CHAPTER-6 for POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTION SYMBOLS

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CHAPTER-1INTRODUCTION

According to its constitution, India is a “sovereign, socialist, secular,democratic republic.” Like the United States, India has a federal form of government.Political parties have been defined by various writers in various ways.Political parties makes people politically conscious, i.e., aware them aboutthe role as citizens which is done through election. For the purpose of holding elections symbols is of immense importance as election symbolsplays a vital role in demarcating the various political parties among eachother. In our country a great percentage of people could not read the nameof the candidates and the political parties. Thus symbol system helps themto elect their candidates.Modern democracy says for participation by all in the democraticsystem. So symbol system is a valuable weapon to choose the politicalparties. The government exercises its broad administrative powers in thename of the president, whose duties are largely ceremonial. The presidentand vice president are elected indirectly for 5-year terms by a specialelectoral college. Their terms are staggered, and the vice president does notautomatically become president following the death or removal from office of the president.

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CHAPTER-2MEANING OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Politics exists everywhere; it does not come from oak threes, it isnot a gift of any angel, it is a human venture centered in man andcreated by man. According to

Black’s Dictionary

, Political party is anorganization of voters, formed to influence the Governments conductand polities by nominating an electing candidate to public office

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.According to Michael Curtis, it is notoriously difficult to defineaccurately a political party. The reason is that the views of the Liberaland Marxist writers differ sharply on this point also the English liberalsand the Americans have different views

2

.Essentially a political party is a voluntary association of individuals with a common set of beliefs and political goals, who workto get with a desire to take control on become part of the government. The liberal view is that the first and foremost aim of eachPolitical Party is to prevail over the others in order to get into power orto stay in it

3

.According to Marxists, a political party is the most organized andactive section of any class or part of that class or coalition of classes ina society. Parties reflect ideology that is a theory of society from which

1

Black’s Dictionary, Pg no-1179, 7

th

Edition, United States of America, West Group, 7

th

edition1999

2

Johari. J.C.Indian Government & Politics, Pg No. 557, Delhi, Vishal Publication, 1

st

edition 1977

3

Bhattacharya, D.C., Political Theory, Pg no-554, Kolkata, Vijoya Publishing house, 8

th

Edition2003.

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a program of political action can be derived. Parties reflect interests,which give each its particular characters

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. The key point of English view on political party is the issue of “principles” of public importance on which the members of a party areagreed. Disraeli defined political parties as “a group of men bondedtogether to pursue certain principles”

1

. The Americans views in a different way, to them political party is aninstrument of catching power, it is a platform to achieve the power.A definition of political party has three essential ingredients-

First

, it isan organization of persons who are more or less agreed on someimportant

matters of public policy.

Second, it is an organization whose main aim is to take part in thestruggle for power. Last, it is a body whose members make concertedefforts to implement their policies and programs by constitutional(democratic) means.Five conditions are necessary to constitute a political party, are asfollows –1.That they agree upon certain fundamental principles of public policyand have a political ideology of their own;2.That in pursuit of their political objectives, they formulate a‘practical program’ and ‘platform’ and in doing so aim at unitywithin its own ranks and at making an effective appeal to theelectorate;3.That they create an effective organization for putting across to thepeople their ideology and program, and if successful in capturingpower, in carrying their program into action;

4

Ibid, at pg 555.

1

Johari. J. C., Indian Government & Politics, Pg. No. 558, Delhi, Vishal Publications, 1

st

edition1977

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