Political Parties and Elections in India: An Overview
Political Parties and Elections in India: An Overview
parties were prominent among them. They were the Indian National
and at present, there are about 1866 political parties which are
March, 2014 and July 2015 year, as many as 239 parties have
1
registered themselves with the Election Commission. Although these
The present chapter is divided into two parts. Part I details a brief
here. In the present context, the significant political parties are four
parties that ruled the state of Uttar Pradesh, viz., Indian National
Samaj Party. Part II outlines the history of elections in India and the
policies and programmes for the society with a view to promoting the
2
the government (Brass, 1966). Just as social identities influence the
political parties are divided into five broad categories: elite parties,
Shiromani Akali Dal- Mann. Lastly, the fifth type of Party is movement
3
However, in the Indian context, Douglas Verney (2004) argued that
only two parties in India — Congress (I) and the BJP qualify for being
as national parties, while other parties in the country are only regional
groups. The first group is the Communist Left that is currently allied
with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) which has a static
parties are those that are based on group appeals to religion, caste, or
tribe. Most of these parties are found only in a single state. They
Jharkand; the Shiromani Akali Dal, a Sikh Party in the Punjab; and the
parties that focus on ethnic and regional identities such as the Telugu
Desam Party (TDP) of Andhra and various Tamil parties in the Tamil
the Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party that cater to the Dalit
regional parties draw their influence from two major sources. First the
4
which become a source of the stability they enjoy. Second they avoid
national parties, viz. Congress Party, and Bharatiya jananta Party, and
Congress Party
the national major political Party in India, the other being the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The Congress Party is the largest and one
civic and political dialogue of educated Indians with the British Raj.
its first meeting in Bombay, with the approval of Lord Dufferin, the
Pune, but due to a plague outbreak there, the meeting was later shifted
to Bombay. The first session of the INC was held from December 28–
5
31, 1885, and was attended by 72 delegates. In the pre-independence
Tilak; Bipin Chandra Pal; Lala Lajpat Rai; Gopal Krishna Gokhale; and
Mohammed Ali Jinnah played a crucial role in the Party. Over a period
associated with the Party in different parts of the country led protest
Nehru played a key role to the electoral success of the Party. Nehru led
Shastri remained Prime Minister until his death in 1966, and a broad
enthusiasm for her new policies, the Prime Minister relieved Morarji
Party split. The split in the Congress was result of growing differences
between the old guard of the Party and Indira Gandhi. Indira Gandhi
ordinance. After the death of President Zakir Hussain in May 1969, the
for the post of President. Mrs Gandhi openly supported Mr. Giri
7
against Mr. Reddy. After the victory of Mr. Giri, Mrs. Gandhi was
served with a show-cause notice for her indiscipline. She did not reply
which led to the Party split in late 1969(Nihal Singh, 1978). The
conflict led to a split, and Indira launched a separate INC. Initially this
known as the New Congress. The official Party became the Indian
informally called the Old Congress and retained the Party symbol of a
result of the split, the Indira-led Congress lost its majority in the Lok
the Lok Sabha and called for a fresh election for March 1971. The
groups, especially the Scheduled Castes and Tribes, Muslims, and the
parties responded with their own slogan of Indira Hatao, the removal
of Mrs. Gandhi. The results of the 1971 elections were known as the
Indira wave. With 44 percent of the vote, Mrs. Gandhi’s Party won 352
of the 518 seats in the Lok Sabha. In March 1972 she held new
8
elections for the legislative assemblies in all but four states and won a
portfolios were held directly by the Prime Minister; and from 1969 to
1977 the Congress Party had five different Presidents. Mrs. Gandhi
women, Muslims, Scheduled Castes and Tribes, and the poor. These
failed to deal with the troubled economy. The 1971 Bangladesh war, a
9
states was ineffective. Processions and demonstrations took place
political blows. On June 12, Mrs Gandhi was found guilty by the High
code. The High Court decision was the result of charges of corrupt
election practices brought against Mrs. Gandhi for actions that had
taken place during the 1971 elections (Kuldip Nayar, 1978, Bipin
Chandra, 2003).
