1

INDIAN POLITICAL SYSTEM

Introduction
The official name of India is Republic of India. New Delhi is the capital of India. The Republic of India has
three principal short names, in both official and popular English usage, each of which is historically significant.
These names are India, Bharat and Hindustan.
It is the 17th largest country by area, the second largest country with population of 1.2 billion and the most
populous democracy in the world. Bounded by Indian ocean on the south, Arabian sea on the south-west, and
the bay of Bengal on the south-east. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, china, Bhutan and Nepal to
the south-east. In the Indian ocean India is in the vicinity of Sri lanka and Maldives.
India is the home of world religions- Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism, Christianity, Sikhism.
it became an independent nation in 1947 after struggle for independence that was marked by non-violent
resistance that was led by Mahatma Gandhi.

Politics in India :
In india politics takes place within the framework of a constitution. India is a
federal parliamentary democratic republic in which the President of India is head of state and the
Prime Minister of India is the head of government. India follows the dual polity, i.e. double government
which consists of the union at the centre and states at the periphery. The constitution defines the
organisation, powers and limitations of both central and state governments, it is written, rigid and
supreme, i.e. laws of the nation must conform to it. There is provision for a bicameral legislature
consisting of an Upper House, i.e. Rajya Sabha, which represent the states of the Indian federation
and a lower house i.e. Lok Sabha, that represents the people of India as a whole. Indian constitution
provides for an independent Judiciary headed by the Supreme Court to adhere and protect the
constitution and to settle disputes between the centre and the states or between the states, it can also
nullify any central or state laws if they are against the constitution.
The governments, union or state,
are formed through elections held every five years (unless otherwise specified), by having the majority
of members in their respective lower houses (Lok Sabha in centre and Vidhan Sabha in states). India
had its first general election in 1951, which was dominated by Indian National Congress, and went on
to dominate the successive elections, up till 1977, when the first non-Congress government was
formed for the first time in independent India. The 1990s saw the end of Single Party domination and
rise of Coalition Governments. The elections for 16th Lok Sabha held in April and May 2014 once
again brought back single-party rule in the country, that of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

3 PILLARS OF POLITICAL SYSTEM

 PARLIAMENT/LEGISLATURE

 EXECUTIVE

 JUDICIARY

Parliament & Legislature

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 Parliament: In all democracies, an assembly of elected representatives exercise supreme political authority
on behalf of people. In India such as such as national assembly called Parliament.

 Legislature: The body of elected representatives at the state level is called Legislature or Legislative
assembly.

 In India, the parliament consists of two houses- Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and Lok Sabha (House of
the people)

 The president of India is a part of the parliament, although she is not a member of either houses

The Houses of People (Lok Sabha) :

The Lok Sabha (Hindi: लोक सभा) or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of
India. The Parliament of India consists of two houses: The Lok Sabha (Hindi: लोक सभा) or House of
the People and the Rajya Sabha (Hindi: राज्य सभा) or Council of States. Lok means "people"
and Sabha means "assembly" in Sanskrit. The Lok Sabha meets in the Lok Sabha
Chambers, Sansad Bhavan, Sansad Marg, New Delhi.
The Lok Sabha is composed of representatives of the people from 543 constituencies, chosen by
direct election on the basis of adult suffrage. A total of 131 seats (18.42%) are reserved for
representatives of Scheduled Castes(84) and Scheduled Tribes(47) only. The maximum strength of
the House envisaged by the Constitution of India is 552, which is made up by election of up to 530
members to represent the States, up to 20 members to represent the Union Territories and not more
than two members of the Anglo-IndianCommunity to be nominated by the President of India, if, in
his/her opinion, that community is not adequately represented in the House. The total elective
membership is distributed among the States in such a way that the ratio between the number of seats
allotted to each State and the population of the State is, so far as practicable, the same for all States.
The Lok Sabha, unless sooner dissolved, continues to operate for five years from the date appointed
for its first meeting and the expiration of the period of five years. However, while a proclamation of
emergency is in operation, this period may be extended by Parliament by law for a period not
exceeding one year at a time and not extending, in any case, beyond a period of six months after the
proclamation has ceased to operate. An exercise to redraw Lok Sabha constituencies' boundaries has
been carried out by theDelimitation Commission based on the Indian census of 2001. This exercise,
which was supposed to be carried out after every census, was suspended in 1976 following
a constitutional amendment to avoid adverse effects of the family planning program which was being
implemented. The 16th Lok Sabha was elected in May 2014 and is the latest to date.
The Lok Sabha has its own television channel, Lok Sabha TV, headquartered within the premises of
Parliament.

History
A major portion of the Indian subcontinent was under British rule from 1857 to 1947.[7] During this
period, the office of the Secretary of State for India (along with the Council of India) was the authority
through whom parliament exercised its rule in the Indian sub-continent, and the office of Viceroy of
India was created, along with an Executive Council in India, consisting of high officials of the British
government. The Indian Councils Act 1861 provided for a Legislative Council consisting of the
members of the Executive Council and non-official members. The Indian Councils Act
1892 established legislatures in each of the provinces of British India and increased the powers of the
Legislative Council. Although these Acts increased the representation of Indians in the government,
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their power still remained limited, and the electorate very small. The Indian Councils Act 1909 and
the Government of India Act 1919 further expanded the participation of Indians in the administration.
The Indian Independence Act, passed by the British parliament on 18 July 1947, divided British India
(which did not include the Princely States) into two new independent countries, India and Pakistan,
which were to be dominions under the Crown until they had each enacted a new constitution. The
Constituent Assembly was divided into two for the separate nations, with each new Assembly having
sovereign powers transferred to it for the respective dominion.
The Constitution of India was adopted on 26 November 1949 and came into effect on 26 January
1950, proclaiming India to be a sovereign, democratic republic. This contained the founding principles
of the law of the land which would govern India in its new form, which now included all the princely
states which had not acceded to Pakistan.
According to Article 79 (Part V-The Union.) of the Constitution of India, the Parliament of India
consists of the President of India and the two Houses of Parliament known as the Council of States
(Rajya Sabha) and the House of the People (Lok Sabha).
The Lok Sabha (House of the Leaders) was duly constituted for the first time on 17 April 1952 after
the first General Elections held from 5 October 1951 to 21 February 1952. The first Session of the
First Lok Sabha commenced on 13 May 1952. The Second Lok Sabha in April 1957, the Third Lok
Sabha in April 1962, the Fourth Lok Sabha in March 1967, the Fifth Lok Sabha in March 1971, the
Sixth Lok Sabha in March 1977, the Seventh Lok Sabha in January 1980, the Eighth Lok Sabha in
December 1984, the Ninth Lok Sabha in December 1989, the Tenth Lok Sabha in June 1991, the
Eleventh Lok Sabha in May 1996, the Twelfth Lok Sabha in March 1998, the Thirteenth Lok Sabha in
October 1999, the Fourteenth Lok Sabha in May 2004, the Fifteenth Lok Sabha in May 2009 and the
Sixteenth ("current") Lok Sabha in May 2014.

