Democratic Politics Ii Chapter 6 Political Parties

Political Parties performed various functions. Some of them are :

(i) Parties contest elections.

(ii)Parties put forward different policies and programmes and voters choose from them.

(iii) Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.

(iv)Parties form and run goverments.

(v)Those parties that lose in the elections plays the role of opposition to the parties in power. 

(vi)Parties shape public opinon.

(vii)Parties provide people access to goverment machinery and welfare schemes implemented by the goverments.

The challenges faced by political parties are:

(i)The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within the parties. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly.

(ii) The second challenge of dynastic succession related to the first one. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position to unfair advantage to favour people close to them even their family members.

(iii)The third challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in politics. Parties tend to nominate those candidate who have or can raise lots of money.

(iv)The fourth challenge is that very often parties  do not seems to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different.

The Reforms are :
(i) A law should be made to regulate internal affairs of political parties.
(ii)It should be made mandatory for political parties to give minimum numbers of tickets, about one third, to women candidates.
(iii)There should be state funding of elections.

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Characteristics of a political party are:
(a) the leaders 
(b) the active members
(c) the followers

A.

C.

B.

A and B

C.

D.

D.

A.

C.

B.

B.

D.

A.

B.

B.

top party leaders

D.

All of these

D.

B.

D.

All of these

B.

SAD

A.

C.

A.

A.

Election held to fill a vacancy caused by the death or any other reasons

B.

A.

D.

750

B.

The party that loses the election

A.

C.

D.

All of these

A.

Uni-party system

C.

B.

Multi-party system

A.

India

C.

The Election Commission

(a) A Single party system: China.

(b) A Bi-party System: England and United States of America

(c) A Multi-party system: India

Advantages of Single Party System:This system makes the government easier in sphere of decision making.

Disadvantages of Single Party System:This system makes the government authoratative.

A bi-party system is one in which there are two major political parties.

(i) Bi-party system simplifies the electors’ choice.
(ii) Each party frames and follows some policies to ensure common good for the people.

 In India, we have a multi-party system.

The multi party system often appears very messy and leads to political instability

The regional parties are:

(i) Telugu Desam Party
(ii)Siromani Akali Dal 
(iii) Assam Gana Parishad

The parties which are defeated during the elections are known as the opposition parties.

(i)It voices different views and criticises goverment for its failure or wrong policies.
(ii)It also mobilises opposition to the goverment.

CPI(M):
(i)It supports socialism, secularism and democracy and opposes imperialism and communalism.
(ii)Accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socio- economic justice in India.

CPI:
(i)Opposed to the forces of secessionism and communalism.
(ii)Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interests of the working class, farmers and the poor.

(i) This political party was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Late Kanshi Ram. This party seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan Samaj which includes the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities. The party draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Dr.B.R. Ambedkar.

(ii) Bahujan Samaj Party stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the dalits and oppressed people.

(iii) Ms. Mayawati is the most popular leader of the party. This party has its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh and substantial presence in neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab. 

They are: 
(i) Anti Defection Law: The law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or she will lose the seat in the legislature. This new law has helped bring defection down. At the same time, this has made any dissent even more difficult. MPs and MLAs have to accept whatever the party leaders decide.

(ii) Affidavit: The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminals. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an affidavit giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him. The new system has made a lot of information available to the public.

(iii) Step taken by the Election Commission: The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organistional elections, and file their income tax returns.

They are as following:

1. People’s Democratic Party—Jammu and Kashmir.
2. Assam Gana Parishad—Assam.
3. Telugu Desam Party—Andhra Pradesh.
4. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK)—Tamil Nadu.
5. Akali Dal—Punjab.
6. Shiv Sena—Maharashtra.

In a situation where we do not have political parties, every candidate in the elections will be independent. So no one will be able able to make any promises to the people about any major policy changes.
The goverment may be formed but its utility wii remain ever uncertain. Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality. Hence, no one will be responsive how the country will be run.

People can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity and agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and movements and media can play and important role on this. If political parties feel that they would lose public support by not taking up reforms, they would become more serious about reforms. Political parties can improve if those want this join political parties. The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participaton.

It is difficult to reform politics if ordinary citizens do not take part in it and simply criticise it from outside. The problem of bad politics can be solved by more and better politics.

(i) INC is Popularly known as the Congress Party, it is one of the oldest parties of the world. Founded in 1885 and has experienced many splits played a dominant role in Indian politics at the national and state level for several decades after India’s independence.

