Lesson-1 National Parties and State Parties
Political party a group of persons organized to acquire
political power. Political parties originated in their modern form in Europe
and the United states in the 19th century. Edmund Bark defines “A political
party is a body of men united for promoting by their joint endeavours the
national interest upon some political principle in which they agreed”.
Today, under democracy we observe the festival of elections
in India after the term of every five year at central and state level and also
at the local level but this journey of a stable electoral system and a
democracy has a long process of evolution; Indian politics has passed different
phases and reached to become a stable democracy. The Congress system emerged
after the country had attained independence. From 1947 to 1967 and from 1971 to
1977 as well as from 1980 to 1989, this system was at the centre of Indian
Politics, spanning three distinct stages in its post-independence development.
Constitution and Legal Provision of Political Parties
· The
tenth schedule of the constitution added by the constitution fifty second
amendment act 1985 deals with the disqualification of a person for being a
member of either house of parliament or the legislative assembly or legislative
Council of a state on ground of defection.
·
According to Article 29A(1) and (2) of the representation people act 1951 any
association or body of individuals of India calling itself a political party
need to make an application to the Election commission for its registration as
a political party.
·
Every political party in India has to register with the election commission.
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 development of Indian party system according to
Yogendra Yadav
·
Single party dominance (1947-67) congress party dominated nationally and the
state level. In this time congress party dominance at the centre and state
level.
·
Congress opposition system (1967-93) congress remained the most prominent party
at national level but faced competition at the state level. After the 1967 rise
of many regional or state party playing important role in Indian politics. In
some states like Kerala and other states state party formed the government.
·
Multiparty system onwards 1993 congress no longer at the national level and
growth of regional parties. After the 1989 regional parties playing important
role in formation of government in the centre.
Characteristics of Indian party system
·
After 1990 rise of many regional parties in and played very important role in
formed government at the national and state level.
· Rise
of effective opposition parties.
·
Existence of many regional and non-recognised parties.
·
India has been a multi-party system.
·
Large numbers of regional political parties.
·
Power sharing between the national and regional political parties, from
11thloksabha election a coalition and consisting of some regional parties and
some national parties has been ruling at the centre.
·
Factionalism and group are present in the most of the political parties.
·
Personality cult dominates party politics in India.
· Rise
of the proper functioning of federalism
Function of a political party
· A political
party contest elections by putting up candidates.
· In
countries like the USA, the candidates are selected by members and supporters
of 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 makes a choice in
according with the policies and programmes liked by them.
·
Political parties shape public opinion. With the help of the pressure group,
the parties launch movements for solving problems faced by the people.
·
Political parties play a decisive role in making law for the country. As most
of the parliamentarians belong to political parties, so a political party has
direct say in law-making for the country.
·
Formation of Government: Political parties form and run governments. The
executive body is formed by people from the ruling party.
·
Political parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare
schemes implemented by governments. Parties need to be responsive to people’s
needs and demands.
·
Political parties represent the interest of people of the country and specific
regions. They represent groups as well as individuals.
· To
mobilise the people to participate in the decision making and party programmes.
·
Critically evaluate the policies and programmes of the other parties.
·
Political parties are not only expected to come up with goals but also to
modify them with changing demands and circumstances.
Regional Parties and Coalition Politics
The presence of a number of ethnic, cultural, linguistic,
religious, and caste within the society responsible for the origin of regional
parties. In India regional parties are based on the identity, statehood, and
autonomy.
Regional parties based on regional-ethnic character include
the TDP in Andhra Pradesh, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), and the All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIDMK) in Tamil Nadu, Asom Gana Parsihad
(AGP) in Assam and the Akali Dal in Punjab. For example the Akali Dal
represents only the Sikhs and the AGP represents caste Hindu Assamese.
The regional parties formed governments in several states
and tried to give concrete shape to their policies and programmes. Some of the
regional parties which formed governments in various state include DMK and
AIADMK in Tamilnadu; National conference in Jammu Kashmir, Telgu Desam in
Andhra Pradesh, Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, INLD in Haryana.
Autonomy consists of demanding greater powers to the states
like national conference in Jammu and Kashmir. Statehood consists of fighting
for an independent state within the country like Telangana Rastra Samiti
demanded a separate state of Telangana.
Identity consists of fighting for recognition of cultural
rights of a group like the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra or the DMK fighting for the
identity of Dalits.
Further, talking about different states and region then we
can see several parties having monopoly in particular regions this party
dominate a particular state or region and hold seats and power in state
assemblies, some of the example of such party are:
1. Biju Janata Dal – Odisha, BJD has been regional player in
the state of Odisha it was formed in 1997 and as of today (November 2019)
Naveen Pataki belonging to the BJD, is serving his 5th term as chief minister
of Odisha.
