Political parties

In one constituency there can be dozens of candidates. How would you know who stands for what? Most candidates belong to a political party (rajnitik dal), though some stand on their own as independents. Voters learn about the candidates, their plans and their views mostly through the parties.

You will be able to vote in another four or five years. But you have already heard parties making promises. Before an election, each party sets out what it will do in a manifesto (ghoshna-patra). It explains its promises at rallies, and argues about local, state, national and international issues in the media.

The book (Fig. 7.9) says parties:

• organise public opinion: they gather people who think alike;
• campaign on particular issues;
• offer voters real choices;
• help voters make informed decisions.

They work right down at the grassroots, in every village and neighbourhood.

What happens after the votes are counted (Fig. 7.11)? Imagine a House of 100 seats. Party A wins 60, Party B 30 and Party C 10. Party A has more than half, so it forms the government and makes and carries out policies. B and C become the opposition (vipaksh). Their job is just as important: in debates and committees, they question the government and hold it to account.

India has a multi-party system: many parties exist and compete. "Why so many?" Because India itself is so varied: many languages, cultures, religions and regions. The parties reflect that.

"Can someone just leave one party and join another?" Yes, anyone can. But once a person has been elected on a party's ticket, leaving that party is called defection (dal-badal). It also counts as defection if they act against the party's decisions, especially when voting in the legislature.

Is defection good or bad? The book gives both sides. Seen from the side of party discipline and a stable government, it looks like political opportunism: switching for personal gain. But it can also be seen as a way to follow one's conscience, or to respond to what the public now expects.

To stop it, India passed the Anti-Defection Law in 1985, through the 52nd Constitutional Amendment Act. Its purpose is to keep elected governments stable. A Member of Parliament or of a State Assembly can be disqualified if they:

• give up their party membership on their own, or
• vote against the party's instruction, called the whip.

The Speaker or Chairman of the House decides each case.

The ECI recognises parties by fixed rules (Fig. 7.12). A party needs to meet only one condition in a list.

A state party: any one of these

• at least 6% of the valid votes in a state assembly election, plus at least 2 assembly seats;
• at least 6% of the valid votes in the Lok Sabha election from that state, plus at least 1 Lok Sabha seat from it;
• at least 3% of the assembly seats, or 3 seats, whichever is more;
• at least 1 Lok Sabha seat for every 25 seats (or any part of 25) that the state has;
• at least 8% of the valid votes in the state, in a Lok Sabha or assembly election.

A national party: any one of these

• at least 6% of the valid votes in four or more states, plus 4 Lok Sabha seats;
• at least 2% of the Lok Sabha seats, won from at least three states;
• recognised as a state party in at least four states.

Parties that have not won enough votes, or have never contested since they registered, are registered unrecognised parties.

From one party to alliances. In the first years after independence, elections were dominated by a single party. 1967 ended that era, and alliances (gathbandhan: parties joining hands) began in the states. In 1977, against the backdrop of the National Emergency (1975–1977), several parties came together as the Janata Party and formed the first coalition government at the national level. Since the late 1990s, the two main alliances have been the NDA, led by the BJP, and the UPA, led by the INC, which was dissolved in 2023 and re-formed as the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance.