Politics of India

Political Institutions & Parties

 Republic of India
• A federal republic with a parliamentary
system of government
• capital: New Delhi
 A federal system
• 26 states and 6 centrally administered
Union Territories
– 2 states are partially claimed by Pakistan and
China
 Federal system
• Relatively centralized
• federal government controls the most
essential government functions
– defense
– foreign policy
– taxation
– public expenditures
– economic (industrial) planning
 Federal system
• state governments formally control
– agriculture
– education
– law and order within states
– dependent on central government for funds
 Federal system
• Balance of power between central and
state governments
– varies by time and place
– state power was constrained
• during the rule of Nehru and Indira Gandhi
– state governments have more room to
maneuver
• when central government is weak
• since 1998
 Federal system
• considerable center-state conflict when
ruling political party in a state is different
from national ruling party
 Parallel state structure
• Formal political structure of the states
parallels that of the national government
• national state
• President Governor
• Prime Minister Chief Minister
• Parliament Assembly
• Supreme Court High Court
 The legislature
• Parliamentary system of government
– the executive authority is responsible to the
Parliament
 The legislature
• bicameral Parliament
– Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
– Lok Sabha (House of the People)
Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
• The Upper House
 Upper House
• Rajya Sabha (Council of States)
• not more than 250 members
– 12 are nominated by the President of India
– the rest are indirectly elected
• by state Legislative Assemblies
• The Council of States can not be dissolved
– members have terms of 6 years
– 1/3 members retire at end of every 2nd year
 Lok Sabha
• House of the
People
 Lower House
• Lok Sabha (House of the People)
• 545 members
– 2 are appointed by the President of India
– the rest are directly elected from single-
member districts
• 5-year terms unless dissolved
• Lok Sabha elects its presiding officer
– the Speaker
 Lok Sabha
• Elections held at least every 5 years
• Prime Minister may call elections earlier
• 543 single-member districts of roughly
equal population
• party nomination
• 1st-past-the-post
– winner-take-all
• women’s share
 Elections to Lok Sabha
• Vote share of 3 major political parties
 Current composition
• 43 parties in the 13th Lok Sabha (1999)
• 39 parties in the 14th Lok Sabha (2004)
• Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 184 138
• Indian National Congress (INC) 109 145
• Communist Party of India (M) 34 43
• other political parties 218 217
• total 545 543
 Indian National Congress
• India’s oldest political party
– since 1885
• India’s premier political party
– until 1990s
• in 1960s many regional parties started
challenging INC’s monopoly on power
 Indian National Congress
• Indira Gandhi
– created a top-down structure
– party leaders appoint party officials
– some limited party elections
• left-of-center, pro-poor political platform
 Indian National Congress
• INC moved toward the ideological center
– Beginning in 1984
• INC today tilts right-of-center
– economic efficiency
– business interests
– limited government spending
 Indian National Congress
• INC has always attracted support from
diverse social groups
• in the 1990s INC has lost some of its
traditional constituencies among the poor
and Muslims
 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• The major political party in India today
• right-leaning, Hindu-nationalist party
– first major party to mobilize explicitly on the
basis of religious identity
 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• better organized than INC
– disciplined party members
– carefully selected party cadres
– clear and respected authority line within the
party
 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• Traditional supporters
– urban, lower-middle-class groups
• base of support widened since mid-1980s
– Hindu nationalism
– north-central India
– decline of Indian National Congress
– Muslims as convenient scapegoat for
frustration
 BJP’s rapid rise to power
• electoral success from 1989 to 1999
– difficulty in forming alliance with other parties
• break with past traditions
– relatively moderate, centrist position
• BJP formed governing coalition in 1998
– collapsed in 1999
• BJP formed a new coalition in 1999
– more broadly based than previous coalition
 Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
• economic liberalization and stability
• privilege the interests of the Hindu majority
 Prime Minister
• Leader of the majority party leader in Lok
Sabha becomes the prime minister
• prime minister nominates a cabinet
– members of Parliament in the ruling coalition
– Council of Ministers
• effective power is concentrated in the
office of the prime minister
– where most of the important policies originate
 Prime Ministers of India
• 38 years in the Nehru-Gandhi family
• more and more rapid turnover
 The President of India
• Head of the State
• Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces
• elected by an electoral college
– national Parliament
– state legislature
• 5-year terms
• can be reelected
 The President of India
• Ceremonial office
– symbolize national unity
– supposedly above partisan politics
• mostly acts on the advice of the prime
minister
• President plays a significant role when the
selection of a prime minister is complex
– in 1998 President requested BJP to form govt.
 The Judiciary
• Fundamental contradiction in constitution
– principle of parliamentary sovereignty
– principle of judicial review
 The Judiciary
• judiciary tries to preserve the constitution’s
basic structure
• to ensure that legislation conforms with the
intent of the constitution
• parliament tries to assert its right to amend
the constitution