PARTIES AND THE PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

PARTIES AND THE PARTY SYSTEM
WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY
Two party system
Types of party system
One party system
MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM
Indian context
How did congress win the elect
Why was the congress dominant
SOCIAL COALITION
Congress as an ideological
IDEOLOGICAL COALITION
Ram manohar lohia
Deen dayal upadhyaya
Integral Humanism
philosophy of Integral Humanis
Autonomy of Society
Supremacy of Dharma
Primacy of whole, not part

1. PARTIES AND THE PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

2. WHAT IS A POLITICAL PARTY?? A political party is an organized group of people who have the same ideology, or who otherwise have the same political positions, and who field candidates for elections, in an attempt to get them elected and thereby implement the party's agenda .

3. Types of party system- One party system In single-party systems, one political party is legally allowed to hold effective power. Although minor parties may sometimes be allowed, they are legally required to accept the leadership of the dominant party. North Korea and China are examples .

4. Two party system Two-party systems are states in which there are two political parties dominant to such an extent that electoral success under the banner of any other party is almost impossible and political parties are traditionally parties that are ideologically broad and inclusive. Example-USA

5. MULTI-PARTY SYSTEM Multi-party systems are systems in which more than two parties are represented and elected to public office . Australia, Canada, People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Norway are examples of countries with two strong parties and additional smaller parties that have also obtained representation . The smaller or “third” parties may hold the balance of power in a parliamentary system, and thus may be invited to form a part of a coalition government together with one of the larger parties; or may instead act independently from the dominant parties.

6. Indian context India is not the only country to have experienced the dominance of one party but there many countries with this experience But there is a crucial difference between these and the Indian experience. In the rest of the cases the dominance of one party was ensured by compromising democracy . In some countries like China, Cuba and Syria the constitution permits only a single party to rule the country. Some others like Myanmar, Belarus, Egypt, and Eritrea are effectively one-party states due to legal and military measures.

7. PARTY FOUNDING YEAR FOUNDER Socialist Party 1934 Acharya Narendra Dev Communist Party 1925 M.N Roy Bhartiya Jana Sangh 1951 Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Swatantra Party 1959 C. Rajagopalachari

8. How did congress win the elections? The results of the first general election did not surprise anyone. The Indian National Congress was expected to win this election. When the final results were declared, the extent of the victory of the Congress did surprise many. The party won 364 of the 489 seats in the first Lok Sabha elections and finished way ahead of any other challenger. The Communist Party of India that came next in terms of seats won only 16 seats. The state elections were held with the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress scored big victory in those elections as well. It won a majority of seats in all the states

9. Why was the congress dominant after first three elections? The roots of this extraordinary success of the Congress party go back to the legacy of the freedom struggle. Congress was seen as inheritor of the national movement. In Jawaharlal Nehru, the party had the most popular and charismatic leader in Indian politics. He led the Congress campaign and toured through the country Many leaders who were in the forefront of that struggle were now contesting elections as Congress candidates. The Congress was already a very well-organised party and by the time the other parties could even think of a strategy, the Congress had already started its campaign. Thus , the Congress had the ‘first off the blocks’ advantage. By the time of Independence the party had not only spread across the length and breadth of the country as we had seen in the maps but also had an organisational network down to the local level. Most importantly, as the Congress was till recently a national movement, its nature was all-inclusive. All these factors contributed to the dominance of the Congress party.

10. Congress as an ideological and social coalition SOCIAL COALITION Congress evolved from its origins in 1885 as a pressure group for the newly educated, professional and commercial classes to a mass movement in the twentieth century . This laid the basis for its eventual transformation into a mass political party and its subsequent domination of the political system Thus the Congress began as a party dominated by the English speaking, upper caste, upper middle-class and urban elite. But with every civil disobedience movement it launched, its social base widened

11. It brought together diverse groups, whose interests were often contradictory. Peasants and industrialists, urban dwellers and villagers, workers and owners, middle, lower and upper classes and castes, all found space in the Congress. Gradually , its leadership also expanded beyond the upper caste and upper class professionals to agriculture based leaders with a rural orientation

12. IDEOLOGICAL COALITION Many of these groups merged their identity within the Congress. Very often they did not and continued to exist within the Congress as groups and individuals holding different beliefs In this sense the Congress was an ideological coalition as well. It accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre The Congress was a ‘platform’ for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part in the national movement In pre-Independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitution and organisational structure were allowed to exist within the Congress.

