Ppt on political parties and their impact

Bhahah

1. Political Parties 1

2. A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power. 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 ,they try to persuade people why their policies are better than others. They seek to implement these policies by winning popular support through elections

3. Thus, parties reflect fundamental political divisions in a society. Parties are about a part of the society and thus involve partisanship. Partisanship is a tendency to take a side and inability to take a balanced view on an issue. Thus a party is known by ( i ) Which part it stands for (ii) Which policies it supports and (iii) Whose interests it upholds. A political party has three components:- ( i ) The Leader (ii) The active members and (iii) The followers.

4. Functions Political parties fill political offices and exercise political power. Parties do so by performing a series of functions:- Parties contest elections : In most democracies , elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties. In our country top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections. Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them.

5. Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Since most of the members belong to a party, they go by the direction of the party leadership , irrespective of their personal opinions. Parties form and run governments: Parties recruit leaders , train them and then make them ministers to run the government in the way they want. The parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, by voicing different views and criticising government for its failures or wrong policies. They also mobilise opposition to the governments. Parties shape public opinion: They raise and highlight issues. They have lakhs of members and activists in different forms. Sometimes they launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by the people. Often opinions in the society crystallise on the lines parties take.

6. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. For an ordinary citizen it is easy to approach a local party leader than a government officer. They feel close to parties even when they do not fully trust them. Parties have to be responsive to people’s needs and demands. Otherwise people can reject those parties in the next elections.

7. Necessity of Political Parties As they performs all the functions to run the government smoothly. Political parties are directly linked to the emergence of representative democracies. Large societies need representative democracy. As societies became large and complex , they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. They needed some ways, to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government , make policies, justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfil these needs that every representative government has . We can say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

8. How many parties should we have? In a democracy any group of citizen is free to form a political party. More than 750 parties are registered with the Election Commission of India. Not all ,but only a handful of parties are effectively in the race to win elections and form government. In some countries , only one party is allowed to control and run the government. These are called one party systems. It is not a good option because this is not a democratic option.

9. In some countries , power usually changes between two main parties. Such a party system is called two party system. If several parties compete for power, and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own strength or in alliance with others, we call it a multiparty system. When several parties in a multiparty system join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power, it is called an alliance or a front. The multiparty system often appears very messy and leads to political instability. At the same time , it allows a variety of interests and opinions to enjoy political representation.

10. Which Party system is Better? Party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of the society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections. Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances . For example , if India has evolved a multiparty system, it is because the social and geographical diversity in such a large country is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties. No system is ideal for all countries and all situations.

11. National Politcal Parties They are present in several or all units of federation. By and large , all these units follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level. Every party in the country has to register with the Election Commission. These parties are given a unique symbol. The parties that get this privilege and some other special facilities are known as “recognised political parties”.

12. The ECI has laid down detailed criteria of the proportion of votes and seats that a party must get in order to be recognised party. To be a national party : (a) They must secure at least six percent of the total votes in Lok Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and (b) must win at least four seats in Lok Sabha. According to this classification , there were six national recognised parties in the country. Indian National Congress:-

13. Benefits  given to a National Party are:- Allocation of the Party symbols (reserved symbols) which can't be used by others. Provision of time for political broadcasts on the state-owned television (like Doordarshan) and radio stations (like All India Radio). Access to electoral rolls. Need only 1 proposer for filing the nomination. They can have 40 star-campaigners during the time of elections. Travel   expense of these campaigners will not be added to election expenditure of the candidate. The  conditions  for being listed as a national party are specified under the  Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968 . The party has to  fulfil   any one  of the following three conditions  mentioned in this Order: A 6% polled vote share in the last Assembly/LS polls in each of any 4 states+4 seats from any state/states in last Lok Sabha polls. 2% of all Lok Sabha seats (or 11 seats; as 2 percent of 545 is rounded to 11) from at least 3 different states in the last general elections. Recognition as a State Party in 4 states.

