Politics of India: Difference between revisions

| upperhouse_speaker            = [[Venkaiah Naidu|Vice President Venkaiah Naidu]]

| current_hos                  = [[Ram Nath Kovind]]

| chief_judge                  = [[N. V. Ramana]]

'''Politics of India''' works within the framework of the country's [[Constitution of India|Constitution]]. India is a [[Parliamentary republic|parliamentary]] [[democratic republic|democratic secular republic]] in which the [[president of India]] is the [[head of state]] & first citizen of India and the [[prime minister of India]] is the [[head of government]]. It is based on the federal structure of government, although the word is not used in the Constitution itself. India follows the dual polity system, i.e. federal in nature, that consists of the central authority at the centre and [[States and union territories of India|states]] at the periphery. The Constitution defines the organizational powers and limitations of both central and state governments; it is well recognised, fluid (Preamble of the Constitution being rigid and to dictate further amendments to the Constitution) and considered supreme, i.e. the [[Law of India|laws]] of the nation must conform to it.

When compared to other democracies, India has had a large number of political parties during its history under democratic governance. It has been estimated that over 200 parties were formed after India became independent in 1947.{{Sfn|Chander|2001|pp=389–390}} Leadership of political parties in India is commonly interwoven with well-known families whose dynastic leaders actively play the dominant role in a party. Further, party leadership roles are often transferred to subsequent generations in the same families. The two main parties in India are the Bharatiya Janata Party, commonly known as the BJP, which is the leading right-wing nationalist party, and the [[Indian National Congress]], commonly called the INC or Congress, which is the leading centre-left party. These two parties currently dominate national politics, both adhering their policies loosely to their places on the [[left–right political spectrum]]. At present, there are eight national parties and many more state parties.

* [[National Democratic Alliance]] (NDA) - Right-wing coalition led by BJP was formed in 1998 after the [[1998 Indian general election|elections]]. NDA formed a government, although the government didn't last long as [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|AIADMK]] withdrew support from it resulting in [[1999 Indian general election|1999 general elections]], in which NDA won and resumed power. The coalition government went on to complete the full five-years term, becoming the first non-Congress government to do so. In the [[2014 Indian general election|2014 General Elections]], NDA once again returned to powers for the second time, with a historic mandate of 336 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats. BJP itself won 282 seats, thereby electing [[Narendra Modi]] as the head of the government. In a historic win, the NDA stormed to power for the third term in [[2019 Indian general election|2019]] with a combined strength of 353 seats, with the BJP itself winning an absolute majority with 303 seats

* [[United Progressive Alliance]] (UPA) - Centre-left coalition led by [[Indian National Congress]] (INC); this alliance was created after the [[2004 Indian general election|2004 general elections]], with the alliance forming the Government. The alliance even after losing some of its members, was re-elected in [[2009 Indian general election|2009 General Elections]] with [[Manmohan Singh]] as head of the government. The alliance has been in the opposition since the 2014 elections, with the INC being the principal opposition party, but without the official status of the Leader of Opposition since they failed to win the minimum required seats.

Panchayati Raj Institutions or Local self-government bodies play a crucial role in Indian politics, as it focuses on grassroot-level administration in India.

On 24 April 1993, the Constitutional (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 came into force to provide constitutional status to the Panchayati Raj institutions. This Act was extended to Panchayats in the tribal areas of eight states, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Rajasthan from 24 December 1996.

The Act aims to provide a three-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having a population of over 2 million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly every five years, to provide reservation of seats for Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Women, to appoint State Finance Commission to make recommendations as regards the financial powers of the Panchayats and to constitute District Planning Committee to prepare a draft development plan for the district.

