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Why do we need Political Parties? 

Introduction

• For a most ordinary individual especially those who are less educated, Democracy is nothing but a Political party. They did not know about the Constitution & the Nature of the Government but they do know something about Political Parties. Some people tend to blame the parties for what is wrong in our democracy and political life. Hence the question arise do we need political parties?

Meaning of Political Party

• A group of people who contest elections to gain political power is called political party. A political party has a leader, Active Members and Followers.
• Political Party state their Policies & Programmes to the public and try to gain their support. With this support they seek to win election and implement these policies.
• Often the party is related to any part of the society and hence has more affection towards it. So party is known by its policies and the social part to which it is interested.

Functions

• Contest Election: Political parties decide candidates and contest the election. In some countries like USA candidates are selected by Members and Supporters of the party while in India these are selected by Top Party Leaders.

 

• Policies and Programmes: A political party presents policies and programmes and let voters choose from them. Since people have different opinions about the policies suitable for the society hence a party, groups together similar opinions, formulate the policies and promote these policies. Any party collect similar opinions of people and formulate the policies on their basis and then present these policies to the people.

 

• Making Laws: Laws are debated and passed in legislature i.e. a law making body of country or state. But most of the time members give Priority and Support to party’s collective opinion.

• Form and Run Government: Parties select leader, train them and after winning election make them ministers so as to run the government.

• Role of Opposition: Parties that lose the election play the role of Opposition. These parties give different opinions on any policy. These blame the government for its failure or any wrong policy.

• Shaping Public Opinion: Parties bring the attention of the government towards issues. Often these issues are raised through movements. Parties may have lacks of members all across the country which try to shape public opinion.

• Access to Government Machinery and Welfare Schemes: It is easy for an ordinary citizen to approach a local party leader than a government officer even if they did not fully trust him. This is a way for the party leader to gain support of the people by answering their demands and helping them accordingly.

 

Necessity:

• Imagine a situation where there is no party system and all candidates are independent. This suggests that any candidate can’t promise the people about major policy changes. Government will be formed but may not be useful. Any elected candidate will be answerable within its political area only and hence no one will care about the nation.
• Parties act as representatives for the Public Opinion.
• with the help of parties, a responsible government could be formed. Hence Parties are necessary for Democracy.

 How Many Parties should we have?

• Any citizen of democratic nation is free to form a political party. Thus there are large number of political parties in democratic nation. In India more than 750 parties are registered with election commision of India. There are only few big parties which race to win election and form government.
• One Party system: In a country if only single party is allowed to form government then it is called One-Party System. E.g. In China only Communist Party is allowed to form government. Other parties could not exist because china did not permit free competition for power. One-party system is not a good option because it is not a democratic option. Democracy suggest there should be atlist two parties that compete in election to come to power.
• Two-Party System: In some countries the government is usually established by any one of the two big parties which win the election. There are other parties but they get only few seats. Such party system is called two party system. e.g. In United States of America and United Kingdom the party system are Two-party system.
• Multi-Party System: There are countries where there are more than two parties which have capability to win the election either by their own strength or by taking support of other parties called as Multi-Party system. e.g. India is a multiparty system. Often in a multiparty system several parties unite to win the election  then it is called alliance or a front. e.g. In India such alliance are National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), the Left Front. Problems in this system are political instability, but the advantage is it allows multiple interests and opinions to be represented politically.
• Which is better?
• In any country a party system get developed depending on nature of society, social and regional divisions, history of politics and the system of election.
• If we consider example of India then it has large social and geographical diversity which could not be handles by two or three parties hence India has Multi-Party system.
• Thus we can say that no system is ideal for the country and for all situations instead a party system continuously evolves over longer time.

National Political Parties

• India is a democratic country following a federal system. Federal system indicates that India is a group of states which has it’s own government and also has a central government. Therefore in India there are two kinds of Political parties National Parties and State Parties. The activities of a State Party is confined internal to state while some large parties have their units in different states called as National Party.

 

• Activities of Election Commission

 

• The Election Commision registers a party whether it is state party or national party.
• The Election Commission assign unique symbol for each party.
• The Election Commission treats all parties equally but it can offer some special facilities to large and established parties i.e. to recognised parties.
• Criteria for a party to become ‘a recognised party’
• If a party succeeds in obtaining at least 6% of the total votes in assembly election and wins atlist two seats is called is recognised as a “State Party”.
• If a party succeeds in obtaining at least 6% of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections, or, assembly elections of four states, and wins atlist four seats in Lok Sabha is called is recognised as a “National Party”.
• As per these criterias there were six national parties in 2006 these are
• Indian National Congress (INC):
• It is popularly known as Congress Party
• It was founded in 1885.
• After Independence it was the party that ruled India for several decades at national and state levels. The party ruled from Independence to 1971 and then from 1980 to 1989.  In 2004 this party emerged as largest party by winning 145 seats. It also ruled from 2004 to 2014.
• Congress Party with the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru tried to bring secularism in India.
• It aims towards cutting social divisions, bringing secularism and work for the welfare of   peoples of lower sections and minorities.
• The party supports new economic improvements keeping the economic conditions of common people in mind.