2. Another strong example of regional politics is the Jammu
Kashmir PDP; JKPDP has been playing a strong role in the region of Jammu and
Kashmir before article 370 was scrapped.
3. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena popular as Shiv Sena has been
major regional dominant party in the state of Maharashtra.
4. Shiromani Akali Dal strong base in Punjab state and
emerged as a single largest party in 1971 and 1977.
1.B.A Political Science 1st Lesson Important Notes
2. B.A Political Science 3rd Lesson Important Notes
3.B.A Political Science 4th Lesson Important Notes
4. B.A. Political Science 5th Lesson Important Notes
Different Party Systems
One party system
In some countries, only one party is allowed to control and
run the government, China. These are called one-party systems.
The congress government was famous for its umbrella system
as every religion and region was connected by the party many scholars. The
political scene in India was dominated for a long period by the congress. Rajni
Kothari, call the Indian party system as ‘one party dominance system’ or the
‘congress system’.
The change in trend can be seen during the year 1977 when
Janata Party came in power at the centre. This phase can also be called as the
two party phase , which broke this winning election chain of the Indian
national congress but not for a longer span as Janata Party itself failed as a
party because of internal issues within the party .
There was split among the congress. In India after
independence congress was dominant party at the national and states level till
1967.
Two-Party Systems
In some countries, power usually changes between two main
parties. Such a party system is called two-party system.
A two party system is a party system where two major
political parties dominate the political landscape.
Each of the two main parties gets the opportunity to rule
from time to time. In a state with two party systems, two political parties
dominate in USA, UK, Belgium, and Ireland. The two party systems present voters
a simple choice.
Multi-party System
If several parties compete for power, and more than two
parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own
strength or in alliance with others, we call it a multi-party system.
After the 1996 general elections, no single party has been
able to secure even a simple majority. The multi-party system is apparently
very messy and it often leads to political instability. In India after 1989
multi-party coalition model has emerged at the national level. In multi-party
system the party has several equally popular political parties.
The congress, BJP, CPI, BSP, NCP, BJD,AAP, DMK, SP and other
political parties have been played important role in Indian politics.
The diverse geographical and cultural concerns, India has
the growth of the multiparty system. Over a period of time, national and
regional political parties became the vital constituents of the world largest
democracy.
Challenges of political parties
· We
have seen how crucial political parties are for the working of democracy. All
over the world people express strong dissatisfaction with the failure of
political parties performs their function.
· The
main challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties, in India there is
a tendency in political party’s concentration of power in one or few leaders at
the top.
· Most
political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their
functioning.
· The
major challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties,
especially during elections.
· The
main challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful
choice to the voters.
·
Dynastic succession leads to the accumulation of power in some hands
(especially family members) which further results in unqualified members to
misuse power.
Political Parties in India
National Parties
National parties have a nationwide broad base structure and
they function on the concept of popular appeal.
Recent trend shows that when a national party doesn’t
achieve majority in the Lok Sabha then they form a coalition government by
partnering with the regional parties. But coalition government can be seen
obstructing the process of decision making. Formation of coalition government
reflects transformation in the Indian politics away from the national parties towards
smaller more narrowly based regional parties.
Ø A
registered party is taken in as a National Party only when it fulfils any of
the following conditions:
• If the party wins 2% of Lok Sabha seats from at least
three different states in India.
• The party is recognized as a state party in four or more
states in India.
• If the party polls 6% of votes in 4 states in addition to
four seats in the Lok Sabha, at the general election to Lok Sabha or
Legislative Assembly.
Ø
National party has influence in not limited states but in the whole country and
it deals with the national interest and not some regional one.
Ø When
a national party gains majority in the Lok Sabha it runs the government at the
centre and holds all the crucial matters of national importance.
Ø We
have the following seven National Parties in India:
1. Indian National Congress
(INC)– It was founded in 1885 during the colonial rule. INC stands for the
ideology of social democracy, democratic socialism, liberalism, social
liberalism, secularism, progressivism, Indian nationalism and civic
nationalism. This party once dominated the Indian political scenario.
2. Communist Party of India
(CPI)– It is the oldest communist political party in India. This party
broke into two when CPI (Marxist) in 1964. It stands for the ideology of
communism, Marxist- Leninism, socialism and secularism. It maintains left-wing
political position.
3. Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP)– It is one of the two major political parties in India, along with
the INC. This is a right wing party and presently holds country’s largest
representation. It stands for the ideology of conservatism, integral humanism,
Hindutva, Hindu nationalism, cultural nationalism. BJP also had alliance named
NDA.
