Page 1
46
Democratic Politics
Chapter 4
Overview
In this tour of democracy, we have come across political parties several
times. In Class IX, we noticed the role of political parties in the rise of
democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics
and in the making and working of governments. In this textbook, we have
glanced at political parties as vehicles of federal sharing of political power
and as negotiators of social divisions in the arena of democratic politics.
Before concluding this tour, let us take a close look at the nature and
working of political parties, especially in our country. We begin by asking
two common questions: Why do we need parties? How many parties are
good for a democracy? In the light of these, we introduce the national
and regional political parties in today’s India and then look at what is
wrong with political parties and what can be done about it.
Political Parties
Chapter 4.indd 46 08-04-2022 12:33:27
2024-25
Page 2
46
Democratic Politics
Chapter 4
Overview
In this tour of democracy, we have come across political parties several
times. In Class IX, we noticed the role of political parties in the rise of
democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics
and in the making and working of governments. In this textbook, we have
glanced at political parties as vehicles of federal sharing of political power
and as negotiators of social divisions in the arena of democratic politics.
Before concluding this tour, let us take a close look at the nature and
working of political parties, especially in our country. We begin by asking
two common questions: Why do we need parties? How many parties are
good for a democracy? In the light of these, we introduce the national
and regional political parties in today’s India and then look at what is
wrong with political parties and what can be done about it.
Political Parties
Chapter 4.indd 46 08-04-2022 12:33:27
2024-25
Political Parties
47
Why do we need political parties?
Political parties are easily one of
the most visible institutions in a
democracy. For most ordinary
citizens, democracy is equal to
political parties. If you travel to
remote parts of our country and
speak to the less educated citizens,
you could come across people who
may not know anything about our
Constitution or about the nature of
our government. But chances are
that they would know something
about our political parties. At the
same time, this visibility does not
mean popularity. Most people tend
to be very critical of political parties.
They tend to blame parties for all
that is wrong with our democracy
and our political life. Parties have
become identified with social and
political divisions.
Therefore, it is natural to ask – do
we need political parties at all? About
hundred years ago, there were few
countries of the world that had
any political party. Now there are
few that do not have parties. Why
did political parties become so
omnipresent in democracies all over
the world? Let us first answer what
political parties are and what they
do, before we say why we need them.
Meaning
A political party is a group of
people who come together to contest
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. Since there can be
different views on what is good for
So, you agree
with me. Parties
are partial,
partisan and lead
to partitions.
Parties do
nothing but
divide people.
That is their real
function!
Election Commission has officially banned wall
writing by parties during election times. Most
political parties argue that was the cheapest way
for their campaign. These election times used to
create amazing graffiti on the walls. Here are some
examples from Tamil Nadu.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
© (1) M Govarthan (2) A Muralidharan (3) M Moorthy (4) T Singaravelou, The Hindu
Chapter 4.indd 47 08-04-2022 12:33:31
2024-25
Page 3
46
Democratic Politics
Chapter 4
Overview
In this tour of democracy, we have come across political parties several
times. In Class IX, we noticed the role of political parties in the rise of
democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics
and in the making and working of governments. In this textbook, we have
glanced at political parties as vehicles of federal sharing of political power
and as negotiators of social divisions in the arena of democratic politics.
Before concluding this tour, let us take a close look at the nature and
working of political parties, especially in our country. We begin by asking
two common questions: Why do we need parties? How many parties are
good for a democracy? In the light of these, we introduce the national
and regional political parties in today’s India and then look at what is
wrong with political parties and what can be done about it.
Political Parties
Chapter 4.indd 46 08-04-2022 12:33:27
2024-25
Political Parties
47
Why do we need political parties?
Political parties are easily one of
the most visible institutions in a
democracy. For most ordinary
citizens, democracy is equal to
political parties. If you travel to
remote parts of our country and
speak to the less educated citizens,
you could come across people who
may not know anything about our
Constitution or about the nature of
our government. But chances are
that they would know something
about our political parties. At the
same time, this visibility does not
mean popularity. Most people tend
to be very critical of political parties.
They tend to blame parties for all
that is wrong with our democracy
and our political life. Parties have
become identified with social and
political divisions.