(ii) Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru the party sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India. It ruled in Centre till 1977 and again from 1980 to 1989. After 1989, its support declined but it continues to be present through the counrty, cutting across social divisions.

(iii) A centrist party in its ideological orientation, the party espouses secularism and welfare for weaker sections and minorities. Supports new economic reforms but with a human face.

Emerged as the largest party with 145 members in the Lok Sabha elections held in 2014

BJP was founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

(i) Bharatiya Janta Party wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values. Cultural nationalism (or Hindutva) is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics. It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India, a uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of their religion and ban on religious conversions.

(ii) Its support base was increased substantially in the 1990s. Earlier, it was limited to north and west and to urban areas. This party has now expanded its support in the South-East, the North-East and in rural areas. Came to power in 1998, as the leader of the National Democratic Alliance including several state and regional parties.

2.The Assam Gana Parishad

2.There should not be any female member in the decision- making bodies of the party.

4.Political Party

2.Most of the people are very critical of plitical parties

3.A person who is strongly committed to a party, group or faction

3.Political Party

1.the leaders, the active members and the followers

2.The party that operates nation-wide

Smt. Sonia Gandhi

D.

Shri Amit Shah

1.One-party system

3.China

1.Only (i) and (ii)

Kanshi Ram

Maharashtra

(a) Defection: Changing party allegiance from the party on which a person got elected to a different party.

(b) Affidavit: A signed document submitted to an officer, where a person makes a sworn statement regarding his/her personal information.

(c) Ruling Party: Political party that runs government.

Parties that are present in several or all units of the federation. There are some countrywide parties known as national parties. These parties have their units in various states. But by and large, all these units follow the same policies programmes and strategy that is decided at national level.

Three National Parties are :
(i) Bhartiya Janata Party
(ii) Indian National Congress
(iii) Community Party of India (Marxist).

National Party-Congress Party.
State Parties—Shiv Sena, D.M.K., National Conference.

The party faces the challenges of dynastic succession.

When there is more than two party in a political system.

 The reasons for adopting multi-party system in India:

 (i) This system allows a variety of interest and opinion to enjoy political representation.

 (ii) The social and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties. 

Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisation meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party. As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party. More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leaders becomes more important.

The major functions of political parties:

i. Contesting election: In democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put by political parties.

ii. Forming programmes and policies: Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them. A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which to supports.

iii. Making laws: Parties play a decisive role in making laws. Formally, laws are debated and passed in the legislature.

iv. Role of opposition: Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power. Opposition parties also mobilise opposition to the government.

v. Access to government machinery and welfare schemes: Political parties provide access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by the government. Parties have to be responsive to the needs and demands of the people.

C.

Election symbol

The reasons:

 (i) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsive and accountable government that is answerable to the people.

 (ii) Without political parties, candidates elected will be independent, will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.

 (iii) Political parties are required so that a country is governed as per set ideologies and will be responsible for how the country will be run.

The reasons:

 (i) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsive and accountable government that is answerable to the people.

 (ii) Without political parties, candidates elected will be independent, will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.

 (iii) Political parties are required so that a country is governed as per set ideologies and will be responsible for how the country will be run.

The explanations:

 (i) Modern form of democracies also need representatives from various political parties to form the government and to keep a check on the ruling party by being in opposition.

 (ii) Without political parties there would be chaos and turmoil in the society.

(iii) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsive and accountable government that is answerable to the people.

 (iv) Without political parties, candidates elected will be independent, will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.

 (v) Political parties are required so that a country is governed as per set ideologies and will be responsible for how the country will be run.

A.

China

The national party which gets its inspiration from India's ancient culture and values is the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The four features of this party:

(i) Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important elements in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics.

(ii) It wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.

(iii) It wants a uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion and wants a ban on religious conversions.

(iv) Its support base substantially increased in the 1990s.

The reasons:
(i) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsive and accountable government that is answerable to the people.

(ii) Without political parties, candidates elected will be independent, will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.

(iii) Political parties are required so that a country is governed as per set ideologies and will be responsible for how the country will be run.

The steps for reformations:

(i) The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLA and MP from changing parties, by bringing anti-defection law.

(ii) The Supreme Court had passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminal. It is now mandatory for candidates to submit a record of criminal activities and the amount of property they own.

(iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.

A. Public interest group

A. Bahujan Samaj Party 

The suggestions to reform the political parties in India are:

(i) A law to regulate internal affairs of political parties.

(ii) Making it mandatory for political parties to give minimum number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates.

(iii) It has to be made mandatory for political parties to file income tax returns.

