TWELVE

The Political Party System of India:

From One-Party Dominance
to No-Party Dominance

Renu Khator

I. Democracy and Party Dominance in India

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 de-
fections 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 adap-
tation and resilience, defies the conventional wisdom on political parties.
Needless to say, the paradoxical party system is the result of several under-
lying tendencies. First, the unique texture of the Indian political fiber itself ne-
cessitates the existence of a complex party system. India is a federal state with
a powerful parliament at the national level and a strong panchayati raj at the
local level. Social identities based on caste, class, religion, region, ethnicity, lan-
guage, and gender constantly overlap and undercut each other in the political
arena, giving rise to new political alliances and fresh socio-political conflicts.
There are 25 linguistically distinct states that generally harbor an anti-center
sentiment; 82 percent of the population practices Hinduism, although Mus-
lims, who comprise only 11 percent, still constitute the world’s third largest
Muslim population. Women occupy only 7 percent of the national and state

M. Rimanelli (ed.), Comparative Democratization and

Peaceful Change in Single-Party-Dominant Countries
© Marco Rimanelli 1999
340 • Renu Khator

government seats, although they are now legally entitled to occupy 33 percent
of all local government seats. Even though only 50 percent of the adult popu-
lation is literate, approximately two-thirds of them turn out to vote. In this
context, political parties have become the primary medium through which so-
cial and political interactions get expressed and managed. The impressive
scope of political participation guarantees a central place for political parties.
It is important to note that social diversity has not led to political instability,
for India has held only 11 parliamentary elections in its 50 years of history,
giving an average of 4.5 years to a parliamentary life span (the perfect term
would be 5 years).
The Indian party system consists of one historically dominant party (In-
dian National Congress), less than half a dozen national opposition parties1
(Communist Party of India and Communist Party of Marxists, Bhartiya
Janata Party or Jana Sangh), several national alternatives (National Front,
Janata Party),2 and over two dozen regional and state parties. Ranging from
the extreme Right (Bhartiya Janata Party) to the extreme Left (Communist
Party of India), they offer a real ideological choice to the nation’s 400 mil-
lion plus voters. Their platforms also vary from religious issues to linguistic
agendas to economic platforms.
Born in 1885 with the creation of the Indian National Congress, the
Indian party system has evolved through a multitude of stages. From 1885
to 1947, it existed in the form of a movement, with the Indian National
Congress forming the core and the Indian Muslim League and two Com-
munist parties constituting the periphery. Prior to 1947,3 the party system
did not have the need to connect to the people and create a popular
agenda because electoral prizes, even though in existence since the first
popularly held elections in 1935, were insignificant. However, the Con-
gress Party underwent a massive transformation from being an élitist
movement to a true grass-roots political party during the first 20 years
(1947–67) following national independence. Under Jawaharlal Nehru’s
premiership, the Indian National Congress expanded its sphere of influ-
ence and introduced the concept of formal membership and group repre-
sentation. No other viable parties were on the horizon, as most were either
starved to death or reduced to a dismal existence by the Congress. Rajni
Kothari described the early years of the Indian party system as the “Con-
gress System.”4
A significant change in the party system came in 1967 when the Indian
National Congress faced its first serious electoral challenge from a coalition
called Samyukta Vidhayak Dal who succeeded in winning half of the states
in state assembly elections. This public humiliation for the Indian National
Congress was followed by another wave of local electoral defeats in 1968.