Qualifications Required for becoming a member of Lok Sabha

Article 84 (Part V.—The Union)  of Indian Constitution sets qualifications for being a member of Lok
Sabha, which are as follows:-

1. He/She should be a citizen of India, and must subscribe before the Election Commission of
India an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the Third
Schedule of Indian Constitution.
2. He/She, in the case of a seat in the House of the People, should not be less than twenty-five
years of age; and
3. He/She possesses such other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under
any law made by Parliament.
However, a member can be disqualified of being a member of Parliament:-

1. If he/she holds office of profit;

2. If he/she is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court
3. If he/she is an undischarged insolvent;
4. If he/she is not a citizen of India, or has voluntarily acquired the citizenship of a foreign State,
or is under any acknowledgment of allegiance or adherence to a foreign State;
5. If he/she is violating party discipline (as per Tenth schedule of the constitution); disqualified
under Representation of People Act.
Furthermore, as per article 101 (Part V.—The Union) [10] of Indian Constitution; A person cannot be :-
(1) a member of both Houses of Parliament and provision shall be made by Parliament by law for the
vacation by a person who is chosen a member of both Houses of his seat in one House or the other.
(2) a member both of Parliament and of a House of the Legislature of a State.
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Powers
Lok Sabha has certain powers that make it more powerful than the Rajya Sabha.

 Motions of no confidence against the government can be introduced and passed in the Lok

Sabha. If passed by a majority vote, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers resigns
collectively. The Rajya Sabha has no power over such a motion, and hence no real power over
the executive. However, the Prime Minister may threaten the dissolution by the Lok Sabha and
recommend this to the President, forcing an untimely general election. The President normally
accepts this recommendation unless otherwise convinced that the Lok Sabha might recommend
a new Prime Minister by a majority vote. Thus, both the executive and the legislature in India
have checks and balances over each other.
 Money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha, and upon being passed, are sent to the
Rajya Sabha, where it can be deliberated on for up to 14 days. If not rejected by the Rajya
Sabha, or 14 days lapse from the introduction of the bill in the Rajya Sabha without any action by
the House, or recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha are not accepted by the Lok Sabha,
the bill is considered passed. The budget is presented in the Lok Sabha by the Finance
Minister in the name of the President of India.
 In matters pertaining to non-financial (ordinary) bills, after the bill has been passed by the
House where it was originally tabled (Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha), it is sent to the other house,
where it may be kept for a maximum period of 6 months. If the other House rejects the bill or a
period of 6 months elapses without any action by that House, or the House that originally tabled
the bill does not accept the recommendations made by the members of the other house, it results
in a deadlock. This is resolved by a joint session of both Houses, presided over by the speaker of
the Lok Sabha and decided by a simple majority. The will of the Lok Sabha normally prevails in
these matters, as its strength is more than double that of the Rajya Sabha.
 Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in initiating and passing any Bill for Constitutional
Amendment (by a majority of the total membership of the House and at least two-thirds majority
of the members present and voting).
 Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in initiating and passing a motion for the impeachment of
the President (by two-thirds of the membership of the House).
 Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in initiating and passing a motion for the impeachment of
the judges of the Supreme Court and the state High Courts (by a majority of the membership of
the House and at least two-thirds majority of the members present and voting).
 Equal Powers with the Rajya Sabha in initiating and passing a resolution declaring war or
national emergency (by two-thirds majority) or constitutional emergency (by simple majority) in a
state.
 If the Lok Sabha is dissolved before or after the declaration of a National Emergency, the
Rajya Sabha becomes the sole Parliament. It cannot be dissolved. This is a limitation on the Lok
Sabha. But there is a possibility that president can exceed the term to not more than 1 year under
the proclamation of emergency and the same would be lowered down to six-month if the said
proclamation ceases to operate.
Sessions and Time of Sittings
Three sessions of Lok Sabha take place in a year:

 Budget session: February to May.

 Monsoon session: July to September.
 Winter session: November to mid December.
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When in session, Lok Sabha holds its sittings usually from 11 A.M. to 1 P.M. and from 2 P.M. to 6
P.M. On some days the sittings are continuously held without observing lunch break and are also
extended beyond 6 P.M. depending upon the business before the House. Lok Sabha does not
ordinarily sit on Saturdays and Sundays and other closed holidays.

Question Hour
The first hour every sitting is called the Question Hour. Asking of questions in Parliament is the free
and unfettered right of members. It is during the Question hour that they may ask questions on
different aspects of administration and Government policy in the national as well as international
spheres. Every Minister whose turn it is to answer to questions has to stand up and answer for his
Ministry's acts of omission or commission.
Questions are of three types - Starred, Unstarred and Short Notice. A Starred Question is one to
which a member desires an oral answer in the House and which is distinguished by an asterisk mark.
An unstarred Question is one which is not called for oral answer in the house and on which no
supplementary questions can consequently be asked. An answer to such a question is given in
writing. Minimum period of notice for starred/ unstarred question is 10 clear days.If the questions
given notice of are admitted by the Speaker, they are listed and printed for answer on the dates
allotted to the Ministries to which the subject matter of the question pertains.
The normal period of notice does not apply to short notice questions which relate to matters of urgent
public importance. However, a Short Notice Question may only be answered on short notice if so
permitted by the Speaker and the Minister concerned is prepared to answer it at shorter notice. A
short notice question is taken up for answer immediately after the Question Hour.