14. National Parties There are  8 National Parties (Political)  in India in  2020  as per the  Election Commission of India (ECI) . They are:- Indian National Congress  (INC)- hq : New Delhi, estd : 1885, president: Sonia Gandhi. It sought to build a modern secular democratic republic in India. It is a centrist party in its ideological orientation . It supports new economic reforms but with a human face. Bhartiya Janta Party  (BJP)- hq : New Delhi, estd : 1980 ( Bhartiya Jana Sangh was BJP's predecessor and it was formed in 1951), president: JP Nadda . Wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from india’s ancient culture and values.

15. Cultural nationalism or Hindutva is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics. Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India. A uniform civil code for all people living in the country irrespective of religion and ban on religious conversions. Bahujan Samaj Party  (BSP)- hq : New Delhi, estd : 1984, president: Mayawati . It was formed by Kanshi Ram. It seeks to represent and secure power for the bahujan samaj which includes the Dalits , adivasis , OBCs and religious minorities. It draws inspirations from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj , Mahatma Phule , Periyar and BR Ambedkar

16. Nationalist Congress Party  (NCP)- hq : New Delhi, estd : 1999, president: Sharad Pawar. It wants high offices in government be confined to natural born citizens of the country. Communist Party of India  (CPI)- hq : New Delhi, estd : 1925, secretary-general: D Raja. Believes in Marxism- Leninism , secularism and democracy. Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the interest of the working class , farmers and the poor. Communist Party of India-Marxist  (CPI (M))- hq : New Delhi, estd : 1964, secretary-general: Sitaram Yechury . Believes in Marxism- Leninism , socialism, secularism and democracy. It opposes imperialism and communalism. Accepts democratic elections as useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socio- economic justice in India. All India Trinamool Congress  (AITC)- hq : Kolkata, estd : 1998, chairperson: Mamta Bannerji . It became a national party in 2016. National People's Party  (NPP)- hq : Imphal , estd : 2013, president: Conrad Sangma .   It is the  1st national party from the North East India  and was made so in 2019.

17. Hand —Congress;  Lotus —BJP;  Ears of Corn & Sickle —CPI;  Hammer, Sickle & Star —CPI (M);  Clock —NCP;  Elephant —BSP;  Jora Ghas Phul (grass & two flowers) —AITC;  Book —NPP .

18. State Parties Criteria to become a State Party; If a political party want to become a state party then it has to fulfill at least one of the following criteria; A.   A party should win at  least 1 seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats  or any fraction thereof allotted to that State.  or B.  A party should win  a minimum 3% of the total number of seats or a minimum of 3 seats  in the Legislative Assembly.  or C.  In a particular election, the party has to win  at least 6% of the total votes,  and also win 1 Lok Sabha and 2 Assembly seats.  or D.  If a Party fails to win any seat in a State in a general election of Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly of the State, the party will still be eligible for recognition as State Party if it  secures 8%  or more of the total valid votes polled in the State.

19. State parties are commonly referred to as regional parties. Yet these parties need not be regional in their ideology or outlook. Some of these parties are all India parties that happen to have succeeded only in some states. Some of parties are conscious about their State identity. Over the last three decades, the number and strength of State/Regional parties has expanded. This made the Parliament of India politically more and more diverse compelling national parties to form alliances with State parties. This has contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country.

20. Challenges to political parties Since parties are the most visible face of democracy, it is natural that people blame parties for whatever is wrong with the working of democracy. Popular dissatisfaction and criticism has focused on four problem areas in working of political parties. They need to face and overcome these challenges in order to remain effective instruments of democracy. (a) Lack of internal democracy : ( i )Concentration of power in one or few leaders at the top. (ii) Parties do not keep membership registers, hold organizational meetings and conduct internal elections regularly. (iii)Ordinary members do not get sufficient information or means /connections to influence the decisions . As a result the leaders assume greater power to make decisions in the name of the party. (iv) Those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party. (v) Personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important than loyalty to party principles and policies.

