Many people think that a two-party system is required for successful democracy. Drawing from India’s experience of last twenty years, write an essay on what advantages the present party system in India has.

This is widely accepted notion that a two-party system is required for a successful democracy. It is known as bi-party or two-party system. Under this one party forms the government by securing majority and the other party functions as an opposition party, but that does not mean that multi-party system as it exists in India and some other countries is inapproprite. In India, in the beginning, there was dominance of the Congress at the Centre and the States. The situation changed in 1967 when some political parties came to power in some states. Congress, however, achieved its dominance under Indira Gandhi but ultimately an era of coalition politics began in 1989. Now the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition as present UPA government. The multi-party system often appears very messy and leads to instability.

But the party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections. India has evolved a multi-party system due to its social and geographical diversity which can be absorbed by multiparty system. Not only this, multi-party system has allowed a variety of interests and opinions to have political representation.

Regional parties that have into existence are representing and safeguarding, the interest of various regions. It has led to an era of coalitions but it also has strengthen democracy in India.