Although the Court dismissed the more serious charges of bribery and
1971 invalid, and barred her from holding any office for a period of six
the Court sentence was stayed for 20 days. The Court ruling was
10
massive defeat in the state assembly elections in Gujarat. The
combined court verdict and the Congress defeat in Gujarat led major
her own Party demand Mrs. Gandhi to step down as Prime Minister,
but she refused. The political situation further worsened when on June
conditional stay until the Court could convene to consider her appeal.
He ruled that Mrs. Gandhi could remain as Prime Minister, but she
On the following evening, June 25, a mass rally was held on the
the police and the armed forces to refuse to obey ‘‘illegal and
would destroy it. That night, across the city in the home of the Prime
and even the Home Minister was not informed until late on the night
11
of June 25, 1975. On the morning of June 26, the Government of India
the major newspapers in New Delhi was also cut off, imposing a news
blackout on the city. At 8:00 a.m. Indira Gandhi addressed the nation
was lifted was lifted on March 20, 1977, and the rules of the
even less prepared for her second jolt—the defection of Jagjivan Ram
from the Congress fold. Ram, a senior member of the Cabinet and the
12
Congress for Democracy (CFD). The combination of opposition unity
candidates and, in effect, waged the campaign as one Party. But Mrs.
Congress was able to win only 154 seats and the Janata and its allies
(Graham, 2012)
The results led to the split again in January 1978 and a breakaway
Pradesh where popular chief ministers sided with Mrs. Gandhi at the
Overall, the Congress (I) won 394 seats in the five states, compared to
271 for Janata and 147 for the old Congress. Eight months later, in
Gandhi, was facing problems within her Party while attempts to expel
her from Parliament, and efforts to jail her for misconduct and abuse
13
revolution. Twenty-eight months later, however, amidst drift,
of the breakaway Lok Dal faction. Less than one month later, unable to
elections. Both the Janata Party and the Congress Party were torn by
the Congress fold many who had defected from the Party during its
enforced her mandate. Following the 1977 precedent set by the Janata
they had lost their mandate, Mrs. Gandhi instructed the President to
elections provided an opportunity for Sanjay Gandhi, her son who had
percent of the seats, the Congress (I) took power in eight of the nine
states. On June 23, 1980, Sanjay Gandhi, heir apparent to the prime
14
ministership of India, died at the age of 33, in a crash of a single-
engine stunt plane he piloted. Deeply shaken by her son’s death, Indira
Gandhi seemed to lose interest in the affairs of both Party and state.
After some six months, she gradually regained control of the events,
with her elder son, Rajiv. With no experience in politics, it was only
upon the death of Sanjay that Rajiv made his reluctant entry into
Sanjay’s death, Mrs. Gandhi began to ease out of some of her more
hours of Mrs. Gandhi’s death, Rajiv Gandhi, at the age of 40, was sworn
15
in as Prime Minister. It was widely believed that only Rajiv, as bearer
of the Gandhi name and the Nehru legacy, could lead the Congress to
to have been set before his mother’s death, Rajiv announced that
2016).
Rajiv in office. Less than two months after taking office as the
highest policy priorities. The first major action taken by the new
up public life and, in the words of Rajiv Gandhi, put an end to ‘‘politics
1
Defections, or ‘‘floor-crossings,’’ had long been the bane of Indian politics, with
more than 2,700 recorded cases since 1967, most within the state assemblies. As
the dominant Party, the Congress had been the principal beneficiary, with as many
as 1,900 defections to its ranks.
2 The act, however, also gave Rajiv a powerful weapon to maintain discipline
within his own Party. Under the Amendment, which applied to both Parliament
and the state assemblies, legislators would lose their seat if they quit their Party to
join another; if, without prior permission or subsequent approval, they voted or
abstained from voting in the house ‘‘contrary to any direction’’ issued by the
16
politics (Sitapati, 2016). Like his mother’s victory in 1972, Rajiv’s
massive mandate in the December 1984 Lok Sabha elections gave him
solve ethnic and religious conflicts in the Punjab and Assam. In July
rejuvenate the Congress (I), and prepare India for the 21st century.
and vision (Ramachnadra Guha, 2007). However, the euphoria did not
1986, was deferred. Communal violence erupted over the Babri Masjid
political Party to which they belong; or if they were expelled from their Party ‘‘in
accordance with the procedure established by the Constitution, rules, or
regulations’’ of such Party. Splits were permissible only if it involved at least one-
third of the legislative Party. Mergers would require two-thirds approval (Hargrave
and Kochanek, 2008).