 

• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

 

• BJP is founded in 1980 by reviving the old Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
• This party aims to build modern India by taking inspirations from India’s ancient culture and values.
• This party is based on Hindutva and want uniform civil code i.e. uniformity of laws for every citizen of India irrespective of community to which the individual belongs.
• The party wanted no special status of Jammu and Kashmir but wanted full territorial and political integration in India.
• The party is currently leading National Democratic Alliance (NDA). An alliance is a group of parties that come together to win the election. Some other members of NDA include Shiv Sena, Telugu Desam Party, Lok Janshakti Party, Shiromani Akali Dal, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party, Apna Dal, Naga People’s Front, National People’s Party and many others.

 

• Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

 

• It was formed in 1984 with the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
• This party aims to Secure Power for bahujan samaj i.e. Dalits, Adivasis, OBC’s, and Religious Minorities by taking the inspirations from Ideas and Teachings of Shahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
• It is found mainly in Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab.
• Several times BSP formed government in Uttar Pradesh with the help of other parties in the state.
• In Lok Sabha elections in 2004 BSP got 5 per cent votes and got 19 Seats.

 

• Communist Party of India – Marxist CPI(M)

 

• It was founded in 1964 and believes in Marxism-Leninism.
• It supports Socialism, secularism and democracy, opposes Imperialism i.e. use military power to control a nation, and also opposes Communalism.
• It get strong support of Majorly Poor, Factory Workers, Farmers, Agricultural labourers and the Intelligentsia (people doing mental work), in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.
• It has ideas such as new economic policies based on free flow of foreign capital and goods into the country.
• This party won 6% votes and 43 seats in Lok Sabha in 2004.
• This party supports UPA from outside i.e. does not take part in forming government.

 

• Communist Party of India (CPI):

 

• It is formed in 1925. It believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism and democracy.
• The party is against the communalism and Secessionism i.e. the people or groups which believes in separation of people based on any criteria.
• This party supports Parliamentary Democracy because the party believes that it is the only way to put forward interests of working class, farmers, and the poor people.
• This party became weak after splitting the party into CPI(M).
• It is significantly present in Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• In 2004 Lok Sabha election it secured just 1.4% votes and 10 seats.
• It currently supports UPA government from outside.

 

• Nationalist Congress Party (NCP):

 

• NCP formed in 1999 splitting from Congress Party.
• The party believes in democracy, Gandhian secularism, Equity, Social Justice and Federalism.
• The party want that major government positions should be given to natural born citizens of country.
• This party operate majorly in Maharashtra and also present in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.
• It is an Allied Party of Congress and member of United Progressive Alliance i.e. UPA.

State Parties

• State Party: If a party succeeds in obtaining at least 6% of the total votes in assembly election (Vidhan Sabha)  and wins atlist two seats then the party is recognised by Election Commision as a “State Party”.
• These are also called Regional Parties and acts usually internal to a state. e.g. Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim  Democratic Front, Mizo National Front. There are certain State parties that have national level Political Organisation such as Samajwadi  Party, Samata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal.
• Diversity in Parliament: From last three decades large number of parties emerged and existing parties becomes stronger, thus currently it lead to more Diversity in Parliament.
• Because of this any national party could not be able to get Majority on its own hence this situation gave rise to ‘Alliances’ i.e. forming a group of parties in a way to win the election and form Government.
• Opportunity to be a part of National Alliance: Since 1996 nearly half of the state parties got an Opportunity to be a part of National Alliance.
• Strengthening of Federalism and democracy: State parties also help in strengthening of Federalism and Democracy of India.
• Regional Parties in India: Regional Parties in India in 2007 are

In Jammu Kashmir

• Jammu and Kashmir National Conference
• Jammu and Kashmir National panthers party
• Jammu and Kashmir peoples democratic party

In Uttarakhand

• Uttarakhand Kranti Dal

In Uttar Pradesh

• Rashtriya Lok Dal
• Samajwadi Party

In Bihar

• Janata Dal
• Lok Jana Shakti party
• Rashtriya Janata Dal

In Sikkim

• Sikkim Democratic Front

In Assam

• Assam United Democratic front
• Asom Gana Parishad

In Arunachal Pradesh

• Arunachal Congress

In Nagaland

• Nagaland People’s Front

In Manipur

• Manipur People’s Party

In Mizoram

• Mizoram People’s Conference
• Zoram Nationalist Party – sun without rays
• Mizo National Front

