NOTES GRADE 10

POLITICAL SCIENCE
CHAPTER - 6
POLITICAL PARTIES

Political parties are the most visible institution

MEANING OF POLITICAL PARTY

Related Question: What is a political party?

Ans. A political party is a group of people who come together to contest election and control
political power to form government. Every political party has its policy and programmes which
are implemented when it is in power. They also persuade people to vote for them. Political
parties involve Partisanship it means strongly supporting one view point, they usually have
tendency to take a side and inability to take a balanced view on an issues.

Note:
Partisan: A person who is strongly committed to a party, group or faction.
Political Party involves Partisanship – Parties often reflect political divisions in a society and
have their ideology. Thus they are known for the part its stands for, policies it supports and
interests it upholds.

COMPONENTS OF POLITICAL PARTY

A political party has three components:

 The Leaders: The leaders contest elections and if they win, perform the administrative
jobs.
 The Active Members: The active members attend party meetings and are close to the
party leaders. They can be called the assistants of the leaders.
 The Followers: The followers are the dedicated workers of the party. They work under
the guidance of the active members.

FUNCTIONS OF POLITICAL PARTY

Related Question: State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

 Contesting Elections: Political parties contest elections. A political party nominates

its candidate for the electoral contest in various constituencies. In USA, members and

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 supporters of a party choose its candidates. In India – Top party leaders chooses the
candidates.
 Policies and programmes: Political parties put forward different policies and
programmes so that the voters can choose from them. Political parties groups different
views together and frame policies accordingly.
 Making Law: Political parties play a decisive role in making laws for the country. As
most of the parliamentarians belong to political parties, so a political party has direct
say in law making for the country.
 Formation of Government: Political parties form and run governments. The executive
body is formed by people from the ruling party. Parties recruit leaders, train them and
then make them ministers to run the government in the way they want.
 Playing Opposition: A party which does not get majority or come under the majority
coalition, needs to play the role of opposition. It keeps an eye on the ruling government.
Criticizes them and mobilizes opposition to ruling party.
 Shaping Public Opinion: Political parties shape public opinion. They do so by raising
and highlighting issues in the legislature and in the media.
 Providing Access to Government Machinery and welfare schemes: Political parties
provide people access to government machinery and welfareschemes implemented by
governments. Parties need to be responsive to people’s needs and demands.

NEED FOR A POLITICAL PARTY/ NECESSITY

Related Question: What is the necessity of political parties in a democratic set- up?

1. If there were no political party, then each and every candidate would be independent. No
promises could be made and the utility of government formed will remain uncertain.
2. No one will be responsible for running the country. An independent candidate would
always be more interested in the specific needs of his constituency.
3. There will be no party to gather and present different views on various issues to the
government. A political party is necessary to bring diverse people on a common platform,
so that bigger issues can be taken care of.
4. There will be no mechanism to support the government, make policies and justify or oppose
them also to perform various functions like contesting elections, shaping public opinion,
provide access to government machinery etc.
5. We need political parties to represent citizens in a representative democracy. In this system,
governance is done through people’s representative because it is impossible for each citizen
to directly participate in governance. The need for representative democracy has given rise
to political parties.

PARTY SYSTEM

1. One party system

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 a) In some countries only one party is allowed to control and run the government, e.g. China. These
are called one-party systems.
b) It is not considered democratic since a democratic system must allow at least two parties to
compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come to power .

Two party system

a) In some countries, power usually changes between two main parties. Such a party system is
called two-party system.
b) Other parties may exist , may win few seats but the chances of winning majority is with these
two parties.
b) The United States of America and the United Kingdom are examples of two-party system.

2. Multi-party system
If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of
coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others, we call it a multi-party
system. Thus in India, we have a multi-party system.

Coalition Government – The government is formed by various parties coming together.

