Political Parties in India: Types, Roles, Importance & More - UPSC Notes

Political parties are essential to every democratic system and play the most important role in the electoral process, including the selection of candidates and the conduct of election campaigns. Cultural variety, socioeconomic, ethnic, caste, communal, and religious heterogeneity, nationalist movement traditions, various styles of party leadership, and opposing ideological positions have all had a significant impact on political parties in India. The two basic kinds of political parties in India are national and state, and the Election Commission of India recognises them based on specific requirements.

In this article on the Political Parties in India, we will understand the Indian party system in detail. All these dimensions are important for competitive examinations like IAS, IPS, IFS, etc. Considering this, Testbook provides the best quality notes for UPSC Exams. Study major topics of Indian Polity from the perspective of UPSC Exams. 

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A political party in India is an organization that organizes candidates to run in elections in a certain country. Members of a political party are likely to share similar political views, and parties may advocate certain ideological or policy goals. As modern party organizations formed and expanded over the world over the previous several centuries, political parties have become a key feature of practically every country’s politics. A country with no political parties is highly uncommon. Some nations have only one political party, whilst others have many. Parties play an essential role in the politics of autocracies and democracies, while democracies often have more political parties than autocracies. Autocracies frequently have a single party run the country, and some political scientists believe that rivalry between two or more parties is a necessary aspect of democracy.

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India has a multi-party political system. The Election Commission of India (ECI) recognises two types of political parties in India based on objective criteria:

• political parties at the national level and 
• political parties at the state levels. 

A recognised political party receives benefits such as a reserved party emblem, free broadcast time on state-run television and radio, consultation in selecting election dates, and influence in developing electoral laws and regulations. Other political parties that want to run in municipal, state, or national elections must register with the Election Commission of India. If a registered party meets the appropriate conditions following a Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly election, the ECI will elevate it to a recognised National Party or State Party. The ECI reviews the Recognized Party status regularly.

History of Political Parties in India

The Congress Party was India’s main political party from 1952 to 1964, and the country’s democracy was essentially a one-party system known as the ‘Congress system.’ The primacy of the Congress system was challenged after Jawahar Lal Nehru’s death and the 1967 elections. The Congress lost majorities in eight states, and its Lok Sabha majority fell to 54 percent. Regional parties sprang up all throughout the country. 

A new alliance led by the Janata Party emerged in 1977. This culminated in the establishment of a multi-party system in India. Instead of forging an ideological coalition, a number of minor parties teamed together to take on Congress. There has been a multi-party system and coalition politics in place since 1989.

Also, read Election Laws in India here.

The list of all political parties in India with the National Political Party status has been given below:

The list below includes the various registered political parties in each Indian state, reflecting regional political landscapes and diversity.

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A party must be registered with the Election Commission of India and adhere to guidelines set forth in the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Criteria for State Party

The criteria for recognizing a political party as a State Political Party include the following:

• If it receives at least 6% of valid votes cast in a general election for the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of the State, as well as at least one Lok Sabha seat or two Legislative Assembly seats.
• If it receives at least 8% of the legitimate votes cast in a general election for the Lok Sabha or the Legislative Assembly of a state.
• If it receives at least 3% of the total number of members in a state’s Legislative Assembly, or 3 seats in the Legislative Assembly, whichever is greater.
• If it gets at least one Lok Sabha seat out of the 25 seats allotted to states in the Lok Sabha.
• At the moment, the Election Commission has recognised 64 political parties as State Political Parties.

Criteria for National Political Party (NPP)

The criteria for recognizing a political party as a National Political Party include the following:

• If it receives at least 6% of valid votes cast in a general election to the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly of the State in four or more states, as well as at least four seats in the Lok Sabha from one or more states.
• If it receives at least 8% of valid votes cast in a general election to the Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly of a state in four or more states.
• If it wins at least 2% of the total number of Lok Sabha seats from three or more states.
• Currently, the Election Commission has recognised eight political parties as National Political Parties in India.
• The National People’s Party (NPP) has been named India’s eighth national party by the Election Commission of India, making it the first regional party from the northeast to receive this accolade.

Check about the Swaraj Party here.

Political parties represent various sections of society and articulate their interests, concerns, and aspirations. Some of the major functions of the political parties have been listed below:

• Usually, political parties go to elections in order to ascertain that they have enough mass of people to enable them to legitimately form a government and carry out their manifestoes.
• Eventually, parties come up with policy methods to different problems based on their beliefs or doctrines. They do not just stop there. They come up with methods. They argue, discuss policies and participate in the legislative process.
• Campaigning, voter mobilization during elections and providing a platform for candidates to participate and challenge for political office are also the other responsibilities of the parties.
• Parties moreover have the responsibility to teach their citizens about the political procedures, democracy and engagement in the election system.
• Political parties have a role in doing checks and balances activities as well as ensuring that the state is properly governed and implementing its laws, policies and practices among others.
• Political parties can contribute to social integration by bridging divides, promoting inclusivity, and fostering dialogue among diverse groups.

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Political parties are essential for the functioning of a democratic system. They give a platform for representation, governance and policy formulation.

• Political parties give opportunity for various categories of people to engage in the political process, and this ensures that their interests are taken into consideration.
• Political parties are indispensable for any progressive democratic polity. They enable people to choose and judge their representatives.
• Political parties facilitate voters by providing them with different policy options and enable contention in, or points of comparison in the governance and development process.
• The political party system promotes equilibrium and good order. This is achieved by facilitating the change of leadership and ensuring continuity of the policies.
• Apart from that, parties assure that people come forward in the democratic process, participate actively and get politicized, which would increase the level of apolitical society.
• Political parties help in institution-building and nurturing a sense of nationhood in the process as they bring into one fold different streams of the population that would otherwise remain estranged.
• Parties can be a catalyst for social change, advocating for marginalized communities, and addressing social, economic, and environmental issues.

Also, read Types of Majority in the Indian Parliament for UPSC here.

Political parties face issues such as internal democracy, transparency in funding, criminalization of politics, and managing coalition dynamics.

• The presence of many political parties leads to fragmentation of votes. This makes it challenging to build a stable majority and form a government.
• Political parties face challenges related to the influence of money and muscle power. This can undermine fair elections and democratic processes.
• The prominence of dynastic politics in some parties can hinder meritocracy and limit opportunities for new leaders and fresh ideas.
• The use of identity-based politics, such as caste, religion, and regionalism, can lead to polarization and hinder inclusive governance.
• But still other parties have to face challenges pertaining to internal democracy, in which decisions in the end are dominated by only a handful of people or families.
• Many of the challenges that political parties face are of corruption-as well as the criminalization of politics-while alluding to eroded public trust on the part of the electorate via such practices.
• The presence of extreme ideological positions and polarized debates can hinder consensus-building and effective governance.

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