Ch. 6 Political Parties Questions and Answers

Q. Why do parties sometimes launch movements?

A. Parties sometimes launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people.


Q.  How is a government formed in a multi-party system? 

A. In a multiparty system, the government is formed by various parties coming together in a coalition. In this system, several parties join hands for the purpose of contesting elections and winning power i.e. they form an alliance or a front.


Q. What is a recognised party?

A. A recognised party is a party which is 'recognised' by the Election Commission i.e. it has been given a unique symbol, which only the official members of that party can use, along with some other facilities.


Q. What is a multi-party system? Why has India adopted a multi-party system?

A. A multi-party system is a system of government in which several parties compete for power and more than two parties have a reasonable chance of coming to power either on their own or through an alliance.

India has adopted a multi-party system because:

・The social and geographical diversity of such a large country as India is not easily absorbed by two or even three parties.

・A multi-party system as compared to a one-party or two-party system is more democratic as it offers people a wider choice.

・When there are several parties with a chance of coming into power, then, no one party or person can have unchecked power. Thus a multi-party system reduces the chances of autocratic rule or dictatorship. 

・In a multi-party system, there is a balance of power between the ruling party/ alliance and the opposition party/ alliance.


Q. State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

A. Political parties fill political offices and exercise political power by performing the following functions:

・ Parties contest elections. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties.

・ Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them. Each of us may have different opinions and views on what policies are suitable for the society. But no government can handle such a large variety of views. In a democracy, a large number of similar opinions have to be grouped together to provide a direction in which policies can be formulated by the governments. This is what the parties do. A party reduces a vast multitude of opinions into a few basic positions which it supports. A government is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the ruling party.

・Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Formally, 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 party leadership, irrespective of their personal opinions. 

 ・Parties form and run governments. As we noted last year, the big policy decisions are taken by the political executive that comes from the political parties. Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the government in the way they want. 

 ・Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, by voicing different views and criticising the government for its failures or wrong policies. Opposition parties also mobilise opposition to the government

・ Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues. Parties have lakhs of members and activists spread all over the country. Many of the pressure groups are the extensions of political parties among different sections of society. Parties sometimes also launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people. Often opinions in the society crystallise on the lines parties take.

・ Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. For an ordinary citizen, it is easy to approach a local party leader than a government officer.

Q. What is a political party? What are its various components?

A. ・  A political party is a group of people 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 has three components: 

•  the leaders, 

•  the active members and 

•  the followers

Q. What are the various challenges faced by political parties?

A.  Following are the challenges faced by political parties:

1. ・ The first challenge is the lack of internal democracy within parties. All over the world, there is a tendency in political parties towards the concentration of power in one or a few leaders at the top. Parties do not keep membership registers, do not hold organisational meetings, and do not conduct internal elections regularly. Ordinary members of the party do not get sufficient information on what happens inside the party.

 ・They do not have the means or the connections needed to influence the decisions. As a result, the leaders assume the greater power to make decisions in the name of the party. Since one or few leaders exercise paramount power in the party, those who disagree with the leadership find it difficult to continue in the party. More than loyalty to party principles and policies, personal loyalty to the leader becomes more important.

・The second challenge of dynastic succession is related to the first one. Since most political parties do not practice open and transparent procedures for their functioning, there are very few ways for an ordinary worker to rise to the top in a party. Those who happen to be the leaders are in a position of unfair advantage to favour people close to them or even their family members. In many parties, the top positions are always controlled by members of one family. This is unfair to other members of that party. This is also bad for democracy since people who do not have adequate experience or popular support come to occupy positions of power. This tendency is present in some measure all over the world, including in some of the older democracies. 

・The third challenge is about the growing role of money and muscle power in parties, especially during elections. Since parties are focussed only on winning elections, they tend to use short-cuts to win elections. They tend to nominate those candidates who have or can raise lots of money. Rich people and companies who give funds to the parties tend to have an influence on the policies and decisions of the party. In some cases, parties support criminals who can win elections. Democrats all over the world are worried about the increasing role of rich people and big companies in democratic politics.

・The fourth challenge is that very often parties do not seem to offer a meaningful choice to the voters. In order to offer meaningful choice, parties must be significantly different. In recent years there has been a decline in the ideological differences among parties in most parts of the world. For example, the difference between the Labour Party and the Conservative Party in Britain is very little. 

Q. Suggest some reforms to strengthen parties so that they perform their functions well?

A. Suggestions to strengthen parties to perform their functions well are: 

・A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of political parties. It should be made compulsory for political parties to maintain a register of its members, to follow its own constitution, to have an independent authority, to act as a judge in case of party disputes, to hold open elections to the highest posts.

・It should be made mandatory for political parties to give a minimum number of tickets, about one-third, to women candidates. Similarly, there should be a quota for women in the decision making bodies of the party. 

・ There should be state funding of elections. The government should give parties money to support their election expenses. This support could be given in kind: petrol, paper, telephone etc. Or it could be given in cash on the basis of the votes secured by the party in the last election.


・People can put pressure on political parties. This can be done through petitions, publicity and agitations. Ordinary citizens, pressure groups and movements and the media can play an important role in this.

・Political parties can improve if those who want this join political parties. The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation. It is difficult to reform politics if ordinary citizens do not take part in it and simply criticise it from the outside.