The Hindu Editorial Analysis- 4th March 2024 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly - UPSC PDF Download

The Long Road to Reforming India’s Political Party System

Why in News?

With the general election 2024 inching closer, the spate of political defections across the country is no cause for surprise. In Bihar, MLAs from the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal have moved to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while the elections to the Rajya Sabha that were held recently saw cross-voting in favour of the BJP in Himachal Pradesh. The MLAs concerned have now been disqualified under the anti-defection law. In the Andhra Pradesh Assembly too there have been disqualifications under this law.

Party system in India

1. Definition of Political Parties:

• Political parties are voluntary associations or organized groups of individuals with similar political beliefs.
• They aim to gain political power through constitutional means and advocate for the advancement of national interests.

2. Types of Political Parties:

• Reactionary Parties: These parties uphold old socioeconomic and political institutions.
• Conservative Parties: They advocate for maintaining the existing status quo.
• Liberal Parties: These parties aim to reform current institutions.
• Radical Parties: They seek to establish a new order by overthrowing existing institutions.

3. Ideological Classification by Political Scientists:

• Radical parties are positioned on the left.
• Liberal parties are placed in the center.
• Reactionary and conservative parties are categorized on the right.

4. Party Systems:

• One-Party Systems: Only one ruling party is permitted, and opposition is suppressed. (e.g., USSR, East European countries)
• Two-Party Systems: Two major parties dominate the political landscape. (e.g., United States, United Kingdom)
• Multi-Party Systems: Several political parties coexist, often resulting in coalition governments. (e.g., France, Switzerland, Italy)

The main features of the Indian Party system are

Multi-Party System

• A significant number of political parties have sprung out as a result of the country's continental size, the diverse nature of Indian society, the adoption of universal adult franchise, the unique style of political process, and other considerations. India, in reality, has the world's biggest number of political parties.
• There were 7 national parties, 52 state parties, and 2354 registered - unrecognized parties in the country on the eve of the seventeenth Lok Sabha general elections (2019).
• Furthermore, India has a diverse range of political parties, including left, centrist, and right-wing parties, as well as communal and non-communal parties.
• As a result, hung legislatures, hung assemblies, and coalition administrations have become commonplace.

The Seven recognized National Parties are:

• All India Trinamool Congress.
• Bahujan Samaj Party.
• Bharatiya Janata Party.
• Communist Party of India.
• Communist Party of India (Marxist)
• Indian National Congress.
• Nationalist Congress Party.

One-Party Dominance

• Another feature of the Indian political system is the end of one-party dominance. Up until 1977, and between 1980 and 1989, the Congress party controlled at the centre and in most parts of the states since Independence.
• However, the elections of 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004, and the 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th Lok Sabha have demonstrated that the period of one-party rule is over.
• Coalition governments are also functioning well in a number of states.
• However, after a 30-year hiatus, a single party (BJP) was able to establish the government with an absolute majority by obtaining 282 seats in the 16th Lok Sabha election.

Personality Cult

• Parties are frequently organised around a prominent leader who becomes more important than the party and its ideas.
• Parties are recognised more for their leaders than for their manifestos.
• The popularity of the Congress Party was mostly attributable to the leadership of Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Rajiv Gandhi. Similarly, the AIADMK in Tamil Nadu and the TDP in Andhra Pradesh were associated with MG Ramachandran and NT Rama Rao.
• Interestingly, numerous parties contain the name of their leader, such as the Biju Janata Dal, Lok Dal (A), and the Congress (1).
• As a result, "political individuals rather than political parties exist in India."

Lack of Opposition

• An effective opposition is critical to the efficient operation of India's parliamentary system.
• It curbs the governing party's dictatorial inclinations and provides an alternative government.
• However, throughout the previous 50 years, an effective, powerful, organised, and sustainable national opposition has only shown in flashes.
• Since independence until 1977, and again from 1980 to 1989, a single party has dominated, and opposition has been feeble.
• Despite the fact that the period of one-party rule ended in 1989, the opposition remains weak.
• The opposition parties lack coherence and frequently take mutually contradictory statements against the ruling party.
• They have failed to contribute to the functioning of the political body and the process of nation building.

Lack of Proper Organisation and Ideology

• Another feature of the Indian party system is its lack of structure. Political parties live and die by their organisation.
• However, several Indian political parties have struggled to sustain their structure at the provincial level.
• Almost every political party supports democracy, secularism, socialism, and Gandhism.
• Furthermore, all parties, including so-called ideological parties, are governed by only one consideration: power grab.
• Thus, politics has become issue-based rather than ideological, and pragmatism has supplanted adherence to ideas.
• However, several Indian political parties have struggled to sustain their structure at the provincial level.

