Political Parties Flashcards
what’s the meaning of a political party?
a political party is a group of ppl 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.
a political party consists of?
- the leaders
- the active members
- the followers
mention the functions of political party.
- contest elections
[in USA, members and supporters of a party choose its candidates]
- policies and programmes
[ a govt. is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the ruling party]
- making laws
[ laws are debated and passed in the legislature. but since most of the members belong to a party, they go by the direction of the direction of the party leaser.]
- form and run govt.
[ parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the govt. in the way they want.]
- role of opposition
[voicing different views and criticizing the govt.]
- shape public opinion
[they raise and highlight issues and sometimes launch movements for the resolutions of the problems faced by the ppl]
- access to govt. machinery and welfare schemes
[for an ordinary citizen it is easy to approach a local party leader than the govt. officer this way they feel closer to the party]
necessity of political parties?
- every candidate in the election will be independent.
- so no one will be able to make decisions or any promises to the ppl about any major policy changes.
- the govt may be formed but its utility will remain uncertain.
- no one will be responsible for how the country will run.
- the rise of political parties directly links to the emergence of representative democracies.
- they need some agency to gather different views on different issues and to present these to the govt.
- they needed a mechanism to support or restrain the govt, make policies and justify or oppose them.
explain national parties
- country-wide parties
- have their units in various states that follow the same policies, programmes and strategy that is decided at the national level.
- given unique symbol that can only be used by the official candidates
- must secure at least 6% pf total votes in Lok Sabha elections or assembly elections in 4 states
- should win at least 4 seats in Lok Sabha
explain different types of parties and how many parties we must have?
- one-party system : Ex- China [communist part]
- two party system : Ex- USA [ ]
UK [] - multi-party system : Ex- India
the govt is formed by coming together of a coalition. when several parties join hands to form govt. it is called an alliance. 3 main alliances in India are - NDA, UPA, Left front. it may appear to be messy and instable but it provides variety of options.
India is multi party system because the social and geographical diversity cannot be easily absorbed by two or even three parties.
hence, no system is ideal for all countries and all situations.
explain state parties
- present in only one of the federal units
- should secure at least 6% of total votes in an election to the legislative assembly of a state
- must win at least 2 seats
no one national party secured majority on its own till 2014, hence they were forced to form alliances with state parties. This contributed to the strengthening of federalism and democracy in our country
what are the challenges faced by the political parties?
- lack of internal democracy
- dynastic succession
- money and muscle power
- meaningful choice
what are the reforms made for political parties and also mention the suggestions made for political parties?
- law of defection
- law of affidavit
- law of income tax
suggestion:
1. to regulate the internal affairs of a political party
2. reservation of 1/3 of tickets to women.
3. state funding of elections
Bahujan samaj party-BSP
- 1984
- Under the leadership of Kanshi ram.
- seeks to secure power for the Bahujan samaj which includes minorities, Dalits, OBC’s etc.
- inspiration from Sahu Maharaj, mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswamy Naicker , Babasaheb Ambedkar
- Welfare of the Dalits and oppressed people
- main base in Uttar Pradesh and neighboring states like Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, Punjab etc.
Bhartiya Janata party
- 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bhartiya Jana Sangh that was formed by syama prasad Mukherjee in 1950
- wants to build a strong and modern India
- inspiration from ancient culture and values; and Deendayal Upadhyaya’s ideas of integral humanism and antyodaya
- hindutva or cultural nationlism is an important element in its conception.
- came to power in 1998 as the leader of the national democratic alliance (NDA)
Communist party of India- Marxist
- 1964
- Believes in Marxism-Leninism
- supports socialism, secularism, and democracy
- opposes imperialism and communalism
- strong support in west Bengal, Kerala and Tripura
- especially among factory workers , farmers, etc.
- was in power in west Bengal w/o a break for 34 years.
Indian national congress
- one of the oldest parties in world.
- founded in 1885
- played a dominant roles in Indian politics at the national level and state level decades after independence.
- under the leadership of Jawaharlal, the party sought to build a modern secular country.
- ruling party till 1977, from 1980-1989 and declined after
- a centrist party
- secularism and welfare of weaker minorities
- leader of the united progressive alliance (UPA)
Aam admi party
National Peoples Party
