Question

Choose the correct option to fill in the blanks.

(a) The First General Elections in 1952 involved simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and ……………….(The President of India/ State Assemblies/ Rajya Sabha/ The Prime Minister)

(b) The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first elections was the ……………….(Praja Socialist Party/ Bharatiya Jana Sangh/ Communist Party of India/Bharatiya Janata Party)

(c) One of the guiding principles of the ideology of the Swatantra Party was ……………….(Working class interests/ protection of Princely States/ economy free from State control / Autonomy of States within the Union)

Answer 1

(a) The First General Elections in 1952 involved simultaneous elections to the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies (The President of India/ State Assemblies/ Rajya Sabha/ The Prime Minister)

India’s first general elections in the year 1952 were considered a landmark event in the history of India. Along with the elections of the first Lok Sabha, the elections to elect state Assemblies to elect about 3,200 MLAs were also conducted. The elections were the first major test towards building a democratic system.

(b) The party that won the second largest number of Lok Sabha seats in the first elections was the Communist party of India (Praja Socialist Party/ Bharatiya Jana Sangh/ Communist Party of India/Bharatiya Janata Party)

The Congress won majority of seats, followed by independent candidates who captured 37 seats. However, it was the communist party that emerged as the second largest party in the first general elections capturing 16 seats.

(c) One of the guiding principles of the ideology of the Swatantra Party was Economy free from state control (Working class interests/ protection of Princely States / economy free from State control / Autonomy of States within the Union)

One of the ideologies of Swatantra party has been derived from its name that calls for individual freedom and liberty as the key to nation’s growth and prosperity. The party was against state intervention in economy. It was also against nationalisation, public sector and the Licence Raj and believed in minimal role of the state. It stood for market-based economy.