17
bill that would reverse the 1985 Shah Bano case and limit the financial
in the Punjab. One of the few bright spots was the Mizoram Accord of
state of Gurkhaland.
Secretariat (Yadav and Palshikar, 2014). In less than three years, the
Union Cabinet was reshuffled at least a dozen times, and each change
follow. Every Cabinet minister was transferred at least once, and some
ministers changed jobs four times. No one was in office long enough to
learn the job or to take any meaningful action. While Rajiv’s relations
a broad mandate to weed out corruption and reduce the size of the
Tax raids, court cases, and the arrest of leading industrialists became
18
the hallmarks of his new regime. V. P. Singh’s rigorous enforcement
resigned from the Cabinet on April 12, 1987, and was later expelled
India, the Swedish radio station not only repeated the charge, but
added that it had documentary proof that four payments were made
into a Swiss bank account code named Lotus. Rajiv’s repeated denials
19
independence an Indian Prime Minister felt compelled to make a
disclaimer before Parliament that neither he nor his family had been
Although Rajiv survived the political crisis of the summer of 1987, the
however, blunted his attempts to regain lost image , gave new life to
Zail Singh publicly claimed he had been offered money and the
contest for re-election but had refused (Sitapati, 2016). These charges
breathed new life into India’s divided opposition, and in late January
1989 the Congress (I) suffered a crushing defeat in the key South
visible and direct role that he played in the campaign. By the summer
of 1989, the defense kickback scandals that had plagued Rajiv since
when the Controller and Auditor General issued a report highly critical
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of the government’s handling of the defense contract to purchase
indictment of the Congress (I) and Rajiv, the opposition stalled the
The Congress (I) entered the fray of November 1989 Lok Sabha
For the first time since independence, no single Party was able to
support of the Communists and the BJP. The National Front became
after less than a year in office (Chakravarty and Hazra, 2016). A new
to survive and was forced to resign in March 1991. India was forced to
go to the polls for a second time in less than two years. Although no
Party was expected to secure a clear majority in the 1991 Lok Sabha
21
elections, public opinion polls pointed to the Congress (I) likely win as
polls showed a growing shift of support away from the Congress (I). In
the second and third rounds that followed the assassination, however,
June 21, Narasimha Rao was sworn in as Prime Minister and given
four weeks to prove in a vote of confidence that the Congress (I) could
confidence came on July 15. Since no Party was prepared to face new
elections, the Congress won the vote of confidence when 112 National
Front and Left Front MPs abstained and opposition parties indicated a
Rao began his term quite well and his first 18 months in office were
22
accommodate appeared to be ideal leadership qualities to lead a
stature and support. Rao’s problems began in April 1992 when news
across the country, however, Rao was forced to act (Sanjay Baru,
23
assemblies. In addition, the challenge to Rao’s leadership came from
the challenge to his leadership, the clash led to another split in the
from the Congress (I) and later launched a new Party in May 1995.
his name came up during the police investigation into the scandal
prospects for the Congress (I) looked bleak. The elections marked the
first time since independence that the Congress (I) had to go to the
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Party was divided as Rao’s alliance strategy had heightened internal
Rao for corruption and called his economic reform policies anti-poor
Parliament, the Congress (I) suffered the worst defeat in its history.
The Congress (I) was able to win only 140 seats. The 14-Party United
corruption charges were levied against Rao and he became the first
law for trial (Hardgrave and Kochanek, 2008). These corruption cases
few months later Rao was also forced to resign as Leader of the
Congress (I) Parliamentary Party. At the age of 77, Sitaram Kesri was
25
not prepared to wait for the 14-Party United Front coalition to
to win back Party defectors, strengthen his hold over the Congress (I),
and suddenly withdrew Congress (I) support from the United Front
(I) support, Gowda lost a vote of confidence on April 11, 1997, and
was forced to resign. After a prolonged crisis the Congress (I) was
forced to concur with the United Front and allow the coalition to select
April 22, the United Front elected I. K. Gujral as Prime Minister. who
survived for only a few months and was forced to resign on November
30, 1997, when the Congress (I) again withdrew support. The new
be ousted from the coalition. When the United Front refused, the
government collapsed and the country once again went to the polls.
