Statement: Over the years, successive railway ministers have used the Railways’ employment potential to boost their political careers. Assumptions: I. Over the years, the Railways has offered substantial employment opportunities (vacancies/positions). II. Political careers benefit when leaders deliver direct, tangible benefits like jobs to their constituents. Choose the option that best identifies which assumption(s) is/are implicit.

Introduction / Context:
The statement alleges that multiple railway ministers have leveraged the Railways’ capacity to generate jobs to advance their political careers. Identifying the necessary assumptions reveals the mechanics that make this claim coherent.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Railways is a large public-sector employer with recurring hiring needs.
• Voters often reward politicians who provide jobs/benefits.

Concept / Approach:
For the claim to stand, two conditions must simultaneously hold: that Railways offers employment opportunities sufficient to be politically salient (I), and that distributing or facilitating such employment indeed translates into political capital (II).

Step-by-Step Solution:
Assess I: If Railways had negligible or no employment opportunities, ministers could not have “utilised” its employment potential. Hence I is necessary.Assess II: If jobs did not meaningfully improve a minister’s political fortunes, leveraging employment potential would not “boost” careers. Therefore II is also necessary.

Verification / Alternative check:
Remove I: no employment potential—claim collapses. Remove II: even with jobs, no political advantage—claim collapses. Both are needed for the causal pathway “employment potential → political gain.”

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Any option omitting one of the assumptions breaks the causal chain. “Neither” contradicts the entire allegation.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing “some jobs exist” with “politically salient employment.” The assumption is that the scale/visibility of jobs is sufficient to matter electorally.

Final Answer:
if both I and II are implicit.