(iv) Making it mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an affidavit giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him.

The distinctions: 
Unlike pressure groups which try to influence the government’s policies, political parties are groups of people which come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

This system ensures healthy competition between different parties and prevents the dictatorship of a single party.

A regional party is a recognised political party whose influence is limited to a particular state of the nation. 

Conditions required to be recognised as a regional political party are :

i. The party must secure at least 6% of total valid votes polled in all the parliamentary constituencies.

ii. Moreover, the party should win at least one seat from the state in the Lok Sabha general elections.

The three components of a political party are the leader, the active members and the followers.

i. Leaders: The leaders constitute the higher echelons of a political party. They are the ones who effectively run the government if the party wins the elections.

ii. Active Members: They are the rank and file of the party, mobilising public opinion on the ground and serving as a link between the party followers and the party leaders.

iii. Followers: Simply put, they are the followers of the party leadership who work with the guidance of the active members of the party.

Political parties are a necessary condition for a democracy for the reasons mentioned below:

i. When societies develop, expand and become more complex in terms of social, economic and political relations, they need political parties to sustain governance.

ii. Political parties tend to provide the base on which the praxis of government is built.

iii. Political parties gather public views on various important issues, articulate them and then present them to the government, which is what democracy is.

iv. Parties bring various representatives together, support or restrain government and its apparatus, develop policies, justify or oppose them in the public domain depending on their political ideology.

v. Parties which fail to form the government form the opposition and monitor the actions of the ruling party, thereby preventing the misuse or abuse of limits
imposed by the Constitution.

The guiding philosophy of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is cultural nationalism or Hindutva.

Parties reflects fundamental political division in socities, they are about a part of society and thus involve partisanship.

Money and muscle power play an important role especially during elections. Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use short cuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who can raise lots of money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support criminals who  canwin elections.

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest in elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good

A political party has three components:

(i) the leaders

(ii) the active members and

(iii) the followers

A party that secures 6% of valid votes polled in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state and wins at least two seats is recognised as a ‘State Party’.

The reforms were:

(i) The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLA and MP from changing parties, by bringing anti-defection law.

(ii) The Supreme Court had passed an order to reduce the influence of money and criminal.It is now mandatory for candidates to submit a record of criminal activities and the amount of property they own.

(iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.

The features:

(i) This system provides for a strong opposition to keep a check on the government.

(ii) It provides the voter with a clear choice of the candidates.

(iii) It is easy to obtain clear majority that provides stability to the government.

The examination is as following:

(i) Modern form of democracies also need representatives from various political parties to form the government and to keep a check on the ruling party by being in opposition.

(ii) Without political parties, there would be chaos and turmoil in the society.

(iii) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsive and accountable government that is answerable to the people.

(iv) Without political parties, candidates elected will be independent, will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.

(v) Political parties are required so that a country is governed as per set ideologies and will be responsible for how the country will be run.

B.

Communist Party of India.

The explanations are-

(i) It does not practice open and transparent procedures.

(ii) It prevents ordinary workers from rising to the top.

(iii) It brings unfair advantages to people close to them or even their family members.

(iv) People who do have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.

A.

Samajwadi Party

B.

Rashtriya Janata Dal

D.

Bahujan Samaj Party

The six national parties in chronological order are -

(i) Indian National Congress – 1885

(ii) Communist Party of India – 1925

(iii) Communist Party of India (Marxist) - 1964

(iv) Bhartiya Janta Party- 1980

(v) Bahujan Samaj Party – 1984

(vi) Nationalist Congress Party – 1999

The examination-

(i) Modern form of democracies also need representatives from various political parties to form the government and to keep a check on the ruling party by being in opposition.

(ii) Without political parties there would be chaos and turmoil in the society.

(iii) Existence of political parties in a representative democracy ensures that the country runs as per its policies and ideologies and has a responsive and accountable government that is answerable to the people.

(iv) Without political parties, candidates elected will be independent , will be accountable to their constituency for what they do in the locality.

(v) Political parties are required so that a country is governed as per set ideologies and will be responsible for how the country will be run.

A.

Karnataka

D.

Orissa

C.

Election Symbol

The ways state or regional political parties contribute in strengthening democracy and federalism in India are-

(i) Regional parties have made the parliament of India more and more diverse.

(i) State parties represent various regional issues of development on the national stage and provide a platform for the diverse social groups and communities.

(iii) Regional parties form coalition governments at national level by having alliance with National Party.

Akhil Bharatiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP) functions as a branch of the political party 'Bharatiya Janata Party' (BJP) in India.