4. Communist Party of India
(Marxist) (CPI-M)– This party adheres to the MarxistLeninist philosophy and
was formed in 1964 after its split from communist party of India. Apart from
the Marxist-Leninist ideology it reflects the ideas of communism,
anti-capitalism and anti-imperialism.
5. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)–This
party was formed to represent the Bahujan the scheduled castes, scheduled
tribes and other backward classes along with the religious minorities. It was
founded by Kanshi Ram in 1984. It professes social equality, social justice and
self respect.
6. Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP)–It is one of the national parties in India and it is a split from
Indian National Congress. It stands for the ideology of secularism, liberalism,
progressivism, civic nationalism, social justice and federalism.
7. All India Trinamool
Congress (AITC)–After the 2019 general election it emerged as the fifth
largest party in the Lok Sabha. It was founded by Mamata Banerjee. It adheres
to the ideas of democratic socialism, left-wing populism and secularism.
State Party or Regional Parties in India
Regional parties propagates the ideology of regionalism or
regional pride and party that are able to get support in only one state are
also the part of the state party. In India regional parties are based on themes
like-autonomy, statehood, identity, development and sometimes regional parties
create cultural specificities for electoral gains.
The percentage share of votes of the national parties is on
the decline. Their share of votes was around 78 percent in the 1984 general
elections which declined to 64 percent in the 2009 general elections. And the
share of regional parties increased from 12 percent to 31 percent during the
same period. Further the share of the national political parties in the elected
members of parliament has decreased from 85 percent to 69 percent and that of
the regional parties increased from 12 percent to 29 percent in 1984 and 2009
respectively.
Ø To
be called as a State Political Party, a political party needs to fulfill any of
the following conditions:
· The
political party needs to win a minimum of 3% of the total number of seats in
the legislative assembly.
· For
every 25 seats in the Lok Sabha, the political party must win at least one
seat. Alternatively, it needs to win any fraction thereof allotted to that
State.
· The
political party should win at least 6% of the total valid votes that are polled
during the general election towards the Lok Sabha or State Legislative
Assembly. And, in addition, it should win at least one Lok Sabha seat and two
Legislative Assembly seats in that election.
· As
per the liberalized criteria, if a political party fails to win a seat in the
State general elections to the Legislative Assembly of the State or the Lok
Sabha, then, it needs to secure 8% or more of the total valid votes polled in
the State.
We have the following some Regional Parties in India:
1. Aam Aadmi party (AAP)–
It was formed as a result of the India against the corruption movement. This
party is currently ruling the national territory of the country. It was founded
in 2012 and promotes the ideas of anti-corruption, participatory democracy,
populism, soft nationalism with the political position of being center-left. In
Delhi AAP party played very important role in Indian politics.
2. AIADMK–The All India
Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is the regional political party in the region of
Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. It was founded in 1972 by M.G Ramachandran. In
Tamilnadu AIADMK and DMK played very important role in south Indian states.
3. AIMIM–The All India
Majlis-E-Ittehad-Ul-Muslimeen is an Islamic regional party with a political
base is Telagana. It was founded in 1927 and holds the ideology of Islamism. It
holds a right wing political position.
4. AGP–The Asom Gana
Parishad is a state political party in Assam. It was formed after the accord of
1985 in the same year.
5. BJD–Biju Janata Dal is
a state political party in the state of Odisha and was founded in 1997. It
professes the ideology of social democracy, liberalism, secularism and social
justice.
6. DMK– Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
is a political party in the state of Tamil Nadu and U.T Puducherry. It stands
for the ideology is democratic socialism, social democracy, secularism,
regionalism and social justice.
7. INLD–The Indian
National Lok Dal is a party active in the state of Haryana and it was founded
in the year 1996. It stands for the ideas of social liberalism and regionalism.
On the political position this party holds a centre position.
Is the rise of regional parties disturbing the political
stability?
Regional parties are far away from being dominant as they
might rule in the area or the state but national parties still come out ahead
as majority of people in India today lives in the state that is controlled by
the national parties like the congress or BJP.
The myth of regional parties growing influence on foreign
policy also needs to be pointed out here and can be termed as limited due to
the requirement of centre’s approval. The emergence of regional parties has
changed the political scenario but it should not be overstated here. Political
parties and the party system in India have been influenced by cultural
diversity, ethnic, caste, community and religious pluralism.
Though regional parties have been successfully pointing out
the issues that central government have failed to put their attention at. After
1980s regional parties playing very important role in formation of government
at centre and state level.
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