Therefore, it is natural to ask – do
we need political parties at all? About
hundred years ago, there were few
countries of the world that had
any political party. Now there are
few that do not have parties. Why
did political parties become so
omnipresent in democracies all over
the world? Let us first answer what
political parties are and what they
do, before we say why we need them.
Meaning
A political party is a group of
people who come together to contest
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. Since there can be
different views on what is good for
So, you agree
with me. Parties
are partial,
partisan and lead
to partitions.
Parties do
nothing but
divide people.
That is their real
function!
Election Commission has officially banned wall
writing by parties during election times. Most
political parties argue that was the cheapest way
for their campaign. These election times used to
create amazing graffiti on the walls. Here are some
examples from Tamil Nadu.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
© (1) M Govarthan (2) A Muralidharan (3) M Moorthy (4) T Singaravelou, The Hindu
Chapter 4.indd 47 08-04-2022 12:33:31
2024-25
48
Democratic Politics
Partisan: A person
who is strongly
committed to a
party, group or
faction. Partisanship
is marked by a
tendency to take a
side and inability
to take a balanced
view on an issue.
© RK Laxman - Brushing up the years
all, parties try to persuade people
why their policies are better than
others. They seek to implement
these policies by winning popular
support through elections.
Thus, parties reflect fundamental
political divisions in a society. Parties
are about a part of the society and
thus, involve partisanship . Thus,
a party is known by which part it
stands for, which policies it supports
and whose interests it upholds. A
political party has three components:
? the leaders,
? the active members and
? the followers
Functions
What does a political party do?
Basically, political parties fill political
offices and exercise political power.
Parties do so by performing a series
of functions:
1 Parties contest elections. In most
democracies, elections are fought
mainly among the candidates put
up by political parties. Parties select
their candidates in different ways.
In some countries, such as the USA,
members and supporters of a party
choose its candidates. Now more
and more countries are following
this method. In other countries
like India, top party leaders choose
candidates for contesting elections.
2
Parties put forward different
policies and programmes and the
voters choose from them. Each of
us may have different opinions and
views on what policies are suitable
for the society. But no government
can handle such a large variety
of views. In a democracy, a large
number of similar opinions have
to be grouped together to provide
a direction in which policies can
be formulated by the governments.
This is what the parties do. A party
reduces a vast multitude of opinions
into a few basic positions which it
Chapter 4.indd 48 08-04-2022 12:33:33
2024-25
Page 4
46
Democratic Politics
Chapter 4
Overview
In this tour of democracy, we have come across political parties several
times. In Class IX, we noticed the role of political parties in the rise of
democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics
and in the making and working of governments. In this textbook, we have
glanced at political parties as vehicles of federal sharing of political power
and as negotiators of social divisions in the arena of democratic politics.
Before concluding this tour, let us take a close look at the nature and
working of political parties, especially in our country. We begin by asking
two common questions: Why do we need parties? How many parties are
good for a democracy? In the light of these, we introduce the national
and regional political parties in today’s India and then look at what is
wrong with political parties and what can be done about it.
Political Parties
Chapter 4.indd 46 08-04-2022 12:33:27
2024-25
Political Parties
47
Why do we need political parties?
Political parties are easily one of
the most visible institutions in a
democracy. For most ordinary
citizens, democracy is equal to
political parties. If you travel to
remote parts of our country and
speak to the less educated citizens,
you could come across people who
may not know anything about our
Constitution or about the nature of
our government. But chances are
that they would know something
about our political parties. At the
same time, this visibility does not
mean popularity. Most people tend
to be very critical of political parties.
They tend to blame parties for all
that is wrong with our democracy
and our political life. Parties have
become identified with social and
political divisions.
Therefore, it is natural to ask – do
we need political parties at all? About
hundred years ago, there were few
countries of the world that had
any political party. Now there are
few that do not have parties. Why
did political parties become so
omnipresent in democracies all over
the world? Let us first answer what
political parties are and what they
do, before we say why we need them.
Meaning
A political party is a group of
people who come together to contest
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. Since there can be
different views on what is good for
So, you agree
with me. Parties
are partial,
partisan and lead
to partitions.
Parties do
nothing but
divide people.
That is their real
function!
Election Commission has officially banned wall
writing by parties during election times. Most
political parties argue that was the cheapest way
for their campaign. These election times used to
create amazing graffiti on the walls. Here are some
examples from Tamil Nadu.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
© (1) M Govarthan (2) A Muralidharan (3) M Moorthy (4) T Singaravelou, The Hindu
Chapter 4.indd 47 08-04-2022 12:33:31
2024-25
48
Democratic Politics
Partisan: A person
who is strongly
committed to a
party, group or
faction. Partisanship
is marked by a
tendency to take a
side and inability
to take a balanced
view on an issue.
© RK Laxman - Brushing up the years
all, parties try to persuade people
why their policies are better than
others. They seek to implement
these policies by winning popular
support through elections.
Thus, parties reflect fundamental
political divisions in a society. Parties
are about a part of the society and
thus, involve partisanship . Thus,
a party is known by which part it
stands for, which policies it supports
and whose interests it upholds. A
political party has three components:
? the leaders,
? the active members and
? the followers
Functions
What does a political party do?
Basically, political parties fill political
offices and exercise political power.
Parties do so by performing a series
of functions:
1 Parties contest elections. In most
democracies, elections are fought
mainly among the candidates put
up by political parties. Parties select
their candidates in different ways.
In some countries, such as the USA,
members and supporters of a party
choose its candidates. Now more
and more countries are following
this method. In other countries
like India, top party leaders choose
candidates for contesting elections.
2
Parties put forward different
policies and programmes and the
voters choose from them. Each of
us may have different opinions and
views on what policies are suitable
for the society. But no government
can handle such a large variety
of views. In a democracy, a large
number of similar opinions have
to be grouped together to provide
a direction in which policies can
be formulated by the governments.
This is what the parties do. A party
reduces a vast multitude of opinions
into a few basic positions which it
Chapter 4.indd 48 08-04-2022 12:33:33
2024-25
Political Parties
49
Okay, granted
that we can’t
live without
political parties.
But tell me on
what grounds do
people support a
political party?
supports. A government is expected
to base its policies on the line taken
by the ruling party .
3 Parties play a decisive role
in making laws for a country.
Formally, laws are debated and
passed in the legislature. But since
most of the members belong to a
party, they go by the direction of
the party leadership, irrespective of
their personal opinions.
4 Parties form and run governments .
As we noted last year, the big policy
decisions are taken by political
executive that comes from the
political parties. Parties recruit
leaders, train them and then
make them ministers to run the
government in the way they want.
5 Those parties that lose in the
elections play the role of opposition
to the parties in power, by voicing
different views and criticising
government for its failures or
wrong policies. Opposition parties
also mobilise opposition to the
government.
6 Parties shape public opinion.
They raise and highlight issues.
Parties have lakhs of members and
activists spread all over the country.
Many of the pressure groups are the
extensions of political parties among
different sections of society. Parties
sometimes also launch movements
for the resolution of problems
faced by people. Often opinions in
the society crystallise on the lines
parties take.
7 Parties provide people access
to government machinery and
welfare schemes implemented by
governments. For an ordinary citizen
it is easy to approach a local party
leader than a government officer.
That is why, they feel close to parties
even when they do not fully trust
them. Parties have to be responsive
to people’s needs and demands.
Otherwise people can reject those
parties in the next elections.
Necessity
This list of functions in a sense
answers the question asked above:
we need political parties because
they perform all these functions.
But we still need to ask why modern
democracies cannot exist without
political parties. We can understand
the necessity of political parties by
imagining a situation without parties.
Every candidate in the elections
will be independent. So no one
will be able to make any promises
to the people about any major
policy changes. The government
may be formed, but its utility will
remain ever uncertain. Elected
representatives will be accountable
to their constituency for what they
do in the locality. But no one will
be responsible for how the country
will be run.
We can also think about it by
looking at the non-party based
elections to the panchayat in many
states. Although, the parties do not
contest formally, it is generally
noticed that the village gets split into
more than one faction, each of which
puts up a ‘panel’ of its candidates.
This is exactly what the party does.
That is the reason we find political
parties in almost all countries of the
world, whether these countries are
big or small, old or new, developed
or developing.
The rise of political parties is
directly linked to the emergence
of representative democracies.
Ruling Party: Political
party that runs
government.
Chapter 4.indd 49 08-04-2022 12:33:34
2024-25
Page 5
46
Democratic Politics
Chapter 4
Overview
In this tour of democracy, we have come across political parties several
times. In Class IX, we noticed the role of political parties in the rise of
democracies, in the formation of constitutional designs, in electoral politics
and in the making and working of governments. In this textbook, we have
glanced at political parties as vehicles of federal sharing of political power
and as negotiators of social divisions in the arena of democratic politics.
Before concluding this tour, let us take a close look at the nature and
working of political parties, especially in our country. We begin by asking
two common questions: Why do we need parties? How many parties are
good for a democracy? In the light of these, we introduce the national
and regional political parties in today’s India and then look at what is
wrong with political parties and what can be done about it.
Political Parties
Chapter 4.indd 46 08-04-2022 12:33:27
2024-25
Political Parties
47
Why do we need political parties?
Political parties are easily one of
the most visible institutions in a
democracy. For most ordinary
citizens, democracy is equal to
political parties. If you travel to
remote parts of our country and
speak to the less educated citizens,
you could come across people who
may not know anything about our
Constitution or about the nature of
our government. But chances are
that they would know something
about our political parties. At the
same time, this visibility does not
mean popularity. Most people tend
to be very critical of political parties.
They tend to blame parties for all
that is wrong with our democracy
and our political life. Parties have
become identified with social and
political divisions.
Therefore, it is natural to ask – do
we need political parties at all? About
hundred years ago, there were few
countries of the world that had
any political party. Now there are
few that do not have parties. Why
did political parties become so
omnipresent in democracies all over
the world? Let us first answer what
political parties are and what they
do, before we say why we need them.
Meaning
A political party is a group of
people who come together to contest
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. Since there can be
different views on what is good for
So, you agree
with me. Parties
are partial,
partisan and lead
to partitions.
Parties do
nothing but
divide people.
That is their real
function!
Election Commission has officially banned wall
writing by parties during election times. Most
political parties argue that was the cheapest way
for their campaign. These election times used to
create amazing graffiti on the walls. Here are some
examples from Tamil Nadu.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
© (1) M Govarthan (2) A Muralidharan (3) M Moorthy (4) T Singaravelou, The Hindu
Chapter 4.indd 47 08-04-2022 12:33:31
2024-25
48
Democratic Politics
Partisan: A person
who is strongly
committed to a
party, group or
faction. Partisanship
is marked by a
tendency to take a
side and inability
to take a balanced
view on an issue.
© RK Laxman - Brushing up the years
all, parties try to persuade people
why their policies are better than
others. They seek to implement
these policies by winning popular
support through elections.
Thus, parties reflect fundamental
political divisions in a society. Parties
are about a part of the society and
thus, involve partisanship . Thus,
a party is known by which part it
stands for, which policies it supports
and whose interests it upholds. A
political party has three components:
? the leaders,
? the active members and
? the followers
Functions
What does a political party do?
Basically, political parties fill political
offices and exercise political power.
Parties do so by performing a series
of functions:
1 Parties contest elections. In most
democracies, elections are fought
mainly among the candidates put
up by political parties. Parties select
their candidates in different ways.
In some countries, such as the USA,
members and supporters of a party
choose its candidates. Now more
and more countries are following
this method. In other countries
like India, top party leaders choose
candidates for contesting elections.
2
Parties put forward different
policies and programmes and the
voters choose from them. Each of
us may have different opinions and
views on what policies are suitable
for the society. But no government
can handle such a large variety
of views. In a democracy, a large
number of similar opinions have
to be grouped together to provide
a direction in which policies can
be formulated by the governments.
This is what the parties do. A party
reduces a vast multitude of opinions
into a few basic positions which it
Chapter 4.indd 48 08-04-2022 12:33:33
2024-25
Political Parties
49
Okay, granted
that we can’t
live without
political parties.
But tell me on
what grounds do
people support a
political party?
supports. A government is expected
to base its policies on the line taken
by the ruling party .
3 Parties play a decisive role
in making laws for a country.
Formally, laws are debated and
passed in the legislature. But since
most of the members belong to a
party, they go by the direction of
the party leadership, irrespective of
their personal opinions.
4 Parties form and run governments .
As we noted last year, the big policy
decisions are taken by political
executive that comes from the
political parties. Parties recruit
leaders, train them and then
make them ministers to run the
government in the way they want.
5 Those parties that lose in the
elections play the role of opposition
to the parties in power, by voicing
different views and criticising
government for its failures or
wrong policies. Opposition parties
also mobilise opposition to the
government.
6 Parties shape public opinion.
They raise and highlight issues.
Parties have lakhs of members and
activists spread all over the country.
Many of the pressure groups are the
extensions of political parties among
different sections of society. Parties
sometimes also launch movements
for the resolution of problems
faced by people. Often opinions in
the society crystallise on the lines
parties take.
7 Parties provide people access
to government machinery and
welfare schemes implemented by
governments. For an ordinary citizen
it is easy to approach a local party
leader than a government officer.
That is why, they feel close to parties
even when they do not fully trust
them. Parties have to be responsive
to people’s needs and demands.
Otherwise people can reject those
parties in the next elections.
Necessity
This list of functions in a sense
answers the question asked above:
we need political parties because
they perform all these functions.
But we still need to ask why modern
democracies cannot exist without
political parties. We can understand
the necessity of political parties by
imagining a situation without parties.
Every candidate in the elections
will be independent. So no one
will be able to make any promises
to the people about any major
policy changes. The government
may be formed, but its utility will
remain ever uncertain. Elected
representatives will be accountable
to their constituency for what they
do in the locality. But no one will
be responsible for how the country
will be run.
We can also think about it by
looking at the non-party based
elections to the panchayat in many
states. Although, the parties do not
contest formally, it is generally
noticed that the village gets split into
more than one faction, each of which
puts up a ‘panel’ of its candidates.
This is exactly what the party does.
That is the reason we find political
parties in almost all countries of the
world, whether these countries are
big or small, old or new, developed
or developing.
The rise of political parties is
directly linked to the emergence
of representative democracies.
Ruling Party: Political
party that runs
government.
Chapter 4.indd 49 08-04-2022 12:33:34
2024-25
50
Democratic Politics
As we have seen, large societies
need representative democracy.
As societies became large and
complex, they also needed some
agency to gather different views
on various issues and to present
these to the government. They
needed some ways, to bring various
representatives together so that a
Categorise these photographs by the functions of political parties they
illustrate. Find one photograph or news clipping from your own area for
each of the functions listed above.
responsible government could be
formed. They needed a mechanism to
support or restrain the government,
make policies, justify or oppose
them. Political parties fulfill these
needs that every representative
government has. We can say that
parties are a necessary condition for
a democracy.
How many parties should we have?
In a democracy any group of citizens
is free to form a political party. In
this formal sense, there are a large
number of political parties in each
country. More than 750 parties
are registered with the Election
Commission of India. But not all
these parties are serious contenders
in the elections. Usually only a
handful of parties are effectively in
the race to win elections and form
the government. So the question is:
how many major or effective parties
are good for a democracy?
In some countries, only one
party is allowed to control and run
the government. These are called
one-party systems. In Class IX,
we noted that in China, only the
Communist Party is allowed to
1: Activists of BJP Mahila Morcha demonstrate against hike in prices of onions and LPG in
Visakhapatnam.
2: Minister distributes ` One lakh cheque to the families of hooch victims at their houses.
3: Activists of CPI (M), CPI, OGP and JD (S) take out a rally in Bhubaneswar to protest against
POSCO, the Korean steel company for being permitted by the State Government to export iron
ore from Orissa to feed steel plants in China and Korea.
© (1) C V Subrahmanyan (2) K Gopinathan
(3) A Chakrabarty, The Hindu
1
3
2
Chapter 4.indd 50 08-04-2022 12:33:38
2024-25
Read More