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{{Party politics}}

{{elect|List of political parties in India|Elections in India}}

 

 

 

 

 

On 22 May 2004, [[Manmohan Singh]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.indianembassy.org/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120126154402/https://www.indianembassy.org/India_Review/2009/June%202009.pdf|url-status=dead|title=Welcome to Embassy of India, Washington D C, USA|archive-date=26 January 2012|website=www.indianembassy.org}}</ref> was appointed the [[prime minister of India]] following the victory of the INC and the left front in the [[2004 Indian general election|2004 Lok Sabha election]]. The UPA ruled India without the support of the left front. Previously, [[Atal Bihari Vajpayee]]<ref name=" Priyanka Shah">{{cite news|title=13 Amazing Facts about Atal Ji, the Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Politics|url=http://topyaps.com/n-amazing-facts-about-atalji-the-bhishma-pitamah-of-indian-politics|access-date=16 May 2014|newspaper=Topyaps|date=1 November 2014|author=Priyanka Shah|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911030525/http://topyaps.com/n-amazing-facts-about-atalji-the-bhishma-pitamah-of-indian-politics|archive-date=11 September 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> had taken office in October 1999 after a general election in which a BJP-led coalition of 13 parties called the National Democratic Alliance emerged with a majority. In May 2014, Narendra Modi of BJP was elected as the prime minister.

 

Formation of coalition governments reflects the transition in Indian politics away from the national parties toward smaller, more narrowly based [[regional party|regional parties]]. Some regional parties, especially in South India, are deeply aligned to the ideologies of the region unlike the national parties and thus the relationship between the central government and the state government in various states has not always been free of rancour. Disparity between the ideologies of the political parties ruling the centre and the state leads to severely skewed allocation of resources between the states.

 

 

 

 

{{Unreferenced section|date=March 2021}}[[File:Door-to-door campaigning - Flickr - Al Jazeera English.jpg|thumb|Door-to-door campaigning of political party workers]]

Economic issues like [[Poverty in India|poverty]], [[Unemployment in India|unemployment]] and [[Economic development|development]] are the main issues that influence politics. ''Garibi Hatao'' (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Congress for a long time. BJP encourages a [[free market]] economy. The more popular slogan in this field is ''Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas'' (Cooperation with all, progress of all). The [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] vehemently supports [[left-wing politics]] like [[Land reform|land-for-all]], [[right to work]] and strongly opposes neoliberal policies such as [[globalisation]], [[capitalism]] and [[privatisation]].

Terrorism has affected politics India since its conception, be it the [[Pakistan and state-sponsored terrorism|terrorism supported from Pakistan]] or the internal guerrilla groups such as [[Naxalites]]. In 1991 the former prime minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] was [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi|assassinated]] during an election campaign.{{Sfn|Guha|2008|pp=[https://archive.org/details/indiaaftergandhi00guha_300/page/n347 637]–659}} The suicide bomber was later linked to the Sri Lankan terrorist group [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]], as it was later revealed the killing was an act of vengeance for Rajiv Gandhi [[Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War|sending troops in Sri Lanka]] against them in 1987.{{Sfn|Guha|2008|pp=[https://archive.org/details/indiaaftergandhi00guha_300/page/n347 637]–659}}

The [[Godhra train burning|Godhra train killings]] and the [[Babri Masjid demolition]] on 6 December 1992 resulted in nationwide communal riots in two months, with worst occurring in [[Mumbai]] with at least 900 dead.{{Sfn|Guha|2008|pp=[https://archive.org/details/indiaaftergandhi00guha_300/page/n347 637]–659}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Shiv Sainiks will maintain peace post-Ayodhya verdict: Uddhav |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/shiv-sainiks-will-maintain-peace-post-ayodhya-verdict-uddhav/article1-603031.aspx |work=Hindustan Times |publisher=HT Media Ltd. |access-date=13 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140303165635/http://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/mumbai/shiv-sainiks-will-maintain-peace-post-ayodhya-verdict-uddhav/article1-603031.aspx |archive-date=3 March 2014 }}</ref> The riots were followed by [[1993 Bombay bombings]], which resulted in more deaths.

The Constitution of India lays down that the Head of State and Union Executive is the president of India. They are elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of members of both Houses of Parliament and members of legislative assemblies of the states. The president is eligible for re-elections; however, in India's independent history, only one president has been re-elected – [[Rajendra Prasad]].

