Essay on the Political Parties in India

write an essay on political party system in india

In this essay we will discuss about the political parties in India. After reading this essay you will learn about: 1. Introduction to Political Parties in Indian Political System 2. Political Parties in India 3. Indian National Congress 4. Party after Nehru 5. Policies and Programmes of the Congress 6. Janata Party 7. Communist Party of India 8. Bhartiya Janata Party 9. Lok-Dal 10. Janata Dal and Other Details .

List of Essays on the Political Parties in India

Essay Contents:

  • Essay on the Problems of Political Parties

1. Essay on the Introduction to Political Parties in Indian Political System:

All over the world where there is a democratic way of governing the people, political parties play a very big role. These are the heaviest political weight, along with pressure groups and their role, importance and significance can in no way be under-estimated. In a country there can be single as well as multiple political party system.

A single political party being understood to mean a party system in which all members think alike. They follow a leader and have a uniform programme and line of action for achieving that. On the other hand multi-party system is one in which there is more than one political party, each having its programme of action as well as method of achieving the goals which it has set before itself.

For our discussion, a political party means to be a group of persons who have common ideology, follow a common programme and common line of action. In the party there is uniformity of action and approach. It should be well organised and a good political party is supposed to have disciplined membership.

Every political party obviously tries to capture political power and enlightens the people about failings and falterings of the party in power. A good political party is supposed to have national policies and programmes and tries to meet requirements of all sections of society without any reservations.

But most important thing about a political party is that it should adopt only constitutional means and methods for achieving its objectives.

A political party may conveniently be defined as a body of men who have united for promoting, by their collective efforts, upon some principles to which they have all agreed. According to Maclver a political party is an association organised in support of some principles or policies which by constitutional means it endeavours to make the deteiminant of government.

Prof. Leacock is of the view that it is a more or less organised group of citizens who act together as a political unit. It is always a voluntary organisation and is formed by those who hold common views on certain basic political issues.

It should be organised and its members must be prepared to follow certain well established rules and also believe in peaceful and constitutional methods. Its object should be to capture political power.

2. Essay on the Political Parties in India:

Political party system in India has its own background. The origin of the system can be traced back to 1885 when Indian National Congress was founded. It discussed national political and economic issues though at the initial stages its aim was not to capture political power. Its aim was get certain political reforms from foreign masters.

The party, however, got divided into two parts namely the Moderates and the Extremists. Almost at all same time, Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan tried to bring the Muslims together under an umbrella named Muslim League.

The aim of the party was to protect political rights of the Muslims. As a reaction the Hindus formed Hindu Maha Sabha. Subsequently such political parties as the Justice Party,. The Krishak Praja Party, The Scheduled Caste Party, the Unionist Party, etc., were formed. But smelly speaking none of the parties was strictly speaking a political party because none aimed at capturing power but only to have some representation in the Government.

In India political parties can be placed under various categories. Broadly speaking, these are (a) National, regional, local and adhoc. At the national level some parties are secular and without any ideological commitment e.g., Indian National Congress, including Congress (I), Janata Dal, Janata Party, etc. Then at the national level are ideologically committed rightist and leftist parties.

In the former category can be placed Bhartiya Janata Party and Bhartiya Lok Dal whereas in the latter category fall both the Communist parties. Then there are regional parties both communal and non-communal. Communal Regional parties include Akali Dal, Indian Union Muslim League, etc.

Non-communal regional parties include Peasants and Workers Party, Maharashtra Gomantak Party, Forward Bloc etc. Then there are political parties which have their influence in a particular area e.g., Jharkhand party, Manipur People’s Party, Naga National Convention, Sikkim Sangram Parishad.

Then come adhoc and fringe parties in which are covered parties like Ram Rajya Parishad, All India Bhartiya Jan Sangh, Congress (O) and Hindu Mahasabha.

The days of communal parties in India are almost over because under the new rules each political party is to amend its Constitution in such a way as to, provide that it believes in secularism, socialism and in the unity and integrity of the country. Only after the party accepts these basic conditions that the Election Commission will register it for contesting elections, and not otherwise.

In India a national party means a political party which has the support of 4% of the electorate in any four states. It has organisational set which spreads in many parts of the country. On the other hand a regional party is ooe which has its hold in a particular region. The activities of a local party are confined to a particular area and does not spread beyond that.

Indian National Congress (I), Janata Party, Janata Dal, Bhartiya Janata Party and CP I and CPI (M) fall under the category of national parties. These were so recognised by the Election Commission in 1992.

National Conference has its influence in J&K, Akali Dal in Punjab, All India Muslim League and Kerala Congress in Kerala; DMK & AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, Naga National Party in Nagaland; Republican par. Maharashtra; Forward Bloc in West Bengal; Telugu Desham in Andhra-pradesh and so on.

In fact, the number of political parties and groups in the country runs into hundreds. Some other regional parties include Assam; Gan Parihad in Assam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Bihar; Maharashtra a wadi Goamantak Party in Goa; Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party in U.P.; Sikkim Sangram Parishad in Sikkim; Mizo National Front in Mizoram; Shiv Sena in Maharashtra etc.

Main Features of Political Party System in India:

In India there is multi-party system. As already said the number of political parties and groups runs into hundreds and new parties are also coming up. The increase in members is because some political leaders who get dissatisfied with the existing parties form a new party, though not with an absolutely new programme.

Those communities which have good numerical strength also form political parties. Political parties are formed to exploit regional and communal feelings. Adult franchise is one important cause responsible for multiparty system in India. Some political parties are formed around election lime to have some share in political power. These disappear as soon as elections are over, if they fail to achieve anything.

Then another feature is that in the country even now to an extent there is single party dominant system. In spite of the fact that in the country there are very many political parties, yet Congress (I) still dominates both at the centre as well as in many of the states.

Some states, of course, have Non-Congress (I) governments but hold of the Congress party over the country is very strong. The party has remained in power at the Centre all along except the brief periods during 1977-79 and 1989. But because of internal bickering party has seen many splits and created problems for leadership.

Still another feature is that member of political parties do not observe strict party discipline. There are always cases of taking disciplinary action and expelling rebel members from the party. Indisciplined members of one party are happily accepted by the other.

It was because of this indiscipline that defections became quite common and Anti-Defection Act had to be passed. Even in the party itself leader of the party is disobeyed.

In India the role of regional political parties has considerably increased. In several states regional political parties have already come to power, while in others leadership is trying to fully exploit regional feelings. In fact, after the fall of government in 1979 many political parties had predicted that era of coalition governments at the Centre has ushered and regional political parties will have big role to play at the Centre.

Telugu Desham Party is in power in Andhra Pardesh; AIADM in Tamil Nadu, etc.

Then another feature of political party system in India is that most of the parties are not well organised. The elections of office bearers are not held for years together and they are nominated by the party President. Part) High Command which performs all those functions which elected office bearers should perform.

Though the constitution of India prohibits the exploitation religion, caste, community and region for political parties and during election times but that is very much exploited by all political parties in one form or the other.

Then one finds that though the number of political parties is increasing year after year yet their programmes only marginally differ. On the whole basic ideology i.e., secularism, socialism, non-alignment, federal system. etc., remain unchanged. The choice of the voters, therefore, remains very limited.

Then because of large number of political parties on the one hand and apathy of masses towards political parties, doubts about sincerity of their promises, non-implementation of their election manifestoes, less political consciousness of votes in the rural areas, lack of interests in political affairs by urban elites has resulted in low membership of political parties.

Political parties financially are not very sound except those parties which can manage funds by underhand means or which the business community feels can capture power either at the centre or in any state.

In every political party there is great importance of the leader. A popular and dynamic leader can take the party to height of its glory. If the Congress party has survived and played a very significant role in Indian political life, it is because it could have the privilege of having dynamic and towering personalities like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Smt. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Ministers.

The opposition parties are still in wilderness because these have failed to produce a national leader, who can bring round all political parties, though now there is awareness about opposition unity which was considerably achieved during 1989 elections. But that did not last long and the government could remain in power only for one year.

A disturbing feature of Indian political party system is that gradually some political parties are keeping party interests above national interests. Thus a political party is becoming more important than the nation as a whole. All important posts, both in the government and public sector undertakings, are offered to loyal political workers.

Political bosses, in several cases compel civil servant to toe their line of action and go out of the way to help their favourites.

Thus, on the whole in India political party system is not developing on very healthy lines. Unless some healthy code of conduct for all political parties is prepared and implemented, the chances of improvement of the system are very remote.

It is encouraging that Election Commission is now laying stress on strict implementation of code of conduct and made it clear to all political parties that during 1996 Lok Sabha and six slate Assemblies elections this code will be very strictly observed. In actual practice it also very strictly enforced that as well.

Under the Representation of People’s Act each political party is required to register itself with the Election Commission. It can also be withdrawn at any time due to failure to observe the code of conduct, refusal to observe lawful directions and instructions, etc., of the Commission. Before withdrawal of recognition, however, political party in question is given an opportunity to explain as position.

3. Essay on the Indian National Congress :

In India since independence Indian National Congress has been a single dominant political party. It continued to dominate Indian political scene to 1967, when its hold somewhat weakened. In 1971, the hold of the party became again strong. But in 1977 the party lost not only at the centre but also in many northern Indian states, where Janata party came to power.

In 1980 and 1984 elections Congress (I) again got itself saddled in power and authority. In 1989, the party again lost its hold at the Centre, where National Front government came to power. During 1991 the party was returned as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and formed minority government but in December 1993 when Ajit singh with his followers joined the party, it became a majority government under P.V. Narsimaha Rao.

This single dominant party system has done some good to the country. It was due to this that political stability came in the country, which otherwise the nation would have lost. But at the same time the Congress-men took it for granted that India was for them to be governed and this created many problems as well.

The history of the Congress party is in itself full of many events. There have been splits after splits in the party. Each split of course weakened the party and some of the political parties even find their origin from the main Congress organisation.

Even Janata party which dislodged; Congress from power at the Centre in 1977 had under its folds many Congressmen. So is true about National Front which formed government at the Centre in’ 1989. The history of this old party which maximum influenced political life of India can broadly be studied under two broad head namely: (a) history of the party from the beginning till today and (b) its policies and programmes.

The party which was founded in 1885 led the nation to the threshold of freedom in 1947. It was responsible for piloting several movements like Civil Disobedience; Non-Co-operation and Quit India. The Britishers transferred power to this party, as at that time it was sole political party which represented Indian masses-Muslim League having gone out of picture after the formation of independence and sovereign state of Pakistan.

The party had then under its folds all political leaders of national importance like Jawahar Lal Nehru, Mualana Abul Kalam Azad, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, Pt. Govind Ballah Pant, and so on. It had the guardianship of Mahatma Gandhi.

The Mahatma, however, suggested at the time of independence that the Congress should be disbanded and it should not enter in political arena, but thus advice of the old man was not heard by those who were influential in the party.

History of Congress Party:

History of Congress party can broadly be characterised as that of splits and divisions on the one hand and that of India’s freedom struggle and nation’s progress and advancement on the other. These splits occurred primarily because, though theoretically it was one party, yet practically it was party of parties. In its fold were people of all shades and all sections of Indian society, who had conflicting and contradicting interests and view points.

The organisation had both the socialists as well as capitalists. In the party were conservatives as well as liberals, orthodox as well those who wanted to being about radical changes in the country as well as in the party.

The party had in its fold both the working classes and employers and the people belonging to all castes and communities. In such an organisation splits were likely to come because there was bound to be struggle for supremacy within the party itself on the one hand and between the party and the government on the other.

Differences in the party started just three months after independence when Congress President Acharya J.B. Kriplani resigned on the plea that he was not being consulted on important matters by the then Prime Minister. These deepened when Nehru’s choice of C. Raja Gopalachari as first President of the Republic and that of Kirplani as Congress President were not accepted and instead Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Purshottam Das Tandon were respectively elected as President of India and Congress party President respectively.

Differences so much deepened that in July 1951, both Nehru and Azad resigned from Congress Working Committee as they could not reconcile to the idea of Tandon being the Party President. In October of the same year the latter also resigned from party presidentship.

Infighting in the party continued when in 1950 some dissatisfied Congress members under the leadership of Acharya Kriplani fomied a Democratic Group within the party. The aim of the group was to check increasing corruption. Subsequently this group called itself as Congress Democratic Party. This indiscipline came down to the state level, when some party members in U.P. were expelled from the party and they formed People’s Congress Party.

In West Bengal P.C. Ghosh and his associates formed Krishak Praja Mazdoor Party with the object of forming a classless non-exploiting democracy. Meanwhile there was mounting criticism within the party that the Congressmen had become corrupt and a demand was made that a high power commission should be set up to investigate charges of corruption against Ministers and public servants.

In 1963, several Congressmen in different states levied charges of corruption against their own Chief Ministers.

There were serious allegations of corruption against the then Chief Ministers i.e., Pratap Singh Kairon, Bakshi Gulam Muhammad, Biju Pattnaik and some others. The pressure so much mounted that Das Commission was set up to investigate charges of corruption against Pratap Singh Kairon.

There was not only indiscipline in the party but allegations of corruption, nepotism, bribery, etc., were also eating the party from the very roots. There were serious internal differences in the party at every level. In 1955, the party directed all state units that everything should be done to check indiscipline and maintain purity in party ranks.

In 1958, party decided that no party President or General Secretary shall hold office for more than two years. The party became a source of attack by the opposition parties as well.

There was increasing feeling in the party that degeneration had started in the party because all important party persons had joined or were keen to join the government, both in the states and also at the centre.

Accordingly in 1963, Kamraj plan was given to the party which provided that the Prime Minister should spare some party colleagues holding ministerial offices, both at the centre and in the states, who should take up party work and bring new life in the organisation. In accordance with the scheme several important leaders were drafted for party work.

4. Essay on the Party after Nehru:

In 1964, Jawahar Lal Nehru died and struggle in the party became more tens. It was a time when prices were rising and the people had not forgotten India’s debacle in war against China for which many had held Nehru responsible. But even then Nehru was undisputed leader of India on the one hand and Congress party on the other.

After his death Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded him, as a Prime Minister, presumably he was considered light political weight. After Shastri’s death on January 11, 1966 struggle for supremacy in the party again started and this time leadership preferred Smt Indira Gandhi, as nation’s Prime Minister over Morarji Desai; again perhaps considering him a light political weight.

But soon she also proved to be heavy political weight and differences between the Prime Minister and Party President developed. In 1967, fourth general election were to be held in the country. At that tune party was completely disorganised. In every state where were dissidents who had left the party and joined opposition parties, thereby strengthening their hands and position.

Charges of corruption were frequently levied against Ministers and highly placed public servants. The performance of the party was found quite unsatisfactory both on social and economic fronts. There was acute struggle for leadership and for grabbing more and more powers.

The result of all this was that party received serious setback in 1967 elections. It had much reduced strength in the Lok Sabha and lost majority in seven states, where opposition parties formed government. In the party itself serious rifts came and within the party younger elements formed Congress Socialist Forum and called themselves as ‘Young Turks’.

In order to win the confidence of the people the Congress party gave ten point programme which among other things promised minimum needs for the community.

But even that did not satisfy the party workers, particularly the younger elements who wanted that the task of economic development on the one hand and that of uprooting corruption on the other should be speeded up.

These elements wanted that maximum responsibility should be thrown on the public sector, whereas in April 1969, party chief at working committee meeting held in that mouth at Faridabad lashed at the inefficiency of that sector and impatience with which some party members wanted to introduce progressive measures.

But Prime Minister openly opposed the views of party chief. The Young Turks in the party sent a paper to the party chief on July 7, 1969, in which they wanted to be considered at the AICC session schedule to be held at Bangalore from 10 to 13 July, 1969. They wanted rapid economic changes and proposed nationalisation of banking and insurance companies and putting ceiling on incomes and holdings of urban properties.

They suggested progressive rate of taxation and checks on unproductive expenses. Another suggestion made was that the assistance given to the monopoly houses by the government should be converted into equity holdings and social efforts should be made to finance new entrepreneurs in the less developed regions.

The party was thus divided into two groups. One the one hand, were those who wanted radical reforms whereas on the others were those who wanted to go slow. The Prime Minister sided with the former and the Congress President with the latter who did not favour bank nationalisation.

Though compromise was reached at the session, yet a few days later Prime Minister divested Morarji Desai of his finance portfolio. Efforts made by party President to get back finance portfolio for him failed. It was the time when Banking Nationalisation Act was passed. It was also the time when election of the office of the President of India were going to be held. Congress party had fielded Neelam Sanjiva Reddy as its Candidate. The Prime Minister almost made it clear that her supporters might not vote for official candidate for Presidentship of India.

When Congress President and his supporters found that the Prime Minister was in no reconciling mood, many of her former supporters started propaganda campaign against her.

There were accusations and counter-accusations. All efforts to bring about a compromise failed. AICC was convened on November 22-23, 1969 to discuss political and economic situation in the country. The Congress Working Committee removed Mrs. Gandhi from primary membership of the party. In this way first split took place in the organisation.

Those who did not belong to Prime Minister’s group in the Parliament began to be called as Congress (Opposition). They were headed by Dr. Ram Subbhag Singh. Prime Minister’s group met, as scheduled in New Delhi and passed a resolution removing Mr. Nijalingappa from the party Presidentship and instead elected C. Subramaniam, as interim President.

She had on her side 441 elected and 54 nominated members of AICC, as against 246 elected and 40 nominated ones with Congress (O).

Towards Second Split:

After 1969 split, Congress party government headed by Mrs. Gandhi was surviving with the co-operation of other parties and as such she was feeling uncomfortable. In 1971, she recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha and mid-term polls were fixed for the same year. Congress (O) had an alliance with socialist and rightist parties and propagated that the Prime Minister had dictatorial tendencies.

Prime Minister’s group had some sort of alliance with leftist groups.

As a result of elections, Mrs. Gandhi’s party won two-third majority in the Lok Sabha, whereas Congress (O) was almost completely disowned by the people. Shortly elections were also held in the states and there also party came to power in many states and that too with comfortable majority.

This very much enhanced party’s prestige and honour in the eyes of the public. The party won the confidence of the people by such programmes as ‘bank nationalisation, abolition of privy purses and by winning Bangladesh war’.

But soon conflicts in the party again started. Young Turks in the Congress party were getting impatient and wanted that central and state governments should speedily implement economic programmes. They organised themselves into ‘Forum for Socialist Action’ and started strongly criticising the government for the delays on many economic fronts.

They wanted immediate land reform legislation and complete take over of foodgrain trade. In order to counter their activities, All India Nehru Study Forum was founded by some other party members which asserted that socialist forum was opposed to basic Congress policies and programmes.

While at the centre all this was going on in the states the situation was much worse. There was no Congress ruled state in which there were no ns and frictions. Every state was a house divided in itself and there were several strong persons who were contenders for power. The situation in the states was in no way satisfactory.

It was feared by party leadership that in case situation was not immediately brought under control worse could happen. In April 1973, in a bid to save the situation, Prime Minister issued a stem warning to the members that no indiscipline in the party would be tolerated at any cost.

At a point of time Dinesh Singh, a close associate of Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister, was expelled from the party and so happened with former Gujarat Chief Minister, Chemabhai Patel. Both were expelled from party on account of party indiscipline. It was under these circumstances that in 1975 emergency was declared in the country.

During this period there were no instances of party indiscipline. But soon after the lifting of emergency elections were announced. Not much later Jagjiwan Ram, H.N. Bahuguna, Mrs. Nandim Satpathy and many other senior Congress leaders  left the party.

Whereas some joined newly formed Janata party, the others joined Congress for Democracy founded by Jagjiwan Ram, which subsequently merged itself with the Janata Party. In this way Congress was further sub-divided in 1977.

Third split:

As a result of 1977 elections Congress party led by Mrs. Gandhi heavily lost in the elections. The party lost majority in the Lok Sabha and for the first time a non-Congress government came to power at the centre and many states in North India.

Many members of the party held Mrs. Indira Gandhi and caucus responsible for the failure of the party at the polls and several MPs and MLAs resigned from the party and joined either Janata or other opposition parties.

There were also allegations that Mrs. Gandhi was trying to perpetuate dynastic rule by bringing her son late Sanjay Gandhi on political fore-front. It was also alleged that during emergency crimes were committed against masses which had brought disrepute to the party. But Prime Minister refuted all these charges. Some of the members of the party, however, continued to levy these charges.

They charged her with ruling as dictator and resented the importance which late Sanjay Gandhi was being given in the party. Since there was no compromise on the issue and every clarification given by Smt. Indira Gandhi and her colleagues did not satisfy the dissatisfied members, they decided to leave her and there was another split in the party at that time.

Thereafter there were again differences either in one group of the Congress or the other. Those who continued to stay with Mrs. Gandhi organised themselves into a separate party called Congress (I). The other who left elected Swaran Singh as their President and the party was called Congress (S).

Fourth split:

Dev Raj Urs the then Chief Minister of Karnataka had been a strong supporter of Mrs. Gandhi. In 1979, he also could not reconcile himself to the importance which late Sanjay Gandhi was getting both in the party and outside. He and his supporters felt that they were being humiliated and underestimated in the party.

He also talked of dictatorial tendencies of Mrs. Gandhi. He called upon Congressmen who had left the Congress party to come and join it again. Dev Raj Urs left Mrs. Gandhi and subsequently was elected as Congress President. Among his supporters were Y.B. Chavan, Swaran Singh, Karan Singh and so on. His party after his name began to be called Congress (U).

As a result of 1980 elections, Congress (I) was returned to power and many Congressmen who bad left her again joined the organisation and promised to allow her policies and programmes. Her opponents in the party received serious setback. She established her absolute supremacy both in the government and the party.

In 1984, general elections were again held in the country. Congress (I) under the leadership of her son Rajiv Gandhi was returned to the Lok Sabha by three-fourths majority. He established his absolute control over the government and the party. The party, however, lost at the Centre in 1989 elections.

As a result of elections held in 1991 Congress (I) formed government at the Centre with P.V. Narsimha Rao as Prime Minister. But his senior cabinet colleague, Arjun Singh did not see eye to eye with the Prime Minister who was also party President.

The differences were so sharp that he along with another senior party leader Narain Datt Tiwari left the party in 1995 and formed a new party called Indira Congress (Tiwari). But their leaving the party had not much impact either on the party or on the government.

In March 1996 elections for eleventh Lok Sabha were announced, when some prominent leaders left the party. A senior Minister of Rao government Madhav Rao formed a new party called Madhya Pardesh Vikas Congress. P.Chitambaram, another Minister decided to contest election not on the ticket of Congress (I) because of party decision to have electoral alliance with AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry.

He joined hands with DMK and formed new party called T.M.C. In fact several congress leaders left the party. Former senior leaders N.D. Tiwari and Arjun Singh formed a new party called Indra Congress (Tiwari).

The performance of the congress party in 1996 General elections and six state Assembly elections has been very poor. It could get only 135 seats in the Lok Sabha and thus went out of power. It also lost majority in the states of Harayana and Kerala which it was in power before the elections were held. The party even did not remain as the largest opposition party in the state.

5. Essay on the Policies and Programmes of Congress:

Congress is one of the oldest political organisation in the country. From its very inception, it has committed itself to end poverty and improve economic lot of the people. But the task is in no way easy. The problems before the organisations, after independence being (a) whether the party should encourage public or private sector or follow policy of mixed economy in which both the sectors should be allowed to go together, (b) whether there should be planned or unplanned economy; (c) whether there should be stress on small-scale or large-scale industry; (d) whether there should be agricultural or industrial economy and so on. The Congress, when it was united had the following salient or significant features.

The Congress party at its Avadi Session held in 1955 made it amply clear that main aim and objective of the party was to establish socialistic pattern of society. The party decided in favour of planned economy in which both the public and private sectors would be allowed to work together for economic development.

There will be equality of opportunity for all and all distinctions on the basis of caste and creed will be removed. Concentration of wealth in few hands will be removed and all regional and economic disparities will be removed.

Agriculture will be given maximum attention and agriculturists will be paid fully for their produce and labour. Both small- and large-scale industries will be given due encouragement. There will be decentralisation of economic and political power.

Efforts will be made to provide employment to maximum number of people and both poverty and unemployment will be ended at the earliest. Efforts will also be made to get self-sufficiency in basic industries and country’s imports will be reduced to the minimum.

In the field of foreign affairs the party stands for non-alignment and remaining away from power blocs. It believes that no country in the world has a right to interfere in the domestic affairs of any other country. The party also believes that world bodies should be given maximum co-operation and every international problem should be solved by peaceful means and methods.

On Gandhian principles, the party believes in non-violence and encouragement to small-scale and cottage industries on the one hand and co-operative farming on the other.

Though basically the party remains committed to this programme, yet some changes and stresses have come with the passage of time. After coming to power Mrs. Indira Gandhi followed policy of nationalisation and more stress was laid on public sector and land reform measures. Stress was also laid on improving the lot of weaker sections of society and also to uplifting the women and removal of regional disparities.

