POLITICAL PARTIES

Q1) What are political parties? What are the characteristics of political parties?
i) Political parties are a group of people who come together to contest
elections and hold some power in the government.
ii) They agree on some policies and programs for a society with a view to
promote the collective good.
iii) Parties reflect the fundamental political divisions in a society.
iv) Thus, a party is known by which part it stands for, which policies it
supports, and whose interests it upholds.
Q2) What are the functions of political parties?
1) Parties contest elections
i) Parties select their candidates in different ways.
ii) In countries such as USA, members and supporters of a party choose its
candidates.
iii) In countries such as India however, party leaders choose their
candidates.
2) Parties put forward different policies and programs and the voters choose from
them.
i) A party reduces a vast number of opinions into a few basic policies.
ii) A government is expected to base its policies according to what the
ruling party has decided.
3) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
i) Laws are debated and passed in the legislature.
ii) However, as most of the members are from a party, they go by the
direction of party leadership, irrespective of their own opinion.
4) Parties form and run governments.
i) Parties recruit leaders, train them, and then make them ministers to run
the government the way they want.
5) Those parties that lose elections play the role of opposition, by voicing
different views and criticizing the government for its failures.
6) Parties shape public opinion
i) They raise and highlight issues.
ii) Parties with the help of their members and activists sometimes also
launch movements to bring attention to the problems faced by the
people.
iii) Often opinions in society are based off of what parties say.
7) Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes.
i) Parties must be responsive to the people’s needs and demands,
otherwise, people can reject them in the next election.
Q3) What are the components of political parties?
i) The leaders
ii) The active members
iii) The followers.
Q4) Modern democracies cannot exist without political parties. Explain.
i) If political parties did not exist, every candidate would be independent.
ii) Nobody will be able to make any promises to the people about any MAJOR
political changes.
iii) The government may be formed, but its usefulness will be uncertain.
iv) Elected representatives will only be accountable to their constituency for
what they do in the locality.
v) But nobody will be responsible for how the country as a whole is run.
vi) This is why we find political parties in all parts of the world.
vii) As societies have become large and complex, they also need some agency
to gather different views on various issues and to present these issues to
the government.
viii) Societies need representatives to come together to support or restrain a
government so that a responsible government would be formed.
Q5) What are the types of party systems?
i) In some countries, only one party is allowed to control the government.
ii) This type of party system is known as one party system.
iii) Example- China, only the communist party is allowed to rule.
iv) Though in these countries, political parties can be formed, the electoral does
not permit competition.
v) In other countries, power interchanges between two parties.
vi) Though other parties may exist, only two parties have a serious chance of
winning a majority of the seats to form a government.
vii) For example- UK and US governments.
viii) In countries such as India, multiple parties compete for power, and each of
them has an equal chance of winning or losing elections, whether it be
through an alliance or on their own.
ix) This is known as a multi-party system.
Q6) What is an alliance? Give an example of alliances in India.
i) When several parties in a multi-party system come together for the purpose
of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front.
ii) In India, there were three such major alliances, (in 2004), National
Democratic Alliance, United Progressive Alliance, and the Left Front.
Q7) What are the advantages and disadvantages of a multi-party system?
i) Multi-party systems may often seem messy and lead to political instability.
ii) However, with multi-party systems, a variety of interests and opinions are
politically represented.
Q8) How many parties should we have?
i) Party system is not something any country can choose.
ii) It depends on the nature of the society, the social and regional divisions, the
history of politics, and the system of elections.
iii) Each country develops a party system that is based on special circumstances
the country has.
iv) No system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
v) For example, India is a diverse country, and each section cannot be
represented through two or three parties.
Q9) What are National parties?
i) Every party has to be registered through the election commission.
ii) Some parties are given special facilities, these parties are large and
established.
iii) These parties are given a unique symbol.
iv) Parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities are said to be
‘recognized’ by the election commission.
Q10) What is the criteria for a party to be a national party?
i) The party should hold 6% of total votes in Lok Sabha or 6% of votes in
assembly elections in 4 states.
ii) They should also win at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha.
Q11) Give a note on ‘All India Trinamool Congress’.
i) Launched on 1st January 1998.
ii) It is under the leadership of Mamata Banerjee.
iii) It was recognized as a national party in 2016.
iv) It is committed to secularism and federalism.
v) Has been in power in West Bengal since 2011.
vi) Has a presence in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur and Tripura.
vii) Got 4.07% of votes and won 22 seats in 2019 elections.
viii) 4th largest party in Lok Sabha.
Q12) Give a note on ‘Bahujan Samaj Party’.
i) Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
ii) They seek to represent and secure power for Dalits, Adivasis, OBCS, and
religious minorities.
iii) Has its main base in Uttar Pradesh, and a great presence in Madhya
Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, and Punjab.
iv) In Lok Sabha elections 2019, it won 3.63% of votes and secured 10 seats.
Q13) Give a note on ‘Bharatiya Janata Party’.
i) Founded in 1980, by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Singh, founded
by Syama Prasad Mukherjee. (1951)
ii) It aims to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from
India’s ancient culture and values.
iii) It also got inspiration from Deendayal Upadhyaya’s ideas of integral
humanism and Antyodaya.
iv) Cultural nationalism (Hindutva) is an important element in Indian politics.
v) It’s support base increased in the 1990s.
vi) It was limited to north and west and urban areas, now the party has
expanded to north east and the south.
vii) Came into power as the leader of the NDA in 1998.
viii) In Lok Sabha elections 2019, it emerged as the largest party with 303
members.