 

The president appoints the prime minister of India from the party or coalition which commands maximum support of the Lok Sabha, on whose recommendation he/she nominates the other members of the [[Union Council of Ministers]]. The president also appoints judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. It is on the president's recommendation that the Houses of Parliament meet, and only the president has the power to dissolve the Lok Sabha. Furthermore, no bill passed by Parliament can become law without the president's assent.

 

However, the role of the president of India is largely ceremonial. All the powers of the president mentioned above are exercised on recommendation of the Union Council of Ministers, and the president does not have much discretion in any of these matters. The president also does not have discretion in the exercise of his executive powers, as the real executive authority lies in the Cabinet. The current president is [[Ram Nath Kovind]].

 

Like the president, the role of the vice-president is also ceremonial, with no real authority vested in him/her. The vice-president fills in a vacancy in the office of president (till the election of a new president). The only regular function is that the vice-president functions as the ''ex officio'' Chairman of the [[Rajya Sabha]]. No other duties/powers are vested in the office. The current vice-president is [[Venkaiah Naidu]].

India has a [[Federalism in India|federal form]] of government, and hence each state also has its own government. The executive of each state is the governor (equivalent to the president of India), whose role is ceremonial. The real power resides with the chief minister (equivalent to the prime minister) and the State Council of Ministers. States may either have a unicameral or bicameral legislature, varying from state to state. The chief minister and other state ministers are also members of the legislature.

== Nepotism in Indian politics ==

Since the 1980s, Indian politics has become dynastic, possibly due to the absence of a party organization, independent civil society associations that mobilize support for the party, and centralized financing of elections.<ref name="ppq.sagepub.com"/> One example of dynastic politics has been the [[Nehru–Gandhi family]] which produced [[List of prime ministers of India|three]] Indian prime ministers. Family members have also led the Congress party for most of the period since 1978 when Indira Gandhi floated the then Congress(I) faction of the party.{{Sfn|Basu|Chandra|2016|p=136}} The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party also features several senior leaders who are dynasts.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://scroll.in/article/918234/is-the-bjp-less-dynastic-than-the-congress-not-so-lok-sabha-data-shows|title = Is the BJP less dynastic than the Congress? Not so, Lok Sabha data shows}}</ref> Dynastic politics is prevalent also in a number of political parties with regional presence such as [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] (BJP), [[All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen]] (AIMIM), [[Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam]] (DMDK), [[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]] (DMK), [[Indian National Congress]] (INC), [[Indian National Lok Dal]] (INLD), [[Jammu & Kashmir National Conference]] (JKNC),  [[Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party]] (JKPDP), [[Janata Dal (Secular)]] (JD(s)), [[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha]] (JMM), [[National People's Party (India)|National People's Party]] (NPP), [[Nationalist Congress Party]] (NCP), [[Pattali Makkal Katchi]] (PMK), [[Rashtriya Janata Dal]] (RJD), [[Rashtriya Lok Dal]] (RLD), [[Samajwadi Party]] (SP), [[Shiromani Akali Dal]] (SKD), [[Shiv Sena]] (SS), [[Telangana Rashtra Samithi]] (TRS) and [[Telugu Desam Party]] (TDP).{{Sfn|Chandra|2016|pp=131,136}}.

== See also ==

* [[Government of India]]

* [[List of think tanks in India]]

{{Reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

* {{cite book |last=Chandra |first=Kanchan |title=Democratic Dynasties: State, Party, and Family in Contemporary Indian Politics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VwbFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PR10 |date=28 April 2016 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-316-59212-0 }}

{{Refbegin}}

* [[Satyabrata Rai Chowdhuri|Chowdhuri, Satyabrata Rai]]. [http://www.palgrave.com/products/title.aspx?PID=278315 ''Leftism in India, 1917-1947'']. Palgrave, [[U.K.]], 2007.

* Shively, W. Phillips. ''Power and Choice: An Introduction to Political Science—Chapter 14 Example: Parliamentary Government in India.'' McGraw Hill Higher Education, 2008. {{ISBN|978-0-07-340391-5}}

* Tawa Lama-Rewal, Stéphanie. [http://samaj.revues.org/index2784.html ''"Studying Elections in India: Scientific and Political Debates"'']. ''South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal, 3, 2009.