How many political parties are?

As per latest publication dated 23 September 2021 from Election Commission of India, the total number of parties registered was 2858, with 8 national parties, 54 state parties and 2796 unrecognized parties.

What are the 4 types of political parties?

Political scientists have distinguished between different types of political parties that have evolved throughout history. These include cadre parties, mass parties, catch-all parties and cartel parties.

What are the 3 parties of government?

Democratic Party, Republican Party and Independents parties are the three parties.

Why are political parties important?

Parties influence public opinion through assisting various pressure groups and movements. Parties assist citizens in gaining access to government resources and utilizing the advantages of social programs.

Political Parties Symbols in India, Names, Symbols, List

Table of Contents

Political Parties Symbols in India

A voter must mark a symbol on their ballot in order to vote for the associated party. Parties utilise these symbols in their campaigning. One of their goals is to make voting easier for those who are illiterate and cannot read the names of the candidates on the ballot.

On Indian ballot papers, political parties are identified by their names and a visual emblem. The visual emblem makes it easier for the majority of voters who lack literacy to choose which party to support. The Indian Election Commission assigns the party logos. Other parties inside the nation are not permitted to use a symbol given to a party that has been designated as a national party. A symbol given to one state party may be given to another state party in another state.

Indus Valley Civilization

Political Party

A political system’s key element is the political party. A political party is a type of organization with leaders, adherents, policies, and programs. Its supporters may be formally affiliated with the party or they may provide it support without being formally affiliated. There are various groups. Parties can be distinguished based on their leaders, policies, and programs, as well as their beliefs and internal workings.

A political party’s primary characteristic that sets it apart from other organizations is that its main goal is to seize power. A pressure group, interest group, or non-party civil society organization often does not strive to gain power, in contrast to a political party. However, these groups occasionally run in elections. Political parties serve as crucial ties between the federal government, the state, and society. Political parties impact debates and policies on issues affecting the interests of diverse social groups in a political system by serving as the primary link between social process and policy-makers.

Party System

There are three types of party systems:

One-Party System
Two-Party System
Multi-Party System

One-Party System

There isn’t any competition under a one-party system. Here, there is only one party that nominates candidates, and there are only two options available to voters:

Not voting at all;
Indicate if you support the party’s nominees by writing “yes” or “no” next to their names.

Such a political structure has been prevalent in communist and autocratic nations like China, North Korea, and Cuba. This system was also common in the USSR before communism fell.

Two-Party System

The two main, dominating parties alternate holding the reins of power in a two-party system. Therefore, in order to win the election, the winner must receive the most votes. Please be aware, though, that a majority of votes does not necessarily equal the maximum number of votes.

As a result, the smaller parties frequently combine with the larger parties or withdraw from elections. In Canada and Great Britain, where two parties possess the most seats, this type of parliamentary system is in place.

Multi-Party System

The multi-party system is the third and most prevalent type of government. In such a system, there are three or more parties, each of which is capable of forming a coalition to form the government.

If no party wins a majority of the seats in the legislature, several parties band together to create a coalition government. India and other nations use a multi-party system. Some believe that a multi-party system frequently causes political instability in a nation.

High Court of India

Importance of Political Parties in Indian Polity

Without political parties, there cannot be a democracy. This is evident from the role that political parties play. Suppose there are no political parties, in which case:

There would be no independent candidates in this election. Any candidate cannot effectively promise the public a significant change in government policy. In such a case, nobody would be in charge of managing the nation.

Only a representative democracy can endure throughout time. Political parties are the organizations that collect various points of view and submit them to the government.

Martial Law

Features of Indian Party System

One Party Dominance System

The two party systems in Britain and the United States are not comparable to the party system in use in India.

Prior to independence, the Congress served as a broadly based nationalist organisation. Since then, it has evolved into the country’s main political force. Because of this, Indian political commentators like Morris Jones have referred to the Indian Party system as one of “one party dominance.” While Rajni Kothari went so far as to refer to the “Congress System” or the “One Party Dominance System”.

A Multi-Party System

Since the disintegration of the consensus based Congress system in 1967, the Indian Parties have fit the category of a multi-party system. India has as many as Seven National Parties and 48 State parties.

