PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA: ONE PARTY DOMINANT SYSTEM TO MULTI

PARTY SYSTEM

Pushpa Kumari
Assistant Professor
Miranda House
University of Delhi, Delhi

In modern democracies parties are considered as indispensable vehicle of representation.

They perform wide range of functions of interlinking people and the government,
harmonising different institutional orders and different political processes. Parliamentary
democracy needs political party for articulation of people’s will and for formation of the
government. In a way, political system derives its strength from the political parties. Party
politics has been vital to the successful functioning of the Indian democracy. This chapter
aims at introducing the basic features and exploring the functioning of party system in
India since independence, under the light of its gradual transformation from one party
dominant system to multi-party system.

The existence and survival of political parties depend on their victory in capturing
political power against other parties or group. They rise and grow as response to the
needs of social and political system in a particular milieu. 1 Parties regulate individual and
group behaviour in a society with the aim of influencing, moulding and controlling
behaviour of the voters. While discussing party politics one cannot ignore Morris-Jones
important remark that any political system in which free citizens are enabled in various
measures to participate will contain parties.2 Political parties stand for the act of
representation, with an electoral system and process of recruitment of leaders, defining
goals and resolving internal system conflicts. 3 Political parties in India are integral and
essential part of our political culture.

1. POLITICAL PARTY AS VEHICLE OF POLITICAL REPRESENTATION

Political parties are seen as distinctive feature of the process of political representation.
They reflect citizen’s consent and aspiration by representing people’s wishes through
electoral process. In modern day large democracies, it is not possible for all citizens to

1 Eldersveld, Samuel J, Political Parties: A Behavioural Analysis, Vora and Co., Publishers Pvt Ltd,
Bombay, 1964, p.2
2 Morris Jones W. H., Political Parties in India p. 166

3 Eldersveld, Samuel J, Political Parties: A Behavioural Analysis, Vora and Co., Publishers Pvt Ltd,
Bombay, 1964, p.1
1
directly participate in political process and speak for themselves. In this situation,
political parties form crucial link between citizens and the state. They articulate people’s
needs and aspirations and try to implement it when they come in power. Political parties,
therefore stand to represent citizen’s demands and wishes on behalf of the later. Hanna
Fenichel Pitkin states that representation makes things present that are not literally
present.4 The political representatives act as the voice of people whom they represent
after they are elected. They are entrusted with the position to make decisions that will
benefit the district they represent. This makes it necessary for the representative to
maintain a balance between views of constituents, personal belief, and the common goal
of both maintaining and improving the nation as a whole.5
Parties provide the organisational base for mobilisation and participation of the people.
They provide ideologies, beliefs and symbols for political identification to the people.
The party system implies an elective therefore a representative government. 5 It is
generally agreed that democracy requires groups such as political parties to perform
critical functions-to recruit leadership, formulate policy, organise decision making,
communicate upward and downward between leaders and public, promote consensus,
enforce responsibility and thus move the society towards the effective resolution of its
conflicts.6

Political parties are not directly mentioned in the Constitution of India. However, the
Tenth Schedule that was added by the Constitution (Fifty-second Amendment) Act, 1985
deals with the functioning of the political parties. It deals with the disqualification of a
person for being a member of either House of Parliament [Art. 102(2)] or the Legislative
Assembly or Legislative Council of a State [Art.191(2)], on ground of defection. The
responsibilities of framing and governing the rules and regulations of political parties
have been assigned to Election Commission of India, which is an independent
constitutional body. It monitors the conduct of elections and accords recognition to the
political parties.

2. DEFINITION AND TYPOLOGY

Political parties serve as unifying force and perform the task of social and political
integration. Parties have been defined in various ways. According to Giovani Satori, a
party is any political group that presents at elections and is capable of placing through
elections, candidates for public office.7 MacIver defined political party as an association
organised in support of some principle or the policy, which by constitutional means,
4 Pitkin, Hanna Fenichel, The Concept of Representation, University of California Press, Berkeley and
Los Angeles, 1967, pp. 144 5 Ibid p. 144.

