Political Parties and Elections | Maharashtra State PSC (MPSC): Preparation - MPSC (Maharastra) PDF Download

 Page 1


105
6
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Political Parties and Elections
6.3 Era of Congress dominance
6.4 Emergence of coalition politics
6.5 Changing patterns of voting behaviour
6.6 Summary
6.7 Unit End Exercises
6.0 OBEJ CTIV ES
INTRODUCTION
The Indian National Congress had been a dominant political
party in Maharashtra since its inception in 1865. Mahadeo Govind
Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak and many other
leaders from Maharashtra contributed a lot to the growth of the
Congress party. The inclusion of non-Brahman masses in the
party, the cooperative movement and the panchayati raj system
helped the party to consolidate its position. But later in 80s and 90s
groupism and internal conflicts progressively reduced its influence
in politics of Maharashtra. This gave rise to the coalition politics.
Even Congress had to think about right partners to survive. The
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerged as a powerful group. The
patterns of voting behaviour were also constantly changing.
Some researchers have tried to record these changes. We will
discuss all these issues in this chapter.
Page 2


105
6
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Political Parties and Elections
6.3 Era of Congress dominance
6.4 Emergence of coalition politics
6.5 Changing patterns of voting behaviour
6.6 Summary
6.7 Unit End Exercises
6.0 OBEJ CTIV ES
INTRODUCTION
The Indian National Congress had been a dominant political
party in Maharashtra since its inception in 1865. Mahadeo Govind
Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak and many other
leaders from Maharashtra contributed a lot to the growth of the
Congress party. The inclusion of non-Brahman masses in the
party, the cooperative movement and the panchayati raj system
helped the party to consolidate its position. But later in 80s and 90s
groupism and internal conflicts progressively reduced its influence
in politics of Maharashtra. This gave rise to the coalition politics.
Even Congress had to think about right partners to survive. The
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerged as a powerful group. The
patterns of voting behaviour were also constantly changing.
Some researchers have tried to record these changes. We will
discuss all these issues in this chapter.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Man is-a social animal, can't lead a lonely life, forms various
groups, institutions, organisations and depends on them for
personal and social development. Political parties are one of such
institutions. According to Almond and Verba they perform the
function of interest aggregation as against the interest groups or the
pressure groups performing the function of interest articulation.
Political parties are different from pressure groups or interest
groups. Trade unions, student organisations, chambers of
commerce, professional unions such as the unions of doctors,
lawyers and chartered accountants are pressure groups. They are
institutionalised groups. They are interest articulators in the sense
that they articulate the interests of the groups to which they belong.
They are basically interested in furthering the interest of their group
as against the overall well being of the society. More often they
place exaggerated claims in favour of their groups. They are
adept in the art of negotiations. They use different tactics
such as lobbying with the bureaucracy, ministers, writing articles in
news papers and magazines, distributing pamphlets explaining
their stance, organising public meetings, agitations, morchas,
bandhs and gheraos.
Political parties on the other hand don't protect the interests
of any particular section of the society. They have a comprehensive
plan for the development of the society. They try to mitigate the
conflicting interests of various pressure groups. They aggregate
their interests and try to present an all inclusive policy.
The founding fathers of US constitution had banned the
formation of political parties. George Washington, the first President
of United States was particularly concerned about the role of the
political parties. In his farewell address in 1796 when he retired
as a President after two consecutive terms he warned the US
citizens against the ill effects of the parties. He says, "Let me now
take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most
solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of ,party". He
was of the opinion that the parties divide the people and encourage
factionalism, jealousy. They try to further their own interests even at
the cost of the interests of the nation. "It serves always to distract
the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It
agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false
alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments
occasionally riot and insurrection."
The Indian constitution also does not say much about the
political parties. The only reference we find about political parties in
Page 3


105
6
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Political Parties and Elections
6.3 Era of Congress dominance
6.4 Emergence of coalition politics
6.5 Changing patterns of voting behaviour
6.6 Summary
6.7 Unit End Exercises
6.0 OBEJ CTIV ES
INTRODUCTION
The Indian National Congress had been a dominant political
party in Maharashtra since its inception in 1865. Mahadeo Govind
Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak and many other
leaders from Maharashtra contributed a lot to the growth of the
Congress party. The inclusion of non-Brahman masses in the
party, the cooperative movement and the panchayati raj system
helped the party to consolidate its position. But later in 80s and 90s
groupism and internal conflicts progressively reduced its influence
in politics of Maharashtra. This gave rise to the coalition politics.