Groupism inside India's party structure

• In India, groupism is a major problem for every political party. Groupism shatters a party's cohesiveness, causing it to split into several factions.
• In 1969, 1978, 1995, and 1999, the Congress party was divided.
• Janata Dal was founded in 1989, however, it was split five times between 1990, 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1997.
• Factionalism, defection, splits, mergers, fragmentation, polarisation, and other factors have all played a role in the functioning of political parties in India.
• Politicians have left their party to join another or form a new party due to a desire for power and monetary motives.
• After the fourth general election(1967), the practice of defections became more popular.

• Political parties have the legal right to gain political power by constitutional means, and they do it by contesting elections, organizing political rallies to attract voter support, and propagating their views and programs through radio, television, newspapers, and other media.
• All of these procedures are legal in nature. Political parties, however, do not hesitate to utilize unlawful measures to gain political power in addition to legitimate means.
• They go on strike, stage dharnas, hold Punjab or Bharat bandhs, and frequently resort to violence and vandalism of public property, such as burning trains and buses.
• Such acts by political parties demonstrate that they are more concerned with advancing their own political interests than with safeguarding national interests.

• Another aspect of India's party system is the populist nature of political parties.
• In India, it is well noticed that political parties turn to populist politics in order to gain power.
• They take unfair advantage of people's emotions and compulsions, promote populist slogans, and mislead the public.
• As an example — In 1971, Congress adopted the phrase 'Garibi Hatao,' and in 1975, it developed a 20-point program to gain public support.

Lack of Discipline among Political Party Members

• It has been observed that members of various political parties are unconcerned about party discipline, preferring instead to sling dirt at one another.
• When a political leader is denied a party ticket, he abandons his parent party and joins another or creates a new political party.

Political Parties' Communal and Caste Characteristics

• The people of India are influenced by caste and religion, and they have a strong sense of allegiance to their caste and religion.
• As a result, astute politicians have founded political parties based on caste and religion, and during elections, they use the people's caste and religious feelings in order to get votes.
• In India, several parties are founded on the basis of religion, caste, language, culture, race, and so on. Shiv Sena, Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha, Akali Dal, Muslim Majlis, Bahujan Samaj Party, Republican Party of India, Gorkha League, and more parties are examples.
• These parties promote community and sectional objectives while undermining the overall public interest.

Recognition of Political Parties

1. Election Commission's Role in Party Recognition:

• The Election Commission registers political parties for election purposes and categorizes them as national or state parties based on their electoral performance.
• Parties not recognized are labeled as registered unrecognised parties.

2. Privileges of Recognized Parties:
Recognized parties enjoy specific privileges such as:

• Allocation of party emblems.
• Allotment of time for political broadcasts on state-owned media.
• Access to electoral registers.

3. Nomination Process: Recognized parties need only one proposer to file a nomination.

4. Campaigning Rules:

• Recognized parties can have up to forty "star campaigners" during elections.
• Registered-unrecognised parties are limited to twenty "star campaigners."
• Travel expenses of these celebrity campaigners are not included in the election expenditures of their party's candidates.

5. Symbol Allocation:

• Every national party is granted a unique symbol for use throughout the country.
• State parties are assigned symbols reserved for use within their recognized states.
• Registered-unrecognised parties can choose a symbol from a list of free symbols provided by the Commission.

6. Symbol Designation by the Commission:

• The Commission designates certain symbols as "reserved symbols" for candidates from recognized parties.
• Other symbols are designated as "free symbols" for candidates from unrecognised parties.

Recognition as a National Party

• Currently, a party is recognised as a national party if one or more of the following requirements are fulfilled:
• If it receives 6% of valid votes cast in any four or more states in a general election to the Lok Sabha or legislative assembly; and if it also receives four Lok Sabha seats from any state or states; or
• If it gains 2% of Lok Sabha seats in a general election, with candidates elected from three states; and if it is recognised as a state party in four states.

Recognition as a State Party

• At present, a party is recognised as a state party in a state if any of the following requirements is fulfilled:
• If it receives 6% of the valid votes cast in the state in a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned, and it also obtains 2 seats in the assembly of the state concerned; or
• If it receives 6% of the valid votes cast in the state in a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned; and, in addition, it receives 1 seat in the Lok Sabha from the state concerned;
• If it wins 3% of the legislative assembly seats or 3 seats in the assembly, whichever is greater; or
• if it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to the state at a general election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned; or
• if it secures 8% of the total valid votes polled in the state at a General Election to the Lok Sabha from the state concerned. In 2011, this criterion was introduced.

Conclusion

The Indian political system is unique. It does not fit within any of the classifications that are often used to categorise party systems. On the one hand, it is characterised by the unique nature of Indian politics, and on the other by the nature of the state-society interaction. There has been a significant change in the character of politics as well as the nature of the connection between the state and society during the previous two decades. Since independence, several changes have occurred in India's social, economic, and political systems, resulting in numerous changes in the country's party structure.a