5 MacIver R. M. The Modern State, Oxford University Press, London, 1926, pp.396.

6 Eldersveld, Samuel J, Political parties: A Behavioural Analysis, Vora and Co., Publishers Pvt Ltd,
Bombay
7 Sartori, G., Parties and Party System A Framework of Analysis, Cambridge University Press, London,
1976. pp. `1
2
endeavours to make the determinant of the government.8 Political party is a social group,
a system of meaningful and patterned activity within the larger society. Finer maintains
that parties are legally defined by the strength shown at previous elections, a minimum
being laid down in terms of votes or percentage of poll. 9 Newman defined political party
as articulate organisation of societies active political agents those who are concerned with
the control of government are who compete for popular support with other group or
groups holding diversion views. Political parties all over the world differ in term of the
context of their rise and growth, orientation, mode of operation, mobilising strategies.
The political party is a fighting organisation. It exists in order to win battles against other
parties or groups.
Generally, the party system is classified as single party, two party and multi-party system
based on the numerical strength of parties competing for power in any political system. In
one party system single party enjoys the monopoly of power, many times through
exclusion of other parties. Consequently, one party gradually acquires the role of
permanent government. This party also functions in close proximity with the state
administration. In that sense such states are recognised as one party state. Example can be
found in many socialist states like People’s Republic of China. Such parties are
recognised as cadre based parties with strict discipline, structures organisation and high
degree of ideological commitment. The functioning is guided with the idea of democratic
centralism. Another strand of one party system developed in countries of Asia and Africa,
where the parties have emerged from the anti-colonial struggle. In such countries the
ruling parties emerged from independence movement and were saddled with the
responsibility of nation building. As result they came to acquire huge power and authority
and usually were organized around charismatic leadership of the leaders who led their
nations to liberation.
However, party system in India does not fit into any prescribed types of western models
of party system.10 Indian party system has been described as the one party dominant
system or the congress system by Prof. Rajni Kothari which can be seen as model of party
system in itself. Indian party politics gives the impression of the country as pluralist
society, where the interests of multiplicity of private associations and other various
forces is aggregated, and they have considerable influence on policy formation.11
Unlike one party system, Indian system is a competitive system with the constituent parts
playing dissimilar roles.12 ‘Congress system’ model suggests that the Congress has been
pivotal in the Indian Party system as it forms the core whereas, rest of the parties operate

8 MacIver R. M. The Modern State, Oxford University Press, London, 1926, pp.396.

9 Finer Herman, Theory and Practice of Modern Government, Henry Holt and Company, Inc. USA 1950,
pp.220

10 Political parties are accorded the status of a National or State political party in India in accordance with
the review of their status based on their performance in the elections. Important National political parties at
present are Indian National Congress, Bhartiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India, Communist Party
of India (Marxist), Janata Dal and Bahujan Samaj Party.

11 Brass, Paul R., The New Cambridge History of India The Politics of India Since Independence,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 65.
12 Ibid. pp.40.
3
from the periphery in order to pressurise the core. They operate and exert pressure from
the margins. The congress, which has been the ruling party most of the time, survived by
sustaining the pressure, accommodating and assimilating various forces like several
opposition groups, interest groups, and dissident groups. Yet such forces do not constitute
any alternative to the congress. The prime purpose of their existence is to constantly
pressurise, criticise, censure and influence the ruling political power. 13 Thus, the role of
opposition basically has been to act as the watchdog and put a constant vigil over the
ruling congress. Where as this results in the latent threat 14 from the margins, the
factionalism inside the ruling party provides the instrument of inbuilt correction. In case
of India, opposition is divided and fragmented due to lack of consensus and coherence.
The opposition survives on gaining where the congress loses. Indian party system consists
of ‘party of consensus and parties of pressure.’15
3. LEGACY OF INDIAN PARTY SYSTEM

The rise of nationalism in nineteen-century India is believed to provide the backdrop for
the emergence of political parties and party system in the country. In the beginning,
political parties emerged as public forums in reaction to the colonial rule. The growth of
national consciousness gradually led to its galvanisation into a mass movement. Indian
National Congress is revered as oldest political party in India. It was created in 1885
through the union of presidency associations of middle class professionals. Indian
National Congress was able to capture unexplored political space at national level and
projected itself as authentic repository of spirit of Indian nationalism. By presenting
Indian interest to British Crown in a systematic and organized manner, Indian National
Congress soon became a leading voice of Indian middle class, constantly clamouring for
more jobs under the colonial government and for greater political participation. 16 From
the time of nineteenth century nationalism till present day, Congress remains a persistent
political party. Most of the major non Congress parties originated within, and not outside,
the Indian National Congress; among them were the Congress Socialist Party, which
became the nucleus of the Praja Socialist Party and even the Communist Party.

There have been lots of debates about the party system in India. M. K. Gandhi, the
pioneer of the Indian liberation struggle, was never comfortable with party politics. He
believed that the state and all its institutions represent violence in a concentrated and
organized form that poses a threat to the liberty of the individual. He prescribed a
democratic system based on village self-government and called it Gram Swaraj, where
13 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002,pp.41.
14 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp.41.
15 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp.40.

