POLITICAL PARTIES

WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY?

A political party is a group of people who come together to
contest elections and hold power in the government.
They agree on some policies and programmes for the society
with a view to promote the collective good.
Parties are about a part of the society and thus, involve
partisanship. Thus, a party is known by which part it stands
for, which policies it supports and whose interests it upholds.
A political party has three components: the leaders, the active
members and the followers
FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES
Parties contest elections.
Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the
voters choose from them. A government is expected to base its
policies on the line taken by the ruling party.
Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
Parties form and run governments.
Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of
opposition to the parties in power, by voicing different views
and criticizing government for its failures or wrong policies.
Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues.
Parties provide people access to government machinery and
welfare schemes implemented by governments.
NECESSITY OF POLITICAL PARTIES
We can understand the necessity of political parties by
imagining a situation without parties.
Every candidate in the elections will be independent. So no one
will be able to make any promises to the people about any
major policy changes.
The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever
uncertain.
Elected representatives will be accountable to their
constituency for what they do in the locality. But no one will be
responsible for how the country will be run.
The rise of political parties is directly linked to the emergence
of representative democracies.
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As societies became large and complex, they also needed some
agency to gather different views on various issues and to
present these to the government. They needed some ways, to
bring various representatives together so that a responsible
government could be formed. They needed a mechanism to
support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or
oppose them. Political parties fulfill these needs that every
representative government has. We can say that parties are a
necessary condition for a democracy
TYPES OF PARTIES
One-Party System: In some countries, only one party is
allowed to control and run the government. These are called
one-party systems. In China, only the Communist Party is
allowed to rule. We cannot consider one-party system as a good
option because this is not a democratic option. Any democratic
system must allow at least two parties to compete in elections
and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come to
power.
Two-party system: In some countries, power usually changes
between two main parties. Several other parties may exist,
contest elections and win a few seats in the national
legislatures. But only the two main parties have a serious
chance of winning majority of seats to form government. Such
a party system is called two-party system. The United States of
America and the United Kingdom are examples of two-party
system.
Multiparty system: If several parties compete for power, and
more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to
power either on their own strength or in alliance with others,
we call it a multiparty system. Thus in India, we have a
multiparty system. In this system, the government is formed by
various parties coming together in a coalition. When several
parties in a multi-party system join hands for the purpose of
contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance
or a front. The multiparty system often appears very messy and
leads to political instability. At the same time, this system
allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political
representation.
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WHICH PARTY SYSTEM IS BETTER?
Party system is not something any country can choose.
It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society,
its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its
system of elections. These cannot be changed very quickly.
Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its
special circumstances.
For example, if India has evolved a multiparty system, it is
because the social and geographical diversity in such a large
country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties.
Thus, no system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
NATIONAL PARTIES
State party: A party that secures at least six per cent of the
total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State
and wins at least two seats is recognized as a State party.
national party: A party that secures at least six per cent of the
total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four
States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha is
recognized as a national party.
According to this classification, there are six recognized
national parties in the country as per notification of the
Election Commission of India issued in 2023. They are:

[1] Aam Aadmi Party (AAP):