Q14) Give a note on ‘Communist party of India (CPI)’
i) Formed in 1925.
ii) Believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism and democracy.
iii) Opposes secessionism and communalism.
iv) It aims to promote the interests of the working class, farmers, and the poor.
v) Became weak after the party split in 1964.
vi) Has a presence in Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and tamil
Nadu.
vii) Support base has declined over the years.
viii) In Lok Sabha elections in 2019, it secured less than 1% votes and 2 seats.
Q15) Give a note on ‘Communist party of India- Marxist’
i) Founded In 1964.
ii) Believes in Marxism and Leninism.
iii) Supports socialism, secularism and democracy.
iv) Opposes imperialism and communalism.
 v) Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala, and Tripura, especially
among the poor, factory workers, farmers, agricultural laborers, and the
intelligentsia.
vi) Was in power in West Bengal for 34 years.
vii) Critical of new economic policies that allow the free flow of foreign capital
and goods into the country.
viii) In Lok Sabha elections 2019, they secured 1.75% votes and 3 seats.
Q16) Give a note on Indian National Congress.
i) Also known as the congress party.
ii) One of the oldest parties in India, formed in 1885.
iii) Played a dominant role in Indian politics at both national and state levels for
several decades after India’s independence.
iv) Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party sought to build a
modern secular democratic republic in India.
v) Manifesto: Supports secularism and welfare of weaker sections and
minorities.
vi) It was the ruling party at the centre till 1977, and then from 1980-1989.
vii) After 1989, support declined, but it was present throughout the country.
viii) Leader of UPA from 2004-2019.
ix) In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, it won 19.5% votes and 52 seats.
Q17) Give a note on the National Congress Party.
i) Formed in 1999 with a split in congress party.
ii) Supports democracy, gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and
federalism.
iii) Wants high offices in the government to be confined to natural-born citizens
of the country.
iv) Major party in Maharashtra and a significant presence in Meghalaya,
Manipur, and Assam.
v) A member of UPA since 2004.
vi) In 2019 Lok Sabha elections, won 1.4% votes and 5 seats.
Q18) What are state parties? What is the criterion for a party to be a state party?
i) Also known as regional parties.
ii) However, it does not mean that these parties are specific to a region, it can
be an All-India party that has only succeeded in a few states.
iii) Parties such as Samajwadi Party, and Rashtriya Janata Dal have units in
several states.
iv) While parties such as Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front, Mizo
National Front, and Telangana Rashtra Samithi are more state conscious.
Q19) How have state parties contributed to the strengthening of federalism and
democracy in our country?
i) More and more state parties have come into being over the past 3 decades.
ii) This has made the parliament of India more politically diverse.
iii) No one national party was able to secure a majority in Lok Sabha until
2014.
iv) Hence, national parties are compelled to form alliances with state parties.
v) Since 1996, state parties have gotten an opportunity to be a part of national
level coalition governments.
Q20) What are some challenges to political parties?
1) Lack of internal democracy within parties.
i) Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational
meetings or conduct internal elections regularly.
2) Challenge of dynastic succession.
i) Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures in
their functioning.
ii) There are very few ways an ordinary worker can rise to the top in a
party.
iii) In many parties, top positions are controlled by the members of one
family.
iv) This is also bad for democracy, as people who do not have much
experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.
3) Growing role of money and muscle power.
i) As parties are only focused on winning elections, they tend to use
shortcuts to win elections.
ii) They tend to nominate candidates who have or can raise a lot of money.
iii) Parties also support criminals who can win elections.
4) Parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice.
i) There has been a decline in ideological differences among parties in
most parts of the world.
ii) They agree on more fundamental aspects and only differ in the ways in
which they wish to implement their policies.
iii) For example- the Labour party and the conservative party in Britain
have very few differences.
iv) People cannot even elect very different leaders, as the same set of
leaders keeps shifting from one party to another.
Q21) How can parties be reformed?
i) The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from
changing parties.
ii) New law says that if the MLA or MP were to change parties, they lose their
seats in the legislature.
iii) However, this has made any dissent more difficult, MPs and MLAs have to
accept whatever party leaders decide.
iv) The Supreme court has passed an order to reduce the influence of money
and criminals.
v) It is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an
AFFIDAVIT giving details of his property and criminal background.
vi) EC passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their
organizational elections and file their income tax returns.
Q22) What are some suggestions that have been given to reform political parties?
i) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties.
ii) It should be compulsory for every party to maintain a register of its
members, follow its own constitution, have an independent authority to act
as a judge in disputes, and to hold regular internal elections.
iii) It should be mandatory for political parties to hold at least 1/3rd of tickets
for women.
iv) Women should have a say in decision-making of the parties.
v) There should be state funding of elections, government should give party
money to support their elections.
vi) This support can be in kind, as petrol, paper, telephone, etc., or in cash.
vii) People can put pressure on political parties.
viii) This can be done through elections, petitions, public agitations, etc.
ix) Citizens, pressure groups movements, and media play an important role in
this.
x) Political parties can improve if people who want them to improve join
political parties.
xi) It will be difficult to reform politics if citizens do not take part in it and
simply criticize from the outside.
Q23) Over-regulation of political parties can be counterproductive. Explain.
i) Over-regulation of political parties may make the political parties feel
supressed.
ii) They may find it difficult to freely propagate.
iii) They may find ways to cheat the law.