1. The financial accounts of the parties must be audited, this will decrease the role of private big business house donors.
2. State funding of political parties must be done to meet their election expenditure.
3. The accounts must be made available to public.
4. Parties must come under the ambit of Right to information to increase transparency in the system.
5. Common people must be encouraged to give donations to parties and such citizens must be exempted from income tax.

The best example for such a political party is the “ Aam Aadmi Party” .

 Pressure groups and movements certainly, have an impact on our Democracy. the importance of these groups and movements cannot be ignored rather they have influenced the political system in the following manner and that their influence is desirable for the very reason they have strengthened and expanded our democracy:

a. They have raised the democratic consciousness of the people.

b. These movements have deepened democracy, they have ensured greater participation of people through meetings, processions making people more aware and vigilant.

c. They have  rather helped in the due representation and accommodation of diverse interests.

a. Democracy also involves competition among various groups to get their demands fulfilled. Making conflicting claims and voicing their concerns is the outcome of Democracy and how the democratic system responds to such conflicting claims is the challenge of Democracy 
b. Since social division. groups are the characteristic feature of every society it is obvious that group make varied demands. 
c. Political leadership is thus faced with the problem of pacifying different groups. 

All countries are not the same in composition. Country like India has a diverse population. People of various religion, tribe, race, language reside here. Thus policies should be so framed that will fulfil the needs of all and will not give a upper hand to any one. On the other hand countries like Bangladesh where Islam is the most dominant religion and the major Ethnic group are the Bengalis, policy decisions will be aimed at other ends.  Situations also change during periods of war and emergency. Adjustments and re-organisation of the government often needs to taken.

Multi-party system is essential for India because India is a very large and diverse country. It has diverse geographical features which cannot be absorbed by just two or three parties.

Political parties whose influence is limited to less than three states can be classified as regional political parties. Most of the regional political parties function in one or two states and represent the political interests of their states. The Rashtriya Janata Dal, Telugu Desam Party, etc. are examples of regional parties.

Conditions to be recognised as a regional political party are as follows:-

• ·A political party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a state.
• · A political party that wins minimum 2 seats is recognised as a regional party or state party.

The groups which seek to promote the interest of the general people rather than a particular section are termed as public interest group. They are also called promotional groups because they promote collective rather than selective good.

Functions of public interest groups are as follows:-

• They take up issues relating to common people.
• The members of the organization may not benefit from the issue.
• They promote collective good.

Three components of a political party are as follows:-

• The leaders- A political party consists of leaders, who contest elections; and if they win them, they perform the administrative job.
• The active members- They are the ones who climb a ladder from being the follower and become the assistants of the leaders to gain knowledge about the politics.
• The followers- They are simply the ardent followers of the leaders and work under the able guidance of the active members.

Due to the following reasons political parties are necessary for democracy:-

• They provide voters with alternative ways of governance and economic management on which the voters can exercise choice.
• They provide candidates in elections who, if victorious, go to the legislature to make laws.
• They provide the leaders who form the government to run the administration.
• They also form the opposition in the legislature to act as a check on the government.
• They provide a means for the general people to make their voices heard in the legislature and government. They represent the people in the legislature and ensure that laws are passed to reflect the will of the people.

 (a) – United Kingdom

Pressure groups are organisations which strive to influence the policies of the Government. They could do so by forming an organisation and undertaking activities to promote their interests or viewpoints. These organisations are formed when people with common occupation, interest, aspirations or opinions come together to achieve a common objective.

The following are the differences between pressure groups and political parties:

i. Unlike pressure groups which try to influence the Government’s policies, political parties are groups of people which come together to contest elections and hold power in the Government.

ii. While pressure groups tend to wield power, if any, without responsibilities, political parties aim at direct control or share of political power of the State.

iii. Pressure groups are not accountable to people, whereas political parties have to face the people in elections and thus have to be responsive to people’s needs and views.

Parties are essential for a democracy to sustain itself. The rise of political parties is directly associated with the inception of representative democracies.

i. The party system is not something any country can choose.

ii. It actually develops out of the nature and the culture of society on which it is built.

iii. The social and regional divisions, its history of politics and the system of elections also play a role.

iv. Each country develops a party system which is conditioned by its special circumstances. For example, India has evolved a multi-party system because of its social and geographical diversity which cannot be easily absorbed by two or three political parties.

v. Political parties formulate policies to attain collective good, and there can be different views on what is good for all. Therefore, no party system is ideal for all countries in all situations.