Multi-party politics and the alliance governments cobble up to give a shaky and unstable government that has always been a hindrance to the country's development. A possible way out of this political turmoil seems to be going bi-party. 21st Century India is an “evolving India”. India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today, and is looked upon in high regard by the world along with China as most potential forces in the future, in terms of trade, economy, commerce and world politics. Having said that, even after 60 years of independence, India is still way behind the mark of being called a developed country. The nation is marred by a number of domestic problems like farmers committing suicides, villages with no access to electricity, poverty, draughts and floods and corruption. There have always been two contradicting facets of the country, and getting rid of other ugly facet, has been a challenge, on India’s path to be a developed country.
The path of development is never a smooth ride in India. This is largely because of the political turmoil that has been rampant in the country. The biggest problem India has been facing is a political consensus. In an era of alliances, the government in power is at the mercy of its smaller alliance partners. The so-called regional parties have been the king-makers and deciding factors in the formation of the central government. This has been the biggest hindrance to the country’s integrity, and a good development oriented and stable government.
It’s in the best interest of the country, that a full-fledged government comes to power. But given the current scenario, alliances seem to be inevitable. But again, alliances bring instabilities and clash of ideologies. What is the solution to this chaos? The question that arises here is do we need a change in our reforms?
Political Parties and the Constitution of India
The constitution of India states the Indian government to be a parliamentary government, and a federal system with a strong central government. India is a federal system, in which residual powers of legislation remain with the central government. The constitution provides a detailed list dividing up powers between central and state governments, along with a set of Directive Principles of State policy. The constitution of India, thus tries to clearly separate the central and the state government, and the central government is the supreme ruler of the country.
The charter of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India inter alia guarantees freedom of association. Under Article 19(C), any group of Indian citizens can get together to form associations or unions of their choice subject to the laws of the land and reasonable restrictions in the interest of national security, etc.
The Election Commission maintains a list of political parties. Any association or group of people wishing to participate in the electoral process can register as a political party under the section 29A of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951. It is a startling fact that till date, a few hundred political parties are registered with the commission.
So far as the Election commission and the representation of People’s act are concerned, a party may be recognized as a “National Party” or a “State Party”. There is no provision of recognition of any party as a “Regional Party”.
Parties that secure a certain percentage of votes in a minimum number of states (presumably, 4 states) or a number of seats in parliament (exact figures unknown), can be recognized as a National party for the purpose of allotment of symbols.
To be recognized as a state party, it has to be existence in five years, have a certain number of members elected to the house of the people, or the state assembly, or a certain percentage of votes during the general elections.
Taking into consideration what the constitution says, only two parties, the Congress and the BJP qualify to be the genuine National Parties of India. However, the CPI and the CPI(M), have been confined to largely three states, West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. Despite this, these parties have been termed as National Parties. And it is also ridiculous to see that these very parties challenging the central government and threatening to withdraw support, in the recent political scenario.
The Loophole
We see that the constitution of India clearly separates the central and the state legislation. The central government reigns above the state governments, and is entitled to sanction grants through its developmental plans; the loophole lies in the conduction of the Lok-Sabha elections. There are in all 545 seats in the lok sabha, and any party in order to gain power has to win 50%, i.e. 272 seats. With the constitution allowing multi-parties to contest the election, it becomes a herculean task for any one national party to gain a full-fledged power. In the current scenario, national parties do not have influence in many states. This is where the state parties come into picture.
The state parties (or the regional parties as they are called), have strong influence in their respective states. In Tamilnadu, it’s the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the DMK. Andhra Pradesh also sees the influence of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), along with congress. In Punjab, it’s the Akali Dal that has a substantial say, while in the Jammu and Kashmir, it’s the National Conference. Other regional parties that have been in picture in the central elections are Biju Janata Dal (Orissa) and the Trinamool Congress (West Bengal).
The loophole in question lies in the fact that in the context of multi-party elections, most members of Parliament are elected with pluralities of the vote that amounts to less then a majority. As a result, political parties can gain a commanding position in the Parliament, without winning the support of a majority of the electorate. To site an example, lets say there are four parties involved in the elections, A, B, C and D. If Party C gets 40% of the total electoral votes, A gets 10%, B gets 30% and D gets 20%. Party C emerges clear winner, as it has won the most percentage of votes out of all other parties. But looking in other perspective, 60% of the electoral did not vote for the party that has come out as winner. Hence, it has won, without actually attaining a clear gross majority.
