- A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in government — agreeing on policies for the collective good.
- Every party has three components: the leaders, the active members and the followers; it is partisan — it takes a side.
- Parties are a necessary condition for democracy — without them every candidate would be independent and no responsible, accountable government could be formed.
- India has a multi-party system: a large country with great social and geographical diversity. National parties follow one all-India programme; State (regional) parties are recognised state-by-state.
- Four big challenges: lack of internal democracy, dynastic succession, money & muscle power, and no meaningful choice. Reforms include the anti-defection law, affidavits, and proposals for women’s quota and state funding.
- Board weightage: ~4 marks/year — usually one functions / challenges / reforms question plus 1–2 MCQs on party systems or national parties.
1. Why this chapter matters
Through the whole democracy tour you have met political parties again and again — in the rise of democracies, in constitutional design, in elections, in forming and running governments, and as vehicles of federal power-sharing. Parties are the most visible institution of a democracy: for most ordinary citizens, democracy is equal to political parties.
But visibility does not mean popularity. People often blame parties for everything wrong with politics — they say parties are partial, partisan, create divisions and "do nothing but divide people". So this chapter asks two honest questions: Why do we need parties at all? and How many parties are good for a democracy? Then it looks at India’s parties and at what is wrong with parties and what can be done.
2. Meaning of a political party
A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promote the collective good. Since there can be different views on what is good for all, parties try to persuade people why their policies are better, and they seek to put those policies into practice by winning popular support through elections.
Parties reflect the fundamental political divisions in a society. A party is about a part of the society, so it always involves partisanship — taking a side. A party is known by which part it stands for, which policies it supports and whose interests it upholds.
• The leaders — who take decisions and contest for high posts.
• The active members — who run the party’s day-to-day work.
• The followers — the large body of supporters and voters.
A partisan is a person who is strongly committed to a party, group or faction — marked by a tendency to take a side and an inability to take a balanced view on an issue.
3. Functions of political parties
What does a party actually do? Basically it fills political offices and exercises political power, through a series of functions. (This is the most common board question.)
2. Parties put forward policies and programmes. Voters choose from among them. A party groups a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions it supports — government policy is then based on the line of the ruling party.
3. Parties make laws. Laws are formally debated and passed in the legislature, but since most members belong to a party, they go by the direction of the party leadership.
4. Parties form and run governments. Parties recruit leaders, train them, and make them ministers to run the government.
5. Losing parties form the opposition. They voice different views, criticise the government for its failures, and mobilise opposition.
6. Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues; many pressure groups are extensions of parties, and parties launch movements to solve people’s problems.
7. Parties provide access to government machinery and welfare schemes. For an ordinary citizen it is easier to approach a local party leader than a government officer, so people feel close to parties even when they don’t fully trust them — which keeps parties responsive to people’s needs.
4. Necessity — why democracy cannot do without parties
The list of functions already half-answers why we need parties: we need them because they perform all these functions. But why can’t modern democracies exist without parties? Imagine a democracy with no parties:
- Every candidate would be independent. No one could promise any major policy change to the people.
- A government could be formed, but its future would stay uncertain.
- Elected members would be accountable only to their own locality — no one would be responsible for how the whole country is run.
Even non-party panchayat elections show this: villages split into factions, each putting up its own "panel" of candidates — exactly what parties do. The rise of parties is directly linked to the rise of representative democracy. Large, complex societies need an agency to gather different views, present them to the government, and bring representatives together so a responsible government can be formed, supported, restrained, justified or opposed. Parties fulfil these needs — so parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.
5. How many parties — party systems
Any group of citizens is free to form a party; over 750 parties are registered with the Election Commission of India, but only a handful are serious contenders. The real question is: how many major or effective parties are good for a democracy? Three systems exist:
Two-party system: power usually changes between two main parties. Several others may exist and win a few seats, but only the two big parties have a serious chance of winning a majority (e.g. the USA and the UK).
Multi-party system: several parties compete for power, and more than two have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own or in alliance with others (e.g. India).
When several parties in a multi-party system join hands to contest elections and win power together, it is called an alliance or front. In the 2004 Indian parliamentary elections there were three major alliances — the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) and the Left Front. A multi-party system can look messy and lead to political instability, but it allows a great variety of interests and opinions to be represented.
Which system is best? This is not a good question — a party system is not something a country can choose. It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history and its system of elections. India evolved a multi-party system because its huge social and geographical diversity cannot be absorbed by two or three parties. No system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
6. Popular participation — are parties really in crisis?
It is often said parties face a "crisis" of unpopularity. Large surveys over decades show this belief is only partly true for India:
- Parties do not enjoy much trust among people in South Asia — and they are among the least trusted institutions all over the world.
- Yet the level of participation in party activities is fairly high. The proportion of those who are members of a party is higher in India than in many advanced countries like Canada, Japan, Spain and South Korea.