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Return of Gandhi family. The climate changed dramatically in early
Congress (I). Her decision had the immediate effect of stemming the
and appeared to alter the outcome of the elections. The Sonia effect
translate into increased votes for the Party. Still, the 1998 election
Congress (I) that had begun in 1989. The Party was able to win 141
27
Party together, she seemed incapable of rebuilding it. Sonia inherited a
bosses who had been in power for decades (Kidwai, 2011). She also
necessary majority to replace it. This failed bid to win power made her
appear inept and power hungry and was followed by the worst defeat
in the Party’s history in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, when the Party
was able to win only 114 seats. Sonia’s political ineptitude, the poor
sense of resentment within the Party over Sonia’s coterie rule, her
Following its victory in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP had lost
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Sonia Gandhi’s leadership, the Congress (I) had increased its control
style was awkward and stilted, and her speeches lacked real substance
from notes, and her speeches were more substantive and complex.
She began to play a major role as leader of the opposition in the Lok
meeting of block and district level Congress (I) leaders in March 2003
and district Party meetings in March, Sonia attended all sessions of the
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formation of alliances (Chakravarthy and Hazra, 2016). This
Congress (I) could win a clear majority of 293 seats in the Lok Sabha if
Congress (I) entered into a series of strategic alliances with state and
and public opinion polls predicted a Congress (I) defeat in the April–
May 2004 national elections, which would be its fourth time in a row
since 1991. The first signs of a possible election upset came in late
April 2004 when new public opinion polls indicated that the Congress
(I) and its allies were gaining momentum. Conversely, the BJP suffered
a major defeat and the Congress (I) was returned to power after 8
victory, the Congress (I) and its allies formed a coalition government
30
far from equal, the two leaders appeared to have worked out a
2014).
Sonia projected herself as chairman of the UPA and not the Congress
NAC, which had provided her with a government staff and office(ibid).
election in 2006. The Party came back to power in 2009 elections and
Congress Party lost 2014 elections and won 44 seats, the historic low
by its past history, it would be hasty to write off the Congress. Yet, it
31
democracy. In the long road ahead, the Congress will have to rebuild
left-of-centre Party”.
Sangh, which had been incorporated into the Janata Party in 1977.
that would attract wider popular appeal (Achin Vanaik, 2012). The
new Party remained closely allied with the larger Hindu nationalist
(RSS) and its cadre for political and organizational support. Perhaps
however, was its close association and identity with the RSS (ibid). In
3
The concept of Integral Humanism was designed to expand the Jana Sangh’s
appeal, strengthen its traditional base of electoral support in North and Central
India, and enhance the Party’s legitimacy by enabling it to participate as an
acceptable partner in coalition governments with other parties.
32
partner in several states, it was able to secure intermittent control of
the Delhi Municipal Council, and it was able to gain some degree of
that also ultimately enabled the Jana Sangh to cooperate with the JP
Movement, enter into a coalition with the Janata Party in the post-
the Jana Sangh failed to become a major political force in India. The
attacks on Jana Sangh and the RSS; and the strong popular support for
the Party’s close identity with the Hindi-speaking North, its limited
(small petty traders), and its lack of a coherent economic policy. With
the break-up of the Janata Party in 1979, a group of former Jana Sangh
form the BJP. Under Vajpayee’s leadership the BJP stressed its
33
oriented set of principles called the five commitments. These five
secularism, the BJP meant a common set of moral values distilled from
Indian civilization. The most important new element in the new BJP
militant RSS whose cadre formed the core of the Party’s organizational
support from the Party in the 1983 assembly elections in Delhi and in
erosion of RSS support, the BJP suffered a massive defeat in the 1984
the BJP was able to win 7.4 percent of the popular vote (the most for
any of the opposition parties), the Party was able to win only two
seats and even Vajpayee, went down to defeat. Congress inroads into
4
The Organizer, an official organ of the RSS, publicly announced its support of
Rajiv Gandhi for the prime ministership and some elements of the RSS actively
worked on behalf of the Congress (I) in the elections (Hardgrave and
Kochanek,2008)
34
Hindu traders and civil servants, however, proved to be only
especially in North India. The BJP’s stunning defeat in the 1984 Lok
Sabha elections forced the Party back to its more militant roots. After
Party leader who was known for his close relations with the RSS, as its
and unity of the country and triggered an acute sense of insecurity and
the vote compared to only two seats and 7.4 percent of the vote in
1984. The BJP repeated this success in the February 1990 when the
Party won 556 seats out of a total of 1,616 seats at stake in several
Janata Dal in Rajasthan and Gujarat. By the time of the Tenth Lok
Sabha elections in the summer of 1991, the BJP’s efforts to use the
been constructed on a site that marked the birthplace of the god Rama
(Ramjanmabhoomi) and wanted the shrine restored. Although both the Congress
(I) and the BJP attempted to use the Ayodhya issue to garner Hindu support during
the 1989 parliamentary elections and the 1990 state assembly election campaigns,
the BJP’s commitment to the cause of Ramjanmabhoomi proved to be much more
convincing to many Hindu voters.