Officers of Lok Sabha

Speaker and Deputy Speaker As per Article 93 of Indian Constitution, the Lok Sabha has a Speaker
and a Deputy Speaker. In the Lok Sabha, the lower House of the Indian Parliament, both presiding
officers—the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker- are elected from among its members by a simple
majority of members present and voting in the House. As such, no specific qualifications are
prescribed for being elected the Speaker. The Constitution only requires that Speaker should be a
member of the House. But an understanding of the Constitution and the laws of the country and the
rules of procedure and conventions of Parliament is considered a major asset for the holder of the
office of the Speaker. Vacation and resignation of, and removal from, the offices of Speaker and
Deputy Speaker is mentioned under As per Article 93 of Indian Constitution. A Speaker or aDeputy
Speaker, should vacate his/her office, a) if he/she ceases to be a member of the House of the People,
b) he/she resigns, c) removed from his office by a resolution of the House of the People passed by a
majority.
The Speaker of Lok Sabha is at once a member of the House as also its Presiding Officer.The
Speaker of the Lok Sabha conducts the business in the house. He/she decides whether a bill is a
money bill or not. He/she maintains discipline and decorum in the house and can punish a member for
their unruly behaviour by suspending them. He/she permits the moving of various kinds of motions
and resolutions like the motion of no confidence, motion of adjournment, motion of censure and
calling attention notice as per the rules. The Speaker decides on the agenda to be taken up for
discussion during the meeting.It is the Speaker of the Lok Sabha who presides over joint sittings
called in the event of disagreement between the two Houses on a legislative measure. Following the
52nd Constitution amendment, the Speaker is vested with the power relating to the disqualification of
a member of the Lok Sabha on grounds of defection. The Speaker makes obituary references in the
House, formal references to important national and international events and the valedictory address at
the conclusion of every Session of the Lok Sabha and also when the term of the House expires.
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Though a member of the House, the Speaker does not vote in the House except on those rare
occasions when there is a tie at the end of a decision. Till date, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha has not
been called upon to exercise this unique casting vote. While the office of Speaker is vacant due to
absence/resignation/removal, the duties of the office shall be performed by the Deputy Speaker or, if
the office of Deputy Speaker is also vacant, by such member of the House of the People as the
President may appoint for the purpose.
Shri G.V. Mavalankar was the first Speaker of Lok Sabha (15 May 1952- 27 February 1956) and
Shri M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar was the first Deputy Speaker of Lok Sabha (30 May 1952 – 7
March 1956). In the 15th Lok Sabha, Meira Kumar was elected as the speaker on 3 June 2009, and is
its first woman speaker to date and Shri Kariya Munda as the deputy speaker.
The Lok Sabha has also a separate non-elected Secretariat staff.

Number of members by party in Lok Sabha

Currently elected members of 16th Lok Sabha by their political party as on June 5, 2014:[16]

Alliance Party Seats

National Democratic Alliance - 336 seats Bharatiya Janata Party 282
All India N.R. Congress 1
Lok Jan Shakti Party 6
Naga Peoples Front 1
National Peoples Party 1
Pattali Makkal Katchi 1
Shiv Sena 18
Shiromani Akali Dal 4
Telugu Desam 16
Apna Dal 2
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party 3
Swabhimani Paksha 1
United Progressive Alliance - 59 seats Indian National Congress 44
Indian Union Muslim League 2
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 2
Kerala Congress (M) 1
Rashtriya Janata Dal 4
Regional parties with no alliance currently Indian National Lok Dal 2
Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party 3
Sikkim Democratic Front 1
Aam Aadmi Party 4
All India United Democratic Front 3
Telangana Rashtra Samithi 11
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party 9
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 37
All India Trinamool Congress 34
Biju Janata Dal 20
Janata Dal (Secular) 2
Janata Dal (United) 2
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Samajwadi Party 5
Nationalist Congress Party 6
Communist Parties - 12 seats Communist Party of India 1
"Communist Party of India (Marxist) 9
Revolutionary Socialist Party 2
Independents - 3
Vacant - 4
Total 545

The Council of States (Rajya Sabha)

The Rajya Sabha (Hindi: राज्य सभा) or Council of States is the upper house of the Parliament of
India. Membership is limited to 250 members, 12 of whom are nominated by the President of India for
their contributions to art, literature, science, and social services. The remainder of the body is elected
by the state and territorial legislatures. Members sit for six-year terms, with one third of the members
retiring every two years.
The Rajya Sabha meets in continuous sessions and, unlike the Lok Sabha, the lower house of
Parliament, is not subject to dissolution. The Rajya Sabha has equal footing in all areas of legislation
with Lok Sabha, except in the area of supply, where the Lok Sabha has overriding powers. In the case
of conflicting legislation, a joint sitting of the two houses is held. However, since the Lok Sabha has
twice as many members as the Rajya Sabha, the former would normally hold the greater power. Only
three such joint-sessions have been held; the latest one for the passage of the 2002 Prevention of
Terrorism Act.
The Vice President of India (currently, Hamid Ansari) is the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha,
who presides over its sessions. The Deputy Chairman, who is elected from amongst the RS's
members, takes care of the day-to-day matters of the house in the absence of the Chairman. The
Rajya Sabha held its first sitting on 13 May 1952. The salary and other benefits for a member of Rajya
Sabha are same as for a member of Lok Sabha.

Qualifications
Article 84 of the Constitution lays down the qualifications for membership of Parliament. A person to
be qualified for the membership of the Rajya Sabha should posses the following qualifications: he
must be a citizen of India and make and subscribe before some person authorized in that behalf by
the Election Commission an oath or affirmation according to the form set out for the purpose in the
Third Schedule to the Constitution; he must be not less than 30 years of age; he must possess such
other qualifications as may be prescribed in that behalf by or under any law made by Parliament.
Members are elected by the Legislative Assembly of States and Union territories by means of Single
transferable vote through Proportional representation.
In addition, twelve members are nominated by the President of India having special knowledge in
various areas like Arts, Science etc. However they are not entitled to vote in Presidential elections as
per Article 55 of Indian Constitution.

Limitations
There are certain limitations, which makes Lok Sabha more powerful than Rajya Sabha.

Financial Bills
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In case of Financial bills, if the Rajya Sabha returns the bill to Lok Sabha, opposing the bill, it is
deemed to have passed . Though the Rajya Sabha can send recommendations to the Lok Sabha, it is
not binding on the Lok Sabha to act on it. Also, the house cannot exercise Pocket Veto; if the house
does not pass the bill within 14 days, it is again deemed to have been passed by the house.

No-Confidence Motion
Unlike Lok Sabha, it cannot pass motion of no confidence against the government.