Alliance or a front:- When several parties in a multi party system join hands for the purpose of
contesting elections and winning power then they form an Alliance or Front. In 2004 parliamentary
elections in india there were 3 major alliance -
Example: 1) NDA – National Democratic Alliance led by BJP.
2) UPA – United Progressive Alliance led by Congress.
3) Left front.

Problem of Multi party system :- The multi-party system is apparently very messy and it often
leads to political instability

Merits of muti party system:

a) it allows various interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.
b) Better laws formation and implementation

Related Question- “Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special
circumstances.” Do you agree with the statement? Give reasons.

 A particular party system takes time to evolve in a country.It depends on the nature of
society, social and regional diversities.
 It also depends on its history of politics and its system of elections.
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  India is a country of huge geographical and social diversity. Such diversity may not be
easily accommodated by two or even three parties.
 It is quite natural that a multi-party system has evolved in India.
 We should keep in mind that each system has its pros and cons.

POPULAR PARTICIPATION IN POLITICAL PARTIES

1. Political parties do not enjoy much trust among the people in South Asia.
2. In September 2016 it was recognized as national party.
3. Committed to secularism and federalism.
4. Has been in power in West Bengal since 2011.
5. Significant presence in the states of Tripura, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.
6. In 2019 elections it won 22 seats and 4.07% votes (4th largest party in 2019 elections).
7. Its symbol is flower and grass.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

 Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.

 Seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan Samaj which includes the dalits,
adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.
 Seek to ensure interest and welfare of dalits and oppressed.
 Inspired by teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and
B.R Ambedkar.
 Has good presence in Uttar Pradesh and has been in power in UP for a couple of terms.
Also has significant presence in states like Uttarakhand,Chhattisgarh, Delhi , M.P. etc.
 It secured 3.63% votes in 2019 elections but no seat in Lok Sabha.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)

 Founded in 1980 by reviving Bharatiya Jana Sangh formed by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee
in 1951.
 Their goal is to build strong and modern India by –
a) drawing inspiration from India’s ancient culture and values
b) Deen Dayal Upadhyay’s idea of integral humanism and antyodaya.
 Hindutva or cultural nationalism is an important element of Indian nationhood and politics.
 They want full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
 Demands uniform civil code for all the people living in the country irrespective of religion.
 Wanted to Ban religious conversions.
 Party support increased tremendously in 1990s, earlier its presence was limited to only
west and north part of India but now it has expanded to other parts as well. Party came to
power in 1998 as a leader of NDA.
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  Emerged as the largest party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Communist Party of India (CPI)

 Formed in 1925.
 Believes in Marxism- Leninism.
 It supports socialism, secularism and democracy.
 Wants parliamentary democracy for promoting interest of working class, farmers and poor.
 Opposes imperialism and communalism.
 After the split in the party in 1964 it led to the formation of the CPI (M).
Significant presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and
Tamil Nadu.
 Advocates the coming together of all left parties to build a strong left front.
 It secured less than 1 per cent votes and 2 seat s in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Communist Party of India - Marxist (CPI-M)

 This party was founded in 1964. Main philosophy- Marxism – Leninism.

 It supports socialism, secularism and democracy.
 Opposes imperialism and communalism.
 Believes in democratic elections as medium of securing socio- economic justice in India.
 Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura
 Famous among the poor, factory workers, farmers, agricultural labourer and the
intelligentsia.
 Critical of the new economic policies that allow free flow of foreign capital and goods
into the country.
 Was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34 years. In the 2019 Lok Sabha
elections, it won about 1.75 per cent of votes and 3 seats.

Indian National Congress (INC)

 This is popularly known as the Congress Party.

 One of the world’s Oldest party - formed in 1885 by A.O Hume.
 Involved in the freedom struggle. Under the leadership of Nehru the party sought to build
modern secular democratic republic in India.
 They are Centrist in its ideology which promotes secularism.
 Favored welfare of weaker sections and minorities.
 Supports new economic reforms with human face.