In 1975, emergency was declared in the country and at that time, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi gave her twenty-point programme to the nation. These points included bringing down of prices of essential commodities and streamlining of their production and distribution; speedier distribution of surplus land; house sites for the poor and declaration of bonded labour and beggar as illegal; liquidation of rural indebtedness; review of laws on minimum agricultural wages; national programme for the use of underground waters; erection of super thermal stations; development of hand-loom sector; supply of improved quality of cloth; socialisation of urban or urbanisable laud; summary trial for economic offenders; confiscation of smuggler’s property; action against misuse of import licences; workers association in industry; national scheme for road transport; income- tax relief to middle class people; supply of essential commodities at controlled rates; supply of books and stationery at controlled rates and apprenticeship schemes to enlarge employment.

In addition to these twenty-points her son late Sanjay Gandhi also gave five points programme. These included family planning; abolition of dowry system; massive tree plantation programme; adult education and eradication of untouchability.

The programmes were vigorously followed during the period 1975- 1977, as long as there was emergency in the country. Janata party, which came to power in 1977, had its own policies and programmes. In 1980, Congress (I) came to power again and these became the pivots of party’s economic and social policies. Congress (I) still follows policy of non-alignment and non-violence. It also follows policy of mixed economy and that too in a planned way.

The party is now laying stress on transfer of powers to the grassroots by giving effective powers to Village Panchayats and Nagar Mahapalikas. It is also aiming at reforming the judiciary so that justice is easily and cheaply made available to the poor.

It also aims at uplifting the women by giving them share in all elected bodies and reserving seats for them in elected bodies. Sometime back it launched special drive for filling up all vacant posts in offices and public undertakings, reserved for scheduled castes and scheduled tribes.

It is also favouring continuance of space research programme for India. In the international field, in addition to the policy of non-alignment, it is in favour of paying special attention to good neighbourly relations on the one hand and with Africa and Arab world on the other.

In its 1989 election manifesto, in addition to what was already included in the party programmes mentioned above, the party promised to preserve country’s unity and integrity.

It also pledged power to the people. It promised to revamp cooperative system structurally and financially. It also assured pension scheme for all workers in the organised sector, introduction of social security schemes for workers in the unorganised sector, consolidation of schemes for the welfare SC & ST and that new markets for farm outputs will be created.

The party promised to provide more chances for employment and self-employment, to check corruption from the very grass roots and to redesign industrial and foreign trade policies. The party also promised to bring about radical judicial reforms so that cheap and quick justice was available to the people.

Under the Presidentship and Prime Ministership of P.V. Narsimha Rao, the party has been following the policy of economic liberalisation under which multi-nationals from abroad are being attracted for investment in core sectors of Indian economy where country needs are very urgent but nation has no economic resources to meet these.

Non Resident Indians (NRIs) are being attracted to invest their savings in India for country’s economic development.

All other breakaway groups of Congress have almost disappeared leaving field for Congress (I). Newly formed Indira Congress (Tiwari) has however, been recognised a national party for 1996 general elections for the Lok Sabha and six state-Legislative Assemblies by the Election Commission of India.

Organisation of the Party:

Congress party which is the oldest party in the country has well developed organisational setup. Taluka block is the basic unit of the organisation. Above the basic unit is District Congress Committee which consists of some co-opted members, local party leaders and some indirectly elected members.

Next higher level is Pradesh Congress Committee which is also constituted in the similar manner as District Congress Committee.

Above that in the hierarchy is All India Congress Committee. It consists of indirectly elected members. But the most powerful body in the organisation is its working committee which consists of President of the party and its twenty members. Of these ten are nominated and remaining ten are elected ones. All of them are top congress leaders.

The committee enjoys extensive powers. It is this committee which supervises the work of Pradesh Congress Committees and decides all policies. It also abolishes the existing Pardesh Committees and in their stead constitutes the new ones. AICC constitutes Central Election Committee, Parliamentary Board and Disciplinary Committee, etc.

The party for a very long time and still claims itself to be the representative body of religious minorities, scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, backward classes and weaker sections of the society like the women and working classes. But this of the party base is getting eroded.

The party also receives support from the rich and urban elite as well as educated middle class people. Even by illiterate and rural area voters also support it. Party has strong faith in democracy, socialism and secularism. It wishes to modernise the society.

6. Essay on the Janata Party :

Formation and disintegration of Janata party can be considered as one of the most significant features of India’s political life of our own times. It was this party which for the first time, after independence, replaced Congress party at the centre and in many states in the north India.

It was again this party which could not hold itself together and disintegrated after remaining together hardly for a period of about 30 months. Even desire to remain in power could not keep it together.

Congress party had remained in power for almost 30 years both at the centre and the states except, of course, for a brief spell of 4 years (1967-71) when it lost in some of the states, where opposition parties formed government.

Of course, for a very long time political parties in India were thinking that unless and until these united together, it shall be impossible for them to uproot the Congress and seize power from it. But at the same time task of uniting these parties was not easy. Political ideologies very much differed from each other. Even if the parties united, it was difficult to face Congress party which had deep roots all over India.

The people for a very long time had known this party as well as its leaders. The party had branches all over the country and above all had enjoyed power for thirty long years. To some extent this also was a point of great disadvantage as well, because those who could not get power or derive benefit of power were dissatisfied with it.

Steps towards Integration:

First split in the Congress came in 1969. But before that in 1967, Congress had suffered a serious set back at the polls held in that year and opposition parties had tasted power. These now wanted to take advantage of the split. Bhartiya Kranti Dal and Swantantra parties made a bid to merge with each other in 1969, but the proposal did not materialise due to ideological differences.

In 1969, Congress (O) wanted to bring non-communist parties together, as an alternative to ruling Congress, but the proposal again failed. In 1970, six political parties namely Congress (O), Jana Sangh, Swantantra, BKD, PSP and SSP decided to meet weekly to decide about their strategy in Parliament and provide a national alternative to the Congress.

In 1971, elections were held in the country and this time Congress (O), Jana Sangh and SSP decided to form a Front to face the government. Subsequently Swatantra party also decided to join the Front. But it did not achieve much and Congress party was returned to power with thumping majority. The failure of grand alliance very much discouraged these parties.

First major break through can be said to have taken place in 1974 when six small group and parties decided to merge and form Bhartiya Lok Dal. These parties being BKD; SSP, Swatantra; Utkal Congress; Rashtriya Lok Tantric Dal, Punjab Khetibari Zamindari Union and Harijan Sangharsh Samiti.

In 1975, when elections to Gujarat Legislative Assembly were held Congress (O); Jana Sangh; BLD; Socialist party and National Labour Party combined together, as a result of which the group could form government in the state.

In 1975, because of emergency there was no brisk political activity by opposition parties—their leaders in many cases being behind the bars. In March 1976, however, a meeting of non-communist parties was held in Bombay, which prepared an approach paper for the merger of the parties.

The main objectives of the new proposed party were to end emergency and to preserve democracy. On March 25, 1976, Late Jai Prakash Narayau launched a new party in which were merged Congress (O), Socialist party, BLD and Jana Sangh. The new party known as Janata Party was formally launched on January 23, 1977 with Morarji Desai and Charan Singh, as its Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively.

The party decided to contest 1977 elections on BLD symbol. It had both the blessings as well as support to Late Jai Prakash Narayan. The new party declared that if returned to power it will restore democracy and democratic institutions, as well as independence of judiciary and that of the press.

On April 30,1977, four parties which had joined Janata Party decided to dissolve themselves. In the meantime Congress for Democracy founded by late Jagjiwan Ram also decided to merge itself with newly founded party. On May 1,1977, the party was formally inaugurated and S. Chandra Sekhar was elected party President.

The formation of Janata Party was widely applauded by the leaders of the parties which merged themselves in this newly formed party. They called it as the finest hour of Indian political life and that the new party was the real party based Gandhiji’s ideals and philosophy.

For them the dreams of Gandhiji had been realised. When the party won 1977 elections, it was hailed as the end of Congress misrule in India and that the democracy had been saved from complete murder. On the other hand, Congress leadership denounced it as a party without any policies and programmes.

It had come into existence only to over throw the Congress and was not likely to last long. It was an arrangement of conveniences in which parties with altogether different view points and ideologies had just come together. According to them, the Janata Party was not a party but a coalition and will be as much a failure as S.V.D. governments which had come into being in 1967.

Before discussing programme of the party, to complete the story, it may be mentioned that after their victory in the Lok Sabha, elected members took an oath on the Samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi. The oath was administered by Jai Prakash Narayan. In this all the members of the party committed themselves to serve the people on the basis of Gandhian ideology and philosophy.

Hardly, however, the government had taken off when differences developed in the party and the government. Prime Minister called the resignation of both Charan Singh, his Home Minister and that of his Health Minister Raj Narain. Whereas after great persuation he agreed to take back Charan Singh and give him Finance portfolio, he did not agree to taking back of Raj Narain.

In the party Charan Singh raised the issue to dual membership, charging that members of erstwhile Jana Sangh unit of Janata Party were members of two political parties, namely, the Janata Party and R.S.S. Differences developed to such an extent that Raj Narain decided to leave the party.

He was followed by many others ultimately reducing the party to minority in the Lok Sabha and resulting in the collapse of the government. The party disintegrated into several parties and constituent units revived themselves in one way or the other and under the old and new names.

Fall of the Government and After:

In 1979, Janata government saw a fall and in the elections which were subsequently held in 1980 both for the Parliament and the state legislatures, the party miserably failed. In 1980 it could capture only 31 seats in the Lok Sabha as against 298 of 1977.

Its performance was still poor in 1984 elections when it could secure hardly 10 seats of the Lok Sabha. It, however, could secure some seats in the some state legislatures and form a government in Kamataka where it continued to rule for some years.

In 1989, the party, however, decided to merge itself with a section of Lok Dal, then headed by Haryana Chief Minister Devi Lai. The two parties combined formed Janata Dal. This created frictions in the legislature party of Karnataka and some of the MLAs decided to keep away from Lok Dal.

Meantime there was some allegations against Chief Minister Hegde, who was succeeded by Boomai as Chief Minister. In view of non support of some MLAs of the party to the government, it lost both majority and government.

Programme of the Party:

As a programme of the party, as long as it remained in existence, it ended state of emergency and restored the people their Fundamental Rights. The party upheld independence of judiciary and freedom of press. It repealed MISA, reviewed all unjust laws and set right some distortions which had come in the constitution by Constitution Forty-Second Amendment Act.

It wanted to ensure that Arts 352 and 356 of the constitution were not misused.

It promised to look into the problem of reducing election costs and find out the possibility of reducing voting age from 21 to 18 years. It favoured treating all individuals, including, highly placed, ones equal in the eyes of law.

Press censorship was to be abolished and mass media was made free from governmental interference. Right to property was deleted as Fundamental Right, whereas people were promised right to work. Public servants were promised to be freed from political pressure and assured right to approach the court of law.

In economic field, as already pointed out, the party stood for deletion of private property from the list of Fundamental Rights and that it promised to try to give right to work to all and laid stress on decentralised economy. It promised to end destitution and unemployment within a period of ten years.

It wanted to introduce appropriate technology for self-reliance and give primacy to agriculture. New plan priorities were fixed in which high priority was given to rural sector. Rural urban disparities were promised to be narrowed down and emphasis was laid on the production of mass consumption goods.

Promise was also made for statutory reservation of sphere of production for small-scale and cottage industries and small holdings were to be exempted from payment of land revenues. In lieu of sales tax there was to be redistributive taxation. The party promised to give priority to purify the environments.

In the social sphere party promised reforms in education and eradication of illiteracy. It also promised safe drinking water for all and taking of measures for increasing group health. Mass public housing programme was to be started. A comprehensive scheme of social insurance was to be introduced and family planning programme was to be encouraged but without any coercion.

Special machinery was also to geared into action to safe-guard rights and interests of scheduled castes and weaker sections of society.

A Civil Rights Commission was proposed to be set up and there was to be an automatic machinery for checking corruption in public and private life. Other programmes of the party included protection of rights of women; introduction of schemes for Youth Welfare, providing of legal aid to the poor, inexpensive justice and promotion of voluntary action.

In the foreign policy programme the party promised to oppose colonialism and recialism and try to develop friendship with all. It stood for genuine non-alignment and strive for peaceful settlement of all international disputes.

It promised to improve relations with international neighbours and also promote regional co-operation for common good. It was also to see that our armed forces were properly equipped and well trained so that country did not fail at the time of sudden crisis.

During its existence the party received support from the Muslims, Christians and also from a section of working classes.

But party being a heterogeneous group could not pull on well and disintegrated within a period of 29 months. It had bad splits and promises and programmes which were given to the people could not be implemented.

7. Essay on the Communist Party of India :

One of the important political parties of India which is increasingly playing a great role in Indian politics, is Communist Party of India. At present it is divided into CPI and CPI (M) i.e., Marxists. Both have different ideologies as compared with main opposition party in the Parliament namely BJP.

The party has got foot hold in West Bengal where even Indira, Janata, and Rajiv sympathy waves did not have much effect and the party could form government in these states. For sometime Kerala was also ruled by the communists. Gradually its hold on other states is also increasing, where it is coming to focus.

It was in 1917 that the Communists overthrew Czarist regime and captured power in Russia. In India task of spreading communist ideology and founding out party was, entrusted among others to M.N. Roy.

Some young men who were convinced of new ideology organised themselves and formally founded the party on December 26, 1925 and named that as C.P.I. Main aim of the party was to uproot British imperialism from India and liberate the country from colonial rule.

It wanted to expose weaknesses of methods of struggle of Indian National Congress and organise peasants so that they could bring agrarian revolution in the country. They were opposed to the philosophy of passive resistance and wanted to bring changes by violent means and methods.

The programme of the party was determined by the Communist International and the party acted under the guidance of the Soviet Union. During India’s freedom struggle, the party criticised many mass movements and organisations.

The communist decided to infiltrate Congress party and many of them joined that party as well. In turn the party decided to throw open its membership to the Communists, who were offered good position in party set up.

But soon it became clear that the Communists were more interested in showing loyalty to Soviet Union rather than looking after the interests of Indian people. In 1939, during Second World War when Germany signed a pact of non-aggression and neutrality with Russia they described Hitler as friend of Peace and Great Britain and France as war mongers.

But when Soviet Union and the USA and Great Britain sided with each other in defeating Hitler, both the USA and Great Britain were championed as defenders of rights of the people. It also appealed to the people of India to co-operate with Britain against Indian National Congress, with the result that in December 1945 Communists were expelled from the Congress party.

The Communists also did not approve of the partition plan of the country and the constitution that was subsequently given to the people of India.

After Independence, the Communists declared that the leaders of the Congress party, who occupied ministerial chairs represented the interests of capitalist classes and interested groups and that the government was being run by big business. They alleged that India was being sold to Anglo-American bloc.

They also started using violent means and methods and instigated workers to go on strike and stop work to get their rights. Their activities in Telegana were alarming. In order to combat their violent activities many state governments imposed ban on their activities and declared the party as illegal and unconstitutional.

Meanwhile Communist party leaders also found that it was difficult for them to dislodge the government, which had popular support, from power and authority, by violent means and methods, because India was accustomed to bringing changes by peaceful means.

In 1952, party declared that winning of freedom was end of one phase of India’s freedom struggle and that the other phase of the struggle in which people were to be provided food, clothing and shelter, laid ahead. They, therefore, declared that they will launch all struggles by peaceful means and methods as far as possible

In the first general elections held in 1952 in India the party won 27 Lok Sabha and 181 state Assemblies seats, which was quite encouraging for it. In 1953, the party was recognised as national party. Since the party agreed to follow peaceful means in its struggle, several party workers in jails were released and some of the states lifted ban from the party and allowed it to continue its activities.

They now started infiltrating into workers, farmers, students and every other organisation.

In 1957, elections the party won 29 Lok Sabha seats. But its most important achievement was that in Kerala it won absolute majority and formed government. It was for the first time in world history that the party came to power with the help of ballot boxes.

Differences in the Party:

But by 1953 differences in the party started over the role of the Communists towards the Congress government. The rightists in the party felt that Nehru government was acting in the interest of the working classes and should be co-operated. For them the government was progressive, whereas the leftists in the party branded the government as pro-imperialist opined and that its policies were encouraging right reaction.

These differences continued but in 1956 view point of the former was accepted at the party Congress held at Pal Ghat, in April of that year. Thereafter CPI started extending co-operation to Nehru government at all levels.

CPI was, however, placed in a very awkward position when its leadership failed to openly brand China as aggressor, during the critical period of Indo-Sino war in 1962. Meanwhile Sino-Soviet differences very much increased and the rightists in the party solidly stood with Russia, whereas the leftists supported view point of China.

The rightists also condemned Chinese aggression over India. In September 1964, differences between the party became so wide that leftists, formed a separate party called the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and both the parties issued separate election manifestoes.

A total of 40 MLAs out of 170 Communist MLAs joined the newly founded party. During fourth general election both the factions fought elections independently and even opposed each other.

After the split CPI continued to support the government whereas CPI (M) did not favour many of its policies. Whereas the former sided with the government in the Parliament and voted with it during no-confidence moves the latter organised bandhs and encouraged hartals. These differences still continue.

The Communists get main support from the labourers and peasants. The low caste in the rural areas and urban unemployed too extend their support to the party. The communists have on the whole their support in West Bengal and Kerala. They have some supporters in other southern states as well.

The communists believe in the principle of democratic centralism and centralised leadership. Within the party the members can, however, freely express their view point and can criticise leadership. But once the policies have been finalised these must be sincerely executed.

Both the parties are cadre based and have well developed hierarchical system. These start work at village level and thereafter district, state and national councils are set up for party work. Working and labouring classes are their main source of strength.

Programme of CPI:

The party stands for freedom of press and does not support imposition of emergency or MISA, etc. It wants immediate implementation of land reform measures. It also did not support some of the amendments introduced in the constitution by the passing of Forty-Second Constitution Amendment Act.

It suggests that public distribution system should be extended and essential commodities should be supplied at reasonable rates. It opposes bank credits for speculative purposes.

It stands for the take over of whole sale trade in food-grains and wants that essential commodities should be supplied at reasonable rates. It opposes bank credits for speculative purposes. It stands for take over of whole sale trade in food-grains and other essential commodities. It believes in rapid industrialisation and quick creation of employment opportunities.

It wants nationalisation of jute, textile, sugar and foreign chug industries. It wants cancellation of all concessions given to big business but stands to encourage small and medium units through adequate credits and providing of raw materials.

It also wants that taxes on the people should be reduced. Industries in backward and rural areas should be set up and adequate facilities should be provided to technologists and scientists so that country becomes technically self-reliant.

It stands for minimum, wages, guaranteed bonus, total ban on lay-offs, lockouts, closures, retrenchments but favours collective bargaining and right of workers to go on strike. It also wants that the peasants should be given adequate prices for their produce and distribution of surplus and waste government lands among the landless.

The party stresses that the artisans and workers should be supplied raw material at cheap rates and co-operatives for weavers and artisans should be set up. Women should be paid equal wages for similar work and for this all laws already enacted should be effectively implemented. Comprehensive family welfare programme should be finalised.

In implementing family planning programme, there should be no use of coercion and at work centres maternity homes should be started. It stands for right to work and labour-intensive schemes in rural and urban areas and also that the students should be given a hand in the running of management of educational institutions.

Right of the Muslims, harijans and minorities should be fully protected. It wants that severe punishments should be given to those who discriminate against harijans.

In foreign policy sphere party stands for non-alignment but at the same time wants that friendship should be encouraged with all the communist countries of the world. It also stands for confiscation of all foreign capital in India.

Policies and Programme of C.P.I. (M):

Communist Party of India (M), which broke from the Communist Party of India, has its own policies and programmes. It also does not favour MISA law or press censorship and pleads for the takeover of foreign capital and investment of private foreign capital in the country.

It suggests moratorium on all foreign debt payments and nationalisation of all monopoly houses. It wants to give assistance to small- and medium-industries as well as propagates nationalisation of sugar, textile, cement, jute and drug industries. It pleads for the takeover all foreign trade and disfavours bureaucratisation of public sector undertakings.

It encourages bargaining through trade unionism and cancellation of all debts payable by the peasants. It wants to drastically bring down prices of essential commodities and reduce all taxes. The party suggests that all should be given right to work and that this should be made a constitutional right.

Provision should also be made for unemployment relief and that illiteracy should be eradicated by providing free compulsory education for all. In the foreign affairs, the party wants that India should have close co-operation with communist countries.

It favours ban on private foreign capital and foreign debt payments. It also wants nationalisation of monopoly houses.

There is clear difference between the approaches of CPI and CPI (M). Whereas CPI believes that revolution in India can be brought by working classes, CPI believes that the purpose can be achieved by co-operating with other democratic forces. CPI (M) believes in dislodging existing government, whereas CPI does not believe in that.

CPI (M) does not believe that the existing powerful classes will voluntarily give up power but CPI has all faith in peaceful means. CPI favours extending support to Government of India in solving dispute with China whereas CPI (M) does not wish to brand China as aggressor. It also wants peaceful settlement of Indo-China border dispute.

Overall Performance of the Communist Parties:

The performance of Communists in India has been quite good. It could form a stable government in West Bengal and has good hold in Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. In the Eighth Lok Sabha CPI (M) had 22 seats and in the Rajya Sabha its strength was 15.

CPI had 6 Lok Sabha seats. In 1989, both the parties combined together won about 50 seats. In fact, since its formation both the parties have given a good account of their performance. These have not thought in term of merger with other opposition parties. As a result of elections to the Lok Sabha held in 1991 CPI (M) won 36 and CPI 14 seats.

It has an understanding with National Front. The Communits see quite, good future for themselves in India.

In the elections held in April-May, 1996 the C.P.M. won 32 and C.P.I 11 seals. The later has also decided to join United Front Government at the Centre with H.D. Dev Gowda as Prime Minister. The former has however, decided support the same government from outside. The left parties hence also been in a position to form government under Jyoti Basil as Chief Minister in West Bengal for the fifth time.

8. Essay on the Bhartiya Janata Party :

Bhartiya Jana Sangh was founded by Dr. Shyama Parsad Mukerjre. The organisation became popular in North India, particularly in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Delhi, U.P. and Madhya Pradesh. It was one of the important political parties both at the centre as well as in the states and in IX it captured both the Municipal Corporation and Metropolitan Council for long time.

After 1977 elections it merged itself with the Janata Party. But Charan Singh-Raj Narain axis raised the issue of dual membership.

They wanted that the members of erstwhile Jana Sangh party should severe all their connections with the RSS, which according to their thesis was a political party. Both erstwhile Jana Sangh and other consumer s of Janata Party refuted this theory. Erstwhile BLD, a constituent unit or the Janata Party made it an issue and, left the party.

The Janata Party including erstwhile Jana Sangh group unitedly contested elections. After party defeat, leader of the Parliamentary party, Jagjiwan Ram raised the issue of dual membership. All efforts made by other constituents to solve the problem and save the party from further disintegration failed. Erstwhile Bhartiya Jana Sangh had no other alternative but to leave the party.

Along with them several other prominent Janata party leaders, who did not contribute to the idea of dual membership, also left the party. Whereas erstwhile Bhartiya Jana Sangh maintained that it was altogether a new party, its opponents vehemently propagate that present BJP is nothing else but the old name of Bhartiya Jana Sangh.

At a convention of the party Atal Bihari Vajpayee, External Affairs Minister in Moraiji cabinet, was elected as its President.

The party is urban based though it is trying to spread its hold in the rural areas as well. It has considerable hold over educated middle class and large section of government servants. It is a cadre based party with hierarchical set up.

The lowest unit of the party functions in a small area or locality. At the state level there is State Council and State Executive, whereas at the national level there is also National Council and National Executive.

The party as it now stands, believes in secularism and democracy. It wants that democracy should be preserved and for them the Communists should be opposed because they are opposed to democracy and preach violence. According to the party for preserving nation and independence everything should be sacrificed.

The party wants that J and K should be merged with rest of India as quickly as possible. It stands for eradication of corruption and for providing cheap and speedy justice. It also believes in the principle of independence of judiciary. It also believes in the policy of democratic decentralisation.

It wants to have economic democracy in which there should be equal opportunities for all and nationalisation of all basic and defence industries. It stands for nationalisation of mining, tea plantation and such other industries which are at present in the hands of foreigners.

It proposes to abolish sale tax and desires that every Indian citizen should have some minimum living standard. It also wants to give compulsory military training to all young men.

It is opposed to the political appeasements of any community. It is also not in favour of capitalism and favours economic democracy. It is in favour of immediate land reforms and eradication of poverty. It is not opposed to the policy of economic liberalisation provided foreign multi-nationals are engaged for core sectors of national economy.

In the foreign affairs it wants that India should first of all look after its won interests and that she should have cordial relations with the neighbouring countries. It wants that no Indian should be allowed to have extra territorial loyalties and that everyone should have loyalties to the nation above everything else.

Every problem should be solved by peaceful means and methods. The party does not tolerate indiscipline and wants it to be maintained at every level. The party is now laying stress on the use of Suadeshi.

In 1989 Lok Sabha election manifesto the party made it clear that roots of all corruption lie in political corruption. It is in favour of cleansing of public life by breaking unholy nexus between corrupt bureaucrats, corrupt businessman and corrupt politicians.

It wants to strengthen Lok Pal and Lokayukta institutions. It also favours restructuring of tax system. The party favours major electoral reforms and checking of criminalisation of politics.

