CBSE CLASS 10 SST

Complete NCERT Notes for Board Exam

Civics Chapter – 6

POLITICAL PARTIES
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Why do we need political parties?

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. Thus, a party is known by which part it stands for,
which policies it supports and whose interests it upholds

A political party has three components:

 The leaders
 The active members
 The followers
Functions of a Political Party

 Parties contest elections

 Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the
voters choose from them. A party reduces a vast number of
opinions into a few basic positions which it supports.
 Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country.
 Parties form and run governments
 Those 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.
 Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues.
 Parties provide people access to government machinery and
welfare schemes implemented by governments

The Necessity of Political Parties

 We need political parties because they perform all the functions

which are mentioned above. If there wre no political parties then
every candidate in the elections will be independent. So no one will
be able to make any promises to the people about any major policy
changes.

 The government may be formed, but its utility will remain ever
uncertain. Elected representatives will be accountable to their
constituency for what they do in the locality. But no one will be
responsible for how the country will be run.
How many parties should we have?

More than 750 parties are registered with the Election Commission of
India. But not all these parties are serious contenders in the elections.

• There are three types of party system a country can have.

One Party System

Only one party is allowed to control and run the government. We

cannot consider one-party system as a good option because this is
not a democratic option. Any democratic system must allow at least
two parties to compete in elections and provide a fair chance for the
competing parties to come to power. Example - China

Two Party System

Power usually changes between two main parties. Example - The

United States of America and the United Kingdom

Multi-Party System

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. Example – India
Note: 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 such major alliances in 2004
parliamentary elections– the National Democratic Alliance, the United
Progressive Alliance and the Left Front.

Election Commission

Every party in the country has to register with the Election

Commission. While the Commission treats all parties equally, it offers
some special facilities to lar ge and esta blished parties . These
parties are given a unique symbol – only the official candidates of that
party can use that election symbol

State Party

A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in an
election to the Legislative Assembly of a State and wins at least two
seats is recognised as a State party
National Party

A party that secures at least six per cent of the total votes in Lok
Sabha elections or Assembly elections in four States and wins at least
four seats in the Lok Sabha is recognised as a national party

Major National Parties in India

There were 7 recognised national parties in the country in 2018.

Indian National Congress (INC):

 Popularly known as the Congress Party. One of the oldest parties of

the world. Founded in 1885.
 Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the party sought to build
a modern secular democratic republic in India.
 Ruling party at the centre till 1977 and then from 1980 to 1989.
After 1989, its support declined.
 The party’s main idea is to promote secularism and welfare of
weaker sections and minorities.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP):

 Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

 Wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration
from India’s ancient culture and values and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s
ideas of integral humanism and Antyodaya.
 Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important element in its
conception of Indian nationhood and politics
 Emerged as the largest party with 303 members in the 2019 Lok
Sabha elections.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP):

 Formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.

 Seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan samaj which
includes the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.
 It has its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh and substantial
presence in neighbouring states like Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Uttarakhand, Delhi and Punjab
 Stands for the cause of securing the interests and welfare of the
Dalits and oppressed people.

Communist Party of India (CPI):

 Formed in 1925. Believes in Marxism-Leninism, secularism and

democracy.
 Opposed to the forces of secessionism and communalism.
 Accepts parliamentary democracy as a means of promoting the
interests of the working class, farmers and the poor.
 Significant presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal, Punjab,
Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M):

 Founded in 1964. Believes in Marxism-Leninism. Supports socialism,

secularism and democracy and opposes imperialism and
communalism.
 Accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for
securing the objective of socio-economic justice in India.
 Enjoys strong support in West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura.
 The party was in power in West Bengal without a break for 34
years.

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP):

 Formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party

 Supports democracy, Gandhian secularism, equity, social justice and
federalism.
 A major party in Maharashtra and has a significant presence in
Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam.
 A coalition partner in the state of Maharashtra in alliance with the
Congress. Since 2004, a member of the United Progressive Alliance.
All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)

 Launched on 1 January 1998 under the leadership of Mamata

Banerjee.
 Recognised as a national party in 2016.
 The party’s symbol is flowers and grass.
 Committed to secularism and federalism.

State Parties

 The Election Commission has classified some of the major parties

of the country as “State parties”.
 The Samajwadi Party , Samata Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal
have national level political organisation with units in several
states .
 Some of these parties like Biju Janata Dal, Sikkim Democratic
Front and Mizo National Front are conscious about their State
identity.
Challenges to political parties

 The first challenge is lack of internal democracy within parties.

Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold
organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections
regularly.

 The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the first

one. Most political parties do not practice open and transparent
procedures for their functioning n many parties, the top positions are
always controlled by members of one family.

 The third challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle
power in parties, especially during elections
Since parties are focused only on winning elections, they tend to
use short-cuts to win elections. In some cases, parties support
criminals who can win elections.

 The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer
a meaningful choice to the voters. Sometimes people cannot even
elect very different leaders either, because the same set of leaders
keep shifting from one party to another
How can parties be reformed?

Some of the recent efforts and suggestions in our country to reform

political parties and its leaders:

 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.

Now the law says that if any MLA or MP changes parties, he or

she will lose the seat in the legislature. This new law has helped
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.

 The Supreme Court passed an order to reduce the influence of

money and criminals. Now, it is mandatory for every candidate who
contests elections to file an AFFIDAVIT giving details of his property
and criminal cases pending against him.

 The Election Commission passed an order making it necessary for

political parties to hold their organisational elections and file their
income tax returns
Many suggestions are often made to reform political parties:

 A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political

parties
 It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum
number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates.
 There should be state funding of elections. The government should
give parties money to support their election expenses

Note: These suggestions have not yet been accepted by political

parties.

There are two other ways in which political parties can be reformed

 People can put pressure on political parties. This can be done

through petitions, publicity and agitations.
 Political parties can improve if people who want change can join
political parties. It is difficult to reform politics if ordinary citizens do
not take part in it and simply criticise it from the outside.

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