16 Mitra, Subrata K., Mike Enskat and Clements Speib, Political Parties in South Asia, Praeger, Westpost,
2004, Introduction, pp.8.
4
political parties will have no role. In his scheme of decentralisation of power, he believed
that since there was no necessity of representation therefore there was no place for power
seeking political parties.17In his last piece of writing Last Will and Testament, Gandhi
suggested the dissolution of Congress as a political organisation and its replacement by
Lok Sewak Sangh (Servant of People Association).18 But the working committee of
Congress rejected Gandhi’s proposal and decided that it wanted the organisation to be a
political party. Similarly, Jayaprakash Narayan advocated for party less democracy with
emphasis on decentralisation of power, village autonomy and more representative
legislature.19 He aimed to bring democracy at grassroots level, based on the principle of
unanimity and consensus.
3.1 Indian National Congress20: Origin and Growth

The theory of Congress system has been widely acknowledged as useful framework to
analyse the nature and significance of party system in India. There has been dominance of
Congress in Indian political system, which reconciled the diverse interests and various
layers of peripheries from state and regional levels. Congress has played crucial role in
setting the basic parameters of party politics in India. It will be interesting to trace the
trajectory of performance of the Congress, which has gone through various changes and
several splits.
The birth of the Indian National Congress has been seen as milestone, which became the
bedrock for foundation of party system in India. Mr. Allen Octavian Hume facilitated its
foundation. The contribution of Indian National Congress is invaluable on several
accounts. It provided national platform to its members to represent India and address their
colonizers. It inculcated the sense of solidarity and national consciousness among Indians
to oust the foreign rule eventually. After independence Congress was transformed from a
movement into a ruling party and shifted its attention from political mobilization to
administrative consolidation accept for the purpose of contending elections. However,
Prof. Rajani Kothari maintains that even after independence Congress retained its legacy
of being a movement, as it has to carry on with formidable task of nation building.21

3.1(a) Organization

Congress displays the character of a mass party with well-developed organizational

structure. It has an elaborate hierarchical organizational structure that extends from local
to district to state to All India Congress Committee (AICC) culminating at the top in
17 Narayan, J.P., “Gandhi and Politics of Decentralization” in Gandhi, India and the World, (ed)
Sibnarayan Ray, Nachiketa Publication Limited, Bombay, 1970, pp240.

18 Narayan, J.P., “Gandhi and Politics of Decentralization” in Gandhi, India and the World, (ed)
Sibnarayan Ray, Nachiketa Publication Limited, Bombay, 1970, pp.235.
19 Narayan, J. P. Narayan, J.P., 1959, A plea for Reconstruction of Indian Polity, Kashi: Akhil bharat Sarva
Seva Sangh.pp. 66.

20 Indian National Congress and Congress had been used synonymously.

21 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp.47.
5
working committee, which is the executive committee of the national party. The
executive committee has an elected President as its head. The working committee and the
president look after the functioning of the organization as a whole. Also there are state
and central Parliamentary Boards, which plays the crucial roles in the allocation of party
nominations to congressmen to contest election to the state legislative assemblies and to
Parliament. In its earlier days Nehru remained in complete command of policy and
politics in the Congress party and also in the government. The national leadership,
provided by Nehru, was called the high command and it included the trusted political
confidants of Nehru. These political leaders performed the task of mediation and
arbitration of factional conflict at state level.22

3.1(b) Social Base of the Congress

The support base of congress is composed of varied sections and interest groups
displaying the character of mass organization. The leadership is also derived from
diffused social base. Congress, by accommodating divergent socio economic interest and
ideological preferences, had projected itself as party of broadest consensus. 23 It has been
seen as an umbrella organisation that provided haven to all divergent forces belonging to
different religions, castes, classes and cultures. The Congress has projected itself as the
legitimate heir of nationalist historical consensus. It has internalized and assimilated
political competition consequently forming system of factions at every level of political
and governmental activity. These factions operated by tactics of pressure, mediation,
conflict, bargaining, compromise and consensus. 24 Indian party system has taken the
shape of single party dominant system25 or the Congress system or one party dominance
system26 in which, there has been monopoly enjoyed by Congress and yet pluralism finds
its way in intra party factions. Across four decades since independence, both in terms of
percentage of the votes received and the seats captured in the parliament, the Congress
has consistently dominated its rival and its opponents have never forged a stable
challenge.27

In the first few decades, Congress derived its strength from the landlords in the
countryside, the urban capitalist and the expanding middle class. However, decade of
1980 marked a clear shift in the support base of congress due to new challenges put by

22 Brass, Paul R., The New Cambridge History of India The Politics of India Since Independence,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, p. 66.
23 Ibid. P.41.

24 Ibid. pp. 42.

25 Morris Jones W. H., Political Parties in India pp.

26 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp.40.
27 Chhibber, Pradip K. and John R. Petrocik, “Social Cleavage, Elections, and Indian Party System” in
Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp.62.
6
the emergence of regional bourgeois in many parts of the country. In post green
revolution India, a new class of rich farmers and intermediate castes grew who did not see
the Congress adequately representing their interests.