It is in favour of economically and administratively viable small states. It also stands for statehood for Delhi. Tor settling inter-state disputes it wants to set up inter-state councils. It is in favour of limit on the number of Ministers in the Council of Ministers, deletion and scrapping of Art 370′ of the Constitution. It is in favour of uniform civil code and setting up of Human Rights Commission instead of Minority Commissions.

The party wants to have compulsory voting for all citizens and public funding of elections. It also wants to have optimum defence preparedness and provide adequate protection to handloom sector.

These programmes have also been included in party election manifesto for 1996 Lok Sabha elections.

Party performance is very rapidly improving and it is emerging as an alternative to the Congress (I). It also formed government in Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan but these state Assemblies were dissolved in the wake of Babri masjid demolition, 1992. As a result of elections held thereafter the party could form government in Rajasthan, Gujrat and Delhi.

It is a very important coalition partner of Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, where both together have formed government. In Madhya Pradesh, it is major opposition party. It has formed government in Gujrat.

After the election held for eleventh Lok Sabha in Apirl-May, 1996 the party won 161 seats and was returned as the single largest party and its leader Atal Bihari Vajpeyee was invited by the President to form the government. It enjoyed the support of 16 members of Shiv Sena, 3 of Haryana Vikas Party and 5 of Samta pony.

He fanned the government at the Centre and thus for the first time BJ.P. government was saddled in authority at the Centre. But it remained m power for only 13 day when all other political parties decided not to support B.J.P. government, branding it as a communal party. It is the mam opposition parties in both the Houses of Parliament now.

The party performance in 1989 Lok Sabha elections was remarkable; whereas in the eighth Lok Sabha it had only two seats, in the ninth Lok Saba it won as many as 88 seats. In the tenth Lok Sabha it emerged as the main opposition party. It is also the main opposition party in the Rajya Sabha.

9. Essay on the Lok-Dal:

It was during fourth general elections that some Congress men under the leadership of Charan Singh broke away from the Congress party and founded a new political party called Bhartiya Kranti Dal. It was a coalition party in the S.V.D. government formed in the at that time up leader Charan Singh became U.P. Chief Minister.

In 1974, some non-Communist parties decided to come together. These were SSP, Utkal Congress; Rashtriya Lok Tantrik Dal; Kisan Mazdoor Party of Haryana and the Swatantra and Khetibari Kisan Union of Punjab. The party was named as Bhartiya Lok Dal.

The party decided to merge itself with the Janata Party which was founded in 1977, and its leader Charan Singh became the Home Minister in the new government. But it broke out from the Janata Party on dual membership issue. The members of erstwhile BLD and their associates named their party as Janata (S) or Janata (Secular) which was subsequently named as Janata (Socialist).

It was their leader Charan Singh, who became the Prime Minister of care taker government, after the fall of Morarji Desai’s government in 1979.

It is opposed to taxation on agricultural produces. It wants that peasants should be given all facilities including credits, fertilisers and improved seeds, in addition to irrigation facilities. It also wants abolition of land lordism. It is not in favour of take over of whole sale wheat trade by the government.

It is opposed to the levy of income tax on salaries and insists on the widest dispersal of ownership of property and means of production. It is also against concentration of wealth in the hands of few capitalists and also that of too much of power in the hands of the central government. It wishes that the states should have more autonomy.

The party has support of farmers and the rural folk of a part of U.P., Bihar and its adjoining states. Both the Jats and Rajputs of U.P. and adjoining states also extend their support to it. It gives great importance to agricultural and rural development.

It has full faith in Gandhian socialism and trusteeship system as propagated by Mahatma Gandhi. It wants that the agriculturists should be given remunerative prices for their produce.

The village should be self-sufficient unit and economy should be decentralised. It is opposed to communalism. It wants to end the hold of multinational corporations and foreign agencies. It wants to improve the conditions of the poor and the downtrodden and favours abolition of landlordism.

It also favours curtailment of powers of the central government. It is also in favour of replacing income tax by consumption tax. It is opposed to drinking and aims at introducing prohibition.

After breaking away from Janata party Lok Dal tried to co-operate with Congress (I) and thereafter with Congress (U) but could not achieve much success. It received further set back when late Raj Narain left the party. During 1984 elections its performance in the Lok Sabha was disappointing but it could capture about 150 Assembly seats in Bihar, Rajasthan and U.P.

The party received further set back after the death of its founder President and leader Chaudhri Charan Singh. It got divided with two groups one headed by his son Ajit Singh and the other by late H.N. Bahuguna. The latter joined hands with Chaudhri Devi Lai of Haryana and won Haryana Assembly elections held in 1987.

It also formed government in the state, though subsequently both parted company. Ajit Singh group, however, joined the newly formed Janata Dal. He subsequently joined Congress (I) and became a Minister in Narsimha Rao government.

10. Essay on the Janata Dal:

Opposition parties in India have always been trying to come together. A fresh initiative was taken in 1988 by Haryana Chief Minister Chaudhri Devi Lai. His call was responded by Janata Party leadership and accordingly Lok Dal and Janata Party decided to merge their identity and form a new party called Janata Dal.

Ajit Singh group also joined the Dal. It got the full support of Telugu Desam party headed by N.T. Rama Rao.

The party came to an understanding with other opposition parties, including BJP and leftist parties. These parties developed a strategy by which only one candidate was to be fielded in each constituency to contest election against a Congress candidate, so that there was no division of votes. The strategy worked well and as a result of 1989 general elections to the Lok Sabha the Congress lost majority.

It could win only 193 seats, as against 143 of the National Front out of which Janata Dal won 141 seats. BJP which won 88 seats and Leftist parties which could capture about 50 seats assured their support from outside to National Front formed the government.

This practically meant Janata Dal government. Thus, a minority government headed by Janata Dal leader V. P. Singh was formed with outside support of BJP and left parties. In 1989, it formed government at the Centre, dislodging Congress (I) from power for the second time.

The election manifesto of the party promised a clean and efficient government on the one hand restoring of dignity to all on the other. The manifesto also promised to make right to work as a statutory right and to enshrine right to information in the Constitution.

It also promised to convert AIR and Doordarshan into autonomous corporations. Another programme of the party included curbing of corruption and tracking down the kickbacks received in Bofors and other deals.

The party promised to introduce comprehensive electoral reforms and curb money and muscle power in the elections. It also aimed at revitalising parliamentary and other constitutional institutions and to make these accountable to the nation. It promised to lay stress on agricultural and rural development and promised to keep 50% of the plan out lay for the purpose.

It also promised rumencrative prices for agricultural produce, debt relief to farmers and make credit facilities available to them. It also planned to supply essential commodities to rural poor at reasonable prices. It also promised exploitation of water resources, maximum wages to agricultural labour, etc.

In foreign policy, it proposes to follow the policy of non-alignment and have good neighbourly relations. It believed in open system of government at home. It was opposed to over centralisation and wanted to restore true federal character to polity.

It wanted to give fair deal both to women, Scheduled Castes & Schedule Tribes and other backward classes. The party per posed to solve all national problems with the cooperation of other political parties. It also promised to ensure that the judiciary was kept outside -je influence of the executive and justice was both quick and cheap.

It promised implementation of Mandal Commission recommendations, which resulted in wide spread riots all over India and resulted in down fall of the government.

Janata Dai’s performance is quite impressive. It has formed governments in Karnataka and Bihar. It is part of National Front and an active participants in National Front — Left Front Combine. It has entered into an alliance with Samaj-Wadi party in U.P. for contesting 1996 Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.

As a result of elections held in April-May 1996 for the eleventh Lok Sabha the party 44 seats. It took active part in the formation of United Front consisting of 13 national and regional parties. It became a major partner in United Front Government headed by one of its leaders H.D. Dev Gowda as Prime Minister, which took office on 1.6.1996.

11. Essay on the Dravida Munnetra Kaghgam Party (D.M.K):

DMK party had very strong hold in Tamil Nadu, but its position has been taken over by All India Anna DMK party, which is break away of the main DMK. It is outgrowth of Justice Party of E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker. The party was founded by C.N. Annadurai.

South India has been feeling concerned about its poverty for quite some time. Some leaders of the non-Brahmin Dravidan Community founded separate party known as Justice party to launch a struggle against poverty. The leaders included C. Natasa Mudaliar, T.M. Nair and several others. But Justice party could not pull on well and many frictions and factions developed in it.

It was out of these internal disputes that a leader of the people E.V. Ramaswamy Naicker emerged and in 1944 he founded DMK. It was in the beginning a party which was against the Brahmins, even the Veda: and all rituals and practices which the Brahmins had imposed on Hindu society. After independence Naicker adopted a negative attitude towards both about honouring national flag and Indian Constitution.

He also married a young 28 years party worker at the age of 72 and also did not agree to run Party on democratic lines.

This irritated many party workers who organised themselves under the leadership of C.N. Annadurai, who had earlier been chosen by Naicker himself as his trusted colleague. On September 17, 1949, Annadurai broke away from the party and founded DMK.

The new party decided to champion the cause of the poor, illiterate and down-trodden in Tamil Nadu. Soon the party started entering political arena. In 1957, it won 15 seats in the state Assembly but the number rose to 50 in 1962. In that year it also won 7 Lok Sabha seats. But it was in 1967 that party captured power in the state and also captured all the 25 seats which it contested for the Lok Sabha.

The party had full hold over the people and in the elections held in 1971, it did not receive any serious set back though all other opposition parties were effected by “Indira Wave” which swept the country in that year. Even in that year it captured 23 Lok Sabha seats. There was however division in the party when M.G. Ramachaudran, party treasurer and a Minister in the cabinet broke out from it and formed All India Anna DMK.

It is this party which remained in power in the state for about a decade. In 1977, when Janata party came to power, it co-operated with it and its nominees held Ministerial posts in the Union Cabinet. In the election held in 1980, DMK reached an understanding with Congress (I) and captured 16 Lok Sabha seals. In the elections held in 1984 the party could capture only one Lok Sabha seat and its performance was not good even in the state elections held at that time.

The party captured power in the state after elections held early in 1989 for the State Assembly in Tamil Nadu. It, however, could not win even a single seat for the Lok Sabha in the elections held in November of that year. The party had then sided with National Front. In 1995 the party had no representation in the Lok Sabha and also in Tamil Nadu Assembly where it had almost, giving been completely wiped out.

The party position however, very much improved during 1996 elections, which were held in April-May of that year both for the Lok Sabha as well as the State Assembly. For the Lok Sabha it won 17 seats, whereas in the Assembly elections, it won absolute majority.

It completely routed its opponent AIADMK headed by Jaya Lilatha. It formed government under Karunanidhi. At the Centre it joined United Front and joined Front government headed by H.D. Dev Gowda.

The party stands for more powers for the states, as in its opinion states in India are more or less glorified municipalities. It is opposed to the imposition of Hindi on the people of the South. It wants federalisation of financial resources and code of conduct to give guide-lines under which states Assemblies should be dissolved.

It favours free press and ending of regional imbalances. It wants industrialisation in the South which could end poverty. The party is opposed to confrontation with the centre, but does not favour deployment of police or army by the centre in the states, without states’ approval.

It also wants that Darvadian culture should be popularised. It favours regional language as state language. It stands for the uplifting of the poor and the down trodden, both socially and economically. It favours giving wide powers to the states both in financial and administrative fields.

12. Essay on All India Anna D.M.K. (A.I.A.D.M.K) :

The party was founded in October 1972 by M.G. Ramachandran, who was Treasurer of DMK party and also a Minister in DMK Government. In the elections held in 1977 the party won absolute majority in Tamil Nadu and formed government. It also captured 18 Lok Sabha seats.

It also formed Ministries in Pondicherry both in 1974 and 1977. In 1980 elections, the party, however, could win only two Lok Sabha seats but its performance in Assembly elections held in that year was really impressive. It could form government in Tamil Nadu. In the Lok Sabha elections held in 1984 it could capture 12 out of 18 Lok Sabha seats, and its performance in the Assembly was loo impressive.

After 1984 election, party Chief and State Chief Minister M.G. Ramachandran began to keep poor health. He almost lost his vigour to guide, though he continued to guide party affairs and also remained state Chief Minister. After his death the party got divided between Janaki Ramachandran (his wife) group and Jayalalitha group.

In the elections which were held for the slate Assembly in 1989 DMK took full advantage of the rift and could win absolute majority in the State Assembly.

It formed government under the leadership of M. Karunanidhi. Thus, ended glorious era of Ramachandran and AIADMK. Both Janaki and Jayalalitha groups, however, again united. In Lok Sabha elections held in 1989, the party joined hands with Congress (I) and both won all the seats from Tamil Nadu, whereas DMK drew blank.

In 1995, the party had 12 seats in the Lok Sabha and 6 seats in the Rajya Sabha. It formed government in Tamil Nadu under the Chief Ministership of Ms. Jayalalitha. The party has strong hold in the state.

For 1996 Lok Sabha and State Legislative Assembly elections it has entered into alliance with the Congress (1). Both the parties contested as combine both in Tamil Nadu and Pondichem but were badly defeated. The alliance had very poor performance in both the states.

The party wants that more powers and resources should be transferred to the states. It also does not wish that Hindi should be given the status of national language. It favours regional language as state language with English as link language. It stands for prohibition and nationalisation of large-scale industries and also state control over essential commodities.

It also wants that the electorates should be given power to recall their elected representatives. It favour prohibition throughout India and State controlled production and distribution of all essential commodities.

In the foreign affairs it feels that the government is leaning towards Soviet Union and wants that India should have close healthy relations with neighbouring and South East Asian countries. It lays great stress on national security and recovery of all those Indian territories which have been occupied by foreign powers.

13. Essay on the Mizo National Front :

The party was set up as early as in 1960 but its performance during stale Assembly elections was not good. In 1965, the party demanded creation of sovereign state of Mizoram which should be empowered to frame its own foreign policy.

In order to achieve its objectives the party indulged in violence and insurgency.

Underground activities of militant Mizos very considerably increased and military had to be called to crush it. Militant attitude of the party persisted for about 2 decades when in 1986 an Accord was signed with Mizo National From leader Laldenga and a coalition government with the partnership of Congress (I) under his Chief Ministership was formed.

In 1987 the party got majority in the State Assembly and formed a government of its own. It continued to rule the state till September 1988 when the government was dismissed and the state was placed under President rule.

Meanwhile there was split in the party and new party called MNF (Democrat) was formed. In 1989, when elections for the state Assembly were again held the party did not fair well and could capture only 14 seats as against 23 of the Congress (I). In November 1993, the party could manage to win only 14 seats. In 1995, the party had no representation in Parliament.

After the creation of separate state of Mizoram insurgency and militancy in the state has been considerably brought under control.

The party wants that Mizo culture language and religion should be fully protected and separate state for the purpose should be created. The state should have sufficient resources needed for self-reliant economy of the state so that it becomes less dependent on the Centre.

14. Essay on the Hindu Mahasabha :

Hindu Mahasabha is an old political party. It was in existence even before the partition of the country. Main aim of the party then was to counter the effect of Muslim League and to consolidate the Hindus and make them politically conscious about their rights and place in India. The party wants that Hindu culture and civilisation should be protected and developed.

It believes in the following of democratic principles but wants that India should be developed on the basis of cultural traditions of the country. It is of the view that it should not be forgotten that India is predominantly a Hindu state.

It wants that all sections of Indian society should be consolidated and uplifted and all social in-equalities and disabilities should be removed. It is strongly of the view that cow slaughter should be banned.

It stands for the nationalisation of all key industries and also wants that India should be quickly industrialised and modernised. It is opposed to concentration of wealth just in few hands. It wants that able bodied persons should be given compulsory military training. It is not in favour of India’s continuance in the Commonwealth. It favours compulsory military training for all able bodies person so that India emerges as a powerful state.

In spite of the fact that it is an old political party, yet it has not made any dent on the political scene of India. By the ruling elite it has been branded as a communal political party which has no place in secular fabric and polity of the country.

15. Essay on the Shiromani Akali Dal :

In Punjab politics Akali Dal has played and continues to play a very dominant role. This party was in existence even before the partition of the country’. Under the undisputed leadership, Master Tara Singh, the party negotiated with the Missions which visited India from time to time to find a solution to India’s constitutional problems.

It was due to the efforts of this Dal that interests of Sikhs in Punjab were protected or at least their demands came to focus. Before bifurcation of Punjab into two separate states i.e. Punjab and Haryana the Dal had been demanding creation of separate Punjabi speaking state.

In 1967, Akali Dal and Bhartiya Jana Sangh formed coalition government in Punjab. In 1971, under Indira wave Akali Dal lost majority in the state Assembly but emerged as single largest group in the state. In 1977, it was returned to power in the state and formed coalition government with Janata party.

The party had cabinet post in Janata government which was in power between 1977-79. When Moraiji Desai government resigned, it decided to extend its cooperation to the care-taker government headed by Charan Singh. In 1980 elections, the Dal did not return to power, but was the single largest party in Punjab Legislative Assembly.

A section of the Akali Dal under Sant Jarnail Singh Bhindrawala took recourse to serious violence demanding full implementation of Anand Pur Sahib resolution. The violence not only created law and order problem but took many precious lives in a very planned manner.

This group ushered an era of terrorism in Punjab and the minorities started leaving the state. Under the circumstances the state was placed under President rule, but the government showed its keenness to introduce democratic set up and accordingly an Accord was signed between the then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Surject Singh Bamala and Sant Longowal.

After the Accord elections were held in the State and Akali Dal headed by Surjeet Singh Bamala was returned to power. Sant Longowal was, however, shot down by the terrorist. Akali Government of Barnala, however, could not remain united and got divided. It was also alleged that some of its Ministers were in league with the terrorists.

The minority government with the help of some other parties continued in power but could not check deteriorating, law and order situation. President rule had to be again imposed and state remained under President rule for few years, till elections were held and Congress (I) returned to power.

It formed government under Beant who successfully brought peace to the state but in the process annoyed the militant, who shot him dead in 1995. He was succeeded by H.S. Brar as state Chief Minister. In 1995, the party had no representation in the Lok Sabha.

In 1996 Lok Sabha elections held in April-May of that year the party won 8 out of 13 seats and thus got good representation in the Lok Sabha from Punjab. During confidence vote moved in the Lok Sabha in May, 1996 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee for his government, the Dal sided with B.J.P.

It believes in the abolition of landlordism and taking over land without payment of compensation. It favours state control over means of production and distribution. It supports the idea of reducing the prices of agricultural equipments and free movement of food stuff from one state to the other.

It favours inn-coercive family planning programme. It wants that all Panjabi speaking areas and also Chandigarh should be transferred to Punjab and favours safeguarding of social, economic and political interests of minorities. It favours the philosophy of socialism and that of welfare state.

It believes that agricultural production should be increased and it should also be exempted from the payment of sales tax. It also stands for free movement of food grains throughout the country. It wants immediate withdrawal of all repressive laws.

16. Essay on the Asom Gana Parishad :

Assam is a sensitive state in India and has seen several turmoil’s and agitations. AGP. (Asom Gana Parishad) was founded in 1985. When elections for the state Assembly were held in December of that year it was returned as a majority party and its leader Prafulla Kumar Mohanta formed government in the state.

But soon the party alienated the sympathies of Bengalis and Marwaris because of its unqualified support to the Hindu Community of Brahmaputra. It also adopted an attitude of confrontation with the Central government.

The result was that law and order situation in the state deteriorated and in November, 1990 the state was placed under President’s rule. Elections to the state Assembly were again held in June 1991, when its performance was very disappointing.

The party pleads that the people of Assam should dominate over state economy and Bangladeshis who have come to Assam and settled down here should be thrown out of the state. Like J & K the stale of Assam should also be given special status in India.

In 1995, the party had one seat each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha but had 25 seats in Assam Legislative Assembly.

After 1996 Stale Assembly elections the party was in a position to form a coalition government in the State, with its leader Proffula Kumar Mohanta as Chief Minister. It also won five Lok Sabha seats and has decided to support and join United Front government at the Centre. It is also a part of Federal Front formed by four regional parties within the United Front.

17. Essay on the National Conference :

It has its influence in J &K State and till 1965, in collaboration with and with the co-operation of Congress party, it ruled over the state. It was in that year that the party saw a split and went in the background. In 1975, the party was revived under late Shiekh Muhammad Abdulla and showed good performance both in the Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections.

After his death the party again got divided and Dr. Farooq Abdulla, Shiekh’s son, beaded one faction.

It won 1983 Assembly elections but could not survive full term as G.M. Shah withdrew his support from the government. Shah Ministry which came to power with the support of Congress, could not control deteriorating law and order situation and check corruption in the state.

The party lost support of the Congress and saw its down fall. The state was placed under President rule, subsequently an agreement was signed between Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Farooq Abdulla and a Coalition government headed by the latter was installed in J&K.

He, however, recommended dissolution of Assembly and proposed fresh elections, which were held in 1987. National Conference and Congress (I) co-operated with each other and won absolute majority in the state Assembly. It formed government as well in the state. But 1990 when Jag Mohan was appointed state Governor, state Chief Minister resigned and since then the state is under President rule.

The party is opposed to communalism and favours socialism. It accepts that Kashmir is an integral part of India but wishes that its special status should be continued. It also wants more autonomy and Financial resources for the state.

It also believes that states in India should be given more powers. The party has decided not to participate in 1996 Lok Sabha elections or to nominate any candidate for the seats to be filled from J&K.

18. Essay on the Telugu Desham:

The party was founded in March 1982 under the leadership of N.T. Rama Rao, a film star. In the Assembly elections which were held in 1983 the party captured power in Andhra Pradesh, where it had its strong hold. In 1984 the then Governor Ramlal dismissed Ministry but that had to be reinstated due to country wide agitation against Governor’s decision.

In 1985, elections were again held for the State Assembly and once again Rama Rao established supremacy of his party. He won as many as 202 seats in a House of 292. His party emerged as the single largest opposition in the Lok Sabha.

It became for all purposes a part of newly formed Janata Dal, headed by V.P. Singh. In the elections held in 1989, both for the Lok Sabha as well as State Legislative Assembly, the party badly failed. It lost power in the State where Congress (I) was returned to power. It could get only two Lok Sabha seats from the state.

As a result of elections held in 1991 for the Lok Sabha the party captured 13 seats but subsequently there was split in the party and its strength was reduced to seven in 1995. In that year in Andhra Pradesh L.A. it could to capture power and formed government under N.T. Rama Rao but soon there were family fends and his son-in-law Chender Babu Naidu got allegiance of many party MLAs and formed government under his Chief Ministership.

The party is now divided in two factions one by Chander Babu Naidu and other by N.T. Rama Rao’s widow Lakshmi Parvati.

As a result of Lok Sabha elections held in April-May, 1996 TDP headed by Mrs. Parvati was completely routed. It could not win even a single Lok Sabha seat, whereas Naidu group won 16 seats. It has joined United Front government headed by H.D. Dev Gowda. It is also a constituent of Federal Front constituted by four regional party.

The party believes that living standard of the people of India can be raised only through rural development. Special measures should be taken for improving the lot of women, children and weaker sections of society. It wants that strong steps should be taken to check corruption at all levels and unemployed should be given unemployment allowance.

It also wants more financial resources for the states and transfer of powers from the centre to the states. It is not in favour of imposition of Hindi but favours Development of regional languages.

The party has promised imposition of complete prohibition in the state and also make available rice to the poor @ Rs.2/= per kg. It also promised free mid-day meal programme for school children. It stands for the development of Telugu language in the state.

19. Essay on the Bahujan Samaj Party :

For a very long time U.P. was strong hold of Congress and party on the whole claimed itself to be the custodian of the interests of the Dalits and backwards. They in turn extended their whole hearted support to the party which on the basis of their voting strength remained in power for decades, both at the centre as well as the states.

But as the time passed these sections of society began to alienate themselves from this party. It was in this background that on April 1984, a new party called BSP was founded with Kanshi Ram as its President.

The party aims at uplifting the Dalits and down-trodden sections of the society. It believes that it can be possible only when strong hold of Brahmins and Baniyas on the society is completely finished and the Dalits are relieved from their clutches. It believes that such Dalits are in majority in India, therefore, their rule can be the basis of true democracy in the country.

Soon after coming into existence the party could develop some base in Punjab and Haryana. It could capture 9 seats in state legislative Assembly of Punjab and 67 seats that of U.P. In the party U.P. extended co-operation to Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav, who could form government in the state. It could not get any foot-hold in Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.

Mulayam Singh government did not last long in U.P. when B.S.P. decided to withdraw his support from the government. BJ.P. thereafter extended its support to B.S.P from outside and formed government under the Chief Ministership of Ms. Mayawati.

But because of basic ideological differences the combination could not pull on well and in a short span of about four months, B.J.P. decided to withdraw its support from the government reducing it to minority party in the State Assembly resulting in the fall of the government. The state Assembly was subsequently dissolved.

In 1995, the party had one seat each in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. It had nine seats in Panjab Assembly and one in Haryana Legislative Assembly.

It performance during 1996 Lok Sabha elections was quite impressing. It won 11 Lok Sabha seats. It has quite a good strong hold in U.P.

