, making information available to voters.

1. Election Commission orders: Political parties are now required to hold open elections for party offices and maintain registers of their members.

1. Limits on election expenditure: The Election Commission has set limits on campaign spending by candidates to reduce the role of money power in elections.

1. RTI pressure: Demand for bringing political parties under the Right to Information Act has grown, pushing for greater transparency in party functioning.

These reforms aim to address challenges like dynastic succession, money power, and lack of internal democracy within parties.

Source: Chapter 4, Democratic Politics — Challenges to Political Parties

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• The examiner expects you to list specific reforms (not just problems), ideally with brief examples or outcomes.
• Aim for 5 distinct points for a 5-mark question — one point ≈ one mark.
• Avoid writing long explanations for each point; a one-line description per reform is sufficient.
• Do not confuse challenges with reforms — the question asks what has been done, not what the problems are.