Even Congress had to think about right partners to survive. The
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerged as a powerful group. The
patterns of voting behaviour were also constantly changing.
Some researchers have tried to record these changes. We will
discuss all these issues in this chapter.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Man is-a social animal, can't lead a lonely life, forms various
groups, institutions, organisations and depends on them for
personal and social development. Political parties are one of such
institutions. According to Almond and Verba they perform the
function of interest aggregation as against the interest groups or the
pressure groups performing the function of interest articulation.
Political parties are different from pressure groups or interest
groups. Trade unions, student organisations, chambers of
commerce, professional unions such as the unions of doctors,
lawyers and chartered accountants are pressure groups. They are
institutionalised groups. They are interest articulators in the sense
that they articulate the interests of the groups to which they belong.
They are basically interested in furthering the interest of their group
as against the overall well being of the society. More often they
place exaggerated claims in favour of their groups. They are
adept in the art of negotiations. They use different tactics
such as lobbying with the bureaucracy, ministers, writing articles in
news papers and magazines, distributing pamphlets explaining
their stance, organising public meetings, agitations, morchas,
bandhs and gheraos.
Political parties on the other hand don't protect the interests
of any particular section of the society. They have a comprehensive
plan for the development of the society. They try to mitigate the
conflicting interests of various pressure groups. They aggregate
their interests and try to present an all inclusive policy.
The founding fathers of US constitution had banned the
formation of political parties. George Washington, the first President
of United States was particularly concerned about the role of the
political parties. In his farewell address in 1796 when he retired
as a President after two consecutive terms he warned the US
citizens against the ill effects of the parties. He says, "Let me now
take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most
solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of ,party". He
was of the opinion that the parties divide the people and encourage
factionalism, jealousy. They try to further their own interests even at
the cost of the interests of the nation. "It serves always to distract
the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It
agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false
alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments
occasionally riot and insurrection."
The Indian constitution also does not say much about the
political parties. The only reference we find about political parties in
the Indian constitution is the Tenth Schedule (Anti-defection law)
added by the 52
nd
amendmed in 1985. Otherwise the Indian
constitution also doesn't formally recognise the political parties.
Types of political parties:
Nevertheless political parties are inevitable in democratic
systems. They enrich the derr. Jcratic values. There are mass
parties such as the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya
Janata Party. Mass in the sense that normally anyone who applies
for membership is admitted in the party without checking for his or
her ideological credentials. On the other hand the Communist party
admits limiter' number of people only after thorough investigation of their
ideological background. Both these parties can also be classified
as national parties.
The Election commission of India classifies the political
parties in three major types – National, State and Registered
(unrecognised) parties. Election commission of India has laid down
certain minimum qualifications for a party to be recognised as a
national party.
Parties having considerable operations in at least four states
are known as national parties. There are regional parties restricted
to a particular state or region. for example the Shiv Sena, the
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena in Maharashtra the Telgu Desam
Party, in Andhra Pradesh the National Conference in Jammu and
Kashmir, the Akali Dal in Punjab and the Assam Gana Parishad in
Assam.
2
The registered unrecognised parties are those which were
unable to fetch minimum number of votes or seats. There is a
fourth category known as State parties (Other states) For
example the Samajawadi party is a state party in Uttar Pradesh. It.
also contests elections in Maharashtra, but doesn't have the state
party status and is not national party – therefore it is classified as
State Party (Other states)
Parties can also be classified on ideological basis such
as the leftwing, rightwing and the centrist parties. The
Communist Party of India, The Communist Party of India (Marxist)
are leftwing parties. The Indian National Congress is a centrist
party and the BJP and the Shiv Sena have some characteristics
of right wing parties.
Major Political Parties in Maharashtra
The major political parties in Maharashtra are:-
1 National Parties
2. Indian National Congress – INC or the Congress
3. Nationalist Congress Party - NCP
Page 4


105
6
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Political Parties and Elections
6.3 Era of Congress dominance
6.4 Emergence of coalition politics
6.5 Changing patterns of voting behaviour
6.6 Summary
6.7 Unit End Exercises
6.0 OBEJ CTIV ES
INTRODUCTION
The Indian National Congress had been a dominant political
party in Maharashtra since its inception in 1865. Mahadeo Govind
Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak and many other
leaders from Maharashtra contributed a lot to the growth of the
Congress party. The inclusion of non-Brahman masses in the
party, the cooperative movement and the panchayati raj system
helped the party to consolidate its position. But later in 80s and 90s
groupism and internal conflicts progressively reduced its influence
in politics of Maharashtra. This gave rise to the coalition politics.