20. Essay on All India Muslim League:

The party has its foot hold in Kerala, where it could capture some Assembly seats during 1970 and 1977 elections. In 1995, it had 17 seats in Kerala L.A. Its performance as a political party has neither been impressive in the Lok Sabha nor in the state Assemblies except in Kerala.

The party favours protecting interests of the Muslim minorities all over the country. It favours socialism. The main cause of its unpopularity is that the people of India have not forgotten that Muslim League under the Mr. Jinnah was responsible for the partition of the country. Secondly, since India has secular character, the people have developed a sort of elergy for communal parties.

21. Essay on the Bhartiya Jana Sangh :

The party was founded by late Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on the eve of first general elections. After its formation it gained ground in North India and Madhya Pradesh. It also performed well both in the Lok Sabha as well as state Assembly elections held in 1971. It received unfavourable treatment from the mling Congress (I) party during 1975-77 emergency. After the lifting of emergency when Janata Party was formed a large part of the Jana Sangh decided to merge itself with the newly born party. A section still wants to maintain its identity and continues to retain its name under Presidentship of Prof. Balraj Madhok.

The party wants that Hindu culture should be protected and the Muslims of India should be Indianised. It also wants that India should be a Hindu state and partition of the country was a wrong decision. It wants that special status of Kashmir should be ended. It favours democratic system and rule of law.

It is not in favour of bicameralism in the states. It wants unitary system for the country as a whole. It favours nationalisation of main industries and that in foreign policy national interests should be kept above everything else.

The party wants that the states should be given more powers and like many other parties it also wants that financial resources of the country should be so divided that the states become financially less dependent on the Centre. It also wants that the Centre should least interfere in the affairs of the states. It however has not much say in political affairs of the country.

The Role of Regional Parties in Political System of India:

In India regional political parties are being founded in good numbers. There is no region in the country which has no regional parties. Each such party has influence within its own region and over shadows even the national parties at the time of elections in some states.

It thrives on the exploration of ethnic, cultural, communal, lingual and similar other feelings of the people of the region. These protect the interests of the region first and nation later on. These lake up such issues which concern the region and their aim is to capture power in the region but some regional leaders aspire to become national leaders as well and aspire capture power at the national level.

Though at the national level it is felt by many that mush room growth of regional level parties is not in the national interest, but even then large number of national level parties have come into existence and their number is ever increasing for which several causes are responsible.

In some cases these parties come into existence as a protest against too much interference in the affairs of the state while in others because of the over ambitiousness of some regional leaders who feel that they have no future at the national level. Some leaders find a new political party when they find that in the existing political set up they can get nothing.

In some cases regional political parties are founded because regional people find that the central leadership has neglected their economic development and that the region will not develop unless there is a regional party to raise a voice for the region. Still another reason being that some regions wish to maintain their separate entity at all costs and these do so by founding a separate regional party.

Regional level parties have established their utility in India, which becomes clear when these over shadow even the national political parties. These give concrete programmes for the development of the region and way in which regional problems should be solved. These also give expression to the aspiration of the people.

The people of the region extend their support to regional leaders, who form government in the region. Regional political parties draw the attention of the Parliament to regional issues and thus try to influence the policies of Central government.

These also try to make to the people conscious about their social and economic problems and also make efforts to politically educate them so that at the time of next elections they cast their vote consciously.

These have also made the national parties realise that without attending to their problems these cannot expect much from them at the time of next elections. Thus, these have made them feel the importance of balanced regional development approach. Thus, regional political parties have only shown an impact on the regions but have also considerably influenced national political scene.

But at the same time these undermine the importance of the country as a nation. These place region above nation. Thus stand on the way of national unity. Each even regional parties are friction ridden therefore, these divide state people in groups and different camps.

Some regional parties adopt an attitude of confrontation with central leadership. These thus waste their time in confrontations and retard development of the state to which they claim to represent.

The role of regional political parties became very pivotal after 1996 Lok Sabha elections when no national political party could get absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. Regional political parties like D.M.K.; TMC; Asom Gana Prashid and T.D.P decided not to side with B.J.P. which had been returned as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha.

On the other hand those decided to join proposed United Front being sponsored by so called secular forces. With their strength and support United Front was in a position, with the outside support of Congress (I) and some left parties to form government at the Centre.

These parties have joined the government as well. Within the United Front four regional parties have also formed a separated Federal Front. The role of regional political parties in national politics has considerably increased.

22. Problems of the Political Parties:

In the country where there is multi-party system and in which division of the parties has come to stay without any resentment by the electorates. The parties have been coming as well as going out of existence qrite of ten.

Each state has regional parties which play a part at a particular point of time whereas at other times their significance and role very much comes down in state politics. In our system there is too much importance for the leadership. As long as leader remains in the party, it continues, but after his departure party is faced with the problem of disintegration. That is why many political parties are formed in the name of an individual.

This creates several problem for healthy growth of political system.

There is also serious lack of discipline imparty set up. Any member finds that he has some following challenges the authority of leadership of his party. Those who leave their political party are not faced with the problem of starting a political career afresh on the one hand and on the other ac welcome in almost every other party on the other.

There is shortage of political leaders who have national image and whose political career is spotless and who are known for honesty and integrity. That is the reason that in spite of their best efforts opposition parties are not coming together.

Rise of regional parties and regional leadership has also added problems to present day political party system. The party system is also faced with the problem of black money which has made the contesting of election by small political parties very difficult.

This has increased the importance the corrupt and dishonest people and thus sincere people find it difficult to enter the election arena. In case effective measures are not immediately taken the situation is likely to go out of control.

It is healthy to note that both Supreme Court and the Election Commission of India showed keen interest about checking the role of money power during 1996 Lok Sabha and six state-Assembly elections going held in April-May, 1996. It was because of their interest that the elections were not costly and held in a very calm atmosphere.

Indian political party system is faced with the serious problem of criminalisation of politics. In each political party the number of criminals and goondas is increasing and that is making working of principled politics difficult on the one hand and reducing the role of sincere politicians still more problematic on the other.

Most of the political parties are not cadre based. The elections are not periodically held. In most of the cases a leader or few of them wield absolute power and they nominate all office bearers of different committees. Their functioning is undemocratic.

These are also faced with the serious problem of political defection. Because of costly elections these are to depend on donations from moneyed classes and after coming to power parties also considerably try to accommodate donors by giving them different types of favours.

The role of political parties also considerably comes down, if large number of independent members are returned to elected bodies. At the end of every elections in state Assemblies quite a good number of independent candidates win elections.

Related Articles:

  • Essay on Opposition in Indian Politics
  • Essay on the Chief Election Commissioner of India
  • Essay on the Future of Democracy in India
  • Essay on Naxalism | India | Political Science

Talk to our experts

1800-120-456-456

  • Indian Politics Essay

ffImage

Essay on Indian Politics

The functioning of the political system is crucial for the smooth development of any country. India is no different. From being the largest democracy in the world and having the Prime Minister as the supreme leader of the country, Indian politics has its own charisma. 

In the given below Indian politics essay, one can read all about the Indian political system, it's functioning, and the problems faced by it. For India, political scenarios and events play an important role. 

The Various Shades of Indian Politics  

India is the largest democracy in the world. Almost 1 out of every 6 humans in the world is an Indian. With such an enormous and diverse population, there are a number of political ideologies and political parties which are present and functioning all over the country. The constitution of India gives the right to every citizen of the country to form political parties and contest elections in the country. Although, Politics in India is not only limited to just political parties but has become central to all walks of life among everyone. Politics is said to be the art of influencing the will of the state. We have seen various pressure groups, advocacy groups, interests groups, etc which work in tandem with the political organizations. The work of the political parties is not just limited to winning elections, but it is the duty of every citizen of the country to ensure that our representatives remain responsive to the demand of the people and fulfill their electoral promises. 

Political parties in India are generally of two major categories, these are National Parties and Regional parties. The National parties are those political organizations that have a substantial presence in most parts of the country while the Regional parties are those parties that are limited to just one state or a few states where they have some influence. The regional parties are generally formed on the lines of language as the states in India have been organized on the basis of language. The various political interest groups work along with these political parties to lobby for their interest and make sure that the issues which are of concern to the common people are brought to the attention of our leaders. The Media also plays a very vital role in the functioning of a democracy and has been recognized as the fourth pillar of a democracy. 

Long Essay on Indian Politics

The functioning of the political system is crucial for the smooth development of any country. India is no different. From being the largest democracy in the world and having the Prime Minister as the supreme leader of the country, Indian politics has its own charisma. In the given below Indian politics essay, one can read all about the Indian political system, it's functioning, and the problems faced by it. For India, political scenarios and events play an important role. 

Through this essay on Indian politics, one can get enlightened about working in the country's political system. The entire country revolves around the Indian political system. Every decision and law is taken into account for the development of the country. 

An Indian politician is somebody who is elected from his/her constituency. Every politician has their constituency from where they are elected. They then actively delve into politics. Since independence, India has strived forward thanks to the laws implemented by politicians. Indians can take pride in the fact that they are the largest democracy in the world. The PM or prime minister heads the country. He is the head of the government formed at the center. Likewise, the president is head of the central and the state government. 

The Indian parliament consists of the upper and lower house. The upper house is known as the Rajya Sabha and the lower house is called the Lok Sabha. The upper house consists of members who represent the states of the country. The lower house consists of members elected to represent the people of the country. The Supreme Court or SC is the protector of the constitution of India. Indian politics comprises three pillars that consist of the central leadership, state leadership, and the village or panchayat raj. The panchayat ray is still prominent in several villages and most rural parts of the country. Thanks to the 73rd constitutional amendment, local governance is acceptable. India is a democratic country where the leaders are elected through elections held once in four years. 

The party with the largest vote bank after the election can claim their victory. To vote in India, one must be an Indian citizen, and above 18 years of age. They need to obtain an election card. Anybody can contest in the elections in India. The individual should be an Indian citizen and have completed 25 years of age. Additionally, there are a few more conditions to be met that most candidates become eligible for. In India, there are no criteria for contesting elections. Hence, it is not surprising to note that many legislators have little to no education. One can use NOTA when they feel that their constituent candidate is not well-educated or is worthy of the position. 

In this paragraph on Indian politics, one learns about the lack of educational qualifications for the politicians. In most of the developed and developing countries, the politicians are an educated lot. Education and corruption cannot go hand in hand. The opposition needs to be proactive and take a tough stance on the ruling of the government. The country's few significant parties include BJP, Indian National Congress, CPI, AAP, BSP, and the SP. 

It is safe to say that the political scenario can be changed for the greater good of the country and society. 

Short Essay on Indian Politics

The information given below is suitable for the Indian politics essay 10th class syllabus. Students can make use of it during their examinations. In this short essay on Indian politics, one can read about the nuances of Indian politics. 

Indian politics is compared to a great circus where different political parties fight till the end. Most of the elections are marred by corruption on a large scale. Sadly, the country's political climate decides on the communal, social, and economic condition of the country. In this paragraph on Indian politics, one finds out that when the political situation is unstable, then it gives rise to unwanted problems like civil wars and revolutions, as seen in Libya, Syria, and Egypt. 

Indian politics has seen it all, right from the birth of the two single largest parties in India, the partition, emergency period, India-Bangladesh war, and the terror attacks. It is a colorful game indeed with plenty of good and bad happening side-by-side. One can hope that India progresses and matures with time. Hopefully, it will be for the greater good and development of the nation. The essay about Indian politics has shown that the freedom of choosing the kind of ideology one wants to take itself lies in Indian democracy.

Conclusion 

To conclude the Indian politics essay in English, the Indian political scenario has seen it all. Rulers of dynamic capabilities and charismatic character have taken over the realms of the country. 

Likes of Jawaharlal Nehru and Narendra Modi have adorned the coveted position of this country, which is a moment of pride for any Indian. 

arrow-right

FAQs on Indian Politics Essay

1. What can one learn from the essay on Indian Politics?

The Indian politics essay reveals the existing Indian political system in the country. It is similar to a game of snake and ladders. Friends become one's enemies, and sworn enemies share the dais during election rallies.

It is becoming a common sight today. Indians can be proud of the fact that they are the largest democracy existing in the world. In Indian politics, the prime minister is the head, and power is equally divided between the central and state governments.

2. Does it help Indian Politics in electing educated ministers?

The main issue plaguing the Indian political system is the lack of education. Even ministers occupying senior positions in the country are devoid of quality education. One can blame the lack of criteria when electing the minister.

This has been going on for decades, and quick changes must be imminent for the betterment of the country. It would help in routing problems like corruption that is the root cause of all issues in the country.

3. What is Politics?

Politics is a very wide subject that does not have one definite answer, for most people it is about winning elections and getting the key to state power. However, according to one of the widely accepted definitions, Politics is the art of influencing the will of the state, which means that not only the political parties and the politicians but every citizen has an active role to play in the politics of this country.

4. Which is a democracy?

According to the famous definition given by Abraham Lincoln, Democracy is a form of government that is for the people, by the people, and of the people. This is good to give a basic sense of the idea of democracy but in the more general sense, it is people deciding what is good for them and taking an active part in the decision-making process of the country.

5.  What is the difference between a democracy and a republic?

Democracy is the form of government in which it is considered that the people will be deciding how to govern themselves. While in a Republic, the people give the franchise of their mandate to a selected candidate who represents them in the seat of governance. So the Republic is the enshrinement of the will of the people into a system that selects the people who govern them while democracy makes them responsive to the people who vote for them.

6. How can the write ups along with important questions for Indian Politics be downloaded from Vedantu?

The Online resources at Vedantu can easily be accessed using 4 steps:

Open the Website of Vedantu on your Laptop or you can log in to the Vedantu App through your phone.

Search the subject of Civics along with the particular topic which you are looking for or essays which you may want to find.

Click on Download PDF to download the solution in PDF format.

Enter OTP and then the solutions will be sent to your email id

You can avail all the well-researched and good quality chapters, sample papers, syllabus on various topics from the website of Vedantu and its mobile application available on the play store.

7.  What is the importance of elections in Indian democracy?

Elections play a very vital role in any functioning democracy in the world. Elections are the litmus test on how democracy has been working because without a free and fair election process, No true democracy can survive and if the election process is not free and fair then the belief of people will turn away from democratic politics. However, elections should not be seen as the endgame of democracy as a public partition in the development process must be ensured to keep democracy vibrant.

The Indian Political Parties Research Paper

Introduction, india — overview of the country and its politics, multi-party system, political parties in india, population diversity and the party system dilemma, the idea of democracy in relation to political parties, works cited.

The system of political parties underwent drastic changes since the country gained its independence and became a democratic republic. The old parties transformed in their modern versions while plenty of new parties appeared as well. The dilemma in the multi-party system is caused by the caste system and population diversity.

The Republic of India is a seventh largest country in the world by its geographical borders and the second most populated country (“India Country Profile — Overview”, 2015, par. 1). The population of the country comprises more than one billion people. India is also known for being the most populated democracy in the world (“India Country Profile — Overview”, 2015, par. 2). The country is newly industrialized. Despite its economic flourishing, it stills faces the urgent problems of poverty, malnutrition, terrorism, and improper governance (“India Country Profile — Overview”, 2015, par. 4).

India is a federal parliamentary constitutional republic with Pranab Mukherjee being a current president. The President is the head of the state while the Prime Minister is the head of the government (“Types of Governments”, n.d., par. 1). The Constitution is the primary law of the country that defines all regulations.

Currently, India has a multi-party system. There are numerous national and regional political parties. A local party has the authority in one particular state. A party should represent at least four different states to become national (“Types of Governments”, n.d., par. 1). The primary mission of all political parties is to serve and protect interests of the nation in various aspects.

A political party is an organized group of people who share the same political opinion and follow the common aim in the controlling of the country (Hofmeister and Grabow, 2011, 8). The most important function of every party is to represent the interests of the citizens among the political elite.

Besides, political parties handle the achievement of better economic, political, educational, and other prospects of the country (Hofmeister and Grabow, 2011, 15). A multi-party system is the final type of party system in the country. In this kind of the system, several parties exist in the government, and none of them receives the majority of seats. Some dominance is usually achieved with the help of coalitions (Hofmeister and Grabow, 2011, 8).

The multi-party system has both advantages and disadvantages. The first plus refers to the fact that voters have many options (Caramani, 2014, 224-225). A variety of political parties presupposes the numerous political principles. As a result, the citizen can find the party that meets his or her personal opinions (Barrington, 2012, 264). The second advantage relates to increasing chances to represent the interests of different minorities more effectively.

The third positive reason — fewer chances of the development of dictatorship (Barrington, 2012, 264-265). Nevertheless, the multi-party system has several disadvantages as well. First, no party can receive the majority of seats in the multi-party system. Consequently, the coalition is the must in such a situation. Different parties have to join their votes to form alliances (Caramani, 2014, 224-225). These coalitions are fragile and unstable, and it impedes the general political environment in the country.

Second, small extreme parties often become significant constituents of the government. Extreme parties face no difficulty in gaining the necessary amount of votes (Barrington, 2012, 264). Then, some other major party may need their votes to form the coalition. In such a way, extreme parties may rule the country. Finally, the excessive variety of political parties leads to the disparities of interests and activities (Barrington, 2012, 264-265).

Historical background of the development of the multi-party system

The party system in India has changed drastically in the last two decades. Politicization of people from less privileged groups of society became the most significant change in the current system. The nature of the relationship between country and its citizens has also altered (Kesalu, 2013, 56-57). It is necessary to have an insight into the evolution of the Indian party system in pre and post-independence years.

The party system of India commences with the formation of the Indian National Congress in 1882. The Congress became popular among people as far as it represented the interests of the indigenous population and became the primary opposing force to the British imperialism (Rana, 2014, par. 3). The political activity of the Congress during the pre-independence period should be divided into three stages.

The first period (1885-1905) was characterized by the privileged dominance of the Congress. The next phase occurred since 1905 until 1916 (Kesalu, 2013, 58-59). The opinions between political representatives became diverse. Some of them believed that the country would gain independence through persuasion while others were intended to fight for their rights.

During the third stage (1916-1945), the Indian Independence Movement took place (Kesalu, 2013, 58-59). As a result, the British governor and General of India announced the separation of the British India into India and Pakistan. On August 15 in 1947, the Indian Independence Act was signed (Kesalu, 2013, 59).

Since that time, the Indian post-independence era began. The Congress became the leading political party due to its active participation in the independence movement (Kesalu, 2013, 59). Nevertheless, many political parties had already existed in the country. They comprised four major political groups that were interested in the gaining of votes in the first general election. The first group included the Congress, the Socialist Party, and Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party.

Marxist parties and the Communist Party of India represented the second group (Kesalu, 2013, 60). Religious, political parties formed the third group. They were Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS), Ram Rajya Parishad, and Hindu Mahasabha. Regional parties like Akali Dal, Jharkhand party, and Tamilnadu Congress formed the fourth group. Despite this variety, the Congress became the dominant political party and remained its domination until 1967 (Kesalu, 2013, 60).

In 1967, the fourth general election showed that the Congress’s authority declined. The regional parties popularized the idea of the decentralization of power. Congress’ organizational abilities were weak, and citizens lost trust in it (Kesalu, 2013, 60). In 1980, numerous parties appeared. Bharatiya Janata Party was established in 1980.

The activity of BJP made it the principal rival of the Congress. More often large parties were divided into smaller regional representatives. The coalition era began in 1989 (Kesalu, 2013, 60-61). The democratization of the society led to the increasing formation of various political parties that formed a unique diversity of the Indian multi-party system. All these parties represented interests of different ethnic, social, and religious groups.

Current typology of political parties

There are almost one thousand registered political parties in India and 50 of them have the status of National or State parties (Dutt, 2006, 62). All national and state parties are recognized while other parties are known as not recognized. It also should be noted, that there are two houses of parliament in India. Rajya Sabha or the Upper House serves the interests of the separate states. Lok Sabha or the Lower House is formed to monitor and fulfill the needs of all people on the national level (Dutt, 2006, 51).

There are six recognized national parties. They are Bharatiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Communist Party of India, Bahujan Samai Party, and National Congress Party (Dutt, 2006, 62). Almost fifty parties are State parties.

Some of them are All India Forward Bloc, Indian Union Muslim League, Sikkim Democratic Front, Zoram Nationalist Party and others. There are also unrecognized parties that affect the politics in India to some extent — Lok Satta Party, Manipur Peoples Party, Jana Sena Party, and many others (Dutt, 2006, 62-65).

The caste system as the factor that impedes Indian multi-party system

The role of castes is a significant factor that predetermines the functioning of the multi-party system. There are more than three thousand castes in India. Their number varies in different regions (Shan, 2004, 5). In general, they are divided into four groups. They are the learned people, the warriors, agriculturalists and traders, and those who serve (“The Caste System”, n.d., par. 5). Castes are hereditary. It means that one belongs to the high or low caste since birth.

The Indian Constitution abolishes the caste system. Despite this fact, every political party makes use of the caste system. This tradition has a long history, and that is why it is deeply rooted in all aspects of social and political life (“The Caste System”, n.d., par. 10). No sphere limits the impact of caste. In the political life, it commences with the electoral process.

For instance, the Communist Party of India always chooses the representative from the most influential caste as the candidate for elections (Gulabsingh and Palekar, 2014, 2). The problem is that the most prominent representative is not always the most capable person in the party. Such an individual is interested in his caste enrichment. Thus, such an approach to choosing candidates is one of the factors that comprise the dilemma in the party system.

Gulabsingh and Palekar (2014) also write that “when a ministry is formed in the State or at the Centre, caste considerations are always kept in mind. Every chief minister tries to ensure that all dominant castes in the State are adequately represented in his council of ministers” (2). This fact also exemplifies the injustice in the multi-party system.

Sub-castes are also known as “jati”. They represent smaller localized groups within the particular large caste (Johnson and Johnson, n.d., par. 1-3). They are essential for receiving the needed minority of votes by the party.

The candidate from the sub-caste knows the primary concern of people, their problems, desires, traditions, and ways of life. It is easy to use all this information to create a campaign that will attract the attention of the target group. Parties can create distinct banners or advertisements that reflect the interests of this or that group and gain the favor of the voters.

Another crucial aspect that affects Indian party system is the great diversity of the population. When there are many representatives from various social and ethnic groups, there is an immense number of interests. This situation is directly connected to the multi-party system. However, it is necessary to examine the dilemma of the multi-party system through the several perspectives of diversity.

Indian political culture and its manifestation through multi-party system

The population is divided into elite and masses (Hoveyda, 2010, 14). These two groups participate in the political process and represents different types of political culture. These kinds of political culture enhance the divergence of opinion within the party system as well. Indian political culture is heterogeneous.

It is divided into the elite culture and mass culture. Hoveyda (2010) writes that “elites are associated with liberal education and related values, institutions of the representative government and values of citizenship; while the masses are viewed as traditional, regional and conservative, though also oriented towards modern values and institutions” (15). There are differences between elite culture and mass culture that impede the successful development of the country.

Military and civil bureaucracy, educated intelligentsia, and political leaders comprise the elite political culture. Mass culture consists of traditional castes, and it is more interested in the local and regional levels of governance (Hoveyda, 2010, 15-16). Mass culture became widely spread due to the processes of democratization and the policy of power decentralization. These aspects increased the level of involvement of people from various social strata in the governmental activities.

On the one hand, the formation of political parties by different people was a good sign of democracy and the efficient implementation of the multi-party system. On the contrary, it increased the inequality between people. Thus, those who belonged to wealthy castes could become involved in politics and increase their status and financial resources while others remained in the same disadvantageous position (Hoveyda, 2010, 16).

One more distinctive feature of mass political culture refers to the dominance of caste, religious, provincial, and linguistic factors. All these features of mass culture differ it from the elite culture. Consequently, their goals are not the same and cannot be achieved with the help of each other.

Thus, the elite political culture emphasizes the significance of developing the country on the national and global level (Hoveyda, 2010, 16-17). Such a plan includes the formation of the advanced infrastructure system, the representation of state schemes, and economic growth. The mass political culture needs support in the form of subsidized services, water, or electricity (Hoveyda, 2010, 16-17).

It is obvious that political orientations of the elite and mass political cultures are far from being the same. Some voters are more interested in having enough water. That is why they will vote for parties from the mass political culture. Other people realize the necessity to develop the overall economy of the country.

In this case, they will vote for parties from the elite political culture. What is more significant, the parties themselves are not ready to achieve any consensus. They focus only on their goals. The coalitions are not of great assistance in this case. Though parties combine their votes, it is still not enough for the political stability within the country (Hoveyda, 2010, 17).

Ethnic diversity and its relation to the dilemma

India is a home for representatives from many dissimilar religious, ethnic, and social classes of people. Such aspect as ethnicity can also shed the light on the problem of the country’s multi-party system. A particular attention should be paid to the notion of the political secularism.

The so-called “ethinification” of the party system means the intentional direction of political parties to receive support from the particular ethnic group (Huber and Suryanarayan, 2014, 5).

Elites can use ethnicity as a target to attract as many voters as possible and form the necessary coalition. Such schemes work well in countries where it is challenging to receive the majority of seats by one party (Huber and Suryanarayan, 2014, 2). It is obvious that such plan is of great advantage for Indian political parties. Religious beliefs are significant constituents that comprise the ethnicity of every individual in the country.

