Political Parties and Pressure Groups

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and to hold power in the government. The members of a party agree on some policies and programmes for the society. They try to win elections in order to put those policies into practice.

Every party has three parts. The first is the leaders, who take decisions and contest elections. The second is the active members, who work for the party. The third is the followers or supporters, who believe in the party's ideas and vote for it. A party is therefore known by which part of society it stands for, what policies it supports, and whose interests it defends.

Parties perform several functions that keep a democracy running.

Parties contest elections, putting up candidates. They put forward policies and programmes so that voters have a clear choice. Parties that win make laws in the legislature. They form and run governments, taking the big decisions. The parties that lose form the opposition, which criticises the government and keeps it in check. Parties shape public opinion by raising and highlighting issues. And parties give ordinary people access to government and to its welfare schemes. It is easier to approach a local party worker than a distant official.

Because parties do all this, democracy is hard to imagine without them. This is why we say that parties are a necessary condition for a democracy.

Countries differ in how many parties have a serious chance of holding power.

In a one-party system, only one party is allowed to control and run the government, as in China. This is not a good option for a democracy, because it gives people no real choice.

In a two-party system, power usually changes between two main parties, as in the United States and the United Kingdom. Several other parties may exist, but only two have a real chance of winning a majority. Among India's neighbours, Bangladesh has more or less evolved a two-party system. Power there alternates between the Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party. Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Myanmar have not developed such a stable two-party competition.

In a multi-party system, several parties compete for power. More than two parties have a serious chance of coming to power, either on their own or in alliance with others. India has a multi-party system. To win a majority, parties often join together to form an alliance or coalition before or after an election. The multi-party system can look messy and may lead to political instability. But it allows a wide variety of interests and opinions to be represented. That suits a country as diverse as India.

The Election Commission of India registers and recognises parties. The whole power of superintendence, direction and control of elections is vested in the Commission by Article 324. The registration and recognition of parties, however, rests on statute and on the Commission's own rules:

• Every party must register with the Election Commission under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Registration is open to any party that applies; it is not the same as recognition.

• Recognition is granted only to larger parties under the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, on the basis of votes and seats won. A party that meets the threshold across several states is recognised as a national party. A party with a strong base in a particular state is recognised as a state (regional) party.

• Recognition brings real privileges:

  • a reserved election symbol that only that party's candidates may use.
  • free broadcast time on state-owned television and radio at election time.
  • a limited number of "star campaigners".
  • consultation by the Commission.

  Disputes over which faction keeps the symbol after a party splits are settled by the Election Commission under the 1968 Symbols Order.

India has a handful of national parties and many state parties. The rise of strong state parties over the last few decades has made coalition governments at the centre common.

National-party status is earned through performance, not claimed through a name. Parties such as the Bharatiya Janata Party, the Indian National Congress, the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the National People's Party and the Aam Aadmi Party have held recognition as national parties. The Election Commission reviews recognition after elections, so the list changes over time.

A party's name can mislead. Several parties with all-India sounding names are only state parties or unrecognised parties:

• Indian Union Muslim League: a state party, with its base mainly in Kerala.
• Revolutionary Socialist Party: a small Left party, recognised only at the state level.
• All India Forward Bloc: despite the "All India" in its name, a state-level party, mainly in West Bengal.
• Peasants and Workers Party: a state-level party of Maharashtra.

None of these is a national party. The test is always the votes and seats won across states, judged under the 1968 Symbols Order.

Parties face serious problems.

The first challenge is the lack of internal democracy. Power tends to stay with a few leaders at the top, members are not consulted, and there are no proper records or regular organisational elections.

The second is dynastic succession. The top posts are controlled by one family. As a result, people who lack adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power.

The third is the growing role of money and muscle power, especially during elections. Parties tend to nominate those who can raise money. Rich people and companies that give money gain influence over the party's policies.

The fourth is that parties often fail to offer a meaningful choice to voters. On basic issues, their positions are not very different.

Several reforms try to fix these problems.

• Anti-defection law. This punishes legislators who switch sides after winning. The key points:
  • It was added by the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985, which inserted the Tenth Schedule and amended Articles 101, 102, 190 and 191 (which deal with vacation of seats and disqualification in Parliament and the state legislatures).
  • A legislator is disqualified if he voluntarily gives up membership of his party, or votes (or abstains) against the party's whip without permission.
  • The question of disqualification is decided by the presiding officer (the Speaker or the Chairman), not a court. That decision is, however, subject to judicial review (settled in Kihoto Hollohan v Zachillhu, 1992).
  • The 91st Amendment Act, 2003 tightened the law. It deleted the old "split" exemption, which had protected a breakaway group of one-third of a party's members. Today the only escape is a merger backed by two-thirds of the legislature party.
  • That same 91st Amendment also capped the Council of Ministers at 15% of the House and barred a disqualified defector from holding any ministerial or remunerative political office.
• Affidavit disclosure. Following Supreme Court directions, every candidate must file an affidavit with the nomination papers. The affidavit declares assets, liabilities, educational qualifications and any criminal cases. This way, voters can know the candidate's background.
• Election Commission steps. The Commission has made it compulsory for parties to hold organisational elections and to file income-tax returns.

Beyond these legal steps, the strongest pressure for reform comes from public opinion and from the work of citizens and movements.

A pressure group is an organised group that tries to influence government policy. Unlike a political party, it does not seek to win elections or form a government. That is the key difference.

Pressure groups come in several kinds:

• Business and trade associations (e.g. industry chambers).
• Trade unions of workers.
• professional bodies (of doctors, lawyers, teachers).
• agrarian groups of farmers.
• community-based groups (caste, religious or linguistic).
• public-interest / cause groups working on issues such as the environment, human rights or consumer protection.

They press their case by lobbying ministers and officials, filing petitions, shaping the media, and, at times, organising protests and strikes. Pressure groups make democracy more participative. But a powerful group can also pull policy towards a narrow interest.