36
In late August 1990, in an effort to offset V. P. Singh’s Mandal (caste)
October 30, 1990, the procession was halted by the police and Advani
the proposed site of the temple, were also thwarted by the police.
Advani’s rath yatra, the Ayodhya campaign, and the Mandal issue led
emphasis on its Hindutva agenda. The BJP almost doubled its popular
vote from 11.4 percent in 1989 to 21.0 percent in the 1991, and the
political force on the national scene and had come to challenge the old
37
paramilitary forces guarding the mosque offered no resistance. The
‘‘a betrayal of the nation’’ and attacked the BJP for exacerbating
Despite curfews, six days of rioting erupted across India and more
than 1,200 people were killed in rioting and police firings—the vast
were the worst since India became independent in 1947. In the wake
of the upheaval over the destruction of the Babri Masjid, the BJP Chief
President’s Rule; and Indian troops cleared the site of Hindu devotees,
he was clearly shaken by the events. The unexpected defeat of the BJP
have run its course, caste polarization eroded BJP support, and the
38
Party became weakened by internal conflict. In an effort to win back
its supporters, broaden its electoral base, and break out of its isolation
the BJP’s shift in strategy enabled the Party to win 20 percent of the
popular vote and 161 seats to emerge as the largest single Party in the
Lok Sabha. Although the BJP’s allies won an additional 26 seats and
four percent of the vote, the alliance still fell well short of a majority.
to avoid the isolation and humiliation that led to the fall of its 13-day
parties in preparation for the 1998 Lok Sabha elections. Although the
the BJP was able to win 25.5 percent of the popular vote and 179 seats
to emerge once again as the largest single Party in the Lok Sabha. Even
39
with an additional 40 seats won by its electoral allies; however, the
Andhra based Telugu Desam Party (TDP) broke with the United Front
274 to 261 when the TDP decided to vote for the coalition rather than
remaining neutral. In return for this support the BJP helped elect a
the upswing in support for BJP in the 1998 elections was a result of
a split in the anti-BJP vote between the Congress (I) and the United
Front, and, most important of all, the success of the Party’s alliance
free. The Party was confronted with the difficult task of holding its
40
confronted by an economy in turmoil (Hardgrave and Kochanek,
coalition partners and the RSS. The government was unable to pass a
bill that would have opened the Indian insurance sector to foreign
direct investment (FDI), enact the Women’s Reservation Bill that was
designed to reserve one-third of all seats in the Lok Sabha and state
fertilizer prices. The budget proposals met with such stiff resistance
from within the governing coalition that the press labelled it the
Patent Bill in March 1999 and a bill to create three new states. The
Prime Minister also ruled out legislation that would ban religious
41
conversions. Just as it appeared to be recovering some initiative, the
support. On April 17, 1999, the government was forced to resign when
it lost a no confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by one vote, and India
went to the polls again for the third time in three years. The 1999
personality battle between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi and
voter support from 25.5 percent in 1998 to 23.7 percent in 1999, due
to its new alliance arrangements the BJP won 182 seats, an all-time
high for the Party. Since the BJP’s allies succeeded in winning an
additional 118 seats, the NDA emerged with a clear mandate and
previous coalition government, the Kargil war, the BJP’s soft Hindutva
coalition strategy. The victory of the NDA in the 1999 elections was
42
term in office. Following its re-election, the new NDA government
(Yadav and Palshikar, 2014). One of its first initiatives was to re-
opposition from the RSS swadeshi lobby. Given the broader electoral
economic and political turning point for the NDA, however, came
toward the tail end of its five-year term in office. Following a year of
December 2003 the BJP scored a major victory in several key state
the BJP proclaimed a new era of ‘‘India Shining’’ that had transformed
the ‘‘Hindu rate of growth’’ of 3.5 percent in the past into a ‘‘Hindutva
43
Kochanek, 2008). Vajpayee’s popularity soared, and the Indian press
remarkable rise of the BJP to a sudden halt. The Party turned in its
worst performance in over a decade. In the 2004 elections the BJP was
able to win only 22.2 percent of the vote and 138 seats compared to
23.7 percent of the vote and 183 seats in 1998. The BJP’s allies
suffered an even bigger defeat and were able to win only 13.7 percent
of the vote and 51 seats compared to 17 percent of the vote and 118
seats in 1998 (Yadav and Palshikar,2014). The defeat of the NDA was
Samajwadi Party
Other Backward Castes, claims itself as a national Party. The Party was
44
peasant Party, and finally became a member of the Janata movement.