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  Leader of United Progressive Alliance in 2004 to 2019 elections.
 In the 2019 Lok Sabha election it won 52 seats.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)

 This party was formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party.
 The party espouses democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and federalism.
 Wants high office in government to be confined to natural born citizens of the country.
 This is a major party in Maharashtra and has a significant presence in Meghalaya, Manipur
and Assam.
 A coalition partner in the state of Maharashtra in alliance with the congress in 2004.

STATE PARTIES/ REGIONAL PARTIES :

RISE of REGIONAL PARTIES and THEIR CONTRIBUTION

 Many regional parties have grown in prominence over the last three decades. This has made
Indian parliament politically more diverse. These parties give support to national parties to
form coalition government. It Has strengthened federalism and democracy. This is a sign
of expansion and deepening of democracy in India.
 There are some national level parties which have units in many states - Samajwadi Party,
Rashtriya Janta Dal.
 Few important state level parties are:-
Biju Janata Dal – Odisha, MIZO National Front – Mizoram,
Sikkim Democratic Front – Sikkim, Telangana Rashtra Samithi – Telangana.

CHALLENGES TO POLITICAL PARTIES

1. Lack of Internal Democracy

• The power is concentrated in the hands of one or few top leaders.

• Membership registers are not maintained regularly and also organizational meetings and internal
elections are not held.
• Ordinary members of the party do not get information on what happens inside the party. The top
leadership is often disconnected with the grassroots workers. Those who disagree with leaders find
it difficult to continue in the party.
• Loyalty to the policies and principles of the party has less value than the loyalty to the top
leadership.

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 2. Dynastic Succession
• Because of the absence of transparent procedures, an ordinary member cannot rise to the top
position in the party. The top positions in many political parties are usually controlled by members
of one family.
• A person born in a particular family becomes the leader by virtue of his birth.
• Not the sign of a healthy democracy as people who do not have adequate experience occupy the
top position in the party.

3. Money and Muscle Power

• a political party leaves no stone unturned to win elections.
• Spends huge sum of money during elections. Parties nominate candidates who can raise money.
• Rich people and big companies who give funding often influence the decisions and policies of
political parties.
• Parties often take help of criminals and give them ticket.

Parties do not offer Meaningful Choice to voters.

• Decline in the ideological difference amongst different parties
• Most of the political parties sound similar to one another. (example: Labour Party and
Conservative Party in Britain). In our country too, the differences among all the major parties on
the economic policies have reduced.
• People have no choice than choosing the better of the two evils.
• In some states, the party in power just changes every five year but people seldom experience
change on the ground.
 Sometimes same set of leaders keep shifting from 1 party to another.

REFORMS INTRODUCED AND SUGGESTED

1) 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.
• It has made any dissent even more difficult. MPs and MLAs have to accept whatever the party
leaders decide.

2) Details of Property and Criminal Proceedings during Nomination:

• It is mandatory for every candidate who contests elections to file an AFFIDAVIT giving details
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 of his property and criminal cases pending against him. The new system has made a lot of
information available to the public.
• But there is no system of check if the information given by the candidates is true.

3) Mandatory Organizational Elections and IT Returns:

• It necessary for political parties to hold their organizational elections and file their income tax
returns.
• The parties have started doing so but sometimes it is mere formality.

Q. Suggest some features which can further help in strengthening political parties and their
functioning.

Suggestions for Future:

1. A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties like – making it
compulsory to maintain register of party’s members, party should follow its own constitution,
parties should hold internal elections for top position etc.
2. It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about
one-third, to women candidates and quota for women in decision making body.
3. There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support
their election expenses. This support could be given in kind: petrol, paper, telephone etc. Or it
could be given in cash on the basis of the votes secured by the party in the last election.
4. People can put pressure on political parties and this can be done through petitions, publicity and
agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and movements & media can play an important role
in this.
5. Political parties can improve if those who want this join politics. Thus the quality of democracy
depends upon the degree of participation.

Important Terms:
Ruling Party: Political party that runs government.

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

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

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