4.

Political Parties
Important points.
Political parties are easily one of the most visible institutions in a democracy.How?
 For most ordinary citizens, democracy is equal to political parties.
 If you travel to remote parts of our country and speak to the less educated citizens, you could come
across people who may not know anything about our Constitution or about the nature of our
government.
 But chances are that they would know something about our political parties.
Reasons for people blaming the political parties.
 Most people tend to be very critical of political parties.
 They tend to blame parties for all that is wrong with our democracy and our political life. Parties
have become identified with social and political divisions.
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.
 Since there can be different views on what is good for all, parties try to persuade people why their
policies are better than others.
 They seek to implement these policies by winning popular support through elections.
Identity of a political party
A party is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose interests it upholds.
Three components of a political party
A political party has three components: 
The leaders,
The active members and
The followers.
For Functions of political party,read the textbook
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.
 Although, legally speaking, people are free to form political parties, it does not happen because the
electoral system does not permit free competition for power.
 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.
Multi Party 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.
For example, in India there were three such major alliances in 2004 parliamentary elections– the National
Democratic Alliance, the United Progressive Alliance and the Left 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.
Which party system is the better one?
 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.
 No system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
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.
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP):
 Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
 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.
 Stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the dalits and oppressed people.
 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.
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.
 Its support base increased substantially in the 1990s.
 Earlier limited to north and west and to urban areas, the party expanded its support in the south,
east, the north-east and to rural areas.
 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.
Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M):
 Founded in 1964.
 B e l i e v e s in Marxism-Leninism.
 Supports s o c i a l i s m , s e c u l a r i s m a n d 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, agricultural labourers and the intelligentsia.
 Critical of the new economic policies that allow free flow of foreign capital and goods into the
country.
 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.
 Indian National Congress (INC): Popularly known as the Congress Party.
 One of the oldest parties of the world.
 Founded in 1885 and has experienced many splits.
 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 centre 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.
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.
Features of a regional party or state parties
 Parties that are present in only one of the federal units are known as state parties or 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. Some of these parties like Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front,
Mizo National Front and Telangana Rashtra Samithi are conscious about their State identity .
 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.
 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.
National Party;Criteria to become a national party (6 national parties are there in our country)
 Parties that are present in several or all units of the federation are called national parties. case in
 There are some country-wide parties, which are called ‘national parties’.
 These parties have their units in various states. But by and large, all these units follow the same
policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level . While the Commission
treats all parties equally, it offers some special facilities to large and established parties. These
parties are given a unique symbol – only the offi cial candidates of that party can use that election
symbol.
 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 recognised as a national
party.
Criteria to become a 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 recognised as a State party.