Also, because of multi-party elections of Lok Sabha, the role of the state parties becomes that of utmost importance. It is difficult for any single party to reach the magic figure of 272, and hence the National parties have to form alliances with the state-level parties to reach the magic figure, and attain power. Such parties then act as parties of brinkmanship, bluff and blackmail. The tenure of the government is devoted more towards the struggle of survival of power, and not the nation’s development.
We have experienced the instabilities and the toppling of governments, (both at central and state level). The BJP-led Vajpayee government was toppled by the AIADMK and the Trinamool Congress after a short stint of 13 months. The most recent example of the “smaller” parties playing blackmailers is the clash of the CPI and the CPI(M) with the Congress over the Indo-US nuke deal. The trend has been persistent in the past, and will continue to be persistent in the future.
What’s the way out?
One way to bring about a political stability in the country is to introduce a drastic change in our reforms, and bring the “Bi-party System” into existence. The constitution separates out the central and state legislations. Hence for starters, the Bi-party system can be implemented only for central elections. Any candidate wishing to participate in the Lok Sabha elections should participate as a candidate of either one of the 2 major “National Parties”. The state party candidature should not be allowed for the Lok Sabha elections. This will ensure that either of the party will attain an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. The other national party will act as the opposition party, and the role of smaller political parties or the state-level parties or regional parties is confined purely to the state as their agenda is purely parochial. These parties can however be allowed to take part in the state assembly elections.
Another way of implementing the Bi-party system would be based on ideologies. Two major bodies may be separated out, purely on the basis of ideologies, say, “Conservatives” and the “Extremists”. All the parties / candidates with conservative views can be under a single banner, while the same goes with the extremists. This will result into an equal representation, and a full-fledged government with an integrated ideology.
A bi-party system will surely bring about welcome change in our present chaotic political scenario. There would be stability in the governments, and the representatives and the cabinet ministers will have a free-hand on the decisions that they are taking, and will not have to worry about the condemnation or rejections from the fellow alliance partners. The politics of blackmail will come to an end for good.
However, it needs to be seen how receptive the parties like the CPI and CPI (M) and the likes of DMK, AIADMK or TDP towards the idea of Bi-Party. These parties may well criticize this idea as their significance at the central politics will be then nil. But for the nation’s interest, the two major national parties should accept the legitimacy and relevance of each other, and endorse the idea of Bi-party.
Bi-party system will bring the much required stability in our politics, and stability will bring development. This will be a good first step in our road to realize the ambitious dream that our former President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam dared to dream of… a developed India by the year 2020.
The path of development is never a smooth ride in India. This is largely because of the political turmoil that has been rampant in the country. The biggest problem India has been facing is a political consensus. In an era of alliances, the government in power is at the mercy of its smaller alliance partners. The so-called regional parties have been the king-makers and deciding factors in the formation of the central government. This has been the biggest hindrance to the country’s integrity, and a good development oriented and stable government.
It’s in the best interest of the country, that a full-fledged government comes to power. But given the current scenario, alliances seem to be inevitable. But again, alliances bring instabilities and clash of ideologies. What is the solution to this chaos? The question that arises here is do we need a change in our reforms?
Political Parties and the Constitution of India
The constitution of India states the Indian government to be a parliamentary government, and a federal system with a strong central government. India is a federal system, in which residual powers of legislation remain with the central government. The constitution provides a detailed list dividing up powers between central and state governments, along with a set of Directive Principles of State policy. The constitution of India, thus tries to clearly separate the central and the state government, and the central government is the supreme ruler of the country.
The charter of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution of India inter alia guarantees freedom of association. Under Article 19(C), any group of Indian citizens can get together to form associations or unions of their choice subject to the laws of the land and reasonable restrictions in the interest of national security, etc.
The Election Commission maintains a list of political parties. Any association or group of people wishing to participate in the electoral process can register as a political party under the section 29A of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951. It is a startling fact that till date, a few hundred political parties are registered with the commission.
So far as the Election commission and the representation of People’s act are concerned, a party may be recognized as a “National Party” or a “State Party”. There is no provision of recognition of any party as a “Regional Party”.
Parties that secure a certain percentage of votes in a minimum number of states (presumably, 4 states) or a number of seats in parliament (exact figures unknown), can be recognized as a National party for the purpose of allotment of symbols.
To be recognized as a state party, it has to be existence in five years, have a certain number of members elected to the house of the people, or the state assembly, or a certain percentage of votes during the general elections.
Taking into consideration what the constitution says, only two parties, the Congress and the BJP qualify to be the genuine National Parties of India. However, the CPI and the CPI(M), have been confined to largely three states, West Bengal, Kerala and Tripura. Despite this, these parties have been termed as National Parties. And it is also ridiculous to see that these very parties challenging the central government and threatening to withdraw support, in the recent political scenario.
The Loophole
We see that the constitution of India clearly separates the central and the state legislation. The central government reigns above the state governments, and is entitled to sanction grants through its developmental plans; the loophole lies in the conduction of the Lok-Sabha elections. There are in all 545 seats in the lok sabha, and any party in order to gain power has to win 50%, i.e. 272 seats. With the constitution allowing multi-parties to contest the election, it becomes a herculean task for any one national party to gain a full-fledged power. In the current scenario, national parties do not have influence in many states. This is where the state parties come into picture.
The state parties (or the regional parties as they are called), have strong influence in their respective states. In Tamilnadu, it’s the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the DMK. Andhra Pradesh also sees the influence of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), along with congress. In Punjab, it’s the Akali Dal that has a substantial say, while in the Jammu and Kashmir, it’s the National Conference. Other regional parties that have been in picture in the central elections are Biju Janata Dal (Orissa) and the Trinamool Congress (West Bengal).
The loophole in question lies in the fact that in the context of multi-party elections, most members of Parliament are elected with pluralities of the vote that amounts to less then a majority. As a result, political parties can gain a commanding position in the Parliament, without winning the support of a majority of the electorate. To site an example, lets say there are four parties involved in the elections, A, B, C and D. If Party C gets 40% of the total electoral votes, A gets 10%, B gets 30% and D gets 20%. Party C emerges clear winner, as it has won the most percentage of votes out of all other parties. But looking in other perspective, 60% of the electoral did not vote for the party that has come out as winner. Hence, it has won, without actually attaining a clear gross majority.
Also, because of multi-party elections of Lok Sabha, the role of the state parties becomes that of utmost importance. It is difficult for any single party to reach the magic figure of 272, and hence the National parties have to form alliances with the state-level parties to reach the magic figure, and attain power. Such parties then act as parties of brinkmanship, bluff and blackmail. The tenure of the government is devoted more towards the struggle of survival of power, and not the nation’s development.
We have experienced the instabilities and the toppling of governments, (both at central and state level). The BJP-led Vajpayee government was toppled by the AIADMK and the Trinamool Congress after a short stint of 13 months. The most recent example of the “smaller” parties playing blackmailers is the clash of the CPI and the CPI(M) with the Congress over the Indo-US nuke deal. The trend has been persistent in the past, and will continue to be persistent in the future.
What’s the way out?
One way to bring about a political stability in the country is to introduce a drastic change in our reforms, and bring the “Bi-party System” into existence. The constitution separates out the central and state legislations. Hence for starters, the Bi-party system can be implemented only for central elections. Any candidate wishing to participate in the Lok Sabha elections should participate as a candidate of either one of the 2 major “National Parties”. The state party candidature should not be allowed for the Lok Sabha elections. This will ensure that either of the party will attain an absolute majority in the Lok Sabha. The other national party will act as the opposition party, and the role of smaller political parties or the state-level parties or regional parties is confined purely to the state as their agenda is purely parochial. These parties can however be allowed to take part in the state assembly elections.
Another way of implementing the Bi-party system would be based on ideologies. Two major bodies may be separated out, purely on the basis of ideologies, say, “Conservatives” and the “Extremists”. All the parties / candidates with conservative views can be under a single banner, while the same goes with the extremists. This will result into an equal representation, and a full-fledged government with an integrated ideology.
A bi-party system will surely bring about welcome change in our present chaotic political scenario. There would be stability in the governments, and the representatives and the cabinet ministers will have a free-hand on the decisions that they are taking, and will not have to worry about the condemnation or rejections from the fellow alliance partners. The politics of blackmail will come to an end for good.
However, it needs to be seen how receptive the parties like the CPI and CPI (M) and the likes of DMK, AIADMK or TDP towards the idea of Bi-Party. These parties may well criticize this idea as their significance at the central politics will be then nil. But for the nation’s interest, the two major national parties should accept the legitimacy and relevance of each other, and endorse the idea of Bi-party.
Bi-party system will bring the much required stability in our politics, and stability will bring development. This will be a good first step in our road to realize the ambitious dream that our former President Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam dared to dream of… a developed India by the year 2020.