3.1(c) Programme and Ideology of the Congress Party

Given the socio-economic condition in which we inherited our country after national
liberation, Congress had to play the role of a movement of social reconstruction in
postcolonial India. This provided opportunity to the people to participate in the political
process at local level and in turn the congress acquired legitimacy as responsive and
responsible regime. It gained the symbolic value of people’s trust. Though the spirit of
pre-independent days was missing yet, such initiatives helped the party to retain the mass
support.
Congress party declared itself in favour of a socialistic pattern of development for the
Indian society, together with this; the idea of ‘democratic socialism’ and secularism was
stressed. From the beginning, Congress has been committed to a democratic ideology. 28
The concept of planned economy was asserted as economic policy. There was
considerable expansion of public sector, which sometimes proved to be very expensive in
their operation. It tried to remove feudalism and took up the task of linguistic
reorganization of the states in 1956. The objective of agrarian reform was vigorously
pursued. Several important sectors were nationalized. The slogan of “Garibi Hatao” was
advocated with 1971 election in mind.
3.1(d) Critical Assessment of the Congress

In the later decades, many times the party showed lack of idealistic visions, as the leaders
became more interested in nurturing their own ambitions. Slowly, conflicts originated and
gradually it got aggravated between the legislative and organizational wings of the
congress due to personal rivalries and differing interests. In order to enjoy the continuing
allegiance of heterogeneous interests, it worked on the principle of negotiation, bargain
and many times compromised with its broad objectives. Nehru’s failure to provide a
remedy to intra party contradiction led to erosion of his authority as a leader of the party
and the government. Gradually congress has gone through various splits (1969, 1980,
1994 and 1999). One of these split groups; congress-I has projected itself as inheritor of
the Congress party. During the tenure of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Mr. Rajiv Gandhi
Congress has displayed authoritarian and monopolistic tendencies, for example,
emergency imposed in 1977 by Mrs. Gandhi. The governance became centralized and
personalized resulting in the decline and decay of the party. From 1980s onwards it
became increasingly difficult for Congress to sustain its mass support. It gradually
became incapable of providing the leadership accommodating varied interests. 29

28 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp.46.
29 Hasan, Zoya (ed) Parties and Party Politics in India, Introduction, OUP, N. Delhi, 2002, p. 11.
7
 It can be observed that the Congress in its earlier phase, used to perform in some degree
the work of national parliament where clashing viewpoints and concerns need to
determine a generally acceptable line of policy. 30 As the oldest political party in India the
Congress has being successful in retaining the goodwill of as many sections of society as
it has been feasible. It has harmonized with ease its three basic elements of leadership
with national appeal and acceptability, a pan Indian ideology with recognition an d
accommodation of local and regional spirit and district level cadre 31. Even in state of
decline in contemporary times it retains this essential element of its culture. Overall
assessment of Congress party shows that it has attempted to sustain its propensity of
preservation of democratic tradition. The Congress has shown great sensitivity on the
question of respect for minorities, including political minorities. 32 Several factors have
helped the success and survival of Congress. Due to its heritage and history of
independence struggle, Congress has always enjoyed tremendous amount of goodwill,
respect and support. These factors also helped Congress in keeping itself in cohesion. The
2004 Lok Sabha election secured Congress and its allies sizeable gains at the national
level leading to its victory and formation of United Progressive Alliance (UPA)
government.

4. CHANGING NATURE OF PARTY POLITICS: IMPORTANT NATIONAL

PARTIES AND RISE OF NEW FORCES

The nature of political participation has shown considerable changes in the decade of
1990s. With the beginning of coalition politics33, decline of Congress, rise of BJP and
several other changes, clear shift can be seen from one party dominant system to
multiparty system and minority government in Indian politics. Rise of regionalism has led
to growing demand for greater autonomy by the states in the decade of 1980s
precipitating in mushrooming of regional political parties. The regional parties have
become prominent national actors in coalition formation in the central and state
governments. The change in the party regime has brought new castes and classes into its
folds. These positive changes have augmented the process of democratization in the
country.
The democratic process has deepened with the dramatic participatory upsurge among the
socially underprivileged in class and caste hierarchy, 34 which have been almost non-
existent earlier. This increase in participation and assertion by the marginalized strata of

30 Morris Jones W. H., The Government and Politics in India, Hutchinson University Library, London,
1964, pp.35.
31 Khare, Harish, “Problems of Survival and Reinvention in Political Parties in South Asia,” in Political
Parties in South Asia, (eds) Subrata K Mitra, Mike Enskat and Clements Speib, Praeger, Westpost, 2004,
Introduction, pp.32.