‘Using the Yadav community as his base, Singh sought to shed his
held in check by the rise of the BSP. As a result, the SP became a Party
of Yadavs and Muslims. The electoral support for the SP in U.P. peaked
in 1996 when the Party won 29 percent of the vote. Since then, Party
elections. Although the Party won 26.7 percent of the vote and 36
seats in the 2004, 35 of the seats were from U.P. and the other one in
winning 224 seats. However, the Party could win only 5 seats out of 80
45
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) was founded in 1984 by Kanshi Ram, a
each other, the organization had expanded and become more formally
Ian Duncan (1999), the origins of the BSP can be traced to the
46
(1999) says, ‘Its aim was to bring about a revolution in the socio-
presence felt but scored its first big success in the 1993 state elections
in Uttar Pradesh when it won 67 seats and 12 percent of the vote and
however, disintegrated in June 1995 and the BSP formed its own
however, lasted only a few months and the state was placed under
President’s Rule. The BSP won 10 seats in the Lok Sabha elections of
Pradesh was again placed under President’s Rule. In March 1997 the
BSP and the BJP entered into a unique coalition arrangement whereby
6of the BSP in Uttar Pradesh and close confidant of Kanshi Ram.
Mayawati first met Kanshi Ram when she was a student in 1977 and
full-time activist for the BSP. From an early stage, her political ability
and commitment impressed just about everyone with whom she came
6
Mayawati comes from a Jatav/Chamar family which moved to Delhi after living
in Western UP. The family was involved in Ambedkarite politics but the extent of
this activity is not clear. She gained degree from Meerut University and later a
further law degree from Delhi University.
47
into contact. As the former Governor of UP was later to remark: 'Her
political antennae are indeed very finely tuned. She has a political
the total vote. In addition to Uttar Pradesh, the BSP also has some
support in the Punjab and Madhya Pradesh. Unlike other largely state-
based parties, the BSP believes that it represents the all-India voice of
the Dalit community and has attempted to broaden its appeal and
The Party put up 435 candidates in 25 states and union territories and
with more attention being given to social status and political power
the state capital Lucknow. The Mayawati regimes also saw massive
UP, but on a scale that led the then Governor of UP to conclude that
there 'was no doubt that officers of the Scheduled Caste had been
(Pai and Singh, 1997) and she 'dealt particularly severely with officials
49
were chosen on the basis of having a high proportion of Dalit
that were usually spent in the Dalit quarters of the villages on public
land that had been allotted to Dalits many years before, but never
The arrival of the BSP has transformed the political landscape of UP. It
an extent not seen before. The Party has played a central role in this
programmes.
50
arithmetic of caste, community, language, tribe, and region lies behind
Party labels.
second Lok Sabha elections in 1957, third in 1962, fourth in 1967, fifth
and tenth in 1991, eleventh Lok Sabha elections in 1996, twelfth Lok
2009. The sixteenth Lok Sabha elections took place in 2014. The five
year term of the 15 th Lok Sabha expired on 31st May, 2014. Article
the elections to constitute a new Lok Sabha before the expiry of its
in this direction was to consult all stakeholders, invite inputs from all
world’s largest democracy has been rightly praised for how well it
800 million eligible voters cast their ballots. More than 10 million
2014 Lok Sabha elections had the highest voter turnout of 66.4%,
surpassing the 64% poll turnout in 1984 elections (The Times of India,
May 13, 2014). The general elections cost the government Rs. 3,426
crore which is 131% more than Rs 1483 crore spent in 2009 polls. The
2014 elections were held in 9 phases, with BJP, winning 282 out of
543 seats in the Lok Sabha with 31 percent vote share. The Party
doubled its strength from 116 seats it had won in the 2009 elections.