- Over the last three decades, party membership in India has gone up steadily, and the share of those who feel "close to a party" has also risen.
So Indians distrust parties as institutions but still participate in them a lot — a sign of a vigorous democracy, not a dying one.
7. National parties of India
Federal democracies tend to have two kinds of parties: those present in only one unit of the federation, and those present in several or all units — called national parties. National parties have units in many states but by and large follow the same policies, programmes and strategy decided at the national level.
Every party must register with the Election Commission. The Commission treats all parties equally but gives special facilities to large, established parties — chiefly a unique reserved election symbol. Such parties are called recognised parties.
• State party: secures at least 6 per cent of total votes in a Legislative Assembly election and wins at least two seats.
• National party: secures at least 6 per cent of votes in Lok Sabha or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least four seats in the Lok Sabha.
By the 2023 notification there are six recognised national parties:
- Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — formed 26 Nov 2012 after the 2011 anti-corruption movement; founded on accountability, clean administration, transparency and good governance. Forms governments in Delhi and Punjab.
- Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) — formed 1984 under Kanshi Ram. Seeks power for the bahujan samaj (dalits, adivasis, OBCs and minorities), inspired by Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar; main base in Uttar Pradesh.
- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — founded 1980 by reviving the earlier Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1951, Syama Prasad Mukherjee). Inspired by cultural nationalism (Hindutva) and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s integral humanism and Antyodaya; wants a uniform civil code and full integration of Jammu & Kashmir. Leads the NDA government at the Centre (303 seats in 2019).
- Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) — founded 1964; believes in Marxism-Leninism, socialism, secularism and democracy. Strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura (in power in West Bengal for 34 years without a break).
- Indian National Congress (INC) — popularly the Congress Party; founded 1885, one of the world’s oldest parties. Sought a modern secular democratic republic under Nehru; a centrist party that led the UPA government 2004–2019.
- National People’s Party (NPP) — formed July 2013 under P.A. Sangma; the first party from North East India to gain national-party status. Core philosophy: education, employment and empowerment of all sections.
8. State (regional) parties
Most other major parties are classified by the Election Commission as State parties — commonly called regional parties. But "regional" does not always mean narrow in outlook: some are all-India parties that simply succeeded in only some states. Parties like the Samajwadi Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal have national-level organisations with units in several states; others — Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic Front, Mizo National Front, Telangana Rashtra Samithi — are conscious of their State identity.
Over the last three decades the number and strength of these parties has expanded, making Parliament more diverse. Since no single national party can win a Lok Sabha majority on its own, national parties are compelled to form alliances with State parties. Since 1996 nearly every State party has had a chance to share in a national coalition — which has strengthened federalism and democracy in India.
9. Challenges to political parties
Since parties are the most visible face of democracy, people blame them for whatever is wrong. Popular criticism has focussed on four problem areas. (Very common board question.)
2. Dynastic succession. Because parties are not run openly, an ordinary worker has very few ways to rise to the top. Leaders unfairly favour people close to them or their family members; in many parties the top positions are controlled by one family — unfair to other members and bad for democracy.
3. Money and muscle power. Focussed only on winning elections, parties take short-cuts — nominating candidates who have or can raise lots of money, and even supporting criminals who can win. Rich people and big companies who fund parties gain undue influence over their policies.
4. No meaningful choice. To offer real choice parties must be significantly different, but ideological differences have declined worldwide (e.g. Labour vs Conservative in Britain). In India too, the major parties’ economic policies have grown similar, and leaders keep shifting from one party to another — so voters who want truly different policies have no option.
10. How parties can be reformed
To face these challenges parties need reform — but the hard question is whether parties are willing to reform, since in a democracy the final decision is made by the very leaders being asked to change. Some recent efforts and suggestions:
• Anti-defection law — the Constitution was amended so that an MLA/MP who changes party loses the seat. This curbed defection for ministership or cash, but has made dissent harder, as members must accept whatever the leaders decide.
• Affidavit — the Supreme Court made it mandatory for every candidate to file an affidavit giving details of property and pending criminal cases; this gives the public information, though there is no system to check if it is true.
• The Election Commission made it necessary for parties to hold organisational elections and file income-tax returns — but parties often treat this as a mere formality.
• A law to regulate parties’ internal affairs — compulsory membership register, own constitution, an independent authority to judge disputes, and open elections to the highest posts.
• A minimum quota for women — about one-third of tickets, plus reserved seats in decision-making bodies.
• State funding of elections — government support in kind (petrol, paper, telephone) or in cash based on votes secured in the last election.
But we must be careful: over-regulation can be counter-productive (parties find ways to cheat) and parties will not pass a law they dislike. So there are two other ways: (1) people put pressure through petitions, publicity, agitations, pressure groups, movements and the media; (2) parties improve if people who want this join them. The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation — bad politics can only be solved by more and better politics.