32 Kothari, Rajani, “The Congress ‘System’ in India” in Zoya Hasan (ed) Parties and Party Politics in
India, OUP, Delhi, 2002, pp. 50.
33 For the detailed discussion on coalition government and politics, please refer the chapter on the same
title in this volume.
8
the society indicates major democratic upsurge35 that has opened new avenues for the
unprivileged. The first remarkable upsurge was in decade of 1960s when expansion in
participatory base took place in order to proceed towards an alternative to hegemony of
the Congress party. This downward thrust of mobilization of socially deprived people like
Dalits, Adivasi, Other Backward Castes and all other minorities, continues with added
vigour in the contemporary times symbolizes the second democratic upsurge. 36 However
this democratic wave has reached its saturation as the dominant language and politics of
the subaltern has been co-opted by the other parties. The distinctive shift of 1990s is
reflected in terms of three issues- Mandal, Masjid and Market referring to caste based
reservation, upsurge of Hindu nationalism which led to demolition of Babri Masjid and
the liberalising policy respectively. The results of the 1998 general elections gave the
message that electorate of India had endorsed a two-party or two national alliances
system to dominate the country’s political scene, one led by the Congress and the other
led by the Bhartiya Janata Party.
Electoral Performance of major political parties in Lok Sabha Elections 1977-2004.
Seats Won

Election 1977 1980 1984 1989 1991 1996 1998 1999 2004
Year
Total No. 542 529 542 529 511 543 543 543 543
of Seats
INC 154 353 415 197 227 140 141 114 145
BJP * * 02 85 119 162 182 182 138
CPI 07 11 06 12 13 12 9 4 10
CPI(M) 22 36 22 33 35 32 32 33 43
JP/JD 298 31 10 143 56 46 6 21 8
BSP - - - - - 11 5 14 19
INC: Indian National Congress BJP:
Bhartiya Janata Party
CPI: Communist Party of India

34 Hasan , Zoya, “Representation and Redistribution: the new lower caste politics of north India,” in
Transforming India, (eds) Francine R. Frankel, Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora, OUP, N.
Delhi, 2000. pp.147.
35 Yadav, Yogendra “Understanding the Second Democratic Upsurge” in Transforming India, (eds)
Francine R. Frankel, Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora, OUP, N. Delhi, 2000. pp. 121.
36 For detailed discussion, refer to “Understanding the Second Democratic Upsurge” by Yogendra Yadav
in Transforming India, (eds) Francine R. Frankel, Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora, OUP,
N. Delhi, 2000.
9
CPI (M): Communist Party of India (Marxist)
JP/JD: Janata Party/ Janata Dal
BSP: Bahujan Samaj Party
* The BJP was a constituent of the Janata Party in these elections.
Sources: Election Commission of India, Website, http://www.eci.gov.in

4.1 Bhartiya Janata Party

The decade of 1990s saw the rise of BJP as a ruling party at national level, which tried to
provide Hindu communal orientation to the governance process. Bhartiya Janata Party
was founded in 1980; however its legacy has been traced back to Bhartiya Jan Sangh
(1951) and Rastriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) (1925). These forces have been known
as Hindu right wing that cherished the desire of cultural nationalism under the slogan of
“one country, one nation one culture and rule of law.”
The scene of Indian Politics has undergone drastic changes from 1980s. There has been
continued decay of the Congress party creating a political vacuum that has been filled by
the emergence of BJP as the single largest party in the recent elections. Earlier, the BJP
was considered basically as a part of the opposition bloc. However, the Lok Sabha
election of 1998 established its centrality in coalition formation at national and regional
level. It marked unprecedented growth in the electoral gains of BJP which swung from 2
seats in 8th Lok Sabha in 1984 to 182 seats in 12th Lok Sabha Election in 1998.37 It
coveted significant vote share from the Congress and other parties due to violent backlash
by upper castes against issue of reservation for OBCs advocated by the Mandal
Commission. Now BJP has been playing key role in formation of political alliance as a
challenge to congress or Congress led alliance at the centre and the states.
The agenda of BJP is formation of a Hindu nation based on the ideology of Hindutva.
This kind of cultural nationalism poses a threat to the democratic and secular credentials
of Indian politics. It also highlights the limitations of their commitment to the realization
of substantive democracy. Many scholars believe that it will be very difficult for the BJP
to implement its agenda of hegemony and Hindutva due to plural ethos of the Indian
society. There has been considerable moderation in ideology and agenda of the party due
to the electoral calculations and the pressure of the coalition politics. The BJP sought to
accommodate its coalition partners by publishing a national agenda which omitted the
controversial issue of the building of Ram temple at Ayodhya, the Uniform Civil Code,
and the Kashmir’s special constitutional status as a part of its moderation strategy. 38 The
BJP has also broadened its Hindu nationalist agenda. Soon after coming to power in
1998, BJP by exploding the nuclear bomb asserted its strength and tried to project Hindu
nationalism as Indian nationalism. Its policies show apparent support to liberalization,
privatization and globalization. It has used foreign policy, defence policy and issues of

