UPSC CIVIL SERVICES EXAMINATION

PRELIMS 2019 SPECIAL

LECTURE 35

MCQs – STATIC – POLITY

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POLITICAL PARTIES IN INDIA

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✓What are political parties?

✓Different types of political party?

✓Characteristics of Party system in India

✓Recognition of National and State Party

✓Conditions for recognition as a National Party

✓Conditions for recognition as a State Party

Many a times they are also considered as the fifth pillar of the democracy the other four being – legislature,executive, judiciary and the media.

2

Political parties are indispensable to any democratic system and play the most crucial role in the electoralprocess in setting up candidates and conducting election campaigns

1

▪ Political parties are voluntary associations or organized groups of individuals who share the same political views and who try to gain political power through constitutional means and who desire to work for promoting the national interest.

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POLITICAL PARTIES

CONCEPTUAL DEFINITION

SIGNIFICANCE OF POLITICAL PARTIES

TYPES OF POLITICAL PARTIES

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TYPES OF PARTIES GENERAL IDEOLOGY

1. Reactionary Parties Generally, such parties cling to the old socio-economic and political institutions.

2. Conservative Parties Such parties believe in status-quo, that is they do not aim for a change to the existing political.

3. Liberal Parties These parties aim at reforming the existing institutions.

4. Radical Parties These parties aim at establishing a new order by overthrowingthe existing institutions.

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TYPES OF POLITICAL PARTIES

LEFT

IDEOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATIONS

CENTRE RIGHT

RADICAL PARTIES LIBERAL PARTIESREACTIONARY

PARTIES

CONSERVATIVE PARTIES

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

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▪ India has a multi-party system wherein more than two parties exist.▪ The continental size of the country, the diversified character of Indian society, the adoption of universal adult

franchise, the peculiar type of political process, and other factors have given rise to a large number of politicalparties.

▪ While on a positive side, such a system ensures that sufficient groups get representation, yet, on a flipside,hung Parliaments, hung assemblies and coalition government have become a common phenomena.

MULTI PARTY SYSTEM

▪ In spite of the multiparty system, the political scene in India was dominated for a long period by a single party.▪ However, since 1967 with the rise of regional parties and other national parties like Janata (1977), Janata Dal

(1989) and the BJP (1991) leading to the development of a competitive multi-party system.

ONE-DOMINANT PARTY SYSTEM

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

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▪ Generally, the political parties in India lack a clear ideologies and are ideologically very close to each other.▪ They have a close resemblance in their policies and programmes. Almost every party advocates democracy

secularism, socialism and Gandhism.▪ More than this, every party, including the so-called ideological parties, is guided by only one consideration—

power capture.▪ Thus, politics has become issue-based rather than the ideology and pragmatism has replaced the commitment

to the principles.

LACK OF CLEAR IDEOLOGY

▪ Quite often, the parties are organized around an eminent leader who becomes more important than the partyand its ideology.

▪ Parties are known by their leaders rather than by their manifesto.▪ Interestingly, several parties bear the name of their leader like Biju Janata Dal, Lok Dal (A), Congress (I) and so

on.▪ Hence, it is said that “there are political personalities rather than political parties in India”.

PERSONALITY CULT

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

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▪ A large number of parties in India are formed on the basis of religion, caste, language, culture, race and so on. ▪ For example, Shiv Sena, Muslim League, Hindu Maha Sabha, Akali Dal, Muslim Majlis, Bahujan Samaj Party,

Republican Party of India, Gorkha League and so on. ▪ These parties work for the promotion of communal and sectional interests and thereby undermine the

general public interest.

BASED ON TRADITIONAL FACTORS

▪ Another significant feature of the Indian party system is the emergence of a large number of regional parties and their growing role.

▪ They have become the ruling parties in various states like BJD in Orissa, DMK or AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, AkaliDal in Punjab, AGP in Assam, National Conference in J&K, JD(U) in Bihar and so on.

▪ In the beginning, they were confined to the regional politics only. But, of late, they have come to play a significant role in the national politics due to coalition governments at the Centre.

▪ In the 1984 elections, the TDP emerged as the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL PARTIES

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

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▪ Another significant feature of the Indian party system is the emergence of a large number of regional parties and their growing role.

▪ They have become the ruling parties in various states like BJD in Orissa, DMK or AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Akali Dal in Punjab, AGP in Assam, National Conference in J&K, JD(U) in Bihar and so on.

▪ In the beginning, they were confined to the regional politics only. But, of late, they have come to play a significant role in the national politics due to coalition governments at the Centre.

▪ In the 1984 elections, the TDP emerged as the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha.