Even Congress had to think about right partners to survive. The
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerged as a powerful group. The
patterns of voting behaviour were also constantly changing.
Some researchers have tried to record these changes. We will
discuss all these issues in this chapter.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Man is-a social animal, can't lead a lonely life, forms various
groups, institutions, organisations and depends on them for
personal and social development. Political parties are one of such
institutions. According to Almond and Verba they perform the
function of interest aggregation as against the interest groups or the
pressure groups performing the function of interest articulation.
Political parties are different from pressure groups or interest
groups. Trade unions, student organisations, chambers of
commerce, professional unions such as the unions of doctors,
lawyers and chartered accountants are pressure groups. They are
institutionalised groups. They are interest articulators in the sense
that they articulate the interests of the groups to which they belong.
They are basically interested in furthering the interest of their group
as against the overall well being of the society. More often they
place exaggerated claims in favour of their groups. They are
adept in the art of negotiations. They use different tactics
such as lobbying with the bureaucracy, ministers, writing articles in
news papers and magazines, distributing pamphlets explaining
their stance, organising public meetings, agitations, morchas,
bandhs and gheraos.
Political parties on the other hand don't protect the interests
of any particular section of the society. They have a comprehensive
plan for the development of the society. They try to mitigate the
conflicting interests of various pressure groups. They aggregate
their interests and try to present an all inclusive policy.
The founding fathers of US constitution had banned the
formation of political parties. George Washington, the first President
of United States was particularly concerned about the role of the
political parties. In his farewell address in 1796 when he retired
as a President after two consecutive terms he warned the US
citizens against the ill effects of the parties. He says, "Let me now
take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most
solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of ,party". He
was of the opinion that the parties divide the people and encourage
factionalism, jealousy. They try to further their own interests even at
the cost of the interests of the nation. "It serves always to distract
the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It
agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false
alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments
occasionally riot and insurrection."
The Indian constitution also does not say much about the
political parties. The only reference we find about political parties in
the Indian constitution is the Tenth Schedule (Anti-defection law)
added by the 52
nd
amendmed in 1985. Otherwise the Indian
constitution also doesn't formally recognise the political parties.
Types of political parties:
Nevertheless political parties are inevitable in democratic
systems. They enrich the derr. Jcratic values. There are mass
parties such as the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya
Janata Party. Mass in the sense that normally anyone who applies
for membership is admitted in the party without checking for his or
her ideological credentials. On the other hand the Communist party
admits limiter' number of people only after thorough investigation of their
ideological background. Both these parties can also be classified
as national parties.
The Election commission of India classifies the political
parties in three major types – National, State and Registered
(unrecognised) parties. Election commission of India has laid down
certain minimum qualifications for a party to be recognised as a
national party.
Parties having considerable operations in at least four states
are known as national parties. There are regional parties restricted
to a particular state or region. for example the Shiv Sena, the
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena in Maharashtra the Telgu Desam
Party, in Andhra Pradesh the National Conference in Jammu and
Kashmir, the Akali Dal in Punjab and the Assam Gana Parishad in
Assam.
2
The registered unrecognised parties are those which were
unable to fetch minimum number of votes or seats. There is a
fourth category known as State parties (Other states) For
example the Samajawadi party is a state party in Uttar Pradesh. It.
also contests elections in Maharashtra, but doesn't have the state
party status and is not national party – therefore it is classified as
State Party (Other states)
Parties can also be classified on ideological basis such
as the leftwing, rightwing and the centrist parties. The
Communist Party of India, The Communist Party of India (Marxist)
are leftwing parties. The Indian National Congress is a centrist
party and the BJP and the Shiv Sena have some characteristics
of right wing parties.
Major Political Parties in Maharashtra
The major political parties in Maharashtra are:-
1 National Parties
2. Indian National Congress – INC or the Congress
3. Nationalist Congress Party - NCP
4. Bharatiya Janata Party – BJP
5. Bahujan Samaj Party - BSP
6. Communist Party of India - CPI
7. Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPM
State parties
8. S h i v S e n a – S S State Parties (Other States)
9. All India 'Forward bloc
10. Samjwadi Party
11. Janata Dal (Secular)
Registered (unrecognised parties)
12. Maharashtra Na
y
Nirman Sena – MNS
13. Peasants and Workers Party of India - PWPI
14. Republican Party of India - RPI
15. Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh
16. Janata Dal - JD
17. Bahujan Maha Sangh
18. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana
19. Bahujan Vikas Aghadi
20. Swatantra Bharat Paksha
There are many other registered (unrecognised parties)
listed by the election commission of India. Complete list of parties
participated in 2009 Loksabha elections is available on the
following page of the website of Election commission of India –
htt
p
://eci:nic.in/eci main/archiveofge2009/statistical re
p
ortaso
Another list of parties participated in 2004 Maharashtra
Assembly election is available at the following address:-
htto://eci.nic.in/eci main/Statistical Reports/SE 2004/StatisticalReo
orts MH 2004.pdf
Statistical report of
-
2009 ' assembly elections was
not available on. the site till the time of printing this book. Check the
website for new information.
Party. systems:
There are three major political party systems
recognised all over the world –
One party system – It is a political system (normally a country) where
only one political party is officially recognised and allowed to function.
It's always in power. The voters have no choice. Communist
Page 5


105
6
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Unit Structure
6.0 Objectives
6.1 Introduction
6.2 Political Parties and Elections
6.3 Era of Congress dominance
6.4 Emergence of coalition politics
6.5 Changing patterns of voting behaviour
6.6 Summary
6.7 Unit End Exercises
6.0 OBEJ CTIV ES
INTRODUCTION
The Indian National Congress had been a dominant political
party in Maharashtra since its inception in 1865. Mahadeo Govind
Ranade, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Lokmanya Tilak and many other
leaders from Maharashtra contributed a lot to the growth of the
Congress party. The inclusion of non-Brahman masses in the
party, the cooperative movement and the panchayati raj system
helped the party to consolidate its position. But later in 80s and 90s
groupism and internal conflicts progressively reduced its influence
in politics of Maharashtra. This gave rise to the coalition politics.
Even Congress had to think about right partners to survive. The
BJP-Shiv Sena alliance emerged as a powerful group. The
patterns of voting behaviour were also constantly changing.
Some researchers have tried to record these changes. We will
discuss all these issues in this chapter.
POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS
Man is-a social animal, can't lead a lonely life, forms various
groups, institutions, organisations and depends on them for
personal and social development. Political parties are one of such
institutions. According to Almond and Verba they perform the
function of interest aggregation as against the interest groups or the
pressure groups performing the function of interest articulation.
Political parties are different from pressure groups or interest
groups. Trade unions, student organisations, chambers of
commerce, professional unions such as the unions of doctors,
lawyers and chartered accountants are pressure groups. They are
institutionalised groups. They are interest articulators in the sense
that they articulate the interests of the groups to which they belong.
They are basically interested in furthering the interest of their group
as against the overall well being of the society. More often they
place exaggerated claims in favour of their groups. They are
adept in the art of negotiations. They use different tactics
such as lobbying with the bureaucracy, ministers, writing articles in
news papers and magazines, distributing pamphlets explaining
their stance, organising public meetings, agitations, morchas,
bandhs and gheraos.
Political parties on the other hand don't protect the interests
of any particular section of the society. They have a comprehensive
plan for the development of the society. They try to mitigate the
conflicting interests of various pressure groups. They aggregate
their interests and try to present an all inclusive policy.
The founding fathers of US constitution had banned the
formation of political parties. George Washington, the first President
of United States was particularly concerned about the role of the
political parties. In his farewell address in 1796 when he retired
as a President after two consecutive terms he warned the US
citizens against the ill effects of the parties. He says, "Let me now
take a more comprehensive view, and warn you in the most
solemn manner against the baneful effects of the spirit of ,party". He
was of the opinion that the parties divide the people and encourage
factionalism, jealousy. They try to further their own interests even at
the cost of the interests of the nation. "It serves always to distract
the Public Councils, and enfeeble the Public Administration. It
agitates the Community with ill-founded jealousies and false
alarms; kindles the animosity of one part against another, foments
occasionally riot and insurrection."
The Indian constitution also does not say much about the
political parties. The only reference we find about political parties in
the Indian constitution is the Tenth Schedule (Anti-defection law)
added by the 52
nd
amendmed in 1985. Otherwise the Indian
constitution also doesn't formally recognise the political parties.
Types of political parties:
Nevertheless political parties are inevitable in democratic
systems. They enrich the derr. Jcratic values. There are mass
parties such as the Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya
Janata Party. Mass in the sense that normally anyone who applies
for membership is admitted in the party without checking for his or
her ideological credentials. On the other hand the Communist party
admits limiter' number of people only after thorough investigation of their
ideological background. Both these parties can also be classified
as national parties.
The Election commission of India classifies the political
parties in three major types – National, State and Registered
(unrecognised) parties. Election commission of India has laid down
certain minimum qualifications for a party to be recognised as a
national party.
Parties having considerable operations in at least four states
are known as national parties. There are regional parties restricted
to a particular state or region. for example the Shiv Sena, the
Maharashtra Nav Nirman Sena in Maharashtra the Telgu Desam
Party, in Andhra Pradesh the National Conference in Jammu and
Kashmir, the Akali Dal in Punjab and the Assam Gana Parishad in
Assam.
2
The registered unrecognised parties are those which were
unable to fetch minimum number of votes or seats. There is a
fourth category known as State parties (Other states) For
example the Samajawadi party is a state party in Uttar Pradesh. It.
also contests elections in Maharashtra, but doesn't have the state
party status and is not national party – therefore it is classified as
State Party (Other states)
Parties can also be classified on ideological basis such
as the leftwing, rightwing and the centrist parties. The
Communist Party of India, The Communist Party of India (Marxist)
are leftwing parties. The Indian National Congress is a centrist
party and the BJP and the Shiv Sena have some characteristics
of right wing parties.
Major Political Parties in Maharashtra
The major political parties in Maharashtra are:-
1 National Parties
2. Indian National Congress – INC or the Congress
3. Nationalist Congress Party - NCP
4. Bharatiya Janata Party – BJP
5. Bahujan Samaj Party - BSP
6. Communist Party of India - CPI
7. Communist Party of India (Marxist) – CPM
State parties
8. S h i v S e n a – S S State Parties (Other States)
9. All India 'Forward bloc
10. Samjwadi Party
11. Janata Dal (Secular)
Registered (unrecognised parties)
12. Maharashtra Na
y
Nirman Sena – MNS
13. Peasants and Workers Party of India - PWPI
14. Republican Party of India - RPI
15. Bharip Bahujan Mahasangh
16. Janata Dal - JD
17. Bahujan Maha Sangh
18. Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana
19. Bahujan Vikas Aghadi
20. Swatantra Bharat Paksha
There are many other registered (unrecognised parties)
listed by the election commission of India. Complete list of parties
participated in 2009 Loksabha elections is available on the
following page of the website of Election commission of India –
htt
p
://eci:nic.in/eci main/archiveofge2009/statistical re
p
ortaso
Another list of parties participated in 2004 Maharashtra
Assembly election is available at the following address:-
htto://eci.nic.in/eci main/Statistical Reports/SE 2004/StatisticalReo
orts MH 2004.pdf
Statistical report of
-
2009 ' assembly elections was
not available on. the site till the time of printing this book. Check the
website for new information.
Party. systems:
There are three major political party systems
recognised all over the world –
One party system – It is a political system (normally a country) where
only one political party is officially recognised and allowed to function.
It's always in power. The voters have no choice. Communist
systems follow this type of party system. e.g. China, erstwhile USSR,
Cuba etc.
Two party system – a political system where two parties share the
majority of votes between themselves and have the ability to form
government, though other parties exist and contest elections. UKand
USA are the classical examples of two party systems. This system
indicates stability of the political system and a well integrated
society.
Multiparty system — a political system where there are many
political parties competing for power. It reflects the fragmentation
of the society. Indian political party system in the post 1990 era
can be classified as a multiparty system.
One party dominant system — a political system where there are
many partied but only one party shares the majority of votes and
has the ability to form the government. Indian party system prior to
1990 was the best example of this type of party system.
Elections:
Elections form the foundation of the democratic system.
The Indian constitution declares India as a republic — which means
the government is elected by the people. Right from the member of
the Gram Panchayat of the village to the President of India every
office bearer is elected either directly or indirectly. Periodical
Elections are held for the rural and urban local self governments,
the state legislatures, the Parliament (Sansad) and the posts of
President and Vice President of India. The normal gap between
two elections for all posts is five years. However in case of
emergencies or extraordinary conditions elections can be either
preponed or postponed. All citizens above the age of 18 years can
caste their votes.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) and the State
election commissions conduct the elections. Elections for the
Parliament, state legislatures, President and the Vice President of
India are conducted by the ECI whereas the state election
commissions conduct and oversee the elections for rural and urban
local self governments in respective states and union territories.
The number of voters participating in elections at all levels of
government is largest in the world. The elections machinery faces
numerous problems. The ongoing process of reforms has
helped to solve some of those problems. Issuing photo identity
cards to the voters, use of electronic voting machines, use of
information technology (supported by National Informatics Centre —
'NIC), continuous video rec
p
rding of campaigns, restrictions and
monitoring of election expenditure of candidates and political