37 Please refer to the data dealing with results of Lok Sabha Elections provided in this chapter.

38 Basu, Amrita, “The transformation of Hindu Nationalism? Towards a Reappraisal” in Transforming

India, (eds) Francine R. Frankel, Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora, OUP, N. Delhi, 2000.
pp. 399.
10
internal security to enhance its domestic support base. The BJP has periodically tones up
and subdued its Hindutva rhetoric to come to power and to retain it, displaying cycles of
moderation and militancy according to the contingent situation. It wishes to gain support
by presenting itself as a centrist party that endorses the common value of the Indian
politics. At the same time it appears problematic for the BJP to transform its fundamental
character and beliefs due to its affiliation, proximity and enduring ties with RSS-VHP
network. It is yet to be seen whether BJP will succeed in moulding itself into a liberal
framework to provide the national leadership at the same time maintaining the cordial
relations with Hindu rights wing elements.
The support base of the party is limited to the upper caste and class of the northern Indian
States, which make it difficult for the party to provide the national leadership on its own.
In non- Hindi speaking states, BJP mostly remains a marginal player. Therefore it has
been trying to expand its support base by including the Dalits and Muslims in its folds.
However, Congress still enjoys the largest amount of support from the underprivileged
sections of the Indian society. In the last three elections, BJP’s performance has shown
steady increase in share of the seats reserved for schedule tribes. This can be understood
by studying the rising communal tensions in the tribal belts of central India including
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar and Orissa. Three principle obstacles in the
way of further rise of BJP are opposition by Muslim voters, division in votes of backward
castes into BJP and the left Janata parties and the near total hold of the Schedule caste
votes by Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP).
BJP and other Hindutva forces harbour monolithic conception of the state, which is
problematic for a multicultural and plural society like India. It is the multicultural nature
of Indian society that is under attack by proponents of Hindutva. 39 Since no political party
can win with majority, all parties are trying to compromise with their agenda and grant
concessions to their pre-election allies. The BJP wants to establish itself as an alternative
to the Congress. According to the contingencies of the electoral processes, BJP has been
vacillating between extremism and moderation in its agenda and policy formulation. The
defeat of the BJP in parliamentary elections in 2004 has been interpreted as the rejection
of communalism and reinforced faith in secularism among the people.
4.2 Communist Party of India

There has been presence of Communist parties in Indian politics from the time of pre-
independence days. They represent Marxist and Communist revolutionary tradition in the
modern Indian political history.40 Primarily referred as reformist political parties, they
have functioned by exerting pressure on the ruling parties rather than winning majority to
form the government. Left forces represent the radical forces which aim at the
transformation of the society in favour of the weak and the marginalized. The Communist
parties have associated themselves with the Communist International. There has been
split of communist forces resulting in two prominent communist parties CPI and CPI (M).

39 Chandhoke, Neera, “Individualism and Group Rights A View From India” in India’s Living
Constitution (ed) Granville Austin, OUP, New Delhi, pp.210.

40 Brass, Paul R., The New Cambridge History of India The Politics of India Since Independence,
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp. 64.
11
They Communist parties have to redefine themselves in terms of their objective and
methodology with the changing global context.41 The remarkable significance of
Communist parties has been that they have been very critical of the nefarious ways in
which forces of globalization implicate on the lives of working and poor classes. They
have always scrutinized the neo-liberal policies of the government in order to cater to the
needs of the impoverished and helpless masses of the country. They are more successful
in influencing the policies of the government as coalition partners in the state and at the
national level. Their presence is strong in some states like West Bengal, Tripura and
Kerala. In the contemporary times there is an urgent need for the Communist parties to
rejuvenate themselves in wake of the changing pretext of the society and the world. They
need to clearly outline their objectives and methodology in order to reinforce their
dominance in the Indian party system.
4.3 Regional Political Parties

Apart from national parties, there are number of political parties that define themselves
with reference to particular regions or ethnic groups. Such parties are Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIDMK) in TamilNadu,
Telegu Desam Party (TDP) in Andhra Pradesh, Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) in Assam,
National Conference (NC) in Jammu and Kashmir, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in
Punjab, Haryana Vikas Party (HVP) in Haryana, Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in Orissa,
Trinamool Congress in West Bengal etc. Among all such forces, Shiromani Akali Dal,
National Conference, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Asom Gana Parishad, Shiv Sena are
results of long drawn struggle and sustained social movements. DMK is the strongest of
all regional parties and was formed in 1949 under C. Annadurai. This party took the
shape of a movement that flourished on the glory of Dravidian past inculcating pride in
people regarding their language, literature and Tamil culture. It was also an outburst
against the social oppression suffered by the non-Brahmins at the hands of Brahmins and
Aryan invaders of the north. Later a split in 1972 formed another party Anna DMK under
leadership of M.G. Ramachandran. TDP in Andhra Pradesh has successfully projected
itself as an alternate to the Congress dominance since 1980s. It was formed by N. T.
Rama Rao in 1982. TDP has been revered as the upholder of Telugu pride. It secured a
great deal in development in its state, yet it put up poor show in 2004 elections. In
Maharashtra, Shiv Sena expanded its power and base in 1980s and gained prominence
even at national level. However, many view it as parochial Marathi, Hindu communal
organization.42 Shiv Sena shares many ideologies and beliefs of the BJP.
Akali Dal was formed in 1920 and was engaged with the issues of sectarian
representation and self-determination. After independence it demanded and acquired
statehood in 1966. In the decade of 1980s it got involved in militant movement for
autonomy and nationhood which in turn splintered the party. In post-1992 phase the
41 With the demise of Soviet Union and Neoliberal principles and policies becoming the buzz word of the
administration and government, communist parties have to contextualize and reinforce the needs and
aspirations of poor masses. They have to monitor the unchecked process of liberalization, Privatisation and
Globalisation.