Hinduism is the most widespread religion in India (Ghosh, 2015, par. 2). More than eighty percent of all population in India are Hindus. Muslims comprise ten percent while Christianity — almost three percent (Ghosh, 2015, par. 2). The primary problem with Hinduism refers to the fact that there is no universal religion. People from different religious minorities proclaim themselves Hindus. There are Hindu and Muslim political parties in the country (Ghosh, 2015, par. 5).

The key concern between them has a religious background. The Bharatiya Janata Party is the largest party that directly demonstrates its Hindus roots and follows the policy of the Hindu nationalism (Dutt, 2006, 62). The results of elections prove the religion-based politics. It has been found out that only a few votes for the BJP are observed in regions where the Muslim population is prevailing.

Secularism has become a popular trend in many Western societies. The idea of separation the government from the religious organizations became widespread due to several reasons Maclure and Taylor, 2011, 11-12). First, the Church can impede the scientific progress and forbid to conduct particular types of researches. Second, the necessity to be under the patronage of the church does not appeal to many individuals.

Consequently, the religion got detached and became a private affair of everyone (Maclure and Taylor, 2011, 11). The role of religion in the Indian society should not be underestimated. No secularist tendencies take place in the country due to the significance of worship. Faith has always been a prominent stimulus for the national awakening. Thus, Gandhi inspired people with the idea of political freedom with the help of religious texts (Moradian and Whiteshouse, 2000, par. 20-25).

The idea of democracy in India is a controversial issue. The country proclaims itself the largest democracy in the world. The concept of democracy is interconnected with the activity of political parties in India. Political parties are often regarded as both “heroes and villains of the country’s democratic experiment” (Diamond and Gunther, 2001, 206). All citizens of India strongly support the idea of democracy. Nevertheless, the democracy is still more like an illusion rather than the reality in the country.

It is also worthwhile mentioning the research conducted by Rudolph and Rudolph. The authors investigate the new dimensions of Indian democracy since the 1990s. They have pointed out five primary aspects that reflect the achievement of justice in the Indian society. The issues that are related to political parties include the modification of the party system, the rise of states, and the coalition government. India has a federal system that assists in maintaining peaceful coexistence of people from various ethnic and cultural groups.

The federal system of India can be compared to the European Union countries rather that to the U.S.’s states (Rudolph and Rudolph, 2002, 53-54). This statement is proved by the fact that there are particular correspondences between them. The residents of England and Italy, for instance, as well as Hindu and Tamils speak different languages and share some history.

They have different socioeconomic profiles and various cultural heritage (Rudolph and Rudolph, 2002, 54). Considering all these factors, both India and European Union promote peaceful living among the residents of states.

The transformation into the multi-party was the second manifestation of the Indian democracy. The end of the ruling of one dominant party symbolized the appearance of new features of the country (Rudolph and Rudolph, 2002, 54-55). As a result, people from all social classes, ethnic, and religious groups became able to form the political parties and represent the interests of their minorities.

The third representation of democracy refers to the establishment of the coalition government (Rudolph and Rudolph, 2002, 55). Coalitions are inevitable in the country where the number of political parties makes it impossible to gain the majority of seats by one particular party. Thus, parties unite to become more valuable and possess more power. Besides, the aim of every coalition government is to reduce the risks of extremism (Rudolph and Rudolph, 2002, 55).

For instance, BJP commenced its political activity as the party whose primary concern was Hindu nationalism. Due to the lack of power, the party had to look for partners. One secular party from South India became the partner of BJP and, in such a way decreased the possibility of the excessive concentration on Hindu nationalism issues (Rudolph and Rudolph, 2002, 55-56).

The country experienced recent rapid economic growth. However, this growth has not influenced the standard of living of people. Residents of India are destitute. The general income per capita is below the threshold (“Effects of Poverty in India: Between Injustice and Exclusion”, 2013, par. 1). Such a situation resembles the features of the dictatorship but not of the democracy.

India has an immense number of ethnic minorities that have different languages, culture, traditions, and beliefs. Besides, the cases of inter-community violence are usual thing in India. People belong to different castes, and this is the major differentiator of the whole society until nowadays. Religious conflicts can occur as well. Also, the level of corruption in the country is not like it should be in democratic societies (Oldenburg, 2007, 5-7).

These distinctive characteristics of India explain the necessity to have the multi-party system. On the one hand, various political parties should represent such socio-cultural diversity. Otherwise, it will be impossible to take into account the interests of all people. Democracy presupposes the rule of masses through the representatives. The only possible option, in this case, is to employ a multi-party system (Oldenburg, 2007, 7).

On the other hand, there are many flaws in the system. The first problem refers to the fair play in the election. There are no evidence that elections are fair and not corrupted (Oldenburg, 2007, 7-8). Besides, many people in India are still illiterate or have the inadequate education. They cannot make profound decisions due to the lack of knowledge and ability to comprehend the situation. When the parties are already chosen, their promises, in most cases, remain just promises (Oldenburg, 2007, 8).

All these issues undermine the idea of democracy in the Indian multi-party system. Oldenburg has conducted research and examined that corruption in courts is a typical practice. For instance, many politicians are accused of participating in some illegal activity. Nevertheless, none of them was convicted in the commitment of the crime (Oldenburg, 2007, 9). Democracy is impossible in such conditions.

India is the second most populated country in the world with the most diverse society. The party system of the country has changed drastically since independence. India started as the country with one dominant party, the Indian National Congress, and gradually developed the multi-party system. Such a transformation of the government is a direct manifestation of the democratization.

However, such factors as the caste system and the population diversity influence the implementation of the multi-party system significantly. On the one hand, the multi-party system is the best option for the country with such diversity. On the contrary, the caste inequalities and ethnic diversity make it impossible to achieve any consensus among parties.

Barrington, Lowell. Comparative Politics: Structure and Choices . Boston: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print.

Caramani, Daniele. Comparative Politics . Oxford: OUP, 2014. Print.

Diamond, Larry and Richard Gunther. Political Parties and Democracy . Baltimore: JHU Press, 2001. Print.

Dutt, Sagarika. India in a Globalized World . Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2006. Print.

Effects of Poverty in India: Between Injustice and Exclusion 2013.

Gulabsingh, Sandeep and Sana Palekar. “The Role of Caste in Indian Politics.” Research Directions 1.8 (2014): 1-3. Print.

Ghosh, Abantika. Census: Hindu Share Dips Below 80%, Muslims Share Grows but Slower . 2015.

Hofmeister, Wilhelm and Karsten Grabow. Political Parties . Singapore: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung, 2011. Print.

Hoveyda, Abbas. Indian Government and Politics . Delphi: Pearson Education India, 2010. Print.

Huber, John and Pavithra Suryanarayan. Ethnic Inequality and the Ethnification of the Political Parties: Evidence from India . 2014. PDF File.

India Country Profile — Overview 2015.

Johnson Donald and Jean Johnson. Jati: The Caste System in India . n.d.

Kesalu, Satri. “Genesis and Evaluation of Political Parties in India.” International Research Journal of Social Sciences 2.2 (2013): 56-62. Print.

Maclure, Jocelyn and Charles Taylor. Secularism and Freedom of Conscience . Harvard: Harvard University Press, 2011. Print.

Moradian, Meneejeh and David Whiteshouse. Gandhi and the Politics of Nonviolence . 2000.

Oldenburg, Philip. “India’s Democracy: Illusion or Reality?” Education About Asia 12.13 (2007): 5-11. Print.

Rana, Kamal. Growth of Party System in India . 2014.

Rudolph, Susanne and Lloyd Rudolph. “New Dimensions of Indian Democracy.” Journal of Democracy 13.1 (2002): 52-66. Print.

Shan, Ghanshyam. Caste and Democratic Politics in India . London: Anthem Press, 2004. Print.

The Caste System . n.d.

Types of Governments . n.d.

  • Chicago (A-D)
  • Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2024, January 2). The Indian Political Parties. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-indian-political-parties/

"The Indian Political Parties." IvyPanda , 2 Jan. 2024, ivypanda.com/essays/the-indian-political-parties/.

IvyPanda . (2024) 'The Indian Political Parties'. 2 January.

IvyPanda . 2024. "The Indian Political Parties." January 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-indian-political-parties/.

1. IvyPanda . "The Indian Political Parties." January 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-indian-political-parties/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "The Indian Political Parties." January 2, 2024. https://ivypanda.com/essays/the-indian-political-parties/.

  • Rock-N-Roll Negotiator: Multi-Party Negotiation
  • Effective Negotiating Team to Work on Multiparty Negotiations
  • History of the Indian Castes
  • Caste System in Hinduism
  • The reservation system in India based on Caste
  • Moving from SMD (Single Member District) System to PR (Proportional Representation) System
  • The one party system in Japan
  • Henry Kissinger: The Future of US-Chinese Relations
  • Comparing Democracy Effort Between Mali and the USA
  • Africa Regional Conference: Should Democracy Be Promoted in Africa?
  • President Barrack Obama 2013 Inaugural Speech
  • Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt: History, Growth, and Reasons Behind the Rise and Fall
  • California's Political Issue: San Francisco Disruption
  • Public Safety and Marijuana Legalization
  • Abu Dhabi Police Organizational Change
  • IAS Preparation
  • UPSC Preparation Strategy

Political Parties in India

Political Parties are a crucial topic in the Polity segment in the UPSC CSE Exam. In India political parties assume different dynamic features. What they are will be elaborated upon in this article.

The information in this article will be useful for candidates attempting the  IAS exam

Definition and Types of Political Parties

Political parties are voluntary associations or organised groups of individuals who share the same political views and who try to gain power via constitutional means and who desire to promote national interests.

In modern democratic states, there are four types of political parties

  • Reactionary parties which cling to the old socio-economic and political institutions
  • Conservative parties that believe in status-quo
  • Liberal parties that aim to change and reform the existing institutions
  • Radical parties which aim at establishing a new order by overthrowing the existing institutions

Political parties are also classified as per the ideologies. Political scientists have placed radical parties on the left, liberal parties in the centre and reactionary and conservative parties on the right.

In India, CPI and CPM are examples of leftist parties, Congress of centrist parties and the BJP is an example of rightist parties.

There are three kinds of party systems in the world:

(i) The one party system in which only one party rules and no opposition party is permitted. The Soviet Union was an example of one party system.

(ii) Two-party system on which two major parties exist. For example the Republicans and the Democrats in the United States.

(iii) Multi-party system on which there are a number of political parties lead to the formation of coalition governments. India, France and Switzerland are examples of multi-party systems.

To know more in detail about the Rajya Sabha , visit the linked article.

Party System in India – Download PDF Here

Characteristics of Party System in India

The following are the characteristics of the party system in India:

  • Multi-Party System: The continental size of the, the diversified characteristics of the Indian society, the adoption of universal adult franchise, the peculiar type of political processes have given rise to a large number of political parties. In fact, India has the largest number of political parties in the world.Further, India has all categories of parties – left parties, centrist parties, right parties and so on. Consequently the hung Parliaments, hung assemblies and coalition governments have become a common phenomenon in Indian politics.
  • One-Dominant Party Systems : In spite of the multiparty system, the political scene in India was dominated for a long period by the Congress. Hence, Rajni Kothari, an eminent political analyst, preferred to call the Indian party system as ‘one party dominance system’ or the ‘Congress System’.The dominant position enjoyed by the  Congress has been on the decline since 1967 with the rise of regional parties and other national parties like the Janata Dal and BJP.
  • Lack of Clear Ideology: Except the BJP, the  CPI and CPM, all other parties do not have a clear-cut ideology. They (i.e., all other aeries) are ideologically closer to each other. They have a close resemblance in their policies and programmes. Almost every party advocates democracy, secularism , socialism and Gandhism. Moreover, every party , including the so-called ideological parties, is guided by only one consideration – power capture. Thus, politics has become issue-based rather than ideology and pragmatism has replaced the commitment of its principles.
  • Personality Cult: Quite often, the parties are organised around an eminent leader who becomes more important than the party and its ideology. Parties are known by their leaders and their ideology. Parties  are known by their leaders rather than by their manifesto. It is a fact that the popularity of the Congress was mainly due to the leadership of Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. It is the same case for the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and TDP in Andhra Pradesh  which got recognition with MG Ramachandran and NT Rama Rao respectively.
  • Based on Traditional Factors: In the western counties, the political parties are formed on the basis of socio-economic and political programmes. On the other hand, a large number of parties in India are formed on the basis of religion, caste, language, culture and so on. For example, Shiv Sena, Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha and so on. These parties work for the promotion of a given community and sectional interests that undermine the general public interest.
  • Emergence of Regional  Parties: Another significant feature of the Indian party system is the emergence of a large number of regional parties and their growing role. They have become the ruling parties in various states like BJD in Orissa, DMK or AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Akali Dal in Punjab and so on. In the beginning, they were confined to regional politics only. But of late they have come to play a significant role in the national politics due to coalition governments at the Centre.

Learn more about regionalism in the given link.

  • Faction and Defections: Factionalism, defections , splits, mergers, polarisation and so on have been an important aspect of the functioning political parties in India. Lust for power and materialistic conditions have made political parties leave their party and join another party.The practice of defections gained greater currency after the fourth general elections in 1967. This phenomenon caused instability both at the Centre and in the states and led to disintegration of the parties.
  • Lack of Effective Opposition: An effective Opposition is very essential for the successful operation of the parliamentary democracy prevalent in India. It checks the autocratic tendencies of the ruling party and provides an alternative government. However, in the last 50 years an effective, strong, organised and visible national Opposition could never emerge except in flashes.

The opposition parties have no unity and very often adopt mutually conflicting positions with respect to the ruling party. They have failed to play a constructive role in the functioning of the body politic and in the process of nation building.

Recognition of National and State Parties

The Election Commission registers political parties for the purpose of elections and grants them recognition as national or state parties on the basis of their poll performance. The other parties are simply declared as registered-unrecognised parties.

The recognition granted by the Commission to the parties determines their right to certain privileges like allocation of the party symbols, provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television and radio stations and access to electoral rolls.

Every national party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use throughout the country. Similarly, every state party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use in the states in which it is so recognised. A registered-unrecognised party, on the other hand, can select a symbol from a list of free symbols.

In other words, the Commission specifies certain symbols as ‘reserved symbols’ which are meant for the candidates set up by the recognised pirates and others as ‘free symbols’ which are meant for the other candidates.

The conditions for recognition as National Party and State Party are as follows:

National Party:

  • Secure at least 6% of the valid vote in an Assembly or a Lok Sabha General Election in any four or more states and won at least 4 seats in a Lok Sabha General Election from any State or States
  • If a party wins two % of seats in the Lok Sabha at a general election and these candidates are elected from three states. An additional criteria includes if the party is recognised as a state party in four states.

State Party:

  • If the party secures 6% of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned and in addition wins 2 seats in the assembly of the state concerned.
  • The state party secures 6% of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned. In addition if it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha from the state concerned.
  • If it wins 3% of the seats in the legislative assembly at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned or 3 seats in the assembly, whichever is more.
  • If it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to the state at a general electron to the Lok Sabha from the concerned states
  • If the state party secures 8% of the total valid votes polled in the state at a General Elections to the Lok Sabha from the state or to the legislative assembly of the state. The condition was added in 2011.

Frequently Asked Question about LIC AAO Exam

What is a multi-party system in india, how many political parties are there in india, what is meant by the party system.

Aspirants can find complete information about upcoming Government Exams through the linked article. More exam-related preparation materials will be found through the links given below

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your Mobile number and Email id will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Request OTP on Voice Call

Post My Comment

write an essay on political party system in india

IAS 2024 - Your dream can come true!

Download the ultimate guide to upsc cse preparation.

  • Share Share

Register with BYJU'S & Download Free PDFs

Register with byju's & watch live videos.

write an essay on political party system in india

Call us @ 08069405205

write an essay on political party system in india

Search Here

write an essay on political party system in india

  • An Introduction to the CSE Exam
  • Personality Test
  • Annual Calendar by UPSC-2024
  • Common Myths about the Exam
  • About Insights IAS
  • Our Mission, Vision & Values
  • Director's Desk
  • Meet Our Team
  • Our Branches
  • Careers at Insights IAS
  • Daily Current Affairs+PIB Summary
  • Insights into Editorials
  • Insta Revision Modules for Prelims
  • Current Affairs Quiz
  • Static Quiz
  • Current Affairs RTM
  • Insta-DART(CSAT)
  • Insta 75 Days Revision Tests for Prelims 2024
  • Secure (Mains Answer writing)
  • Secure Synopsis
  • Ethics Case Studies
  • Insta Ethics
  • Weekly Essay Challenge
  • Insta Revision Modules-Mains
  • Insta 75 Days Revision Tests for Mains
  • Secure (Archive)
  • Anthropology
  • Law Optional
  • Kannada Literature
  • Public Administration
  • English Literature
  • Medical Science
  • Mathematics
  • Commerce & Accountancy
  • Monthly Magazine: CURRENT AFFAIRS 30
  • Content for Mains Enrichment (CME)
  • InstaMaps: Important Places in News
  • Weekly CA Magazine
  • The PRIME Magazine
  • Insta Revision Modules-Prelims
  • Insta-DART(CSAT) Quiz
  • Insta 75 days Revision Tests for Prelims 2022
  • Insights SECURE(Mains Answer Writing)
  • Interview Transcripts
  • Previous Years' Question Papers-Prelims
  • Answer Keys for Prelims PYQs
  • Solve Prelims PYQs
  • Previous Years' Question Papers-Mains
  • UPSC CSE Syllabus
  • Toppers from Insights IAS
  • Testimonials
  • Felicitation
  • UPSC Results
  • Indian Heritage & Culture
  • Ancient Indian History
  • Medieval Indian History
  • Modern Indian History
  • World History
  • World Geography
  • Indian Geography
  • Indian Society
  • Social Justice
  • International Relations
  • Agriculture
  • Environment & Ecology
  • Disaster Management
  • Science & Technology
  • Security Issues
  • Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude

InstaCourses

  • Indian Heritage & Culture
  • Enivornment & Ecology

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Insights into Editorial: Making parties constitutional

write an essay on political party system in india

Introduction: Political Parties in India:

In a democracy, political parties provide an agency to the society to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government.

They bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed.

They provide a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them. India has a multi-party system.

According to the Election Commission of India, there are over 2000 political parties in India, which include eight “recognized national” and more than 50 “recognized state” parties.

Political party system in India:

A political party is an organised group of citizens who hold common views on governance and act as a political unit that seeks to obtain control of government with a view to further the agenda and policy they profess.

In India, the Election Commission of India recognises the political parties and provides certain benefits to them based on their voting share.

Further, India also has the largest number of political parties in the world. For example, Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP), Indian National Congress(INC), etc.

Working of a political party:

  • Political parties are indispensable links between the people and the representative machinery of government.
  • Political parties maintain a continuous connection between the people and those who represent them either in government or in the opposition.
  • Political parties have extralegal growth in almost every democratic country. The American Constitution does not presume the existence of political parties. In Britain too, political parties are still unknown to the law.
  • Nonetheless, Sir Ivor Jennings, in The British Constitution, opined that “a realistic survey of the British Constitution today must begin and end with parties and discuss them at length in the middle”.
  • Similarly, political parties in India are extra-constitutional , but they are the breathing air of the political system.

Political Party formation and Indian Constitution:

  • The Indian Constitution is the one of the longest Constitutions in the world. It even elaborately deals with the co-operative societies .
  • The right to form co-operative societies is a fundamental right under Article 19 (1)(c) , but the right to form political parties is not.
  • It is astonishing that such a meticulous Constitution overlooked political parties , the vital players in the political system, for constitutional regulation.
  • Most of the parties are openly caste- or religious-based . Their finances are dubious and opaque.
  • Almost all the parties are family fiefdoms . The Congress high command is only a euphemism for the Gandhi family. There are no periodical in-party elections in Indian parties except in a few like the CPI(M).

Political parties in developed nations maintain high levels of internal democracy.

In the U.K., the Conservative Party has the National Conservative Convention as its top body. It has a Central Council and an Executive Committee.

The Central Council elects its President, a Chairman and Vice Chairmen at its annual meeting. It also elects an Executive Committee which meets once a month.

In the U.S., both the Democratic and the Republican Party have the National Committee as their top decision-making body. The National Committee plays an important role in the presidential election and agenda setting.

Example can follow: The German model:

  • The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949) gives constitutional status to political parties .
  • Article 21 of the Basic Law deals with their status, rights, duties and functions. It provides:
  • Political parties shall participate in the formation of the political will of the people. They may be freely established .
  • Their internal organisation must conform to democratic principles . They must publicly account for their assets and for the sources and use of their funds.
  • Parties that, by reason of their aims or the behaviour of their adherents, seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order or to endanger the existence of the Federal Republic of Germany shall be unconstitutional.
  • The Federal Constitutional Court shall rule on the question of unconstitutionality. Details shall be regulated by federal laws.

Other Reforms under consideration

More systemic reforms are needed to address the problems of money power, decline of national political parties and abdication of the best and the brightest.

Such a reform must be broadly acceptable, easily achievable , and must have minimal risk of unintended negative consequences. Therefore, FDR is strongly advocating for the following:

  • Removal of the significance of the marginal vote -Mixed Proportional Representation system– Best suited Model for India.
  • Decriminalization of Politics-Stringent disqualification norms
  • Clear Separation of Powers at the State and Local Levels through Direct Election of Head of Government
  • Internal democracy in political parties
  • Compulsory voting
  • Timely conduct of elections – Election Commission’s functioning
  • Reducing the Burden of “imposed‟ elections – Candidates contesting from multiple constituencies and/or causing bye-elections.
  • Criteria for registration of political parties – Deregistration of defunct political parties.
  • Minimizing the number of non-serious electoral candidates – Need for increasing the security deposit of candidates.

Conclusion:

The German model of constitutionalising political parties is more desirable for India than the U.S. and the U.K. models .

Section 29A(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is the only major statutory provision dealing with political parties in India.

It orders that a political party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

Political parties are the agents of democracy and safety valves in the political system.

They desperately need reform. Hence, it is high time to constitutionalise political parties to ensure in-party democracy , to impart transparency in their finances, and to de-communalise them.

Left Menu Icon

  • Our Mission, Vision & Values
  • Director’s Desk
  • Commerce & Accountancy
  • Previous Years’ Question Papers-Prelims
  • Previous Years’ Question Papers-Mains
  • Environment & Ecology
  • Science & Technology

write an essay on political party system in india

Party System in India, Feature, Importance and Function

Party System in India is a multi-party system in which various political parties fight democratically for power. Read all about Party System in India, Feature, Importance and Function for UPSC Exam.

Party System in India

Table of Contents

Party System in India

A political party is a collection of people who band together to advance a specific agenda and work to use legal means to take control of the government in order to carry out that programme. In the current democratic era, the struggle for power is open and not veiled. Political parties now have a distinct relevance as a result. Election preparation, political information dissemination, campaigning, and legislator election are all responsibilities of political parties.

Party system in India Introduction

Political parties are voluntarily organised groups of people who share a common political ideology, seek political power through legal means, and fight to advance their country’s interests. There are four different political party kinds in contemporary democracies:

  • Republican parties that support the status quo; Conservative parties that support the status quo; Liberal parties that attempt to alter current institutions; Reactionary parties that adhere to antiquated socioeconomic and political institutions;
  • Radical parties that aim to oust established institutions in order to establish a new order.

Political parties have been categorized by political scientists according to their ideologies. Radical parties are located on the left, liberal parties are located in the middle, and reactionary and conservative parties are located on the right. To put it another way, they can be categorised as rightist parties, centrist parties, and leftist parties. In the world, there are three different kinds of party systems:

  • One-party regimes, in which there is only one ruling party and no room for an opposition. USSR and East European nations, for instance
  • Two-party systems in which there are two main parties. United States and the United Kingdom, for instance.
  • Multi-party systems, where a variety of political parties coexist and coalition administrations are formed. France, Switzerland, and Italy, for instance.

Party system in India Main Feature

Multi-party system.

Due to the breadth of the nation’s continent, the diversity of Indian society, the adoption of the universal adult franchise, the distinctive style of the political process, and other factors, a sizable number of political parties have emerged. In actuality, India has the most political parties per capita in the entire globe.

On the eve of the 17th Lok Sabha general elections (2019), there were 7 national parties, 52 state parties, and 2354 registered but unrecognized parties in the nation. Additionally, India has a wide variety of political parties, including communal and non-communal parties, as well as left, centre, and right-wing groups. As a result, coalition governments, hung legislatures, and hung assemblies have become the norm.

The recognized National Parties are:

  • Bahujan Samaj Party.
  • Bharatiya Janata Party.
  • Communist Party of India.
  • Communist Party of India (Marxist)
  • Indian National Congress.
  • Nationalist Congress Party.
  • Aam aadmi Party

One-Party Dominance

The end of one-party rule is another aspect of the Indian political system. The Congress party had centralised power since Independence up until 1977, and in majority of the states between 1980 and 1989. The one-party era, however, has come to an end as evidenced by the elections of 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, and the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Lok Sabha.