Legislation
The number of members of Lok Sabha are more than twice the members of Rajya Sabha. As a result,
in case a non-financial bill is rejected by the Rajya Sabha, if passed by the Lok Sabha, then in the
joint-session of the parliament, the bill is most likely to be passed. So, in general, the Lok Sabha has
more power than Rajya Sabha in matters of legislation..
See also  List of members of the Rajya Sabha
Membership by party In Rajya Sabha
Members by Party Source: Rajya Sabha Secretariat (as of 20 October 2014)

Alliances (2014 General Elections) Party MPs

National Democratic Alliance Bharatiya Janata Party 43

Seats: 57

Telugu Desam Party 6

Shiv Sena 3

Shiromani Akali Dal 3

Lok Janshakti Party 0

Nagaland People's Front 1

Mizo National Front 0

Republican Party of India (Athvale) 1

United Progressive Alliance Indian National Congress 68

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Alliances (2014 General Elections) Party MPs

Seats: 89 Janata Dal (United) 12

Nationalist Congress Party 6

Rashtriya Janata Dal 1

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 1

Kerala Congress (Mani) 1

Other Parties Bahujan Samaj Party 14

Seats: 77

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 11

All India Trinamool Congress 12

Communist Party of India (Marxist) 9

Samajwadi Party 10

Biju Janata Dal 7

Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 4

Communist Party of India 2

Indian National Lok Dal 2

National Conference 2
 10

Alliances (2014 General Elections) Party MPs

Sikkim Democratic Front 1

Janata Dal (Secular) 1

Telangana Rashtra Samithi 1

Bodoland People's Front 1

Nominated 10

Independents 9

Vacant Seats 3

Total 245

Officers
Chairman and Vice-Chairman
As per the Constitution of India, there is a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman of Rajya Sabha.
Leader of the House
Besides the Chairman (Vice-President of India) and the Deputy Chairman, there is also a function
called Leader of the House. This is a cabinet minister - the prime minister if he is a member of the
House, or another nominated minister. The Leader has a seat next to the Chairman, in the front row.
The following people have been the Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha:

N
Name From To
o

1 Shri N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar May 1952 Feb. 1953

2 Shri Charu Chandra Biswas Feb. 1953 Nov. 1954

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3 Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Nov. 1954 March 1955

4 Shri Govind Ballabh Pant March 1955 Feb. 1961

5 Hafiz Mohammad Ibrahim Feb. 1961 Aug. 1963

6 Shri Yashwantrao Chavan Aug. 1963 Dec. 1963

7 Shri Jaisukhlal Hathi Feb. 1964 March 1964

Shri Mahomadali Currim
8 March 1964 Nov. 1967
Chagla

9 Shri Jaisukhlal Hathi Nov. 1967 Nov. 1969

10 Shri Kodradas Kalidas Shah Nov. 1969 May 1971

11 Shri Uma Shankar Dikshit May 1971 Dec. 1975

12 Shri Kamlapati Tripathi Dec. 1975 March 1977

13 Shri L. K. Advani March 1977 Aug. 1979

14 Shri K.C. Pant Aug. 1979 Jan. 1980

15 Shri Pranab Mukherjee Jan. 1980 Dec. 1984

16 Shri V. P. Singh Dec. 1984 April 1987

17 Shri Narayan Dutt Tiwari April 1987 June 1988

18 Shri P. Shiv Shankar July 1988 Dec. 1989

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19 Shri M. S. Gurupadaswamy Dec. 1989 Nov. 1990

20 Shri Yashwant Sinha Dec. 1990 June 1991

21 Shri Shankarrao Chavan July 1991 April 1996

22 Shri Sikander Bakht 20 May 1996 31 May 1996

23 Shri Inder Kumar Gujral June 1996 Nov. 1996

24 Shri H.D. Deve Gowda Nov. 1996 April 1997

25 Shri Inder Kumar Gujral April 1997 March 1998

26 Shri Sikander Bakht March 1998 Oct. 1999

27 Shri Jaswant Singh Oct. 1999 May 2004

28 Dr. Manmohan Singh June 2004 May 2014

29 Shri Arun Jaitley June 2014 Present

Leader of the Opposition (LOP)

Besides the Leader of the House, who is leading the majority, there is also a Leader of the Opposition
- leading the minority parties. The function was only recognized in the Salary and Allowances of
Leaders of the Opposition in Parliament Act 1977. This is commonly the leader of the largest minority
party, and is recognized as such by the Chairman.
The following people have been the Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha:

N
Name From To
o
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Shri Shyam Nandan
1 Decermber 1969 March 1971
Mishra

Shri M. S.
2 March 1971 April 1972
Gurupadaswamy

3 Shri Kamlapati Tripathi 30.3.1977 15.2.1978

4 Shri Bhola Paswan Shastri 24.2.1978 23.3.1978

5 Shri Kamlapati Tripathi 23.3.1978 2.4.1978

6 Shri Kamlapati Tripathi 18.4.1978 8.1.1980

7 Shri Lal Krishna Advani 21.1.1980 7.4.1980

8 Shri P. Shiv Shanker 18.12.1989 2.1.1991

Shri M. S.
9 28.6.1991 21.7.1991
Gurupadaswamy

10 Shri S. Jaipal Reddy 22.7.1991 29.6.1992

11 Shri Sikander Bakht 7.7.1992 10.4.1996

12 Shri Sikander Bakht 10.4.1996 23.5.1996

13 Shri S. B. Chavan 23.5.1996 1.6.1996

14 Shri Sikander Bakht 1.6.1996 19.3.1998

15 Dr. Manmohan Singh 21.3.1998 21.5.2004

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16 Shri Jaswant Singh 3.6.2004 4.7.2004