EMERGENCE OF REGIONAL PARTIES

PARTY SYSTEM IN INDIA

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▪ An effective Opposition is very essential for the successful operation of the parliamentary democracy prevalent in India.

▪ It checks the autocratic tendencies of the ruling party and provides an alternative government.▪ However, in the last 50 years, an effective, strong, organised and viable national Opposition could never

emerge except in flashes.▪ The Opposition parties generally have no unity and very often adopt mutually conflicting positions with

respect to the ruling party. ▪ They have largely failed to play a constructive role in the functioning of the body politic and in the process of

nation building.

LACK OF EFFECTIVE OPPOSITION

RECOGNITION OF PARTIES

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▪ The Election Commission registers political parties for the purpose of elections and grants them recognition as national or state parties on the basis of their poll performance.

▪ The other parties are simply declared as registered-unrecognised parties.

PRIVILEGES TO RECOGNIZED POLITICAL PARTIES

▪ Allocation of party symbol, provision time for political broadcasts on state-owned television and radio stations and access to electoral rolls.

▪ The recognized parties need only one proposer for filing the nomination.▪ They are allowed to have forty “star campaigners” during the time of elections and the registered–

unrecognized parties are allowed to have twenty “star campaigners”.▪ The travel expenses of these star campaigners are not included in the election expenditure of the candidates of

their parties.

RECOGNITION OF PARTIES

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▪ Every national party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use throughout the country. ▪ Similarly, every state party is allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use in the state or states in which it

is so recognized.• A registered-unrecognized party, on the other hand, can select a symbol from a list of free symbols. In other

words, the Commission specifies certain symbols as ‘reserved symbols’ which are meant for the candidates set up by the recognized parties and others as ‘free symbols’ which are meant for other candidates.

PRIVILEGES TO RECOGNIZED POLITICAL PARTIES

CONDITION FOR RECOGNITION AS A

NATIONAL PARTY

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General Elections Seats

Lok Sabha State

Legislative Assembly

Lok Sabha State

Legislative Assembly

Six per cent of valid votes polled in any

four states

4 seats in Lok Sabha

CONDITION FOR RECOGNITION AS A

NATIONAL PARTY

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General Elections Seats

Lok Sabha State

Legislative Assembly

Lok Sabha State

Legislative Assembly

Two per cent seats of

Lok SabhaFrom 3states

CONDITION FOR RECOGNITION AS A

NATIONAL PARTY

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IF A PARTY IS RECOGNISED AS A STATE PARTY IN AT LEAST FOUR STATES

Q. Political parties are an important component of the democracy in India. In this context,

which of the following is/are the characteristic/s of party system in India?

1) Two party system

2) Prominence of personality cult

3) Lack of effective Opposition

Select the correct code:

a) 1 only

b) 1 and 3 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) All are correct

Answer : c

QUESTION 1

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Q. The Election Commission of India registers political parties which become either recognized

parties or registered-unrecognized parties. In this context which of the following is/ are

correct?

1) All parties are allotted a symbol exclusively reserved for its use throughout the country.

2) A registered-unrecognised party, can select a symbol from a list of free symbols.

Select the correct code:

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 or 2

Answer : b

QUESTION 2

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Q. Match the following:

Select the correct code:

a) A-1; B-2; C-3

b) A-2; B-1; C-3

c) A-2; B-3; C-1

d) A-3; B-1; C-2

Answer : c

QUESTION 3

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A – Leftist Parties 1 – Reactionary Parties

B – Centrist Parties 2 – Radical Parties

C – Rightist Parties 3 – Liberal Parties

Q. The Election Commission of India registers political parties which become either recognized

parties or registered-unrecognized parties. In this context, which of the following statement/s

is/are correct?

1. Recognized parties are allowed to have forty star campaigners.

2. The travel expenses of these star campaigners are not included in the election expenditure of the

candidates of their parties.

Select the correct code:

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 or 2

Answer : c

QUESTION 4

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Q. Consider the status of the following political party:

Party A – Secured six per cent of valid votes polled in 7 states at a general elections to a state

legislative assembly, and also won four seats in Lok Sabha from two other states.

Party B – Secured two per cent seats in Lok Sabha from three different states at a general election.

Party C – Secured 0.5 per cent of valid votes polled in 5 states at a general elections to the Lok Sabha,

won no seat but won 10 seats each in the legislative assembly of these five seats .

Which of the above would will be recognized as a National Political Party?

a) Party A only

b) Party A and Party B only

c) All of the above will be recognized as national political party

d) None of the above will be recognized as a national political party

Answer : c

QUESTION 5

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