42 Palshikar, Suhas, “Shiv Sena: A Tiger with Many Faces?” Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 39, Nos
14&15, April3-10, 2004, pp1497.
12
politics of the party is shaped by the emergence of a sharp and shrill politics of Hindutva
due to the electoral compulsions.43National Conference, one of the oldest regional parties
in India has been central to the politics of Jammu and Kashmir since its formation in
1939. It started participating in power politics since 1947 and has remained the single
largest party in the state.
In north India Samajwadi Party (SP) represents the Socialist tradition in Uttar Pradesh. It
has been greatest beneficiary and carrier of Mandal upsurge. In its multi-pronged
strategy, it seeks to consolidate the caste cleavage by uniting OBCs and also appealing to
upper caste votes in the name of development and globalization. 44 The Bahujan Samaj
Party has strong base among dalits. SP under leadership of Mulayam Singh Yadav
attempted to create a social and political alliance of SP and BSP at the state level which
failed to work out after some time. In Bihar, Rastriya Janata Dal (RJD) solicits support on
caste lines.

5. PROBLEMS AND CRISES IN PARTIES AND PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

Party politics in most of the developing societies like India is blighted by so many
problems and puzzles. Political parties tend to exploit and manipulate the extremely
fragmented society based on religion, caste, community and ethnicity to gain dominance
and perpetuate themselves in power. Elections and party competitions in view of
politically active caste, tribe, ethnic and religious conflicts, of such societies appears
problematic.45

There are many problems in front of Indian Party system. One of the grave problems is
widespread criminalization of politics that has weakened the political culture and
democratic foundation of the society. The nexus between criminals and party politics has
led to the latter being conditioned by the money, muscle and mafia in many parts in the
country. The magnitude of criminalization, which has crept into the electoral system, has
to a large extent vitiated the value of vote. 46 Party leadership misuse power to satisfy their
supporters, generate funds and garner votes, most of the times in undemocratic ways.

There is corporatisation of political parties. They generate large funds from public and
private sources; many times adopting corrupt practices of various kinds. The party
members survive on such spoils generated by the party. This necessitates the mandatory

43 Kumar, Ashutosh, “Electoral Politics in Punjab Study of Akali Dal”, Economic and Political Weekly,
Vol 39, Nos 14&15, April3-10, 2004, pp1515.
44 Verma, A. K. “Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh”, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol 39, Nos 14&15,
April3-10, 2004, pp1509.

45 Mitra, Subrata K., Mike Enskat and Clements Speib, Political Parties in South Asia, Praeger, Westpost,
2004, Introduction, pp.9.
46 Mohanty, Manoranjan, “ Theorising Indian Democracy” in Indian Democracy Meanings and Practice,
(eds), Rajendra Vora and Suhas Palshikar, Sage publications, N. Delhi, 2004, pp.110.
13
auditing of accounts of all the parties. The committees on electoral reforms 47 have
suggested a compulsory report on the financial status of all parties which should be open
and available to public for study and inspection. Political parties should make their
candidate declare their assets and liabilities at the time of their nomination for election.
They should try to limit their expenditure in electoral campaigns and in holding public
rallies and demonstrations. This will free parties from the burden of huge expenditure on
all sorts of illegitimate or dubious means adopted to raise enormous amount of money.
There is tendency in political parties to convert its governance into family business. In a
way Congress displays ‘dynastic rule’ syndrome, due to domination of Nehru-Gandhi
leadership.
Many cases of rigging have been reported in the elections in Jammu and Kashmir, the
Northeast and in many parts in Bihar. There is deterioration in quality of leadership. In
comparison to the few outstanding leaders of the past, present day leadership does not
seem to inspire the people.48 There has been increase in authoritarian and undemocratic
practices pervading the elections and party politics. The activities of most of the political
parties indulge in political violence and display disregard for institutional norms. Besides
they also reflect lack of coherence, clear vision and well-defined ideology. The growing
intra- and inter-party conflicts have eroded the legitimacy and reputation of both parties
and leaders.49 Rampant illiteracy, lack of education and awareness in ignorant masses and
impoverishment in the Indian society easily enables the opportunist political leaders to
misguide and manipulate the masses.
Three is increasing politicization of religion manifested in onslaught of cultural
nationalism, which is excessively dismissive of rights of religious minorities. 50 Religious
fundamentalism, which is reflected in programme and policy of communal forces in party
system, can do great harm to Indian polity. It can destroy the social fabric of Indian
democracy with its advocacy of unified and undifferentiated culture. Parties are seen as
oligarchic as same leaders occupy the position for very long time. Politicians are busy in
personal squabbles, more concerned with their interest than the public interest. There is
need of ensuring inner party democracy and discipline by all Indian political parties.
Coalition alliances in contemporary Indian politics do not have any common objective to
bind them together; they are opportunist, office seeking short term tactical arrangements
rooted in the exchange of mutual benefits and compulsions of power. This leads to the
volatility of the system. Also, there should be a check on the process of proliferation and
splintering of political parties in order to stabilize the governance process.
However, one remarkable feature of Indian party system is that, in contrast to the
situation in many changing societies, non-party actors like the army or militant
movements have not taken place in India, but ethnic conflicts and communal violence,
which place informal but effective restrictions on political party, have continued to blight
47 Refer to Report of the Law Commission of India on Electoral Reforms submitted to the Government
in May 1999, for detailed discussion.