17 Shri Jaswant Singh 5.7.2004 16.5.2009

18 Shri Arun Jaitley 3.6.2009 20.5.2014

19 Shri Ghulam Nabi Azad 6.5.2014 Present

Secretariat
The Secretariat of Rajya Sabha was set up pursuant to the provisions contained in Article 98 of the
Constitution. The said Article, which provides for a separate secretarial staff for each House of
Parliament, reads as follows:- 98. Secretariat of Parliament -Each House of Parliament shall have a
separate secretarial staff: Provided that nothing in this clause shall be construed as preventing the
creation of posts common to both Houses of Parliament. (2) Parliament may by law regulate the
recruitment and the conditions of service of persons appointed to the secretarial staff of either House
of Parliament.
The Rajya Sabha Secretariat functions under the overall guidance and control of the Chairman. The
main activities of the Secretariat inter alia include the following :-
(i) providing secretarial assistance and support to the effective functioning of the Council of States
(Rajya Sabha)ssible to Members of Rajya Sabha;
(iv) servicing the various Parliamentary Committees;
(v) preparing research and reference material and bringing out various publications;
(vi) recruitment of manpower in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat and attending to personnel matters; and
(vii) preparing and publishing a record of the day-to-day proceedings of the Rajya Sabha and bringing
out such other publications, as may be required concerning the functioning of the Rajya Sabha and its
Committees.
In the discharge of his constitutional and statutory responsibilities, the Chairman, Rajya Sabha is
assisted by the Secretary-General, who holds the rank equivalent[8] to the Cabinet Secretary to the
Government of India. The Secretary-General, in turn, is assisted by senior functionaries at the level of
Secretary, Additional Secretary, Joint Secretary and other officers and staff of the Secretariat.

Media
Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV) is a 24*7 parliamentary TV channel fully owned and operated by the
Rajya Sabha. The channel is aimed at providing in-depth coverage and analysis of parliamentary
affairs especially the functioning of and developments related to Rajya Sabha. During sessions of
Parliament, apart from telecasting live coverage of the proceedings of Rajya Sabha, RSTV presents
incisive analysis of the proceedings of the House as well as other day-to-day parliamentary events
and developments

JUDICIARY
The Indian Judiciary is partly a continuation of the British legal system established by the British in
the mid-19th century based on a typical hybrid legal system known as the Common Law System, in
which customs, precedents and legislative are all components of the law. The Constitution of India is
the supreme legal document of the country. There are various levels of judiciary in India – different
 15

types of courts, each with varying powers depending on the tier and jurisdiction bestowed upon them.
They form a strict hierarchy of importance, in line with the order of the courts in which they sit, with
the Supreme Court of India at the top, followed by High Courts of respective states with district judges
sitting in District Courts and Magistrates of Second Class and Civil Judge (Junior Division) at the
bottom. Courts hear criminal and civil cases, including disputes between individuals and the
government. The Indian judiciary is independent of the executive and legislative branches of
government according to the Constitution.

Supreme Court of India

On 26 January 1950, the day India's constitution came into force, the Supreme Court of India was
formed in Delhi. The inauguration took place in the Princes Chamber in theParliament building
complex which also housed both the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha, also known as the Council of
States and the House of the People, respectively. It was here, in this Chamber of Princes, that the
Federal Court of India had sat for 12 years between 1937 and 1950. This was to be the home of the
Supreme Court for years that were to follow its creation, until the Supreme Court of India acquired its
own building in 1958.
The inaugural proceedings were simple, but impressive. They began at 9.45 am when the Judges of
the Federal Court – Chief Justice HJ Kania and Justices Saiyid Fazl Ali, M. Patanjali Sastri, Mehr
Chand Mahajan, Bijan Kumar Mukherjea and Sudhi Ranjan Das – took their seats. In attendance
were the chief justices of the high courts of Allahabad, Bombay, Madras, Odisha, Assam, Nagpur,
Punjab, Saurashtra, Patiala and the East Punjab States Union, Mysore, Hyderabad, Madhya Bharat
and Travancore-Cochin. Along with the Attorney General for India, Pankaj Singh Kushwah were
present the advocates general of Bombay, Madras, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, East Punjab, Orissa,
Mysore, Hyderabad and Madhya Bharat. Present too, were prime minister, other ministers,
ambassadors and diplomatic representatives of foreign states, a large number of Senior and other
Advocates of the Court and other distinguished visitors.
Taking care to ensure that the Rules of the Supreme Court were published and the names of all the
Advocates and agents of the Federal Court were brought on the rolls of the Supreme Court, the
inaugural proceedings were over and put under part of the record of the Supreme Court.
After its inauguration on 28 January 1950, the Supreme Court commenced its sittings in a part of the
Parliament House. The Court moved into the present building in 1958. The building is shaped to
project the image of scales of justice. The Central Wing of the building is the Centre Beam of the
Scales. In 1979, two New Wings – the East Wing and the West Wing – were added to the complex. In
all there are 15 Court Rooms in the various wings of the building. The Chief Justice's Court is the
largest of the Courts located in the Centre of the Central Wing.
The original Constitution of 1950 envisaged a Supreme Court with a Chief Justice and 7 puisne
Judges – leaving it to Parliament to increase this number. In the early years, all the Judges of the
Supreme Court sat together to hear the cases presented before them. As the work of the Court
increased and arrears of cases began to accumulate, Parliament increased the number of Judges
from 8 in 1950 to 11 in 1956, 14 in 1960, 18 in 1978 and 26 in 1986. As the number of the Judges has
increased, they sit in smaller Benches of two and three – coming together in larger Benches of 5 and
more only when required to do so or to settle a difference of opinion or controversy.
The Supreme Court of India comprises the Chief Justice and 30 other Judges appointed by the
President of India, as the sanctioned full strength. Supreme Court Judges retire upon attaining the
age of 65 years. In order to be appointed as a Judge of the Supreme Court, a person must be a
citizen of India and must have been, for at least five years, a Judge of a high court or of two or more
such Courts in succession, or an advocate of a high court or of two or more such Courts in succession
for at least 10 years or he must be, in the opinion of the president, a distinguished jurist. Provisions
 16

exist for the appointment of a Judge of a high court as an ad hoc judge of the Supreme Court and for
retired judges of the Supreme Court or High Courts to sit and act as Judges of that Court.
The Constitution seeks to ensure the independence of Supreme Court Judges in various ways. A
judge of the Supreme Court cannot be removed from office except by an order of the president
passed after an address in each House of Parliament supported by a majority of the total membership
of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of members present and voting, and
presented to the president in the same Session for such removal on the ground of proved
misbehaviour or incapacity. A person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court is debarred from
practising in any court of law or before any other authority in India.
The proceedings of the Supreme Court are conducted in English only. Supreme Court Rules,
1966 are framed under Article 145 of the Constitution to regulate the practice and procedure of the
Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of
the Constitution of India. According to the Constitution of India, the role of the Supreme Court is that
of a federal court, guardian of the Constitution and the highest court of appeal. Articles 124 to 147 of
the Constitution of India lay down the composition and jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of India.
Primarily, it is an appellate court which takes up appeals against judgments of the High Courts of the
states and territories. However, it also takes writ petitions in cases of[2] serious human rights
violations or any petition filed under Article 32 which is the right to constitutional remedies or if a case
involves a serious issue that needs immediate resolution. The Supreme Court of India had its
inaugural sitting on 28 January 1950, and since then has delivered more than 24,000 reported
judgments.

