PARTY SYSTEM

PARTY SYSTEM 

Introduction

1. essential for representative democracy
2. roles
1. formation of govt
2. formation of opposition
3. political education
4. political socialisation
3. Laski: parties are essential for representative democracy
4. Gandhi, JP Narayan, MN roy; favoured partyless democracy

Party System

1. based on no. of parties having systemic relevance
2. eg- at time of independence, Indian party system known as one-party dominant system

Unique features of Indian party system

1. Zoya Hassan: political parties in India reflect many unusual patterns
1. catch-all party, no concern for ideology
2. office oriented instead of policy oriented
3. disconnect between people and parties
4. greater connection among parties and corporate groups
5. none party has grand design
2. Paul Brass
1. parties reflect paradoxical features
2. lack intra party democracy
3. modernised under western bureaucratic structure with indigenous practices
3. Yogendra Yadav
1. parties going through process of institutionalisation  as well as deinstitutionalisation
2. reach increasing, depth of voter decreasing
3. political parties have narrow look of voting and not grand vision of nation building

Nature of party system

1. stage 1: upto 1967: congress system
2. stage 2: 1967-77: breakdown of congress system
3. stage 3: 1977-79: two party system
4. stage 4: 1979-89: emergence of multiparty system
5. stage 5: 1989-2014: coalition politics
6. Congress system
1. Moris Jonnes: although multi-party at the time of independence, it was one party dominant system
2. Rajni Kothari: Congress system- no other party except Kerala and Congress could form the govt till 1967
1. congress= party of consensus
2. others= party of pressure
3. consensus since rainbow coalition
4. pressure: other parties were like pressure groups
5. although one party system, other parties ensured that it doesn't become autocratic
6. hegemony of congress due to its role in freedom struggle
7. retained centrist agenda 
3. rejected communalism, communism
4. role  of Pt. Nehru
1. maintained democratic intellectual climate
2. promoted freedom of speech, expression, toleration
3. sensitivity towards minority
4. convince masses that congress is critical for survival of nation
7. Breakdown of Congress system
1. 1967: congress lost majority in 9 states
2. internal and external factors
1. internal
1. de-institutionalisation of democracy
2. concentration of power in hands of single leader
3. lost touch with grassroot leaders
4. central leadership dependent on 'loyalist'
2. external factors
1. Yogendra Yadav: decline of congress is linked with deepening of democracy
2. two democratic upsurge
3. today party of minorities and ST
4. green revolution and state re-organisation
3. present status of congress
1. Suhash Palashikar: 2014 mark the death of congress
1. social and territorial base is shrinking
2. 3 phase of life of congress
1. phase 1: phase of dominance: till 1967
2. phase 2: phase of confrontation: till 1987
3. phase 3: phase of survival; from 1987
3. 2014: death of congress
4. future prospects
1. Pratap Bhanu Mehta: should lead majority-minority comples
1. should know how to form strategic alliance
2. should emerge as party of transformation
3. should go back to role of social movements
8. party system since 1989
1. should evolve with changing internal and external features
2. fragmentation and regionalism since 1977
9. causes of rise of regional parties
1. E Shridharan: 
1. institutional factors
1. delinking of parliamentary and state legislative elections: mobilisaiton on local issues
2. federal system: regional parties leaders are in greater contact with people
3. linguistic reorganisation of states: dominant caste formation
2. social and economic factors
1. green revolution gave chance to OBCs
2. deepening of social cleavages due to mobilisation on ethnic issues
3. politicisation of religion
4. consciousness of rights and liberty
5. emergency in 1976
10. consequences of rise of regional parties
1. negative+ positive
1. rise of coalition politics
1. lack of healthy coalition gave rise to 
1. policy paralysis
2. role of money and muscle power
3. politicisation of post of speaker
4. decline of parliament
2. regionalisation
1. democracy becoming more representative
2. strengthened bargaining power of states
3. regional issue dominate over national
4. greater role of state in foreign policy