48 Paylee, M.V., Emerging Trends of Indian Party, Regency Publication, 1998, pp.16

49 Hasan, Zoya (ed) Parties and Party Politics in India, Introduction, OUP, N. Delhi, 2002, pp. 2.

50 Chandhoke, Neera, “Individualism and Group Rights A View From India” in India’s Living
Constitution (ed) Granville Austin, OUP, pp.217.
14
the party landscape.51 Some scholars sense that there has been complete breakdown of
party system in India. As consequence one can observe the shift from political parties to
NGOs, Civil society groups, Social Movements and other potential form of expression of
people’s representation. Various groups are trying to assert their rights and demands, not
through parties, but by other alternatives available. In light of such developments, some
scholars have also alluded towards the increasing irrelevance of political parties. They
believe that parties are failing to respond successfully to the series of challenges and
many of their functions are performed better by less formally organized social
movements, by direct contact between politicians and citizens through broadcast media or
the internet, or by innovations in direct democracy.52
The problems of the party system have to be sincerely taken care of, if the tradition of
democracy has to be bolstered in India. Various committees setup for suggesting electoral
reforms in Indian democracy have suggested the exigency for a comprehensive legislation
for regulation of functioning of political parties. Such legislation can identify the
condition for constitution, recognition, registration and deregistration of the political
parties. Elections must be held to the various levels of party organs at least once in three
years. It has been suggested that political parties should ensure at least 30% reservation
for women at every organizational position in the party. All Political Parties should
become more responsive, creative and truly representative. They should rediscover
themselves according to the changing time and socio-economic context.
CONCLUSION

In modern democracies the political parties have to play very constructive role in creation
and promotion of multicultural, pluralist and just societies. It is an achievement of Indian
political system that despite of inadequacies and hindrances, it has been successfully
functioning as liberal democracy, unlike its other Asian and African counterparts. India is
among the few democracies where the electoral turnout of the lower orders of society is
well above that of most privileged sections.53 However, we have discussed some of the
problems pervading the functioning of Indian party system. The rise of Hindu
communalism is undoubtedly one of the counter trends to the democratic process in India.
Nevertheless, there are progressive forces of democratization that have taken into their
fold all those deprived classes that suffered from historically constituted discrimination
and disadvantages. It can be observed that Indian democracy has been successful, in
many ways, due to the successful working of party system in India.

51 Mitra, Subrata K., Mike Enskat and Clements Speib, Political Parties in South Asia, Praeger, Westpost,
2004, Introduction, pp.9.

52 Gunther Richard, Jose Ramon Montero and Juan J. Linz, Political Parties Old Concept and New
Challenges, Introduction, OUP, New York, 2002.pp.1
53 Hasan, Zoya (ed) Parties and Party Politics in India, Introduction, OUP, N. Delhi, 2002, pp. 6.
15
References:
Zoya Hasan (ed.) Parties and Party Politics in India, OUP, Delhi, 2002,
Mitra, Subrata K., Mike Enskat and Clements Speib (edss), Political Parties in South Asia, Praeger,
westpost, 2004.
Frankel, Francine R., Zoya Hasan, Rajeev Bhargava and Balveer Arora, (eds.), Transforming India, OUP,
N. Delhi, 2000.
Brass, Paul R., The New Cambridge History of India The Politics of India Since Independence, Cambridge
University Press, Cambridge, 1975.

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