High courts
There are 24 High Courts at the State level. Article 141 of the Constitution of India mandates that they
are bound by the judgments and orders of the Supreme Court of India by precedence. These courts
have jurisdiction over a state, a union territory or a group of states and union territories. Below the
High Courts are a hierarchy of subordinate courts such as the civil courts, family courts, criminal
courts and various other district courts. High courts are instituted as constitutional courts under Part
VI, Chapter V, Article 214 of the Indian Constitution.
The High Courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in the state along with District
Courts which are subordinate to the High courts. However, High courts exercise their original civil and
criminal jurisdiction only if the courts subordinate to the high court in the state are not competent (not
authorised by law) to try such matters for lack of pecuniary, territorial jurisdiction. High courts may
also enjoy original jurisdiction in certain matters if so designated specifically in a state or Federal law.
e.g.: Company law cases are instituted only in a high court.
However, primarily the work of most High Courts consists of Appeals from lower courts and writ
petitions in terms of Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Writ Jurisdiction is also original jurisdiction
of High Court. The precise territorial jurisdiction of each High Court varies.
Judges in a high court are appointed by the President after consultation with the Chief Justice of India,
Chief Justice of High Court and the governor of the state. The number of judges in a court is decided
by dividing the average institution of main cases during the last five years by the national average, or
the average rate of disposal of main cases per judge per year in that High Court, whichever is higher.
[citation needed]
The Calcutta High Court is the oldest High Court in the country, established on 2 July 1862. High
courts which handle a large number of cases of a particular region, have permanentbenches (or a
branch of the court) established there.

District courts
 17

The District Courts of India are established by the State governments in India for every district or for
one or more districts together taking into account the number of cases, population distribution in the
district. They administer justice in India at a district level. These courts are under administrative
control of the High Court of the State to which the district concerned belongs. The decisions of District
court are subject to the appellate jurisdiction of the concerned High court.
The district court is presided over by one District Judge appointed by the state Government. In
addition to the district judge there may be number of Additional District Judges and Assistant District
Judges depending on the workload. The Additional District Judge and the court presided have
equivalent jurisdiction as the District Judge and his district court. The district judge is also called
"Metropolitan session judge" when he is presiding over a district court in a city which is designated
"Metropolitan area" by the state Government. The district court has appellate jurisdiction over all
subordinate courts situated in the district on both civil and criminal matters. Subordinate courts, on the
civil side (in ascending order) are, Junior Civil Judge Court, Principal Junior Civil Judge Court, Senior
Civil Judge Court (also called sub-court). Subordinate courts, on the criminal side (in ascending order)
are, Second Class Judicial Magistrate Court, First Class Judicial Magistrate Court, Chief Judicial
Magistrate Court.
Gram Nyayalayas having power of Judicial Magistrate of the first class are being established
in Panchayat levels under the Gram Nyayalayas Act, 2008.

EXECUTIVE BRANCH
The executive branch of government is the one that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily
administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government
is central to the republican idea of the separation of powers.

President
The executive power is vested mainly in the President of India, as per Article 53 (1) of the constitution.
The President enjoys allconstitutional powers and exercises them directly or through officers
subordinate to him as per the aforesaid Article 53(1).The President is to act in accordance with aid
and advise tendered by the head of government (Prime Minister of India) and his or her Council of
Ministers (the cabinet) as described in Article 74 (Constitution of India).

Council of Ministers of the Republic of India

The Council of Ministers of the Republic of India is the collective decision-making body of
the Government of India, consisting of a group of ministers headed by the Prime Minister.

Ranking

There are three categories of ministers, in descending order of rank:

 Union Cabinet Minister: senior minister in-charge of a ministry.

 Minister of State (Independent Charges): with no overseeing union cabinet minister for that
portfolio
 Minister of State (MoS): junior minister reporting to a cabinet minister, usually tasked with a
specific responsibility in that ministry.

Prime Minister and Council of Ministers - India

S.no Portfolio Name
 18

Cabinet Ministers of India 2014

Prime Minister and also in-charge of the Ministries/Departments not
specifically allocated to the charge of any Minister
1 Narendra Modi
Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
Department of Atomic Energy Department of Space
2 Home Affairs Rajnath Singh
3 External Affairs, Overseas Indian Affairs Sushma Swaraj
4 Finance, Corporate Affairs, Defence Arun Jaitley
Urban Development Housing, Urban Poverty Alleviation, Parliamentary
5 M Venkaiah Naidu
Affairs
6 Road Transport, Highways Shipping Nitin Gadkari
D V Sadananda
7 Railways
Gowda
8 Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma Bharati
9 Minority Affairs Dr Najma A Heptulla
10 Rural Development, Panchayati Raj, Drinking Water and Sanitation Nitin Gadkari
11 Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan
12 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Kalraj Mishra
13 Women and Child Development Maneka Gandhi
14 Chemicals and Fertilizers Ananth Kumar
15 Communications and Information Technology, Law and Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad
Ashok Gajapathi
16 Civil Aviation
Raju Pusapati
17 Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Anant Geete
18 Food Processing Industries Harsimrat Kaur Badal
Narendra Singh
19 Mines Steel Labour and Employment
Tomar
20 Tribal Affairs Jual Oram
21 Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh
Thaawar Chand
22 Social Justice and Empowerment
Gehlot
23 Human Resource Development Smriti Irani
24 Health and Family Welfare Dr Harsh Vardhan
Ministers of State with Independent Charge
Development of North Eastern Region, External Affairs, Overseas
1 General VK Singh
Indian Affairs
2 Planning, Statistics and Programme Implementation, Defence Inderjit Singh Rao
Textiles, Parliamentary Affairs, Water Resources, River Development Santosh Kumar
3
and Ganga Rejuvenation Gangwar
4 Culture and Tourism Shripad Yesso Naik
5 Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan
6 Skill Development, Entrepreneurship, Youth Affairs and Sports Sarbananda Sonowal
Information and Broadcasting Environment, Forest and Climate
7 Prakash Javadekar
Change, Parliamentary Affairs
8 Power, Coal, New and Renewable Energy Piyush Goyal
9 Science and Technology Earth Sciences Prime Minister Office Jitendra Singh
Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Department of Atomic
 19