11. NCERT Exercises — fully solved
Q1. State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy. Parties (i) contest elections and select candidates; (ii) put forward policies and programmes from which voters choose; (iii) play a decisive role in making laws; (iv) form and run governments, recruiting and training leaders; (v) losing parties form the opposition and criticise the government; (vi) shape public opinion by raising issues; (vii) provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes. (See §3.)
Q2. What are the various challenges faced by political parties? Four main challenges: (i) lack of internal democracy — power concentrated in a few leaders; (ii) dynastic succession — top posts kept within one family; (iii) growing role of money and muscle power, especially during elections; (iv) no meaningful choice — parties have become ideologically similar. (See §9.)
Q3. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties. A law to regulate parties’ internal affairs (membership register, own constitution, internal elections, independent dispute authority); a compulsory women’s quota of about one-third of tickets; state funding of elections; the existing anti-defection law and affidavit rule; and above all, pressure and participation by ordinary citizens. (See §10.)
Q4. What is a political party? A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government, agreeing on policies and programmes to promote the collective good.
Q5. What are the characteristics of a political party? A party (i) has an ideology, policies and programmes; (ii) seeks to contest elections and win power; (iii) is partisan — it represents a part of society and takes a side; (iv) has three components: leaders, active members and followers.
Q6. A group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government is called a ____. → a political party.
Q7. Match List I with List II. Congress Party → United Progressive Alliance (C); Bharatiya Janata Party → National Democratic Alliance (A); Communist Party of India (Marxist) → Left Front (D); Telugu Desam Party → State party (B). The correct code is (b): 1-C, 2-A, 3-D, 4-B.
Q8. Who is the founder of the Bahujan Samaj Party? → (A) Kanshi Ram.
Q9. What is the guiding philosophy of the Bharatiya Janata Party? → (C) Integral humanism.
Q10. Which of these statements on parties are correct? (A) Parties do not enjoy much trust among the people; (B) parties are often rocked by scandals involving top leaders; (C) parties are not necessary to run governments. Statements A and B are correct; C is wrong (parties are necessary). → (b) A and B.
Q11. Passage on Muhammad Yunus (Nagarik Shakti). Yes, Yunus was justified in floating a party — in a democracy any citizen may form a party, and his aim of good governance, grassroots democracy and fighting corruption is legitimate. The fears of established leaders mostly reflect their worry about competition. A genuinely different party can be built by ensuring internal democracy (open membership, regular internal elections), transparent funding, clean candidates and clear, distinct policies — and one would defend it as bringing voters a real, honest choice.
12. Common confusions
- One-party system vs single dominant party: a one-party system bans competition (China) and is undemocratic; a system where one party keeps winning fair elections is still democratic.
- National party vs State party: decided by the Election Commission’s vote-and-seat criteria, not by how big the party "feels". Both share an election symbol if recognised.
- Regional party = narrow outlook? No — some State parties have an all-India ideology; they are "State" parties only because they succeed in some states.
- Alliance vs party: NDA, UPA and Left Front are alliances/fronts of several parties, not single parties.
- Anti-defection law: it stops members switching parties; it does not by itself create internal democracy.
- Affidavit: gives information on property and criminal cases — but there is no mechanism to verify that the information is true.
13. Quick revision checklist
- Party = group that contests elections + holds power for the collective good; three components = leaders, active members, followers.
- Seven functions: contest elections, frame policies, make laws, form/run government, opposition, shape opinion, access to schemes.
- Parties are a necessary condition for democracy.
- Three systems: one-party (China, undemocratic), two-party (USA, UK), multi-party (India).
- State party = 6% votes + 2 seats (Assembly); national party = 6% in four states + 4 Lok Sabha seats. Six national parties (AAP, BSP, BJP, CPI-M, INC, NPP).
- Four challenges: internal democracy, dynastic succession, money & muscle, no meaningful choice.
- Reforms: anti-defection law, affidavits, EC orders; proposed women’s quota, state funding, internal-affairs law; plus public pressure and participation.
- run a business
- contest elections and hold power in government
- conduct surveys
- protest only
- leaders, active members, followers
- voters, officers, judges
- centre, state, local
- rich, poor, middle
- two-party system
- multi-party system
- one-party system
- no-party system
- one-party system
- two-party system
- multi-party system
- presidential system
- two-party system
- one-party system
- multi-party system
- coalition system
- two Lok Sabha seats
- four Lok Sabha seats
- six Lok Sabha seats
- eleven Lok Sabha seats
- Biju Janata Dal
- Shiv Sena
- Bahujan Samaj Party
- Telugu Desam Party
- single parties
- alliances / fronts
- pressure groups
- movements
- partisanship
- defection
- coalition
- affidavit
- lack of internal democracy
- dynastic succession
- money and muscle power
- too much foreign aid
- Marxism-Leninism
- Bahujan Samaj
- Integral humanism
- Revolutionary democracy
- manifesto
- affidavit
- defection notice
- gazette
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