21. Dynastic Succession : Since most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedure for their functioning , there are very few ways for an ordinary workers to rise to the top in a party. In many parties ,the top positions are always controlled by members of one family. It is unfair and bad for democracy, since people who do not have adequate experience or popular come to occupy positions of power. This tendency is present in some measures all over the world.

22. Role of money and muscle power Since parties are focussed only on wining elections, they tend to use short-cuts to win elections like: Giving nomination to those candidates who have or can raise lots of money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have influence on the policies and decisions of the party. Sometimes parties support criminals who can win elections Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics.

23. Not providing meaningful choice Very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. Parties must be significantly different from each other. But, in the recent years there has been a decline in the ideological difference among parties in most part of the world. In our country the differences among all the major parties on the economic policies have reduced. Those who want really different policies have no option available to them. Sometimes people cannot even elect very different leaders either, because the same set of leaders keep shifting from one party to another.

24. How can parties be reformed? In order to face challenges , political parties need to be reformed. But the question is:- Are political parties willing to reform? If yes ,what has prevented them from reforming so far? If they are not willing , is it possible to force them to reform? In a democracy ,the final decision is made by leaders who represent political parties. People can replace them , but only by another set of party leaders. If all of them do not wish to reform, how can anyone force them to change?

25. Efforts and Suggestions The following are some efforts and suggestions to reform political parties and its leaders :- ( i ) The constitution was amended to prevent elected MLAs and MPs from changing parties. This was done because many elected representatives were indulging in Defection in order to become ministers or for cash rewards. The 10th Schedule of the Indian Constitution popularly referred to as the ‘Anti-Defection Law’ was inserted by the 52nd Amendment (1985) to the Constitution and reinforced in 2002. It bring defection down. At the same time this has made any dissent even more difficult. MPs and MLAs have to accept whatever the party leaders decide.

26. The Tenth Schedule includes the following provisions with regard to the disqualification of MPs and MLAs on the grounds of defection: Grounds for disqualification : If an elected member gives up his membership of a political party voluntarily.  If he votes or abstains from voting in the House, contrary to any direction issued by his political party.  If any member who is independently elected joins any party.  If any nominated member joins any political party after the end of 6 months.

27. The decision on disqualification questions on the ground of defection is referred to the  Speaker  or the Chairman of the House, and his/her decision is final.  All proceedings in relation to disqualification under this Schedule are considered to be proceedings in Parliament or the Legislature of a state as is the case. Exceptions under the Anti Defection Law In the situation where two-thirds of the legislators of a political party decide to merge into another party, neither the members who decide to join nor the ones who stay with the original party will face disqualification.  Any person elected as chairman or speaker can resign from his party, and rejoin the party if he demits that post.  Earlier, the law allowed parties to be split, but at present, this has been outlawed. Deciding Authority Any question regarding disqualification arising out of defection is to be decided by the presiding officer of the House.

28. (ii)The supreme court passed an order which made it mandatory for every candidates who contests elections to file an Affidavit giving details of his property and criminal cases pending against him. It made a lot of information available to the public . But there is no system of check if the information given by the candidates is true. (iii) The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their income tax returns.

29. (iv) A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. (v) It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets to women candidates as well as in the decision making bodies of the party. (vi) There should be state funding of elections. These suggestions have not yet been accepted by political parties. We must be very careful about legal solutions to political problems. Over-regulation of political parties can be counter-productive. Besides, political parties will not agree to pass a law that they do not like.

30. There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed. (a) People can put pressure on political parties through petitions, publicity and agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and movements and the media can play an important role in this. If political parties feel that they would lose public support by not taking up reforms, they would become more serious about reforms. (b) Political parties can improve if those who want this join political parties. The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation. The problem of bad politics can be solved by more and better politics.