4 – Political Parties

Important Notes –
1. Political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and to
hold power in the government. They agree on some policies to promote collective
good. They seek to implement those policies by winning popular support through
elections. Thus political parties tend to fill political offices and exercise political
power.

2. The three main components of a political party

i. The leaders;
ii. The active members; and
iii. The followers

3. At least two parties are needed in any democratic system to compete in elections
and provide a fair chance for the competing parties to come to power

The source of inspiration of the Bharatiya Janata Party or the BJP is ancient
Indian culture and values.

4. ‘Biju Janata Dal’ exist as a regional party of Odisha (Orissa)

5. ‘Rashtriya Lok Dal’ exist as a regional party of Uttar Pradesh

6. A recognised political party is a party, recognised by the ‘Election Commission’

with all the privileges and facilities.

7. Universal Adult suffrage stands for the ‘Right to Vote’.

8. Bahujan Samaj Party draws inspiration from the teachings of Sahu Maharaj,
Mahatma Phule, Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.

9. Two regional parties of West Bengal

i. Forward BLOCK (1940),
ii. TRINAMOOL CONGRESS (1997).
10. The source of inspiration of Bharatiya Janata Party is the ancient Indian
culture and values. Cultural nationalism (Hindutva) is an important element in its
conception of Indian nationhood and politics.

11. State parties like the Samajwadi Party, Samata Party and Rashtriya Janata
Dal have national level political organizations with units in several states but are
not recognised as national parties.

12. India adopted multi-party system because:

● India is a large country and has social and geographical diversities.

● It is easy to absorb different diversities in a multi-party system.

13. Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress
sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India. The party
propagates secularism and welfare of the weaker sections and minorities of
society. It supports new economic reforms but with a human face.

14. Three national alliances parties are

NDA – National Democratic Alliance

UPA – United Progressive Alliance
Left Front
I.N.D.I.A. - Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance
4 – Political Parties

Q.1 - Name the national political party which gets inspiration from India’s
ancient culture and values. Mention four features of that party.
Answer:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) founded in 1980 draws inspiration from India’s ancient
culture and values.
Features:
1. Cultural Nationalism (Hindutva) is an important element in its conception of
Indian nationhood and politics.
2. Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.
3. A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion and
ban on religious conversions.
4. Earlier limited to north and west and to urban areas, the party expanded support
in the south, east, the north-east and rural areas.

Q.2 - “No party system is ideal for all countries and in all situations.” Justify
the statement with five arguments.
Answer:
Parties are a necessary condition for a democracy. The rise of political parties is
directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Party system is not
something any country can choose. It evolves depending on the nature of society, its
social and regional divisions, its history of politics and system of elections.
Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances.
For example, India has evolved a multi-party system, because of its social and
geographical diversity which cannot be easily absorbed by two or three parties.
Political parties make policies to promote collective good and there can be different
views on what is good for all. Therefore no system is ideal for all countries and
situations.

Q.3 - Given one point of difference between a pressure group and a political
party.
Answer:
A pressure group is an organized or unorganized body that seeks to promote its
interests while a political party is a body that seeks to attain political power by
contesting elections.
Q.4 - Describe the three components of a political party.
Answer:
Components of a political party are:
1. The leaders,
2. active members and
3. the followers.

● The leaders are recruited and trained by parties. They are made ministers
to run the government. The big policy decisions are taken by the political
executives that come from the political parties.

● Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread over the country. Many
of the pressure groups are the extensions of political parties among
different sections of society. But since most of the members belong to a
party, they go by the direction of the party leadership, irrespective of their
personal opinion.

● The followers are the ordinary citizens, who believe in the policies of their
respective party and give popular support through elections.

Q.5 - What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party

system? Explain.
Answer:.
In a Multi-party system system, the government is formed by various parties coming
together in a coalition. When several parties in a multi-party system join hands for the
purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front.
For example, in India there were three major alliances in the 2004 parliamentary
elections—the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) and the Left Front. This system on one hand leads to political instability but at
the same time, allows for a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political
representation.
Each country develops a party system that is suitable for its special circumstances.
India has evolved as a multi-party system because its social and geographical diversity
cannot be absorbed by two or three parties. Thus, such representation strengthens
democracy. Multi-party system facilitates representation of regional and geographical
diversities. In India, several regional parties are in power at the State level such as the
DMK in Tamil Nadu, Akali Dal in Punjab and the BSP in Uttar Pradesh.

Q.6 - “Lack of internal democracy within parties is the major challenge to

political parties all over the world”. Explain OR
“Dynastic succession is one of the most serious challenges before the political parties.”
Explain
Answer:
1. Most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their
functioning like maintaining membership registers, holding organizational
meetings or conducting internal elections regularly.
2. Thus, ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on the
happenings in the party and have no means to influence the decisions.
3. Also, there are very few chances for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a
party.
4. Since a few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, others find it difficult
to continue in the party.
5. Few leaders are in a position to take undue advantage and favor people close to
them or even their family members.
6. And, in many parties, the top positions are controlled by members of one family
which is bad for democracy.

Q. 7 - What is meant by a ‘national political party’? State the conditions

required to be a national political party
Answer:
National political parties have their units in various states. By and large all these units
follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.
Conditions required to be a national political party:

● A party that secures at least 6% of the total votes in general elections of Lok
Sabha or assembly elections in four states.

● A party that wins at least 4 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Q.8 - What is meant by regional political parties? State the conditions required
to be recognised as a ‘regional political party’.
Answer:
A regional party is a party that is present in only some states. Regional parties or State
parties need not be regional in their ideology.
Example, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal.
Conditions required for a party to be recognized as a regional political party:

● A party that secures at least six percent of the total votes in an election to the
legislative assembly of a state.

● Wins at least two seats in the legislative assembly.

Q.9 - Explain any five suggestions to reform political parties in India.
Answer:
1. Law to regulate the internal affairs of political parties like maintaining a
register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to have independent authority,
to act as judge in case of party dispute, to hold open elections to the highest post.
2. It should be mandatory for political parties to give one-third tickets to
women candidates. Also there should be a quota for women on the decision-
making bodies of the party.
3. There should be state funding of elections. The government should give
money to parties to support their election expenses in kind (petrol, paper,
telephone, etc.) or in cash on the basis of votes secured by the party in the
previous election.
4. The candidate should be educated, so that he can solve and understand
people’s problems. His previous record should be cleared. He should be
honest and there should be no criminal case against him.
5. Citizens can reform politics if they take part directly and join political
parties. People can put pressure on political parties through petitions,
publicity in media, agitations etc.

Q. 9 - Explain the growing role of money and muscle power in political parties
Answer:
Political parties need to face and overcome the growing challenge of Money and Muscle
power during elections in order to remain effective instruments of democracy.
1. Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use
shortcuts to win elections, for example, like booth-rigging, distribution of
food, money, alcohol, etc. to the poor voters to get their votes.
2. Political parties tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise
lots of money.
3. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have
influence on the policies and decisions of the party.
4. These days, parties are supporting criminals who can win elections.This is a
major cause of concern to the democrats all over the world who are worried
about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic
politics.

Q.10 - Why do we need political parties? Explain.

Answer:
To fill political offices and exercise political power, political parties are needed to
perform a series of functions, which are the following:
 1. Parties contest elections. Elections are fought mainly among candidates put up by
political parties.
In India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.
2. Parties put forward different policies and programmes. Political parties provide a
direction in which government policies can be formulated,
3. Parties make laws for a country. Laws are debated and passed in the legislature.
4. Parties that lose elections play the role of the opposition. Opposition parties
criticizing the government for its failure or wrong policies.
5. Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues and resolve people’s
problems.
6. Many pressure groups are the extensions of political parties.
7. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes. For
an ordinary citizen it is easier to approach a local party leader than a government
officer.

Q.11 - Examine the role of opposition parties in a Democracy.

Answer:
Opposition parties play an important role in democracies. They play both positive and
negative roles. Positive role,
1. They ensures political party in power does not misuse or abuse its power;
2. They expose the weaknesses of the ruling party;
3. They also keep a close vigil on the bills and expenditure of the government.
Negative role.

● They target the government and aim at dislodging and discrediting the
government for all the ills and the troubles the people face;

● Through stalling the proceedings of the parliament, dhamas and gheravs, it

curtails the progress of the country.
The opposition’s work is not to abstract the functioning of the administration but
to keep a close watch on the working of the party in power so that democracy
becomes meaningful.

Q.12 - “About a hundred years ago there were few countries that had hardly any
political party. Now there are few countries that do not have political parties.”
Examine this statement.
Answer:
We can understand the necessity of political parties by imagining a situation without
parties. Every candidate in the election will be independent. Therefore, no major policy
changes will be made. Elected representatives will be accountable to their constituency
but no one will be responsible for the smooth running of the country. As societies
become large and complex, There is a need to bring various representatives together so
that a responsible government can be formed.
A mechanism is needed to support or justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfill the
needs of a representative government and so it is a necessary condition for a
democracy.

Q.13 - “All over the world, people express their dissatisfaction with the failure
of political parties to perform their functions well.” Analysis.
Answer:
Since parties are the most visible face in a democracy, people blame them for whatever
is wrong with the working of democracy.
There are four major areas where the working of political parties faces challenge:
(i) Lack of internal democracy and concentration of power in a few leaders ………..
(ii) Dynastic succession………( ans no 6)
(iii) Money and muscle power…….( ans no 9 )
(iv) No meaningful choice………