Formed on 26 November 2012, following the 2011 anti-corruption
movement.
The party was founded on the idea of accountability, clean
administration, transparency and good governance.
In the year after its formation, AAP emerged as the second largest
party in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election.
It formed a government with the support of Indian National Congress
(INC).
It also emerged as the third front in the politics of Gujarat after 2022
Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.
Presently, AAP formed governments in Punjab and Delhi. In the Lok
Sabha election held in 2019.
It secured one seat in the Lok Sabha.
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[2] Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP):
Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
It Seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan samaj which
includes the dalits, adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.
Draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj,
Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
It has its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh and substantial
presence in neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab.
Formed government in Uttar Pradesh several times by taking the
support of different parties at different times.
In the Lok Sabha elections held in 2019, it polled about 3.63 per cent
votes and secured 10 seats in the Lok Sabha.
[3] Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP):
Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh,
formed by Syama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951.
Wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from
India’s ancient culture and values; and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s ideas
of integral humanism and Antyodaya.
Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important element in its
conception of Indian nationhood and politics.
Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir
with India, a uniform civil code for all people living in the country
irrespective of religion, and ban on religious conversions.
Came to power in 1998 as the leader of the National Democratic
Alliance (NDA) including several regional parties.
Emerged as the largest party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections. Currently leads the ruling NDA government at the Centre.
[4] Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M):
Founded in 1964.
Believes in Marxism-Leninism. Supports socialism, secularism and
democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism.
Accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for
securing the objective of socio-economic justice in India.
Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura, especially
among the poor, factory workers, farmers and agricultural labourers.
Was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34 years.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won about 1.75 per cent of votes and
3 seats.
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[5] Indian National Congress (INC):
Founded in 1885 and has experienced many splits.
Popularly known as the Congress Party.
Played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national and state
level for several decades after India’s Independence.
Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party sought to build a
modern secular democratic republic in India.
Ruling party at the center till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989. After
1989, its support declined, but it continues to be present throughout
the country, cutting across social divisions.
A centrist party (neither rightist nor leftist) in its ideological
orientation, the party espouses secularism and welfare of weaker
sections and minorities.
The INC supports new economic reforms but with a human face.
Leader of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2004
to 2019.
In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, it won 19.5% votes and 52 seats.
[6] National People’s Party (NPP):
Formed in July 2013 under the leadership of P.A Sangma.
NPP is the first political party from North East India to have attained
the status of a national party.
It believes in diversity of the country and recognizes that different
regions have different developmental challenges.
The core philosophy of the party is education and employment to all as
well as empowerment of all sections of the society.
It formed government in Meghalaya and has presence in many of North
Eastern States.
In the Lok Sabha election held in 2019, NPP secured one seat in the Lok
Sabha.
STATE PARTIES
most of the major parties of the country are classified by the
Election Commission as ‘State parties’. These are commonly
referred to as regional parties. Yet these parties need not be
regional in their ideology or outlook.
Some of these parties are all India parties that happen to have
succeeded only in some states. Parties like the Samajwadi Party
and Rashtriya Janata Dal have national level political
organisation with units in several states.
Over the last three decades, the number and strength of these
parties has expanded. This made the Parliament of India
politically more and more diverse.
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No one national party is able to secure on its own a majority in
the Lok Sabha, until 2014. As a result, the national parties are
compelled to form alliances with State parties.
Since 1996, nearly every one of the State parties has got an
opportunity to be a part of one or the other national level
coalition government.
This has contributed to the strengthening of federalism and
democracy in our country.
CHALLENGES TO POLITICAL PARTIES
The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within
parties. All over the world there is a tendency in political
parties towards the concentration of power in one or few
leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, do
not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal
elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get
sufficient information on what happens inside the party. They
do not have the means or the connections needed to influence
the decisions. As a result, the leaders assume greater power to
make decisions in the name of the party. Since one or few
leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who
disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the
party.
The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the
first one. Since most political parties do not practice open and
transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very
few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party.
Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair
advantage to favour people close to them or even their family
members. In many parties, the top positions are always
controlled by members of one family. This is unfair to other
members of that party. This is also bad for democracy, since
people who do not have adequate experience or popular support
come to occupy positions of power.
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The third challenge is about the growing role of money and
muscle power in parties, especially during elections. Since
parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use
short-cuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those
candidates who have or can raise lots of money. Rich people
and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have
influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some
cases, parties support criminals who can win elections.
The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to
offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In order to offer
meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. In
recent years, there has been a decline in the ideological
differences among parties in most parts of the world. For
example, the difference between the Labour Party and the
Conservative Party in Britain is very little. They agree on more
fundamental aspects but differ only in details on how policies
are to be framed and implemented. In our country too, the
differences among all the major parties on the economic
policies have reduced. Those who want really different policies
have no option available to them. Sometimes people cannot
even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of
leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

HOW CAN PARTIES BE REFORMED

recent efforts and suggestions in our country to reform
political parties and its leaders:
The Constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from
changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives
were indulging in defection in order to become ministers or for cash
rewards. If any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat
in the legislature.
The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money
and criminals. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests
elections to file an affidavit giving details of his property and criminal
cases pending against him.
The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for
political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their
income tax returns.
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Besides these, many suggestions are often made to reform
political parties:
A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political
parties. It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain
a register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to have an
independent authority, to act as a judge in case of party disputes, to
hold open elections to the highest posts.
It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum
number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates.
There should be state funding of elections. The government should give
parties money to support their election expenses.
There are two other ways in which political parties can be
reformed:
One, people can put pressure on political parties. This can be done
through petitions, publicity and agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure
groups and movements and the media can play an important role in
this. If political parties feel that they would lose public support by not
taking up reforms, they would become more serious about reforms.
Two, political parties can improve if those who want this, join
political parties. The quality of democracy depends on the degree of
public participation. It is difficult to reform politics if ordinary
citizens do not take part in it and simply criticise it from the outside.
The problem of bad politics can be solved by more and better politics.