13. Jayprakash narayan and total revolution

14. The journey of Jayaprakash Narayan from Marxism to Gandhism resulted in Total Revolution . It is based upon Gandhi’s basic postulates and it envisages non-violent methods of changing society with non-violent techniques Total Revolution, as a concept, was put forward by Jayaprakash Narayan (at times referred to as JP) in the wake of Bihar Movement in Patna on June 5, 1974. In a public meeting at Gandhi Maidan , Jayaprakash Narayan declared that the struggle was not going to be limited to securing the demands of the students, including the resignation of the Minister and the dissolution of the Assembly in Bihar, but would aim at bringing about a Total Revolution or Sampoorna Kranti , which alone could solve the urgent problems of the country and usher in a new society.

15. Jaya Prakash Narayan is known for three key contributions: Fight against Corruption, Principle of Communitarian Socialism and Championing of ‘Total Revolution ’. Jaya Prakash Narayan was the first leader in post-independence India who undertook a tirade against corruption through the participation of youth, particularly in Gujarat and Bihar. He advocated the office of Lokpal against corruption. His principle of Communitarian Socialism views India as a society of communities encompassing three key layers, viz., community, region and rashtra – all combining together as an example of true federation . His call for total revolution sought to encompass moral, cultural, economic, political, educational and ecological transformations .

16. His political transformation included the right to recall, the importance of village/ mohalla samities in democratic politics, and his call for Upper Ke Log to join political struggle for a clean politics in the country . The essence for transformation according to Jaya Prakash Narayan revolves around ‘Man’ who could be the real catalyst of change in India

17. Ram manohar lohia and socialism

18. Ram Manohar Lohia has been one of the main proponents of socialism in India. He championed the idea of ‘Democratic Socialism’ while associating his socialism with democracy. Lohia considered both capitalism and socialism equally irrelevant for Indian society. His principle of Democratic Socialism has two objectives - the economic objective in form of food and housing and the non-economic objective in form of democracy and freedom . Lohia advocated Chouburja Rajneeti in which he opines four pillars of politics as well as socialism: Centre, Region, District and Village – all are linked with each other. Giving consideration to affirmative action, Lohia argued that the policy of affirmative action should not only be for the downtrodden but also for the women and the non-religious minorities.

19. Based on the premise of Democratic Socialism and Chouburja Rajneeti , Lohia supported a ‘Party of Socialism’ as an attempt of merging all political parties. The Party of Socialism according to Lohia should have three symbols, viz., Spade [prepared to make efforts], Vote [power of voting], and Prison [Willingness to make sacrifices].

20. Deen dayal upadhyaya and integral humanism Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya was a philosopher, sociologist, economist and politician. The philosophy presented by him is called 'Integral Humanism' which was intended to present an 'indigenous socio-economic model' in which human being remains at the center of development. The aim of Integral Humanism is to ensure dignified life for every human being while balancing the needs of the individual and society. It supports sustainable consumption of natural resources so that those resources can be replenished.

21. Integral Humanism enhances not only political but also economic and social democracy and freedom. As it seeks to promote diversity, it is best suited for a country as diverse as India . The philosophy of Integral Humanism is based on the following three principles: 1. Primacy of whole, not part 2. Supremacy of Dharma 3. Autonomy of Society Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya opposed both Western 'capitalist individualism' and 'Marxist socialism '. According to Deendayal Upadhyaya , capitalist and socialist ideologies only consider the needs of the human body and mind, so they are based on materialistic purpose whereas spiritual development is equally considered important for the complete development of human being which is missing in both capitalism and socialism.

22. Basing his philosophy on the internal conscience, pure human soul to be called Chhitti , Deendayal Upadhyaya envisaged a classless, casteless and conflict-free social system.