In Tripura

• Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura -leaf

In Meghalaya

 

• Meghalaya Democratic Party

• United Democratic Party

 

In Jharkhand

• Jharkhand Mukti Morcha

In West Bengal

• Forward Bloc
• Revolutionary Socialist Party
• Trinamool Congress

In Tamil Nadu

• All India Anna DMK –  leaf
• Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
• Pattali Makkal Katchi
• Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam

In Kerala

• Indian Federal Democratic Party
• Kerala Congress (Mani) – leaf
• Muslim League

In Andhra Pradesh

• Telugu Desam Party – cycle
• Telangana Rashtra Samiti  – car

In Goa

• United Goans Democratic Party   -leaf
• Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party  –  lion

In Pondicherry

 

• Puducherry Munnetra Congress

 

In Orissa

 

• Biju Janata Dal

 

In Karnataka

• Janata Dal (Secular)

In Maharashtra

• Shiv Sena   – Bow

Punjab

• Shiromani Akali

Haryana

• Indian National Lok Dal

Challenges to Political Parties

• Introduction
• Now we know that political parties are necessary for the democracy but people often blame political parties for wrong working of democracy. Parties often face dissatisfaction from the people whenever it fails in performing their functions. Party’s failure is often related to four major challenges those are

1. Lack of Internal Democracy:

• All over the world in political party the power is concentrated mainly in the hands of one or very few top leaders thus these takes decisions on behalf of the party without considering the opinion of other party members.
• In addition to this, no or very Few Party Meetings Takes Place, Ordinary Members did not get sufficient information neither their opinion is listened and those who oppose the decisions, get removed from the party. this suggests that there is lack of internal democracy inside a party.
• As a result party members show more loyalty to party leaders than to Party Principles.

1. Dynastic Succession:
• In parties it is a tendency of top leader to present their leadership to successive family member thus the Top Positions are always controlled by same family members this is referred to as dynastic Succession.
• Such system is unfair with the other party members as they never get chance to occupy positions of power.
• Also the family member may not have experience to handle the party and hence Decision may go Wrong.
2. Growing Money and Muscle Power
• During Elections, parties are focussed on winning elections. For that they Nominate Rich Candidates, take Fund from rich peoples and businesses, sometimes they Support Criminals who can win the elections too. Thus money and muscle power influence Policies and Decisions of the Party.
3. Meaningful Choice:
• The policies and ideologies of different parties must be different so that the voter could choose one of their interest but in Present Situation parties have very few differences in policies and ideologies and therefor voters can’t do Meaningful Choice.
• E.g. The Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain has very few differences in their ideologies. Thus voters could not do effective choice.
• How Can Parties be reformed?
• The political parties could be reformed so as to overcome the four challenges i.e. Lack of Internal Democracy, Dynastic Succession, Growing Money and Muscle Power, Meaningful choice ,but there are certain other problems such as whether the parties are willing to be reformed, if no then why these are not reformed, is it possible to force them for reforming, and most importantly what if government refuse to reform.

• Efforts made to tackle challenges
• Ban on Defection: It is observed that many elected MLAs i.e. Member of Legislative Assembly and MPs i.e. Member of Parliament change the party in order to become minister or gaining cash rewards. This is called Defection. Rule developed against it banned elected MLA or MP from changing the party. But because of the same rule MLAs and MPs have to listen blindly what the top level leaders say.
• Reduced influence of power: Supreme court passed orders to submit Affidavit giving details of money and criminal activities before contesting the election so as to reduce the influence of money and Muscle power. But the problem is that there is no system to check whether the given affidavit is true and also to track if this system has reduced the influence or not.

 

• New Rules: Election commision of India passed order to hold organisational elections and file income tax returns, but political parties are taking this mere formality.

• Suggestions for Reformation

• Regulation of Internal Affairs of Political Parties:

 

Rules should be made such as maintaining a Register of members, to follow its own constitution, to choose independent leader, party should judge in case of disputes and Open election for highest posts.

 

• Reservation of Tickets for women candidates:

 

A party must give one third of the tickets to the Women candidates also there should be reservation for top positions of the party.

 

• State Funding for elections:

 

The party should be provided with support in terms of Petrol, Paper, Telephone or by Cash depending on the votes secured by the party in last election.

• Public Pressure: Public should put pressure on political parties and convince them for party Reformation by variety of ways such as Request, Publicity and movements. Thus, to gain ,continued support ,of public, any party ,accepts, reformation.
• Becoming a Part of Political Party: Instead of, speaking ,from outside, people should ,join the, parties. The, problem of, ‘Bad Politics’, could be ,solved ,with this.