Energy, Department of Space

10 Commerce and Industry, Finance Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman
Ministers of State
1 Civil Aviation GM Siddeshwara
2 Railways Manoj Sinha
3 Chemicals and Fertilizers Nihalchand
4 Rural Development Panchayati Raj Drinking Water and Sanitation Upendra Kushwaha
5 Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Radhakrishnan P
6 Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju
7 Road Transport and Highways Shipping Krishan Pal
Dr Sanjeev Kumar
8 Agriculture, Food Processing Industries
Balyan
Mansukhbhai
9 Tribal Affairs
Dhanjibhai Vasava
Raosaheb Dadarao
10 Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution
Danve
11 Mines, Steel, Labour and Employment Vishnu Deo Sai
12 Social Justice and Empowerment Sudarshan Bhagat

Election Commission of India .

The Election Commission of India (Hindi:भारत निर्वाचन आयोग) is an

autonomous, constitutionally established federal authority responsible for administering all the
electoral processes in the Republic of India. Under the supervision of the commission, free and fair
elections have been held in India at regular intervals as per the principles enshrined in the
Constitution. The Election Commission has the power of superintendence, direction and control of all
elections to the Parliament of India and the state legislatures and of elections to the office of
the President of India and the Vice-President of India.The power of superintendence, direction and
control of all elections to the Local Government/Municipal Corporation by the State Election
Commission.The Chief Election Commissioner can be removed from his office by Parliament with
two-thirds majority in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabhaon the grounds of proven misbehaviour or
incapacity. Other Election Commissioners can be removed by the President on the recommendation
of the Chief Election Commissioner. The Chief Election Commissioner and the two Election
Commissioners draw salaries and allowances at par with those of the Judges of the Supreme Court of
India as per the Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners (Conditions of
Service) Rules, 1992. The current CEC is V. S. Sampath.

Functions and powers

Guardian of Free and Fair Elections
One of the most important features of the democratic polity is elections at regular intervals.
Democracy is the “Government of the people, By the people, And for the people".
Holding periodic free & fair elections are essentials of democratic system. It is part of basic structure
of the Constitution which has been held in T. N. Sheshan V/s Union of India.[5] The Commission has
taken many efforts for the success of elections and thereby democracy.

Model Code of Conduct

 20

The Election Commission is regarded as guardian of free and fair elections. In every election, it issues
a Model code of Conduct for political parties and candidates to conduct elections in a free and fair
manner. The Commission issued the code for the first time in 1971 (5th Election) and revised it from
time to time. It lay down guidelines for conduct of political parties & candidates during elections.
However, there are instances of violation of code by the political parties and complaints are received
for misuse of official machinery by the candidates.
In I.D. Systems (India) Pvt. Ltd. v/s. Chief Election Commissioner,[6] the Kerala High Court held that
the object of model code of conduct is not to stop all governmental activities but only those actions
which may directly influence a section of electors need to be prevented.
The need for such code is in the interest of free and fair elections. However, the code does not have
any specific statutory basis. It has only a persuasive effect. It contains what, known as "rules of
electoral morality". But this lack of statutory backing does not prevent the Commission from enforcing
it.

Registration of Political Parties

A law regarding to this registration process was enacted in 1989 and number of parties got registered
with Commission. It helps to avoid confusion and headache of the administrative machinery as well as
confusion of the electorate. It ensures that political parties can practice democracy only by their
registration.

Limits on Poll Expenses

To get rid of the growing influences and vulgar show of money during elections the Election
Commission has made many suggestions in this regard. The Election Commission has fixed the legal
limits on the amount of money which a candidate can spend during election campaigns. These limits
have been revised from time to time. The Election Commission by appointing observers keeps an eye
on the individual account of election expenditure. The contestants are also required to give details of
expenditure with 30 days of declaration of results. However, political parties do not adhere to the
financial ‘Lakshman Rekha’ as huge amount are spent by parties under the garb of their supporters.
The campaign period was reduced by the Election Commission from 21 to 14 days for Lok Sabha and
Assembly elections; it is for to trim down election expenditure. The Election Commission’s this attempt
to impose these measures has been a move in the right direction. Moreover, Election Commission
takes details of the candidate's asset on affidavit at the time of submitting nomination paper.
In Common Cause v/s. Union of India, it was pointed out that, in India elections are fought on the
basis of money. The Court ruled that, purity of election is fundamental to the democracy and
Commission can ask the candidates about the expenditure incurred by them and political party for this
purpose.

Political parties and alliances

Features of political parties in India
As compared to other democratic countries India has a large number of political parties, it has been
estimated that over 200 parties were formed after India became independent in 1947.
One feature of the political parties in India is that the parties are generally woven around their leaders,
the leaders actively playing a dominant role, the role of leadership can be transferred and tends to
take dynastic route. Such parties include both national and regional parties, parties such as Indian
National Congress(INC) has been led by Nehru-Gandhi dynasty since independence, starting
from Jawaharlal Nehru who dominated the INC and led it to victory in three consecutive elections.
After a brief interlude of the prime ministership of Lal Bahadur Shastri, Nehru's daughter, Indira
Gandhi became prime minister. After the split in the Congress party in 1969 she formed her own
 21

Indian National congress (Ruling). After a further split, she formed the Congress (Indira) or
Congress(I). Indira remained the leader of the party until her death in 1984, when her son Rajiv
Gandhitook the reigns and after his death his widow Sonia Gandhi, the current leader of INC took
command As a result of such dominance, the leaders of political parties of the country tend to take an
autocratic tone.
One other major feature of the political parties is that, except the communist parties, most of the
political parties of India lack an ideological basis. Instead political parties in India are formed on the
basis of race, religion, language, caste etc. factors, thus the high number of political parties.[3]

Types of political parties:

There are two types of political parties in India - National Party and Regional/State party. Every
political party must bear a symbol and must be registered with the Election Commission of India.
In the current amendment to the Symbols Order, the Commission, has infused the following five
principles, which, in its view, should govern the polity in the country, situate as it is in its present state:

1. Legislative presence is a must

for recognition as a National or State party.
2. For a National party, it must be
the legislative presence in the Lok Sabha, and, for a State
party, the legislative presence must be reflected in the State
Assembly.
3. In any election, a party can set
up a candidate only from amongst its own members.
4. A party, that loses its
recognition, shall not lose its symbol immediately, but shall be
given the facility to use that symbol for some time to try and
retrieve its status. [However, the grant of such facility to the
party to use its symbol will not mean the extension of other
facilities to it, as are available to recognised parties, like, free
time on Doordarshan/AIR, free supply of copies of electoral
rolls, etc.]
5. Recognition should be given to
a party only on the basis of its own performance in elections
and not because it is a splinter group of some other recognised
party.
Criteria

 A political party shall be eligible to be recognised as

a National party if :-

1. it secures at least six percent(6%) of the valid votes polled in

any four or more states, at a general election to the House of
the People or, to the State Legislative Assembly; and
2. in addition, it wins at least four seats in the House of the
People from any State or States.
OR it wins at least two percent (2%) seats in the House of the People (i.e., 11 seats in the existing
House having 543 members), and these members are elected from at least threedifferent States.

 Likewise, a political party shall be entitled to be recognised as

a State party, if :-

1. it secures at least six percent (6%) of the valid votes polled in

the State at a general election, either to the House of the
People or to the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned;
and
 22

2. in addition, it wins at least two seats in the Legislative

Assembly of the State concerned.
OR
it wins at least three percent (3%) of the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the
State, or at least three seats in the Assembly, whichever is more.
At present there are 6 national parties and over 40 state parties.
Alliances
There are three alliances on a national level in India, competing with each other for the position of
Government. The member parties work in harmony for gratifying national interests, although a party
can jump ships whenever it may deem fit.
The three alliances -

 National Democratic Alliance(NDA) - Centre-Right coalition led

by BJP was formed in 1998 after the elections, NDA formed the
government although the government didn't last long
as AIADMK withdrew support from it resulting in 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 General
Elections NDA once again returned to power 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.

 United Progressive Alliance(UPA) - Centre-Left coalition led by INC,

this alliance was created after the 2004 General Elections, with the
alliance forming the Government. The alliance even after losing
some of its members, was reelected in 2009 General
Elections with Manmohan Singh as head of the government.

 Third front - The coalition of parties which do not belong to any of

the above camps due to certain issues. One of the major parties in
the alliance CPI(M), prior to 2009 General Elections was a member
party of the UPA. The alliance has no official leading party.

Local governanc
On April 24, 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, Orissa and Rajasthan from 24 December 1996.
The Act aims to provide 3-tier system of Panchayati Raj for all States having population of over 2
million, to hold Panchayat elections regularly every 5 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 draft development plan for the district.

Role of political parties

As with any other democracy, political parties represent different sections among the Indian society
and regions, and their core values play a major role in the politics of India. Both the executive branch
and the legislative branch of the government are run by the representatives of the political parties who
have been elected through the elections. Through the electoral process, the people of India choose
which representative and which political party should run the government. Through the elections any
party may gain simple majority in the lower house. Coalitions are formed by the political parties, in
 23

case no single party gains a simple majority in the lower house. Unless a party or a coalition have a
majority in the lower house, a government cannot be formed by that party or the coalition.

Indian state governments led by various political parties as of March 2014.

India has a multi-party system, where there are a number of national as well as regional parties. A
regional party may gain a majority and rule a particular state. If a party is represented in more than 4
states, it would be labelled a national party. Out of the 66 years of India's independence, India has
been ruled by the Indian National Congress (INC) for 53 of those years.
The party enjoyed a parliamentary majority save for two brief periods during the 1970s and late
1980s. This rule was interrupted between 1977 to 1980, when the Janata Party coalition won the
election owing to public discontent with the controversial state of emergency declared by the then
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Janata Dal won elections in 1989, but its government managed to
hold on to power for only two years.
Between 1996 and 1998, there was a period of political flux with the government being formed first by
the nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) followed by a left-leaning United Front coalition. In 1998,
the BJP formed the National Democratic Alliance with smaller regional parties, and became the first
non-INC and coalition government to complete a full five-year term. The 2004 Indian electionssaw the
INC winning the largest number of seats to form a government leading the United Progressive
Alliance, and supported by left-parties and those opposed to the BJP.
On 22 May 2004, Manmohan Singh was appointed the Prime Minister of India following the victory of
the INC & the left front in the2004 Lok Sabha election. The UPA ruled India without the support of the
left front. Previously, Atal Bihari Vajpayee 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 Prime Minister of India.
Formation of coalition governments reflects the transition in Indian politics away from the national
parties toward smaller, more narrowly based 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 rancor. Disparity between the ideologies of the political parties ruling the centre
and the state leads to severely skewed allocation of resources between the states.

Political issues
Social issues
The lack of homogeneity in the Indian population causes division between different sections of the
people based on religion, region,language, caste and race. This has led to the rise of political parties
with agendas catering to one or a mix of these groups.
Some parties openly profess their focus on a particular group; for example, the Dravida Munnetra
Kazhagam's and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam's focus on the Dravidian population,
and the Shiv Sena's pro-Marathi agenda. Some other parties claim to be universal in nature, but tend
to draw support from particular sections of the population. For example, the Rashtriya Janata
Dal (translated as National People's Party) has a vote bank among the Yadav and Muslim population
of Bihar and the All India Trinamool Congress does not have any significant support outside West
Bengal.
The narrow focus and votebank politics of most parties, even in the central government and central
legislature, sidelines national issues such as economic welfare and national security. Moreover,
internal security is also threatened as incidences of political parties instigating and leading violence
between two opposing groups of people is a frequent occurrence.
Economic issues
Economic issues like poverty, unemployment, development are main issues that influence
politics. Garibi hatao (eradicate poverty) has been a slogan of the Indian National Congress for a long
time. The well known Bharatiya Janata Party encourages a free market economy. The Communist
Party of India (Marxist) vehemently supports left-wing politics like land-for-all, right to work and
strongly opposes neo-liberal policies such as globalization, capitalism and privatization.
 24

REFERENCES
 www.slideshare.net
 www.elections.in
 www.authorstream.com
 www.hrdiap.gov.in
 www.universityofcalicut.info
 www.wikipedia.com
25