Since independence, the Indian Party system has evolved through two
52
supremacy during these four decades was challenged only once in
1977 when the Party suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of the
within two years. The defeat of the Congress Party in the elections of
1989 signaled a major break with the past and a significant turning
Sridharan, 2012).
The Congress Party again formed the government in 1991 at the head
mobilization strategies. The Lok Sabha elections held so far since 1971
general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party used the slogan of 'India
Incidentally the Party became the first Party to win a majority in Lok
Sabha since 1984. The UPA won less than quarter of 206 seats it won
share. The regional parties secured 45.7 percent of vote share. The
backed up by strong local and state level leadership which enable the
and Madhya Pradesh. In Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh the BJP was
aided by strong performance from its alliance partners; TDP and Shiva
rising inflation. The BJP’s success was made possible, among other
54
and decisive leader attracted support among the lower and middle
The BJP made extensive use of online media, including the social
view. After Modi was anointed as the BJP’S Prime ministerial face, he
hire the best talent from marketing and advertising world to deluge
social media. The strategy was to flood every single virtual space and
advertising bill board with Narendra Modi and his face (Harish Khare,
55
achieving specific objectives, 2) communication addressed to these
working for the welfare of the people and in the process they indulge
and citizens interplay and interact with each other. The various
elements through which this interaction takes place have also been
7
‘Impression management is an attempt to portray and claim a desired image in
social interactions’ (Connolly-Ahern, 2009:326).
56
of use of power in society can be considered political communication’.
points out that ‘politicians are less concerned with the precision of
57
Figure 1
Parties
Political organization
Public organizations
Pressure Groups
Reportage Terrorist Organizations
Editorial Government
Commentary
Analysis
Media
Appeal
Programs
Advertising
Public Relations
Opinion Polls
Letter Blogs
Citizen
Journalism
Citizens
political message is conveyed through a flag, the badge, the seal, the
token or other insignia and even modes of dress (Lang and Lang,
1989: 322). For instance, Mahatma Gandhi in India used a dress that
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with the masses (Gonsalves, 2010:25-26). Gonsalves noted that the
leader who was saintly and attached himself to common people. His
final clothing most represented the values he lived by; to be among the
detached from material wealth, to sacrifice his family life for the birth
people. ‘Gandhi used common salt, which cuts across religious, caste
exploitation, for the rich a struggle against the salt laws gave an
Moreover, Lang and Lang (1989) noted that ‘political symbols were
what made them political was the way they were used in political
sequences that were present in any MGR film’. He further wrote that
film was released; film magazines carried letters from MGR’s fans
biography of MGR that projected his real life as not being different
films, calendars and Party posters were used with remarkable skill in
popularity in Tamil Nadu, and MGR ruled the state even when he was
8
With the formation of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in 1949 after a split
in the original political Party, Dravidar Kazhagam, the DMK defeated the
Congress Party in 1967. C N Annadurai became the chief minister and after two
years he died in 1969. M K Karunanithi succeeded him, and a crisis in the Party in
1972 resulted in the expulsion of M G Ramachandran, the treasurer for his
criticism of the Party leaders of indulging in corruption. MGR launched a new
Party, Anna Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (ADMK) which was later renamed as All
India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). In 1977, AIADMK swept
the polls and MGR became the chief minister. He continued to be the chief
minister till his death on December 25, 1987. He won the 1980 and 1984 election.
He became a “legend” in his life time (Vaasanthi, 2006).
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The other film personality, N T Rama Rao (NTR) too utilized his
called upon the people to hold high the Telugu people’s honour
‘charismatic appeal of NTR was the crucial factor in the TDP’s success
in 1983. People reposed faith in him…he also worked with great zeal
for what the speaker speaks but are only interested to see how the
NTR, the cine idol for millions of people, known more for his excellent
Rama and Krishna, used his celluloid image most effectively to carry
his political message to the people’. The study of these two leaders
the way for their victory in the elections. Thus, newspapers too play a
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people into issues that won votes for the Telugu Desam (Prasad,
2014). The most famous instance of this was the way in which the
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