In several states, coalition governments are also running smoothly. However, a single party (BJP) was able to form the government with an absolute majority after a 30-year absence by winning 282 seats in the 16th Lok Sabha election.

Personality Cult

Parties frequently revolve around a well-known leader who ends up taking centre stage over the party and its principles. More people know about parties because of their leaders than because of their platforms. The popularity of the Congress Party was largely due to Nehru, Indira, and Rajiv Gandhi’s leadership.

In a similar vein, MG Ramachandran and NT Rama Rao were connected to the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the TDP in Andhra Pradesh. It’s interesting how several parties, like the Biju Janata Dal, Lok Dal (A), and the Congress (1), include the name of their leader. As a result, “India has more political individuals than political parties.”

Lack of Opposition

The smooth running of India’s parliamentary system depends on an effective opposition. It offers an alternate form of government and restrains the totalitarian tendencies of the ruling party. A viable, strong, organised, and successful national opposition, however, has only occasionally surfaced during the past 50 years.

A single party has controlled since independence until 1977, and then again from 1980 to 1989, with scant opposition. Even though the era of one-party control came to an end in 1989, the opposition is still small. The opposition parties lack unity and frequently make statements against the ruling party that are mutually incoherent. They have not helped the political system or the process of developing a nation in any way.

Lack of Proper Organisation and Ideology

The lack of structure in the Indian party system is another characteristic. Organisation is the life or death of a political party. Numerous Indian political parties, however, have had difficulty maintaining their organisational structure at the provincial level. Almost all political parties are in favour of Gandhianism, socialism, secularism, and democracy.

Furthermore, power grab is the only factor influencing all parties, even so-called ideological ones. As a result, politics have moved away from being ideological and towards being issue-based, with pragmatism replacing ideology. But many Indian political parties have had trouble maintaining their organisation at the regional level.

Groupism inside India’s party structure

Groupism is a serious issue for all political parties in India. A party’s unity is shattered by groupism, which leads to the formation of numerous factions. The Congress party experienced division in 1969, 1978, 1995, and 1999. The Janata Dal was established in 1989, however between 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1997, it saw five splits.

The operation of political parties in India has been impacted by a variety of variables, including factionalism, defection, splits, mergers, fragmentation, polarisation, and others. Politicians who wanted more power and money often abandoned their party to join another or start a new one. Defections increased in frequency following the fourth general election in 1967.

Extra-constitutional ways of gaining power

Political parties have the legal right to acquire political power through legal channels, which they do through running for office, holding public rallies to win over voters, and disseminating their ideas through radio, television, newspapers, and other media. These processes are all of a legal nature. Political parties, however, are not afraid to use illegal techniques in addition to legal ones to obtain political dominance.

They engage in violent protests, dharnas, Punjab or Bharat bandhs, and they frequently set fire to buses and trains as well as other forms of public property. These political parties’ actions show that they are more focused on furthering their own political goals than defending the interests of the country.

Political Parties’ Populist Tendency

The populist bent of political parties in India is another feature of the party system. Political parties frequently use populist tactics to seize power in India, as is widely known. They promote populist slogans, deceive the public, and unfairly profit from people’s compulsions and emotions. As an illustration, the Congress created a 20-point programme to win popular support in 1975 and used the word “Garibi Hatao” in 1971.

Lack of Discipline among Political Party Members

Political party members have been seen to be uninterested with party rules and instead prefer to throw mud at one another. When a political figure gets passed over for a party ticket, he leaves his own party and joins another, or he founds a new one.

Political Parties’ Communal and Caste Characteristics

India’s population is impacted by caste and religion, and they feel a great sense of loyalty to these groups. As a result, clever politicians established political parties based on caste and religion, and they manipulate voters’ caste and religious sentiments to win elections.

Numerous political parties in India were created on the basis of factors such as race, language, culture, caste, and religion. Examples of political organisations include the Shiv Sena, Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha, Akali Dal, Muslim Majlis, Bahujan Samaj Party, Republican Party of India, Gorkha League, and more. These parties undermine the general public interest by advancing local and sectarian goals.

Party system in India Importance

Any political party’s main duty is to run candidates in elections in an effort to gain a majority. For each region, the party members pick a candidate who will best represent their interests and garner the most support from the wider public. They create their own programmes and policies while adhering to the rules set forth by the government and electoral commission. To increase their chances of winning, their manifesto should be compelling.

The political parties in India play a crucial role in forming laws for the country. The ruling party can make such decisions, while the opposition parties can support or oppose the laws in the parliamentary sessions. Under the party system in India, another major function of the political parties is to form public opinion on various issues faced by the country and the world.

Party system in India Function

In the absence of political parties, elections would be run by independent candidates. Any significant policy change for the public cannot be ensured by one person, who is insufficient or less capable. The government could become chaotic and unstable as a result of this circumstance. They give candidates a platform from which to run for office with the full backing of party members and experts. Due to the government’s majority, they can effectively represent a strong viewpoint or topic in the Parliament.

Party system in India & Recognition

Based on their polling data, the Election Commission acknowledges political parties as national or state parties and registers them for electoral use. Only “registered unrecognised parties” are used to describe the remaining parties. A party’s eligibility for certain privileges, including as the distribution of party emblems, the allotment of time for political broadcasts on state-owned television and radio stations, and access to electoral registers, is determined by the Commission’s recognition of the party.

The recognised parties also just need one proposer to submit the nomination. Additionally, during election season, these parties are entitled to have forty “star campaigners,” as opposed to twenty for registered-unrecognized parties. These celebrity campaigners’ travel costs are not included in the election expenses of their party’s candidates.

Each national party is granted a unique symbol that it uses exclusively across the nation. Similar to this, each state party is given a symbol that can only be used in the state or states where it has been acknowledged. On the other hand, a registered-unrecognized party has the option of selecting a free symbol from a list. In other words, the Commission designates some symbols as “free symbols” for other candidates and others as “reserved symbols” for candidates affiliated with recognised parties.

Party system in India & Recognition as a National Party

Currently, a party qualifies as a national party if at least one of the following conditions is met: If it wins 6% of the votes cast in any four or more states in a general election for the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly, and if it also wins four seats from any state or states; or If it wins 2% of the seats in a general election for the Lok Sabha with candidates chosen from three states, and if it is recognised as a state party in four states.

Party system in India & Recognition as a State Party

Currently, a party is recognised as a state party in a state if it meets one of the following criteria:  If it receives 6% of the valid votes cast in the state during a general election for the legislative assembly of the state concerned, and it also wins 2 seats in the assembly of the state concerned; or  If it receives 6% of the valid votes cast in the state during a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned, and in addition, it wins 1 seat; or

if it receives 8% of the total valid votes cast in the state at a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned; or  if it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any portion thereof allocated to the state. This standard was introduced in 2011.

Party system in India UPSC

The political system in India is distinct. It does not fall within any of the categories that are frequently used to group party systems. It is marked by the peculiar features of Indian politics on the one hand and the dynamics between the state and society on the other. Over the past 20 years, there has been a substantial shift in both the nature of politics and the relationship between the state and society. Since India gained its independence, major social, economic, and political changes have taken place, leading to numerous changes in the country’s party system.

Sharing is caring!

Party System in India FAQs

What do you mean by party system in india.

A party system is a concept in comparative political science concerning the system of government by political parties in a democratic country.

What is one-party system?

A one-party system is a form of government where the country is ruled by a single political party, meaning only one political party exists and the forming of other political parties is forbidden.

How many parties India has?

As per latest publication dated 23 September 2021 from Election Commission of India, and subsequent notifications, the total number of parties registered was 2858 including 6 national parties, 56 state parties and 2796 unrecognised parties.

Is India a two-party system?

Examples of nations with multi-party systems include Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Nepal, the Netherlands, Belgium, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, Ukraine, Spain, Sweden and Thailand.

  • indian polity

Model Code of Conduct Comes into Force for Lok Sabha Polls 2024

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

P2I Hinglish

  • UPSC Online Coaching
  • UPSC Exam 2024
  • UPSC Syllabus 2024
  • UPSC Prelims Syllabus 2024
  • UPSC Mains Syllabus 2024
  • UPSC Exam Pattern 2024
  • UPSC Age Limit 2024
  • UPSC Calendar 2024
  • UPSC Syllabus in Hindi
  • UPSC Full Form

PSIR Batch

Recent Posts

  • UPPSC Exam 2024
  • UPPSC Calendar
  • UPPSC Syllabus 2024
  • UPPSC Exam Pattern 2024
  • UPPSC Application Form 2024
  • UPPSC Eligibility Criteria 2024
  • UPPSC Admit card 2024
  • UPPSC Salary And Posts
  • UPPSC Cut Off
  • UPPSC Previous Year Paper

BPSC Exam 2024

  • BPSC 70th Notification
  • BPSC 69th Exam Analysis
  • BPSC Admit Card
  • BPSC Syllabus
  • BPSC Exam Pattern
  • BPSC Cut Off
  • BPSC Question Papers

IB ACIO Exam

  • IB ACIO Salary
  • IB ACIO Syllabus

CSIR SO ASO Exam

  • CSIR SO ASO Exam 2024
  • CSIR SO ASO Result 2024
  • CSIR SO ASO Exam Date
  • CSIR SO ASO Question Paper
  • CSIR SO ASO Answer key 2024
  • CSIR SO ASO Exam Date 2024
  • CSIR SO ASO Syllabus 2024

Study Material Categories

  • Daily The Hindu Analysis
  • Daily Practice Quiz for Prelims
  • Daily Answer Writing
  • Daily Current Affairs
  • Indian Polity
  • Environment and Ecology
  • Art and Culture
  • General Knowledge
  • Biographies

P2I English

IMPORTANT EXAMS

youtube

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Return & Refund Policy
  • Privacy Policy
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

UPSC: Latest News, IAS, IPS, UPSC Preparation

Enroll in ClearIAS UPSC Coaching Join Now Log In

Call us: +91-9605741000

Indian Polity and Governance – Constitution, Political System, Panchayat Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Last updated on August 30, 2023 by ClearIAS Team

Indian Polity and Governance

India is a vast landscape with cultural, linguistic, and geographical diversity.

One element that binds India as a nation together is its polity and governance structure.

The Indian political system is connected with the threads of history, culture, and the aspirations of its people.

From the remarkable Constitution that serves as the guiding light to the intricate Panchayat Raj system, this blog post delves into the multifaceted aspects of Indian polity and governance, encompassing the Constitution, the political system, Panchayat Raj, public policy, and rights issues.

Table of Contents

Indian Polity – The Political System

Polity means political system.

Indian Polity means the Indian Political System.

ClearIAS Online Courses

The Indian state has three organs – (1) legislature (which makes laws), (2) executive (which implements laws) and (3) judiciary (which interprets laws).

India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic.

Indian Political system derives its origin from the historical underpinnings , however, its present structure owes to the Indian Constitution .

India’s political system is federal in nature, with a union of states and territories.

At the Center – the Parliament, consisting of the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the People), is the legislative body responsible for making laws. The President, elected by an Electoral College, is the ceremonial head of the state. The Prime Minister, the head of government, leads the executive branch.

At the state level – the Legislative Council and Legislative Assembly make law. The governor is the ceremonial head of each state (provinces). The Chief Minister leads the executive branch.

India’s vibrant multi-party democracy ensures that voices from various sections of society are heard.

Know more about Indian Polity …

Governance – The Administrative Framework

Governance in India is a dynamic process that involves the management, administration, and regulation of the nation’s affairs.

India is a democracy. The real power lies with people. However, people elect representatives to make laws.

At the executive level, there are political executives (elected) and permanent executives or bureaucrats (selected).

Rooted in the principles of democracy, governance encompasses various levels of decision-making, from the central government to state administrations and local bodies.

The Indian political system is characterized by a multi-tiered structure that facilitates decentralization, with power shared between the Union and State governments. This complex framework is guided by the Constitution of India, which outlines the roles and responsibilities of different branches of government and upholds the fundamental rights and freedoms of its citizens.

As India continues to evolve as a global player, its governance strives to strike a balance between tradition and progress, inclusivity and efficiency, and the aspirations of its diverse population.

Know more about Governance …

The Indian Constitution: The fundamental law of the land

At the heart of India’s polity lies its Constitution, a remarkable document that reflects the vision of the nation’s founding fathers.

Adopted on January 26, 1950, the Constitution of India enshrines the values of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity.

It establishes a democratic framework with a division of powers among the Executive, Legislature, and Judiciary, ensuring a system of checks and balances.

Over the years, the Indian Constitution has demonstrated its adaptability to changing times and societal needs. Amendments have been made to reflect evolving priorities while preserving the core principles. This capacity for change has allowed the Constitution to remain relevant and effective in a rapidly evolving world.

Know more about Indian Constitution …

Panchayat Raj: Empowering Local Governance

A unique feature of Indian governance is the Panchayat Raj system.

Enshrined in the Constitution’s 73rd and 74th Amendments, it empowers local self-governance at the grassroots level.

Panchayats (village councils) and Municipalities play a pivotal role in rural and urban development, ensuring community participation and decentralization of power.

This system promotes effective governance by addressing local issues with the involvement of the people.

Know more about Panchayat Raj …

Public Policy: Bridging Aspirations and Reality

Public policy formulation and implementation are crucial for addressing the diverse needs of the population.

The government’s policies impact various sectors, including education, healthcare, infrastructure, and the economy. Initiatives like “ Make in India ,” “Swachh Bharat Abhiyan,” and “ Digital India ” showcase India’s commitment to progress and development.

Effective policy implementation requires collaboration between the government, civil society, and the private sector.

Know more about the Public Policy of India …

Rights Issues: Striving for Social Justice

Rights encompass a wide range of freedoms, privileges, and protections that individuals are inherently entitled to by virtue of being human.

Despite progress, our society still grapples with numerous rights issues.

  • Discrimination based on race, gender, religion, and economic status continues to persist.
  • Gender inequality deprives millions of women of their rights and opportunities.
  • The LGBTQ+ community faces challenges to their rights and acceptance.
  • Marginalized communities often confront unequal access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunities.
  • Environmental degradation threatens the right to a sustainable future.

These issues are not isolated; they intersect and amplify one another, underscoring the complexity of the fight for rights.

India’s journey towards a just society involves addressing rights issues, particularly those concerning marginalized and vulnerable communities.

The Constitution guarantees fundamental rights such as the right to equality, freedom of speech, and the right to life.

Additionally, affirmative action policies, as enshrined in the Constitution’s provisions for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes, aim to uplift historically disadvantaged groups.

Know more about Rights Issues…

Challenges and Future Prospects

While India’s polity and governance framework has achieved significant milestones, challenges persist. Corruption, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and socioeconomic disparities demand continuous attention. Additionally, maintaining the delicate balance between cultural diversity and national unity remains a constant endeavour.

The future of Indian polity and governance is promising, with technology-driven innovations, increased public awareness, and a growing emphasis on inclusive and sustainable development. Strengthening institutions, promoting transparency, and fostering citizen engagement will play a pivotal role in shaping the nation’s trajectory.

How to study Indian Polity and Governance?

Readers may note that this article on the Indian Polity and Governance is just an overview of the topic. There is a lot more to learn about Indian Polity and Governance.

We recommend the below sources to learn the subject.

  • Join  ClearIAS Video Course (Prelims cum Mains).
  • Go through  ClearIAS notes on Indian Polity and Governance.
  • Read  books on Indian Polity .

Indian polity and governance are a testament to the nation’s commitment to democracy, unity, and progress.

The Constitution acts as a guiding compass, while the political system, Panchayat Raj, public policies, and rights issues collectively contribute to the nation’s growth.

As India treads the path of development, it is imperative to uphold the principles of justice, liberty, equality, and fraternity to create a society that truly reflects the aspirations of its diverse populace.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Join ClearIAS Courses!

What makes ClearIAS special: Explore ClearIAS Courses

About ClearIAS Team

ClearIAS is one of the most trusted online learning platforms in India for UPSC preparation. Around 1 million aspirants learn from the ClearIAS every month.

Our training methods are different from traditional coaching. We give special emphasis on smart work and personal mentorship. Many UPSC toppers thank ClearIAS for our role in their success.

Download the ClearIAS mobile apps now to supplement your self-study efforts with ClearIAS smart-study training.

Reader Interactions

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Don’t lose out without playing the right game!

Follow the ClearIAS Prelims cum Mains (PCM) Integrated Approach.

Join ClearIAS PCM Course Now

UPSC Online Preparation

  • Union Public Service Commission (UPSC)
  • Indian Administrative Service (IAS)
  • Indian Police Service (IPS)
  • IAS Exam Eligibility
  • UPSC Free Study Materials
  • UPSC Exam Guidance
  • UPSC Prelims Test Series
  • UPSC Syllabus
  • UPSC Online
  • UPSC Prelims
  • UPSC Interview
  • UPSC Toppers
  • UPSC Previous Year Qns
  • UPSC Age Calculator
  • UPSC Calendar 2024
  • About ClearIAS
  • ClearIAS Programs
  • ClearIAS Fee Structure
  • IAS Coaching
  • UPSC Coaching
  • UPSC Online Coaching
  • ClearIAS Blog
  • Important Updates
  • Announcements
  • Book Review
  • ClearIAS App
  • Work with us
  • Advertise with us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Talk to Your Mentor

Featured on

ClearIAS Featured in The Hindu

and many more...

Admissions Open: ClearIAS Programs

Thank You 🙌

write an essay on political party system in india

IndiaCelebrating.com

Indian Politics Essay

India is the largest democracy in the world, with over 133.92 Crores people of different cultures and religions. Cultural aspects of north India are completely different from that of down south. Similarly, central India has its own distinct cultural and linguistic heritage, which is completely different from north east or far west, for that matter. Considering the huge cultural and religious diversity of India it is quite natural that every region has its own political representative.

This in turn makes Indian politics complicated than the western democracies with a single religion and culture in majority. A politician in India can only be successful when he/she manages to garner the support of different religions, cultures as well as caste. Politics in India isn’t easy and provides a quite challenging environment to even the most adept politicians.

Long and Short Essay on Indian Politics in English

Here we have given short and long essay on Indian Politics of varying lengths to help you with the topic in your exam.

You can use any Indian Politics essay for your exams/assignments, essay writing, debate competitions or other similar occasions.

After going through the essays you will get an insight of Indian politics and its structure.

You will also appreciate the diversity of India and the role that the politics plays in making the voices of people heard.

Short Essay on Indian Politics – Essay 1 (200 words)

India is a democratic country. The political leaders and parties in India come into power by voting system. Indian citizens above the age of 18 years acquire the right to vote and elect their leaders. However, although it is a government by the people, to the people and for the people, the common man still suffers a great deal. This is because there is a lot of corruption within the political system of our country.

Most of our political leaders are known to be corrupt. Their corrupt practices often come to limelight however they are seldom punished for the same. Such a mindset and behaviour of our politicians is affecting the country adversely. This is hampering the growth and development of the country to a vast extent. The common man of the country is suffering the most due to the corrupt Indian politics. On the other hand, the ministers are misusing their power and position to further their interests.

A huge amount of tax is being levied on the general public. Instead of using this money to develop the country, corrupt politicians are filling their bank accounts with it. This is the reason why we have not developed as much as we should have since independence.

The Indian political system must be changed for good to bring about a positive change in the society.

Essay on Indian Politics and Politicians – Essay 2 (300 words)

Introduction

India enjoys a democratic set up that gives the general public the right to vote and elect government. While this type of political system is strong and sound with clearly defined laws, in India it has been a prey to corrupt politicians ever since its inception.

The Need for Educated Ministers

In India, almost anyone can contest elections and come to power. The person contesting the elections must be a citizen of India and should be minimum 25 years of age. Apart from this, there are few other very simple clauses to contest elections in our country.

It is strange that there is no minimum education criterion to run the government in our country. It is ironic that the nation has witnessed many uneducated and non deserving candidates rising to higher powerful levels in politics purely on the basis of money and muscle strength. We cannot expect our country to grow in the right direction when the power is in the hands of such politicians.

There is a dire need to elect educated politicians for the development of our country. We can exercise NOTA if none of the politicians contesting the elections is well-qualified and worthy of the position.

Corruption at the Chore of Indian Politics

Most of the politicians are corrupt. They misuse their power to further their interests rather than serving the country. Every now and then there is news about ministers and their family members being involved in illegal practices and scams. Since they are in power they do not fear anyone and get away with the crime.

It is the common man who is suffering due to these corrupt politicians and their corrupt practices.

India, as a nation can prosper only if our political system is improved. We need educated, sincere and hard working politicians who work for the betterment of our country and not for their personal good.

Essay on Indian Political System – Essay 3 (400 words)

India is a federal parliamentary democratic republic. It is known to be world’s largest democracy. This Indian political system came into being in August 1947 as the country got freedom from the British rule. The constitution of India was written soon after and came into force on 26 th January 1950. It has seen several amendments since then. These changes have been brought about for the good of the society after a lot of consideration.

The Political Set up of India

The President of India is the head of the state in our country while the Prime Minister is the head of the government. We have an upper house referred to as the Rajya Sabha and a lower house called the Lok Sabha. The members of these houses are known as the Members of Parliament (MP). Here is a brief about these parliamentary houses:

  • There are a total of 545 members in the Lok Sabha.
  • 543 Lok Sabha members are elected by the general public of the country through election. 2 Lok Sabha members are elected directly by the President of the country from the Anglo Indian Community.
  • Among other requirements, one must be 25 years of age in order to be eligible for Lok Sabha membership.

Rajya Sabha

  • There are a total of 245 members in the Rajya Sabha.
  • 233 members of the Rajya Sabha are elected from States and Union Territories. 12 members are nominated by the President.
  • A candidate must be at least 30 years old in order to become a Rajya Sabha member.

The Members of Parliament is an essential part of the Indian political system and have the power to take many political decisions collectively.

Political Parties and Formation of Government

India has numerous political parties that contest the elections. The party that gets majority of votes comes into power. The government of India is formed for a total of five years.

For years, the Indian National Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party were the main political parties in the country that gave a tough competition to each other during elections. However, the recently formed Aam Aadmi Party headed by Arvind Kejriwal is now giving them a tough race.

The Indian political system largely suffers from corruption. Though the constitution of our country has clearly defined laws, the ministers are exempted from it for most part. They work as per their will and the general public suffers because of their corrupt means. The political system of the country needs serious reforms to ensure proper growth and development of the country.

Essay on Politics and Corruption – Essay 4 (500 words)

The terms, politics and corruption can be used synonymously when it comes to the Indian political system. It would be no exaggeration to say that the Indian political system is corrupted to the core.

Politics and Corruption

India is a land full of corrupt politicians who think about nothing but juggling more and more money by corrupt means. They work for their own benefit rather than the benefit of their country. The cases of the Indian politicians being involved in various kinds of scams have come forward many a times and these are a proof how they are bluffing the general public of the country to further their selfish motives.

Our leaders make numerous promises to the general public before coming to the power but forget about the same as they gain power. This happens in every election. The poor public gets fooled by the corrupt ministers each time. They vote for the politicians based on the promises they make in the hope of a better future. However, they are disheartened each time. Their problems remain unheard and they continue to live miserably.

Time to Bring About Change

The people of India need to wake up and realize that the political system will continue to stay as corrupt as it is till the time they allow it to be. They must realize that they are being befooled by the corrupt ministers time and again. The corrupt practices of the ministers are having negative repercussions on the entire society. The rise in the prices of petrol, diesel, food items and other commodities is all a result of the corruption in the system. Unequal wealth distribution and slow economic growth of the country is also because of the corrupt practices of our leaders.

It is unfortunate that willingly or unwillingly, the general public is becoming a party to the corrupt practices. One of the clear examples of this is bribery. While we allege the ministers and government officials of bribery we forget that we also promote the same by giving bribery at various places just to get our work done quickly and smoothly.

It is time for us to stand united to drive corruption out of our country. The only way to bring about a positive change in the political system is to raise voice unanimously. We need to realize that our strength lies in our unity and we must use it to improve the system.

Let the History Repeat itself

Just as the Indians stood united against the British, we must come together once again with the same dedication and feeling of patriotism to fight against corruption and the corrupt politicians. We must all think above our petty issues and work for a bigger cause. It is time to bring about reforms and stop the corrupt practices of the people in power. If our ancestors could struggle and sacrifice so much for our better future then why can’t we do the same?

The politicians of India are eating the country like parasites. Instead of complaining and yet being a part of this corrupt system, we must now act upon breaking it. We, Indians must unite to bring about reforms by ending corruption.

Long Essay on Women in Indian Politics – Essay 5 (600 words)

Indian society has always been male dominated. Women were restricted to the household chores for centuries. However, they are now being educated and exploring different fields. Women of our country are making a mark in different domains and Indian politics is one of them. The parliament of India has a good number of women members and the number is increasing with each election.

Women Politicians in India

Some Indian women who have made a mark in the field of Indian politics include:

Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi was the first female Prime Minister of India. She had a keen interest in Indian politics and helped her father Jawahar Lal Nehru, the first Indian Prime Minister, with his political agendas. She became the Congress President in 1959 and went on to become the third Prime Minister of the country in 1966. She dominated the political scene during her tenure and was known for taking many hard decisions.

Her persona was so strong that she was named the ‘Woman of the Millennium’ in an online poll done by BBC.

