Aspirant Academy

Polity, Governance and Current Affairs

Predicted Questions with Model Answers

Voting Behavior, Electoral Reforms, Elections

Paper III · Unit 1 Section 9 of 11 0 PYQs 28 min
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Predicted Questions with Model Answers

Q1 (5 marks — 50 words): What is NOTA? What was the Supreme Court ruling that introduced it?

Model Answer:

NOTA (None of the Above) is an EVM option allowing voters to register rejection of all candidates while maintaining vote secrecy. It was introduced following PUCL v. Union of India (2013), where the Supreme Court held that the right to vote includes the right to reject all candidates. NOTA has been available in all elections since November 2013. NOTA votes are counted and published separately but do not affect the result — even if NOTA receives the most votes, the candidate with the highest votes among candidates wins.

Q2 (5 marks — 50 words): Why was the Electoral Bonds Scheme struck down by the Supreme Court in 2024?

Model Answer:

The Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India (2024) unanimously (5-judge bench, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud) struck down the Electoral Bonds Scheme because: (1) It violated voters' right to information under Article 19(1)(a) — voters have a fundamental right to know who funds political parties; (2) Anonymous donations enabled quid pro quo corruption — companies potentially receiving government contracts after donating; (3) Finance Act amendments used to introduce the scheme were procedurally improper. SBI was directed to submit all data to ECI; data was published publicly.

Q3 (5 marks — 50 words): What are EVMs? State three features ensuring their integrity.

Model Answer:

Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) are stand-alone electronic devices replacing paper ballots in Indian elections, used nationwide since 2004 Lok Sabha elections, manufactured by BEL and ECIL. Three integrity features: (1) No network connectivity — cannot be hacked remotely; (2) Unique unit ID and tamper-evident seals — any physical tampering is detectable; (3) VVPAT integration — paper slip confirms the vote cast to the voter; stored separately for audit. Technical expert committees (IIT professors) have certified EVMs as tamper-proof.

Q4 (10 marks — 150 words): Examine the key electoral reforms in India since 1990 and their impact on free and fair elections.

Model Answer:

India's electoral reforms since 1990 have transformed election integrity in several dimensions:

Structural Reforms:

  • Voter age reduced to 18 (61st Amendment, 1988, effective from 1989) — added 3.5 crore new voters.
  • EVM adoption (nationwide from 2004): Eliminated booth capture, ballot stuffing, ballot paper theft, and counting fraud. ECI certified EVMs manufactured by BEL and ECIL as tamper-proof. VVPAT (nationwide 2019) added voter-verifiable paper audit trail.
  • NOTA (2013, PUCL case): Enabled voter dissatisfaction expression without spoiling ballot.

Transparency Reforms:

  • Mandatory disclosure of criminal antecedents and assets (ADR & PUCL v. UoI, 2002): Candidates must declare criminal cases, assets, and educational qualifications in affidavits; published on ECI website.
  • Electoral Bonds Scheme struck down (ADR v. UoI, 2024): Transparency in political funding restored; SBI data on donors published.

Process Reforms:

  • Pre-certification of paid political advertisements (from 2014): MCMC at district/state level.
  • cVIGIL app (2018): Citizens report MCC violations with geotagged evidence.
  • Model Code of Conduct enforcement — ECI has used Article 324's plenary powers to transfer biased officials, cancel political events, and impose fines.

Pending Reforms:

  • Decriminalisation of politics: 46% of 2024 LS MPs have declared criminal cases.
  • State funding of elections: Law Commission Reports recommend partial state funding to level the playing field.
  • One Nation One Election: Kovind Committee (2024) report; constitutional amendments under consideration.

Despite these reforms, challenges remain: money power, criminal-politician nexus, social media misinformation, and inadequate enforcement of expenditure limits.

Q5 (10 marks — 150 words): Analyse the determinants of voting behavior in India with reference to caste, anti-incumbency, and economic issues.

Model Answer:

Voting behavior in India is shaped by a complex interaction of sociological, psychological, and economic factors.

Caste remains the most consistent predictor. Lokniti/CSDS election studies consistently show that voters are significantly more likely to vote for candidates of their own caste or caste coalition. The Mandal Commission's OBC reservation (1990) institutionalised caste as a unit of political entitlement, deepening caste-consciousness in voting. Yet caste is not deterministic — caste blocs defect when candidates are clearly unacceptable or when issue salience is very high.

Anti-incumbency is uniquely strong in India — ruling parties lose state elections approximately 65% of the time. Rajasthan's alternating BJP-Congress pattern (since 1993) is the textbook example: voters systematically punish incumbent governments regardless of party ideology. The "punishment of failure to deliver" — on agriculture, employment, inflation — drives this pattern. 2013 Rajasthan election saw Congress defeated despite claiming NREGS and RTI credit; voters focused on corruption and price rise.

Economic issues gained prominence with expanding middle class and information access. The 2014 "Modi wave" was partly driven by economic aspiration — youth unemployment, slow growth under UPA-II, and corruption perceptions. However, purely economic voting is limited — welfare beneficiaries (NREGS, Ujjwala, PM Kisan) have shown loyalty to the welfare-delivering government regardless of general economic conditions.

New determinants: Social media amplification, WhatsApp-driven narrative framing, and "leader image" (presidential-style PM focused elections) increasingly shape voting, particularly among urban youth and first-time voters.

Q6 (5 marks — 50 words): What is the One Nation One Election proposal? State two arguments for and two against.

Model Answer:

One Nation One Election proposes holding Lok Sabha and all State Assembly elections simultaneously. The Kovind Committee (2024) recommended two-phase implementation. Arguments for: (1) Reduced election expenditure and logistical burden; (2) Uninterrupted governance — ending continuous Model Code of Conduct restrictions. Arguments against: (1) Violates federal autonomy — states lose control over their electoral cycle; (2) National wave elections may overwhelm state-specific issues and governance accountability. Constitutional amendments to Articles 83, 85, 172, 174 are necessary.