Coalition culture

1. Riker: power sharing agreement
2. regular feature of western europe
3. not new to India: even in 1937
4. regular feature since 1989 in national politics, 1967 in state politics
5. more mature at state level. eg- Kerala, WB
6. unique feature of Indian coalition culture
1. Bidyut Chakravorty: 
1. western country coalition are by design, Indian are by political calculation
2. west: minimum winning coalition
1. India; over-sized coalition
3. ideological convergence in west
4. negative coalition in India: to stop someone from coming to power
5. core party doesn't consult the partners
7. consequences
1. more negative than positive
1. policy paralysis
2. decline of parliament
3. decline in dignity of speaker
4. judicial activism
5. presidential activism
6. frequent election
7. horse trading
8. defection
9. weakening of institution of PM
10. increased corruption
8. desirability
1. not avoidable
2. required to have healthy coalition culture by learning from others
3. eg- Germany
1. Chancellor is stronger than PM of west minister model
2. constructive role of no-confidence
3. election of PM by lower house like in Japan
4. institutionalise practice of steering committee to determine working of house
5. need to reform anti-defection law
6. more onus on core parties
7. reduce role of money and muscle by reforming electoral process
4. India's culture comes nearest to Italy

Status of Left Parties in India

1. Praful Bidwai book- Phoenix movement: Challenges confronting Indian left
1. surprising that left in India could never take route despite widespread poverty
2. surprising that youth attracted towards right rather than left
3. worst performance in 2014, even workers and farmers didn't vote
4. initially left was the biggest opposition, vote share double than jan sangh
5. following problems with Indian left
1. shifting stand during freedom struggle, never got public support
2. never understood features of Indian polity
3. high command culture
4. no grassroot base, leaders picked from universities
5. agenda first hijacked by congress, now by AAP
6. lack of internal solidarity
7. left doesn't work for social movement, instead only for political gains
8. left has not done the politics of class, also done religion and caste politics
9. left ideology has not met ambition of youth
10. foreign policy not relevant to today's time
1. based on anti-americanism and pro-chinese
11. lacks leadership
12. globalisation has created footloose workers, difficult to organise trade union
13. left in WB favoured capitalist and fired farmers
6. suggestions
1. should go to original idea of left politics, ie. social movements, radical democracy

Rise of right

1. 2 seats in 1984- govt in 2014
2. Thomas Blom Hansan- book: Saffron wave
1. explained phenomenal rise of BJP
3. Millan Vaishnav
1. change in electoral behaviour in India
2. earlier concern was secularism and minoritism
3. today, majoritaranianism and good governance and development
4. causes of rise of BJP
1. decline of congress
2. demise of left
3. organisational strength
4. nationalistic rhetoric
5. globalisation
1. NRI support
2. rise to ethnic politics
3. rising fear of islamic fundamentalism
4. economic policy matches globalisation
5. growth of middle class
6. strong leadership
5. Thomas Blom Hansen: 
1. not religious or entirely political phenomena
2. happening due to democratic transformation in the country
3. as OBCs, dalits mobilising themselves, middle class is anxious
4. even lower class hindu got attracted towards BJP's majoritarianism, nationalism, cultural pride
6. James Manar:
1. with decline of congress, people were left with 2 choices: left or right
7. Christopher Jaffrelot
1. due to minority appeasement of congress
2. hindus had growing insecurity
8. History of BJP
1. successor of Jana Sangh formed in 1951 by SP Mukherjee
2. other prominent leader was Deen Dayal Upadhyay
3. objective
1. believed in strong opposition in democracy and nehruvian consensus
4. objection in relations with RSS to Janta party to formed Bhartiya Janta Party
5. influenced by 
1. cultural nationalism
2. gandhian socialism
3. positive secularism: equal status to all religions unlike Hindu Mahasabha
6. Integral Humanism of Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay
1. western idea not suitable to India
2. India should adopt modern science but not westernise
3. eg- Japan
4. integrates mind, body and soul

3rd Front

1. composition keeps on changing
2. collection of regional parties
3. has significant percentage of votes in regions
4. support of OBC group, dalits, muslim
5. formed govt 2 times: 1989 and 1996
6. couldn't provide stable govt
1. emerges before election, dissolves after election
7. problems
1. too many leaders
2. opportunism
3. too parochial in their approach
4. lack nationalistic agenda

AAP phenomena

1. byproduct of globalisation
2. parallel examples: Tehreek-e-insaaf in pakistan, syriza party in greece, worker party in brazil
3. urban phenomena
4. described itself as anti-politics and anti-ideology
5. change system from within
6. stands for intra-party democracy
7. members have right to recall members of executive council

 

Regional Parties

1. Milan vaishnav: 
1. rise of regional parties is an eternal theme on Indian political science
2. operate within limited geographical area, represent linguistic minorities
2. Paul Brass:
1. traditional caste based to democratic mass based
3. Maurice Duverger
1. small parties, without geographically concentrated support can't win in a plurality voting system such as India's
4. Andrew Wyatt and C. Manikandan
1. small parties remain outsiders in their own state, but can be coalition partners at the centre.