Mamata Banerjee

Mamta Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal has proved to be stronger and wiser than many male politicians. She believed in herself and thus gathered the courage to separate from the Indian National Congress and form a party of her own in 1998. She is the founder of the All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC or TMC). She held many positions of prominence in the Indian politics before becoming the West Bengal Chief Minister. She is popular among the people of West Bengal who regard her as their Didi (elder sister).

She made a place in the list of 100 Most Influential People in the World in Time Magazine’s 2012 edition.

Jayalalithaa

Jayalalithaa was known for her dynamic personality. She was extremely popular among the people of Tamil Nadu. Her popularity can very well be ascertained by the fact that she was elected as the Chief Minister of the state for five terms. People of Tamil Nadu regarded her as a mother figure. She was fondly called Amma. She is also remembered by the name Puratchi Thalaivi meaning revolutionary leader.

It was found that she had accumulated massive assets by indulging in corrupt practices owing to which she was sentenced to imprisonment for four years. Many people came out to show their discontentment against this verdict. They did so by setting themselves on fire or hanging themselves.

Pratibha Patil

Pratibha Patil served as the 12 th President of India. She came to power in the year 2007 and successfully completed her term in 2012.

She has served numerous roles in the Indian politics and has years of experience in the field. She began her political career at the age of 27 when she got elected to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly for the Jalgaon constituency. She went on to become the member of the Rajya Sabha and also served as a Member of Parliament for the Lok Sabha.

Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj is a well educated lady who served as a lawyer in the Supreme Court of India before joining the Indian politics. She is a popular leader of the Bhartiya Janta Party. She has served as the president of the party. She has been elected as the Member of Parliament seven times and thrice as the Member of the Legislative Assembly.

She has been serving as the Minister of External Affairs of India since May 2014. She had also served many other roles in the Indian politics.

India is lucky to have been blessed with such strong and dynamic women who have held positions of prominence in the Indian politics. They have set an example for the other woman to be confident, follow their dreams and work hard.

Related Information:

Speech on Politics

Related Posts

Money essay, music essay, importance of education essay, education essay, newspaper essay, my hobby essay.

  • Search Menu
  • Browse content in Arts and Humanities
  • Browse content in Archaeology
  • Anglo-Saxon and Medieval Archaeology
  • Archaeological Methodology and Techniques
  • Archaeology by Region
  • Archaeology of Religion
  • Archaeology of Trade and Exchange
  • Biblical Archaeology
  • Contemporary and Public Archaeology
  • Environmental Archaeology
  • Historical Archaeology
  • History and Theory of Archaeology
  • Industrial Archaeology
  • Landscape Archaeology
  • Mortuary Archaeology
  • Prehistoric Archaeology
  • Underwater Archaeology
  • Urban Archaeology
  • Zooarchaeology
  • Browse content in Architecture
  • Architectural Structure and Design
  • History of Architecture
  • Residential and Domestic Buildings
  • Theory of Architecture
  • Browse content in Art
  • Art Subjects and Themes
  • History of Art
  • Industrial and Commercial Art
  • Theory of Art
  • Biographical Studies
  • Byzantine Studies
  • Browse content in Classical Studies
  • Classical History
  • Classical Philosophy
  • Classical Mythology
  • Classical Literature
  • Classical Reception
  • Classical Art and Architecture
  • Classical Oratory and Rhetoric
  • Greek and Roman Epigraphy
  • Greek and Roman Law
  • Greek and Roman Archaeology
  • Greek and Roman Papyrology
  • Late Antiquity
  • Religion in the Ancient World
  • Digital Humanities
  • Browse content in History
  • Colonialism and Imperialism
  • Diplomatic History
  • Environmental History
  • Genealogy, Heraldry, Names, and Honours
  • Genocide and Ethnic Cleansing
  • Historical Geography
  • History by Period
  • History of Agriculture
  • History of Education
  • History of Emotions
  • History of Gender and Sexuality
  • Industrial History
  • Intellectual History
  • International History
  • Labour History
  • Legal and Constitutional History
  • Local and Family History
  • Maritime History
  • Military History
  • National Liberation and Post-Colonialism
  • Oral History
  • Political History
  • Public History
  • Regional and National History
  • Revolutions and Rebellions
  • Slavery and Abolition of Slavery
  • Social and Cultural History
  • Theory, Methods, and Historiography
  • Urban History
  • World History
  • Browse content in Language Teaching and Learning
  • Language Learning (Specific Skills)
  • Language Teaching Theory and Methods
  • Browse content in Linguistics
  • Applied Linguistics
  • Cognitive Linguistics
  • Computational Linguistics
  • Forensic Linguistics
  • Grammar, Syntax and Morphology
  • Historical and Diachronic Linguistics
  • History of English
  • Language Acquisition
  • Language Variation
  • Language Families
  • Language Evolution
  • Language Reference
  • Lexicography
  • Linguistic Theories
  • Linguistic Typology
  • Linguistic Anthropology
  • Phonetics and Phonology
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Translation and Interpretation
  • Writing Systems
  • Browse content in Literature
  • Bibliography
  • Children's Literature Studies
  • Literary Studies (Asian)
  • Literary Studies (European)
  • Literary Studies (Eco-criticism)
  • Literary Studies (Modernism)
  • Literary Studies (Romanticism)
  • Literary Studies (American)
  • Literary Studies - World
  • Literary Studies (1500 to 1800)
  • Literary Studies (19th Century)
  • Literary Studies (20th Century onwards)
  • Literary Studies (African American Literature)
  • Literary Studies (British and Irish)
  • Literary Studies (Early and Medieval)
  • Literary Studies (Fiction, Novelists, and Prose Writers)
  • Literary Studies (Gender Studies)
  • Literary Studies (Graphic Novels)
  • Literary Studies (History of the Book)
  • Literary Studies (Plays and Playwrights)
  • Literary Studies (Poetry and Poets)
  • Literary Studies (Postcolonial Literature)
  • Literary Studies (Queer Studies)
  • Literary Studies (Science Fiction)
  • Literary Studies (Travel Literature)
  • Literary Studies (War Literature)
  • Literary Studies (Women's Writing)
  • Literary Theory and Cultural Studies
  • Mythology and Folklore
  • Shakespeare Studies and Criticism
  • Browse content in Media Studies
  • Browse content in Music
  • Applied Music
  • Dance and Music
  • Ethics in Music
  • Ethnomusicology
  • Gender and Sexuality in Music
  • Medicine and Music
  • Music Cultures
  • Music and Religion
  • Music and Culture
  • Music and Media
  • Music Education and Pedagogy
  • Music Theory and Analysis
  • Musical Scores, Lyrics, and Libretti
  • Musical Structures, Styles, and Techniques
  • Musicology and Music History
  • Performance Practice and Studies
  • Race and Ethnicity in Music
  • Sound Studies
  • Browse content in Performing Arts
  • Browse content in Philosophy
  • Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art
  • Epistemology
  • Feminist Philosophy
  • History of Western Philosophy
  • Metaphysics
  • Moral Philosophy
  • Non-Western Philosophy
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Philosophy of Action
  • Philosophy of Law
  • Philosophy of Religion
  • Philosophy of Language
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Philosophy of Perception
  • Philosophy of Mathematics and Logic
  • Practical Ethics
  • Social and Political Philosophy
  • Browse content in Religion
  • Biblical Studies
  • Christianity
  • East Asian Religions
  • History of Religion
  • Judaism and Jewish Studies
  • Qumran Studies
  • Religion and Education
  • Religion and Health
  • Religion and Politics
  • Religion and Science
  • Religion and Law
  • Religion and Art, Literature, and Music
  • Religious Studies
  • Browse content in Society and Culture
  • Cookery, Food, and Drink
  • Cultural Studies
  • Customs and Traditions
  • Ethical Issues and Debates
  • Hobbies, Games, Arts and Crafts
  • Lifestyle, Home, and Garden
  • Natural world, Country Life, and Pets
  • Popular Beliefs and Controversial Knowledge
  • Sports and Outdoor Recreation
  • Technology and Society
  • Travel and Holiday
  • Visual Culture
  • Browse content in Law
  • Arbitration
  • Browse content in Company and Commercial Law
  • Commercial Law
  • Company Law
  • Browse content in Comparative Law
  • Systems of Law
  • Competition Law
  • Browse content in Constitutional and Administrative Law
  • Government Powers
  • Judicial Review
  • Local Government Law
  • Military and Defence Law
  • Parliamentary and Legislative Practice
  • Construction Law
  • Contract Law
  • Browse content in Criminal Law
  • Criminal Procedure
  • Criminal Evidence Law
  • Sentencing and Punishment
  • Employment and Labour Law
  • Environment and Energy Law
  • Browse content in Financial Law
  • Banking Law
  • Insolvency Law
  • History of Law
  • Human Rights and Immigration
  • Intellectual Property Law
  • Browse content in International Law
  • Private International Law and Conflict of Laws
  • Public International Law
  • IT and Communications Law
  • Jurisprudence and Philosophy of Law
  • Law and Politics
  • Law and Society
  • Browse content in Legal System and Practice
  • Courts and Procedure
  • Legal Skills and Practice
  • Primary Sources of Law
  • Regulation of Legal Profession
  • Medical and Healthcare Law
  • Browse content in Policing
  • Criminal Investigation and Detection
  • Police and Security Services
  • Police Procedure and Law
  • Police Regional Planning
  • Browse content in Property Law
  • Personal Property Law
  • Study and Revision
  • Terrorism and National Security Law
  • Browse content in Trusts Law
  • Wills and Probate or Succession
  • Browse content in Medicine and Health
  • Browse content in Allied Health Professions
  • Arts Therapies
  • Clinical Science
  • Dietetics and Nutrition
  • Occupational Therapy
  • Operating Department Practice
  • Physiotherapy
  • Radiography
  • Speech and Language Therapy
  • Browse content in Anaesthetics
  • General Anaesthesia
  • Neuroanaesthesia
  • Browse content in Clinical Medicine
  • Acute Medicine
  • Cardiovascular Medicine
  • Clinical Genetics
  • Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics
  • Dermatology
  • Endocrinology and Diabetes
  • Gastroenterology
  • Genito-urinary Medicine
  • Geriatric Medicine
  • Infectious Diseases
  • Medical Oncology
  • Medical Toxicology
  • Pain Medicine
  • Palliative Medicine
  • Rehabilitation Medicine
  • Respiratory Medicine and Pulmonology
  • Rheumatology
  • Sleep Medicine
  • Sports and Exercise Medicine
  • Clinical Neuroscience
  • Community Medical Services
  • Critical Care
  • Emergency Medicine
  • Forensic Medicine
  • Haematology
  • History of Medicine
  • Browse content in Medical Dentistry
  • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
  • Paediatric Dentistry
  • Restorative Dentistry and Orthodontics
  • Surgical Dentistry
  • Medical Ethics
  • Browse content in Medical Skills
  • Clinical Skills
  • Communication Skills
  • Nursing Skills
  • Surgical Skills
  • Medical Statistics and Methodology
  • Browse content in Neurology
  • Clinical Neurophysiology
  • Neuropathology
  • Nursing Studies
  • Browse content in Obstetrics and Gynaecology
  • Gynaecology
  • Occupational Medicine
  • Ophthalmology
  • Otolaryngology (ENT)
  • Browse content in Paediatrics
  • Neonatology
  • Browse content in Pathology
  • Chemical Pathology
  • Clinical Cytogenetics and Molecular Genetics
  • Histopathology
  • Medical Microbiology and Virology
  • Patient Education and Information
  • Browse content in Pharmacology
  • Psychopharmacology
  • Browse content in Popular Health
  • Caring for Others
  • Complementary and Alternative Medicine
  • Self-help and Personal Development
  • Browse content in Preclinical Medicine
  • Cell Biology
  • Molecular Biology and Genetics
  • Reproduction, Growth and Development
  • Primary Care
  • Professional Development in Medicine
  • Browse content in Psychiatry
  • Addiction Medicine
  • Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
  • Forensic Psychiatry
  • Learning Disabilities
  • Old Age Psychiatry
  • Psychotherapy
  • Browse content in Public Health and Epidemiology
  • Epidemiology
  • Public Health
  • Browse content in Radiology
  • Clinical Radiology
  • Interventional Radiology
  • Nuclear Medicine
  • Radiation Oncology
  • Reproductive Medicine
  • Browse content in Surgery
  • Cardiothoracic Surgery
  • Gastro-intestinal and Colorectal Surgery
  • General Surgery
  • Neurosurgery
  • Paediatric Surgery
  • Peri-operative Care
  • Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
  • Surgical Oncology
  • Transplant Surgery
  • Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery
  • Vascular Surgery
  • Browse content in Science and Mathematics
  • Browse content in Biological Sciences
  • Aquatic Biology
  • Biochemistry
  • Bioinformatics and Computational Biology
  • Developmental Biology
  • Ecology and Conservation
  • Evolutionary Biology
  • Genetics and Genomics
  • Microbiology
  • Molecular and Cell Biology
  • Natural History
  • Plant Sciences and Forestry
  • Research Methods in Life Sciences
  • Structural Biology
  • Systems Biology
  • Zoology and Animal Sciences
  • Browse content in Chemistry
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Computational Chemistry
  • Crystallography
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • Industrial Chemistry
  • Inorganic Chemistry
  • Materials Chemistry
  • Medicinal Chemistry
  • Mineralogy and Gems
  • Organic Chemistry
  • Physical Chemistry
  • Polymer Chemistry
  • Study and Communication Skills in Chemistry
  • Theoretical Chemistry
  • Browse content in Computer Science
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Architecture and Logic Design
  • Game Studies
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Mathematical Theory of Computation
  • Programming Languages
  • Software Engineering
  • Systems Analysis and Design
  • Virtual Reality
  • Browse content in Computing
  • Business Applications
  • Computer Security
  • Computer Games
  • Computer Networking and Communications
  • Digital Lifestyle
  • Graphical and Digital Media Applications
  • Operating Systems
  • Browse content in Earth Sciences and Geography
  • Atmospheric Sciences
  • Environmental Geography
  • Geology and the Lithosphere
  • Maps and Map-making
  • Meteorology and Climatology
  • Oceanography and Hydrology
  • Palaeontology
  • Physical Geography and Topography
  • Regional Geography
  • Soil Science
  • Urban Geography
  • Browse content in Engineering and Technology
  • Agriculture and Farming
  • Biological Engineering
  • Civil Engineering, Surveying, and Building
  • Electronics and Communications Engineering
  • Energy Technology
  • Engineering (General)
  • Environmental Science, Engineering, and Technology
  • History of Engineering and Technology
  • Mechanical Engineering and Materials
  • Technology of Industrial Chemistry
  • Transport Technology and Trades
  • Browse content in Environmental Science
  • Applied Ecology (Environmental Science)
  • Conservation of the Environment (Environmental Science)
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Environmental Science)
  • Management of Land and Natural Resources (Environmental Science)
  • Natural Disasters (Environmental Science)
  • Nuclear Issues (Environmental Science)
  • Pollution and Threats to the Environment (Environmental Science)
  • Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Environmental Science)
  • History of Science and Technology
  • Browse content in Materials Science
  • Ceramics and Glasses
  • Composite Materials
  • Metals, Alloying, and Corrosion
  • Nanotechnology
  • Browse content in Mathematics
  • Applied Mathematics
  • Biomathematics and Statistics
  • History of Mathematics
  • Mathematical Education
  • Mathematical Finance
  • Mathematical Analysis
  • Numerical and Computational Mathematics
  • Probability and Statistics
  • Pure Mathematics
  • Browse content in Neuroscience
  • Cognition and Behavioural Neuroscience
  • Development of the Nervous System
  • Disorders of the Nervous System
  • History of Neuroscience
  • Invertebrate Neurobiology
  • Molecular and Cellular Systems
  • Neuroendocrinology and Autonomic Nervous System
  • Neuroscientific Techniques
  • Sensory and Motor Systems
  • Browse content in Physics
  • Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics
  • Biological and Medical Physics
  • Classical Mechanics
  • Computational Physics
  • Condensed Matter Physics
  • Electromagnetism, Optics, and Acoustics
  • History of Physics
  • Mathematical and Statistical Physics
  • Measurement Science
  • Nuclear Physics
  • Particles and Fields
  • Plasma Physics
  • Quantum Physics
  • Relativity and Gravitation
  • Semiconductor and Mesoscopic Physics
  • Browse content in Psychology
  • Affective Sciences
  • Clinical Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Criminal and Forensic Psychology
  • Developmental Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Health Psychology
  • History and Systems in Psychology
  • Music Psychology
  • Neuropsychology
  • Organizational Psychology
  • Psychological Assessment and Testing
  • Psychology of Human-Technology Interaction
  • Psychology Professional Development and Training
  • Research Methods in Psychology
  • Social Psychology
  • Browse content in Social Sciences
  • Browse content in Anthropology
  • Anthropology of Religion
  • Human Evolution
  • Medical Anthropology
  • Physical Anthropology
  • Regional Anthropology
  • Social and Cultural Anthropology
  • Theory and Practice of Anthropology
  • Browse content in Business and Management
  • Business Strategy
  • Business History
  • Business Ethics
  • Business and Government
  • Business and Technology
  • Business and the Environment
  • Comparative Management
  • Corporate Governance
  • Corporate Social Responsibility
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Health Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Industrial and Employment Relations
  • Industry Studies
  • Information and Communication Technologies
  • International Business
  • Knowledge Management
  • Management and Management Techniques
  • Operations Management
  • Organizational Theory and Behaviour
  • Pensions and Pension Management
  • Public and Nonprofit Management
  • Strategic Management
  • Supply Chain Management
  • Browse content in Criminology and Criminal Justice
  • Criminal Justice
  • Criminology
  • Forms of Crime
  • International and Comparative Criminology
  • Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice
  • Development Studies
  • Browse content in Economics
  • Agricultural, Environmental, and Natural Resource Economics
  • Asian Economics
  • Behavioural Finance
  • Behavioural Economics and Neuroeconomics
  • Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
  • Economic Systems
  • Economic Methodology
  • Economic History
  • Economic Development and Growth
  • Financial Markets
  • Financial Institutions and Services
  • General Economics and Teaching
  • Health, Education, and Welfare
  • History of Economic Thought
  • International Economics
  • Labour and Demographic Economics
  • Law and Economics
  • Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics
  • Microeconomics
  • Public Economics
  • Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
  • Welfare Economics
  • Browse content in Education
  • Adult Education and Continuous Learning
  • Care and Counselling of Students
  • Early Childhood and Elementary Education
  • Educational Equipment and Technology
  • Educational Strategies and Policy
  • Higher and Further Education
  • Organization and Management of Education
  • Philosophy and Theory of Education
  • Schools Studies
  • Secondary Education
  • Teaching of a Specific Subject
  • Teaching of Specific Groups and Special Educational Needs
  • Teaching Skills and Techniques
  • Browse content in Environment
  • Applied Ecology (Social Science)
  • Climate Change
  • Conservation of the Environment (Social Science)
  • Environmentalist Thought and Ideology (Social Science)
  • Natural Disasters (Environment)
  • Social Impact of Environmental Issues (Social Science)
  • Browse content in Human Geography
  • Cultural Geography
  • Economic Geography
  • Political Geography
  • Browse content in Interdisciplinary Studies
  • Communication Studies
  • Museums, Libraries, and Information Sciences
  • Browse content in Politics
  • African Politics
  • Asian Politics
  • Chinese Politics
  • Comparative Politics
  • Conflict Politics
  • Elections and Electoral Studies
  • Environmental Politics
  • European Union
  • Foreign Policy
  • Gender and Politics
  • Human Rights and Politics
  • Indian Politics
  • International Relations
  • International Organization (Politics)
  • International Political Economy
  • Irish Politics
  • Latin American Politics
  • Middle Eastern Politics
  • Political Methodology
  • Political Communication
  • Political Philosophy
  • Political Sociology
  • Political Theory
  • Political Behaviour
  • Political Economy
  • Political Institutions
  • Politics and Law
  • Public Administration
  • Public Policy
  • Quantitative Political Methodology
  • Regional Political Studies
  • Russian Politics
  • Security Studies
  • State and Local Government
  • UK Politics
  • US Politics
  • Browse content in Regional and Area Studies
  • African Studies
  • Asian Studies
  • East Asian Studies
  • Japanese Studies
  • Latin American Studies
  • Middle Eastern Studies
  • Native American Studies
  • Scottish Studies
  • Browse content in Research and Information
  • Research Methods
  • Browse content in Social Work
  • Addictions and Substance Misuse
  • Adoption and Fostering
  • Care of the Elderly
  • Child and Adolescent Social Work
  • Couple and Family Social Work
  • Developmental and Physical Disabilities Social Work
  • Direct Practice and Clinical Social Work
  • Emergency Services
  • Human Behaviour and the Social Environment
  • International and Global Issues in Social Work
  • Mental and Behavioural Health
  • Social Justice and Human Rights
  • Social Policy and Advocacy
  • Social Work and Crime and Justice
  • Social Work Macro Practice
  • Social Work Practice Settings
  • Social Work Research and Evidence-based Practice
  • Welfare and Benefit Systems
  • Browse content in Sociology
  • Childhood Studies
  • Community Development
  • Comparative and Historical Sociology
  • Economic Sociology
  • Gender and Sexuality
  • Gerontology and Ageing
  • Health, Illness, and Medicine
  • Marriage and the Family
  • Migration Studies
  • Occupations, Professions, and Work
  • Organizations
  • Population and Demography
  • Race and Ethnicity
  • Social Theory
  • Social Movements and Social Change
  • Social Research and Statistics
  • Social Stratification, Inequality, and Mobility
  • Sociology of Religion
  • Sociology of Education
  • Sport and Leisure
  • Urban and Rural Studies
  • Browse content in Warfare and Defence
  • Defence Strategy, Planning, and Research
  • Land Forces and Warfare
  • Military Administration
  • Military Life and Institutions
  • Naval Forces and Warfare
  • Other Warfare and Defence Issues
  • Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution
  • Weapons and Equipment

Political Science: Volume 2: Indian Democracy

  • < Previous chapter
  • Next chapter >

Political Science: Volume 2: Indian Democracy

5 5 Party System and Party Politics in India

  • Published: September 2013
  • Cite Icon Cite
  • Permissions Icon Permissions

This chapter examines works and writings related to the history of the party system and party politics in India. It focuses on causes, nature, and consequences of the transformation of the party system. It also discusses the ideology, support base, and vote mobilization strategies of parties. The chapter elucidates the emergence of a coalitional multiparty system and the rise of ideological differences in the mobilization of party support based on appeals to caste, religion, region, and ethnicity.

Signed in as

Institutional accounts.

  • GoogleCrawler [DO NOT DELETE]
  • Google Scholar Indexing

Personal account

  • Sign in with email/username & password
  • Get email alerts
  • Save searches
  • Purchase content
  • Activate your purchase/trial code

Institutional access

  • Sign in with a library card Sign in with username/password Recommend to your librarian
  • Institutional account management
  • Get help with access

Access to content on Oxford Academic is often provided through institutional subscriptions and purchases. If you are a member of an institution with an active account, you may be able to access content in one of the following ways:

IP based access

Typically, access is provided across an institutional network to a range of IP addresses. This authentication occurs automatically, and it is not possible to sign out of an IP authenticated account.

Sign in through your institution

Choose this option to get remote access when outside your institution. Shibboleth/Open Athens technology is used to provide single sign-on between your institution’s website and Oxford Academic.

  • Click Sign in through your institution.
  • Select your institution from the list provided, which will take you to your institution's website to sign in.
  • When on the institution site, please use the credentials provided by your institution. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.
  • Following successful sign in, you will be returned to Oxford Academic.

If your institution is not listed or you cannot sign in to your institution’s website, please contact your librarian or administrator.

Sign in with a library card

Enter your library card number to sign in. If you cannot sign in, please contact your librarian.

Society Members

Society member access to a journal is achieved in one of the following ways:

Sign in through society site

Many societies offer single sign-on between the society website and Oxford Academic. If you see ‘Sign in through society site’ in the sign in pane within a journal:

  • Click Sign in through society site.
  • When on the society site, please use the credentials provided by that society. Do not use an Oxford Academic personal account.

If you do not have a society account or have forgotten your username or password, please contact your society.

Sign in using a personal account

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members. See below.

A personal account can be used to get email alerts, save searches, purchase content, and activate subscriptions.

Some societies use Oxford Academic personal accounts to provide access to their members.

Viewing your signed in accounts

Click the account icon in the top right to:

  • View your signed in personal account and access account management features.
  • View the institutional accounts that are providing access.

Signed in but can't access content

Oxford Academic is home to a wide variety of products. The institutional subscription may not cover the content that you are trying to access. If you believe you should have access to that content, please contact your librarian.

For librarians and administrators, your personal account also provides access to institutional account management. Here you will find options to view and activate subscriptions, manage institutional settings and access options, access usage statistics, and more.

Our books are available by subscription or purchase to libraries and institutions.

  • About Oxford Academic
  • Publish journals with us
  • University press partners
  • What we publish
  • New features  
  • Open access
  • Rights and permissions
  • Accessibility
  • Advertising
  • Media enquiries
  • Oxford University Press
  • Oxford Languages
  • University of Oxford

Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide

  • Copyright © 2024 Oxford University Press
  • Cookie settings
  • Cookie policy
  • Privacy policy
  • Legal notice

This Feature Is Available To Subscribers Only

Sign In or Create an Account

This PDF is available to Subscribers Only

For full access to this pdf, sign in to an existing account, or purchase an annual subscription.

Writing Universe - logo

  • Environment
  • Information Science
  • Social Issues
  • Argumentative
  • Cause and Effect
  • Classification
  • Compare and Contrast
  • Descriptive
  • Exemplification
  • Informative
  • Controversial
  • Exploratory
  • What Is an Essay
  • Length of an Essay
  • Generate Ideas
  • Types of Essays
  • Structuring an Essay
  • Outline For Essay
  • Essay Introduction
  • Thesis Statement
  • Body of an Essay
  • Writing a Conclusion
  • Essay Writing Tips
  • Drafting an Essay
  • Revision Process
  • Fix a Broken Essay
  • Format of an Essay
  • Essay Examples
  • Essay Checklist
  • Essay Writing Service
  • Pay for Research Paper
  • Write My Research Paper
  • Write My Essay
  • Custom Essay Writing Service
  • Admission Essay Writing Service
  • Pay for Essay
  • Academic Ghostwriting
  • Write My Book Report
  • Case Study Writing Service
  • Dissertation Writing Service
  • Coursework Writing Service
  • Lab Report Writing Service
  • Do My Assignment
  • Buy College Papers
  • Capstone Project Writing Service
  • Buy Research Paper
  • Custom Essays for Sale

Can’t find a perfect paper?

  • Free Essay Samples

The Political System of India

Updated 29 August 2022

Subject Politics

Downloads 57

Category Government

Topic Indian Democracy

The political system of India is remarkably diverse, with no ideological or electoral hegemony. This article is part of a series on Indian democracy, and will examine some of the key institutions of the system. This article focuses on the Party system, class privileges, and inequity. It also looks at how democracy has developed over the years. Read on to learn more. This article is a short summary of some of the main challenges facing India's democracy.

The increasing inequality in India coincides with gains made by the poor in legal rights. This reflects the strength of the democratic processes. However, citizens are still not equal before the market. This unequal endowment, subordination to the market, and lack of access to opportunity perpetuate a society divided by inequities. Despite a growing public debate and political pressure, the state has not responded to demands for redistribution and has thus allowed the level of inequality to continue to rise. The premise behind equality is that everyone should enjoy the same rights and opportunities. This principle is called 'dignity' and refers to respect from others. This is a basic human right. However, in today's India, formal equality obscures deep social inequities. The lack of equality, despite the formal equality in the country, is so deep that the idea of an equal society is often existentially troubling.

Institutionalization of Democracy

In How India Became Democratic, Ornit Shani explores the story of the most radical democratic experiment in human history. She focuses on the institutionalization of democracy in India and offers a new perspective on the process. The task of turning all adult Indians into voters was daunting, largely because the country had just experienced partition and needed to draw up a new constitution. The drafting of the 1950 constitution grounded the abstract notion of universal franchise in a practical, concrete structure. In the past few years, the institution of formal panchayats in rural areas has been strengthened, and it is expected that this form of local government will continue to expand. As a result, these councils are now often involved in implementing development programs on behalf of the state, and they are able to link state actors with ordinary rural citizens. Despite these gains, the institutionalization of democracy in India is not without its challenges.

Party System

The Indian party system has gone through profound change in the last decade. The Congress Party, which brought India independence, has been in power for most of that time. Today, however, political parties that draw their support from specific groups have more influence than ever. The book Democracy Without Associations analyses the reasons why caste and religious parties are now dominant in Indian democracy. The article also makes a prediction about the future of Indian democracy. In the coming decades, India may move away from a single-party system to a multi-party system. While it is possible to have multiple political parties in a democracy, the two most popular types of party systems are the one-party system and the multi-party system. Both are based on the principle of representation. The primary difference between these two systems is the number of parties. In a one-party system, individual candidates cannot promise major changes to the policy. As a result, Indian politics has evolved from a system of tribalism into a multi-party system.

Class Privileges

A recent study suggests that class privileges are a powerful determinant of political power in India. The social structures of the Indian subcontinent have long been based on class. In India, the upper caste has long enjoyed privilege, while the lower caste is not so lucky. Even the upper caste is not exempt from the caste system. In fact, the lower caste is the majority of the population in most places, but this is not a fair representation. The Hindu community enjoys a unique position in Indian politics because it is caste-based. It is a privileged group that has long enjoyed social and political privileges. The reservation of OBCs exposed the general category of upper caste. The UK has an equality law that covers discrimination based on caste. This law threatens to brand cosmopolitan Hindus as lower castes and to undermine incorporated Hindu identity.

Deadline is approaching?

Wait no more. Let us write you an essay from scratch

Related Essays

Related topics.

Find Out the Cost of Your Paper

Type your email

By clicking “Submit”, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy policy. Sometimes you will receive account related emails.

  • Political Parties

In our country, there are several political parties that stand for the election . The presence of the political party is actually a healthy situation for the nation. It gives people a choice to make a more evolved and effective decision. Moreover, it drives the other political parties to get better than their competitors to win elections and rule the nation. So, this is the basic backdrop of political parties. But what is a political party? Why do we need a political party? Let’s find out.

Suggested Videos

write an essay on political party system in india

Introduction to Political Party

A political party basically, is a group of people. These people come together to contest elections in order to hold power in the government . It is a way to mobilize voters to support common sets of interests, concerns, and goals. The primary role of the political party is to fix the political agenda and policies. So, each party tries to persuade people by claiming their policies are better than those of other parties.

Political Parties

In a broader perspective, a political party is a means via which the people can speak to the government and have a say in the governance of any country. So, every political party must have three key components:

  • Active Members

Access and learn all the chapters of Political Science here .

Functions of a Political Party

Every political party has a number of functions to perform. Here we have listed some of them.

  • A political party contests elections by putting up candidates.
  • In countries like the USA, the candidates are selected by members and supporters of a party.
  • On the other hand, in countries like India , the candidates are chosen by top party leaders.
  • Every party has different policies and programmes. Voters make a choice in accordance with the policies and programmes liked by them.
  • In a democratic country , a large group of people that has certain similar opinions group together and form a party. Then then, give a direction to the policies adopted by the government.
  • Those parties which lose elections form the opposition. They voice different views and criticise the government for their failures and mobilize opposition to the government.
  • Political parties shape public opinion. With the help of the pressure groups, the parties launch movements for solving problems faced by the people.
  • Parties even offer access to government machinery and welfare schemes. The local party leader serves as a  link between the citizen and the government officer.

What is the concept of Federalism? .

Importance of Political Parties

A democracy cannot exist without the presence of a political party. This is clear from the function performed by the political parties. In case, there are no political parties then:

  • Every candidate in the election would be an independent candidate. Any individual candidate does not have the efficiency to promise any major policy change to the people. In such a scenario, no one will be responsible for how the country is run.
  • In the long run, only a representative democracy can survive. Political parties are the agencies that gather different views on various issues and present them to the government.

Party System

There are three types of party systems:

  •  One-Party System

Two-Party System

Multi-party system, one-party system.

In a one-party system, there is no competition in this system. Here, the lone party nominates the candidates and the voters have only two choices i.e.

  • Not to vote at all or
  • write ‘yes’ or ‘no’ against the name of the candidates nominated by the party

Such a political system has been prominent in authoritarian regimes and communist countries such as China, North Korea, and Cuba. Before the collapse of communism, this system was also prevalent in USSR.

What are the Outcomes of Democracy?

In a two-party system, the power shifts between two major, dominant parties. So, for winning the elections, the winner will have to get the maximum number of votes. However, please know that maximum number of votes is not equivalent to a majority of votes.

So, the smaller parties tend to merge with the bigger parties or they drop out of elections. Such a  parliamentary system prevails in Canada and Great Britain, in which there are two parties holding the maximum numbers of seats.

The third and the most common form of government is the multi-party system. In such a system, there are three or more parties which have the capacity to gain control of the government separately or in a coalition.

In case, no party achieves a clear majority of the legislative seats, then several parties join forces and form a coalition government. Countries like India, follow a multi-party system. Some people are of the view, that a multi-party system often leads to political instability in a country.

Solved Example for you

Q1: Who among the following is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party?

  •  Kanshi Ram
  •  Sahu Maharaj
  •  B.R. Ambedkar
  •  Jotiba Phule

Sol:   The correct answer is the option ”a”.  Kanshi Ram is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party

Customize your course in 30 seconds

Which class are you in.

tutor

3 responses to “Political Parties”

I thought it was interesting what you said about democracy not being able to exist without political parties. My sister is just starting to vote, but she has no idea what her political beliefs are. I bet she would benefit from reading this article so that she can vote well.

Democracy will be realised more in a No Party System than in any party system.

In Afghanistan there is no major party but democracry is running smoothly. The independent candidates winning the presidential campaign from last 19 years.

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Download the App

Google Play

Book cover

Comparative Democratization and Peaceful Change in Single-Party-Dominant Countries pp 339–361 Cite as

The Political Party System of India: From One-Party Dominance to No-Party Dominance

  • Renu Khator  

113 Accesses

T he Indian party system is one of the most paradoxical systems in the world. As a system, it is rigid enough to withstand continuous defections and yet fluid enough to absorb new alliances; inclusive enough to accommodate the immense diversity and yet exclusive enough to be controlled by one family; mature enough to allow peaceful turnovers and yet inapt enough to arouse spontaneous violence; and, finally, old enough to become “one of the world’s oldest” and yet youthful enough to produce new parties overnight. Its ever-evolving character, with strong qualities of adaptation and resilience, defies the conventional wisdom on political parties.

  • Political Party
  • Political Competition
  • Party System
  • Opposition Parti
  • Parliamentary Election

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Unable to display preview.  Download preview PDF.

T. J. Pempel, “Introduction,” in T. J. Pempel, ed., Uncommon Democracies: The One-Party Dominant Regimes (Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 1990),

Google Scholar  

Paul R. Brass, The Politics of India since Independence (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).

Book   Google Scholar  

Paul R. Brass, “Democracy and Political Participation in India,” in Myron L. Cohen, ed., Asia: Case Studies in the Social Sciences: A Guide for Teaching (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1992).

Myron Weiner, Party-Building in a New Nation: Indian National Congress (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1967).

Stanley A. Kochanek, The Congress Party of India (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1968).

Rajni Kothari, Politics and the People (New York: Horizon, 1989).

Paul R. Brass agues that due to these practices, the Congress (I) Party turned into a cadre party in the 1970s–80s. See, Paul R. Brass, Caste, Faction and Party in Indian Politics (Delhi: Chanakya, 1983).

There is a near consensus on the after-effects of Mrs. Gandhi’s governance style. See, Henry C. Hart, ed., Indira Gandhi’s India: A Political System Reap-praided (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1976).

Wyndraeth H. Morris-Jones, “Dominance and Dissent,” in Morris-Jones, Politics Mainly Indian (Madras: Orient Longman, 1978), p.217.

Robert L. Hardgrave & Stanley A. Kochanek, India: Government and Politics in a Developing Nation (Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1993), p.258.

Pradeep K. Chhibber, “The puzzle of Indian Politics: Social Cleavages and the Indian Party System,” in British Journal of Political Science , vol. 19 (1989): p.191–212.

Article   Google Scholar  

C. Rangarajan, et alia, Strategies for Industrial Development in 1980s (New Delhi: Oxford University, 1981).

Download references

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Editor information

Copyright information.

© 1999 Marco Rimanelli

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Khator, R. (1999). The Political Party System of India: From One-Party Dominance to No-Party Dominance. In: Rimanelli, M. (eds) Comparative Democratization and Peaceful Change in Single-Party-Dominant Countries. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780312292676_13

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1057/9780312292676_13

Publisher Name : Palgrave Macmillan, New York

Print ISBN : 978-1-349-41497-0

Online ISBN : 978-0-312-29267-6

eBook Packages : Palgrave Political & Intern. Studies Collection Political Science and International Studies (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

  • Publish with us

Policies and ethics

  • Find a journal
  • Track your research

Your Article Library

Evolution of political party system in india.

write an essay on political party system in india

ADVERTISEMENTS:

Evolution of Political Party System in India!

The contemporary party system in India developed originally in the context of the struggle for freedom and since 1950 within the framework of parliamentary government.

The centre of political activity during the national movement was the Indian National Congress which was founded in 1885. In course of time, the Congress attracted cross-sections of Indian Community, and it became a mass organisation.

In this background, three factors appear as vital in determining the pattern of the Indian party system. These according to Prof. Rashiduddin Khan are:

(i) A major heritage of the national movement was the building of national consensus on certain essential issues of the three significant dimensions of national interest, namely, national unity and political integration, national socio-economical development and national defence and security.

(ii) The other heritage of the national movement was its broad ideological base, coalescing the many strands from the radical left to the conservative, traditionist right. The co-existence of the left, centre and the right in the national movement during the freedom struggle not only gave it a wider support base and provided it with all-India legitimacy but also laid down a tradition of toleration and accommodation of different points of view.

(iii) The continental size of the country, comprising well defined and distinct socio-cultural regions, with their own languages and dialects, specific patterns of caste, community and tribal formations, provided the objective conditions for the rise of regional parties and groups.

As a consequence of these factors the Indian Party system is unique. It does not fit into generally prescribed types of one-party, two party, multi-party systems etc. Since independence the system has passed through various stages of growth:

(i) 1952-64 the epoch of national consensus-the Nehru Era;

(ii) 1964-69- the uneasy transition marked by the emergence of a multi-party situation;

(iii) 1969- 75—the period of new consensus and of increasing inter-party conflict;

(iv) 1975-77—the Emergency authoritarian period

(v) 1977-80—the Janata phase of coalitional politics ;

(vi) 1980-89—the new phase of tussle between the Congress in the Centre and the regional parties in the states;

(vii) since 1989 the situation showed a clear trend of decline of Congress hegemony and emergence of multi- Party system and a coalitionist phase,

(viii) Era of Coalition government.

Related Articles:

  • Political Parties: Three Main Types of Political Parties in India
  • Changing Political Party Structure in India

Political Party

No comments yet.

Leave a reply click here to cancel reply..

You must be logged in to post a comment.

web statistics

Logo

Essay on Election in India

Students are often asked to write an essay on Election in India in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Election in India

Introduction.

Elections in India symbolize the democratic nature of the country. They provide citizens the right to choose their leaders.

The Election Commission, an autonomous body, conducts elections. Adults aged 18 and above can vote.

Types of Elections

India has three types of elections: Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, and State Legislative Assemblies.

Significance

Elections ensure people’s participation in governance. They uphold the principle of equality as every vote counts.

Elections in India are a powerful tool for people to express their views and choose their government.

Also check:

  • Speech on Election in India

250 Words Essay on Election in India

India, the world’s largest democracy, has a multi-tiered system of government, reflecting its federal structure. The heart of this democratic setup lies in its elections, a robust process that enables citizens to exercise their right to vote and choose their representatives.

Electoral System

India follows a parliamentary system of government, which is federal in structure with unitary features. The President of India is the constitutional head, while real power resides with the Prime Minister. Elections in India occur at national, state, and local levels. The Election Commission of India, an autonomous constitutional authority, is responsible for administering election processes.

Electoral Process

Elections in India follow the first-past-the-post system. In this system, the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins, irrespective of whether they secure a majority. This system has been criticized for not accurately reflecting the voters’ will, leading to discussions about potential alternatives like proportional representation.

Challenges and Reforms

Elections in India face numerous challenges, including electoral fraud, voter intimidation, and money power. The Election Commission has introduced several reforms to combat these issues, such as Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter-Verified Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs). However, the effectiveness of these measures remains a subject of debate.

Despite the challenges, elections in India symbolize the strength and vitality of its democracy. They represent the voice of over a billion people, making them a significant global event. Continuous efforts are required to improve the electoral process and ensure that it remains free, fair, and inclusive.

500 Words Essay on Election in India

Introduction to indian elections.

Elections in India are a grand affair, often referred to as the “festival of democracy.” They represent the democratic ethos and constitutional principles that the nation is built upon. The Indian election system is a complex process, with multiple layers of representation, from local to national levels.

Structural Framework

India follows a federal structure of governance, though the election process is largely centralized. The Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous constitutional authority, is responsible for administering election processes in the country. Elections are conducted at different levels: Panchayat (village level), Municipal (city level), State (provincial level), and Lok Sabha (national level).

The electoral process begins with the delimitation of constituencies, which are geographical territories from which candidates are elected. Each constituency represents a seat in the respective legislative body. The ECI maintains an electoral roll, a list of all eligible voters, which is updated periodically.

Voting System

India follows the ‘First Past The Post’ (FPTP) system. In this system, the candidate receiving the highest number of votes in a constituency is declared the winner, irrespective of the vote share. While FPTP allows for clear winners, it has been criticized for not truly reflecting the proportional representation of voters’ choices.

Role of Political Parties

Political parties play a crucial role in Indian elections. They are the primary vehicles for political mobilization and policy debate. The two main national parties are the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), but regional parties also wield significant influence, reflecting India’s diverse socio-cultural fabric.

Challenges in Indian Elections

Despite the robustness of the electoral system, Indian elections face several challenges. These include issues of money and muscle power, electoral violence, and the misuse of state machinery. Further, the problem of criminalization in politics, with many candidates facing serious criminal charges, undermines the democratic ethos.

Reforms and the Way Forward

The ECI has introduced several reforms to address these challenges. The use of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and the introduction of Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) have improved the transparency and integrity of the process. The NOTA (None of the Above) option empowers voters to reject all candidates.

However, further reforms are needed. These could include state funding of elections to curb the misuse of money power, stronger laws to prevent criminalization in politics, and perhaps a shift towards a system of proportional representation to better reflect the diversity of voter preferences.

Indian elections, with their scale and complexity, are a testament to the country’s vibrant democracy. Despite the challenges, they offer a platform for the expression of popular will and the peaceful transition of power. They are a reminder of the power of the ballot, and the responsibility that comes with it, in shaping the future of the world’s largest democracy.

That’s it! I hope the essay helped you.

If you’re looking for more, here are essays on other interesting topics:

  • Essay on Education in India
  • Essay on Diversity in India
  • Essay on Status of Women in India

Apart from these, you can look at all the essays by clicking here .

Happy studying!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

IMAGES

  1. Essay On Political Parties In India Free Essay Example

    write an essay on political party system in india

  2. Essay on Indian Politics

    write an essay on political party system in india

  3. Parties and Party System in India

    write an essay on political party system in india

  4. Essay on Democracy in India

    write an essay on political party system in india

  5. Essay on Indian Politics for all Class in 100 to 500 Words in English

    write an essay on political party system in india

  6. Party System in India, Feature, Importance and Function

    write an essay on political party system in india

COMMENTS

  1. Indian Politics Essay in English for Students

    Answer 2: The two most powerful political parties in India are the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Indian National Congress or Congress or INC. Furthermore, BJP is the leading right-wing party while Congress is the leading centrist/leftist party in India. Previous.

  2. Essay on the Political Parties in India

    In this essay we will discuss about the political parties in India. After reading this essay you will learn about: 1. Introduction to Political Parties in Indian Political System 2. Political Parties in India 3. Indian National Congress 4. Party after Nehru 5. Policies and Programmes of the Congress 6. Janata Party 7. Communist Party of India 8. Bhartiya Janata Party 9. Lok-Dal 10. Janata Dal ...

  3. Party System In India

    The main features of the Indian Party system are. Multi-Party System. One-Party Dominance. Personality Cult. Lack of Opposition. Lack of Proper Organisation and Ideology. Groupism inside India's party structure. Extra-constitutional ways of gaining power. Political Parties' Populist Tendency.

  4. Indian Politics Essay for Students in English

    In the given below Indian politics essay, one can read all about the Indian political system, it's functioning, and the problems faced by it. For India, political scenarios and events play an important role. The Various Shades of Indian Politics . India is the largest democracy in the world. Almost 1 out of every 6 humans in the world is an Indian.

  5. The Indian Political Parties

    Multi-party system. A political party is an organized group of people who share the same political opinion and follow the common aim in the controlling of the country (Hofmeister and Grabow, 2011, 8). The most important function of every party is to represent the interests of the citizens among the political elite.

  6. Political Parties in India: Definition and Types for UPSC Polity

    One-Dominant Party Systems: In spite of the multiparty system, the political scene in India was dominated for a long period by the Congress. Hence, Rajni Kothari, an eminent political analyst, preferred to call the Indian party system as 'one party dominance system' or the 'Congress System'.The dominant position enjoyed by the Congress ...

  7. Democracy in India

    History of democracy in India. After gaining independence from Britain in 1947, the government was initially dominated by the Indian National Congress Party ('Congress'). The party was heavily identified with independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi, who was assassinated by a Hindu nationalist in 1948. Watch the event recordingGandhi's Vision ...

  8. Insights into Editorial: Making parties constitutional

    Introduction: Political Parties in India: In a democracy, political parties provide an agency to the society to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. They bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They provide a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make … Continue reading "Insights into ...

  9. Essay on Indian Politics

    Students are often asked to write an essay on Indian Politics in their schools and colleges. And if you're also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic. ... Major political parties in India include the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Indian National Congress (INC), and various regional parties ...

  10. Political Parties in India

    A new coalition headed by the Janata Party emerged in 1977. This led to the creation of a multi-party system in India. Instead of coming to an ideological understanding, a number of smaller parties joined forces to take on Congress. There has been a multi-party system and coalition politics since 1989. How many political parties are in India?

  11. Party System in India, Feature, Importance and Function

    Party System in India. A political party is a collection of people who band together to advance a specific agenda and work to use legal means to take control of the government in order to carry out that programme. In the current democratic era, the struggle for power is open and not veiled. Political parties now have a distinct relevance as a ...

  12. Indian Polity and Governance

    India is a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic, republic. Indian Political system derives its origin from the historical underpinnings, however, its present structure owes to the Indian Constitution. India's political system is federal in nature, with a union of states and territories.

  13. Long and Short Essay on Indian Politics in English for Children and

    Short Essay on Indian Politics - Essay 1 (200 words) India is a democratic country. The political leaders and parties in India come into power by voting system. Indian citizens above the age of 18 years acquire the right to vote and elect their leaders. However, although it is a government by the people, to the people and for the people, the ...

  14. Politics of India

    Politics of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution. India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic in which the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government.It is based on the federal structure of government, although the word is not used in the Constitution itself.

  15. Essay on Democracy in India for Students and Children

    500+ Words Essay on Democracy in India. Essay on Democracy in India - First of all, democracy refers to a system of government where the citizens exercise power by voting. Democracy holds a special place in India. Furthermore, India without a doubt is the biggest democracy in the world. Also, the democracy of India is derived from the ...

  16. 5 Party System and Party Politics in India

    This chapter examines works and writings related to the history of the party system and party politics in India. It focuses on causes, nature, and consequences of the transformation of the party system. It also discusses the ideology, support base, and vote mobilization strategies of parties.

  17. The Political System of India

    The political system of India is remarkably diverse, with no ideological or electoral hegemony. This article is part of a series on Indian democracy, and will examine some of the key institutions of the system. This article focuses on the Party system, class privileges, and inequity. It also looks at how democracy has developed over the years.

  18. Political Parties: Functions, Importance, Party System, Solved ...

    A political party basically, is a group of people. These people come together to contest elections in order to hold power in the government. It is a way to mobilize voters to support common sets of interests, concerns, and goals. The primary role of the political party is to fix the political agenda and policies.

  19. PDF UNIT 1 POLITICAL PARTIES, PARTY Systems and Democracy ...

    1.3.3 Multi-party and Multi-party System 1.4 Political Parties, Party System and Democracy in India 1.5 Let Us Sum Up 1.6 References 1.7 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises 1.0 OBJECTIVES After reading this unit, you will be able to: Define party system and political parties; Understand main attributes of party system and political parties ...

  20. The Political Party System of India: From One-Party ...

    The Indian party system is one of the most paradoxical systems in the world.As a system, it is rigid enough to withstand continuous defections and yet fluid enough to absorb new alliances; inclusive enough to accommodate the immense diversity and yet exclusive enough to be controlled by one family; mature enough to allow peaceful turnovers and yet inapt enough to arouse spontaneous violence ...

  21. Evolution of Political Party System in India

    ADVERTISEMENTS: Evolution of Political Party System in India! The contemporary party system in India developed originally in the context of the struggle for freedom and since 1950 within the framework of parliamentary government. ADVERTISEMENTS: The centre of political activity during the national movement was the Indian National Congress which was founded in 1885. In course […]

  22. PDF Political Parties and Indian Democracy

    the political parties in India are least understood, little-studied and obscure. 5. Whatever may be the origins of various political parties, in the ultimate analysis, ... between all such organizations and a political party is the absence of desire and effort to acquire power. Organizations other than political parties may seek, and sometimes ...

  23. Essay on Election in India

    Students are often asked to write an essay on Election in India in their schools and colleges. And if you're also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic. Let's take a look… 100 Words Essay on Election in India Introduction. Elections in India symbolize the democratic nature of the country.