Lack of Strong Opposition

There is no effective, well-organized opposition party in India. A powerful opposition is necessary for parliamentary democracy to succeed. The opposition’s primary role is to draw attention to the government’s flaws and to pressure it to respond to the public’s views.

Personality Cult

The leadership position is valued in the Indian party system. A party begins to deteriorate after its charismatic leader leaves. Congress suffered as a result of the passing of Mrs. Indira Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru. The Jan Sangh experienced irreparable loss as a result of Dr. Shyama Prasad Mookherjee’s passing. Similar to how Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia and C. Rajagopalachari saw the socialist forces and Swatantra Party, respectively, rapidly fall.

Lack of Ideological Commitment

Politics in India are becoming more issue-based than ideological. The National Front Government’s existence at the centre was a cartoonish example of issue-oriented politics that drew support from both the far-left CPI(M) and the far-right (BJP). Since 1971, issues that are of urgent importance to the people have won elections rather than the inherent strength of a political party’s philosophy.

Emergence of Regional Parties

In India, a number of national parties have seen a decline in strength while regional parties have increased in size and influence. As a result, the DMK and ADMK have established strongholds in Tamil Nadu, the Akali Dal rules the Punjab, the AGP controls Assam, the National Conference controls Jammu and Kashmir, and the Shiv Sena has become a significant player in Maharashtra politics.

Soon after the nation gained independence, a few regional parties including the DMK, Shiromani Akali Dal, and National Conference were formed. These parties express and work to defend an ethnic or religious-cultural identity that is specific to the region.

Factions within the Parties

All political parties have a history of division. The faction leaders in non-communist parties are frequently community, caste, or religious leaders who have cultivated patron-client relationships among members of various castes or communities.

Such factional leaders form political alliances with one another to keep their political rivals out of power as they compete among themselves for political dominance within the party and the government. The majority of these factional partnerships lack an ideological component and frequently change, keeping the parties in a state of flux..

Communalism and Casteism:

Communalism is a phenomenon that is not exclusive to India and other Asian nations; it is also present in many other countries, including Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and others. What is strange about India is that even those who identify as secular parties and individuals take an opportunistic stance toward communalism.

The Use of Extra-Constitutional Means to Power

Although it is commonly believed that the primary duties of political parties are to engage in electioneering and campaigning in an effort to obtain the most seats possible in public offices, few few parties are able to achieve decent results utilising solely these legal strategies.

Politics of Defection and Anti-Defection Act

Defection is the term used to describe an opportunistic change in political party affiliation. When a lawmaker runs for office on the platform of one party but afterwards moves to another without the consent of his supporters, this is known as defection.

The Anti-Defection Act of 1985 attempted to prevent defections so that elected officials would not be permitted to violate the confidence placed in them by the electorate at the time of their election.

Important Articles of Indian Constitution

Recognition of National Parties of India

The use of that party’s election emblem in elections across India is prohibited unless it is recognised as a national or state party. There needs to be just one proposer per recognised “State” and “National” party to submit a candidacy.

Two sets of electoral rolls are provided by the Election Commission free of charge to the recognised “state” and National Parties. Additionally, candidates running in the general elections on the platforms of national or state parties receive a complimentary copy of the electoral roll. For the purpose of establishing their party offices, the National parties obtain property or buildings from the government. National parties have a cap of 40 celebrity campaigners, whereas other parties have a cap of 20.

The election expenses of the party candidate do not include the costs associated with the travel and other expenses of prominent campaigners. National Parties are given a time slot on state and national television and radio to address the public and spread their message. On August 22, 2016, the Election Commission modified a rule so that it will now evaluate the national and state status of political parties every ten years rather than every five.

Regardless matter how well it performs in the following elections, a political party that has been recognised as a national or state party keeps that status. It only loses the granted status if it fails to meet any requirements for two successive Assembly sessions and two consecutive Lok Sabha sessions.

Panchayati Raj

List of Political Parties and their Symbols

Here is the List of Political Parties Symbols:

Symbol	Flag	Meaning	Party
		Indian lotus. The lotus symbolizes the party’s link to Hinduism. It is also the national flower of India.	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
		Right hand with its palm side facing front. The hand is symbolic of strength, energy and unity.	Indian National Congress (INC)
		The grass and the twin flowers. The simple flowers used in the symbol indicate that the AITC is in support of those sections of the society which feel insignificant and are oppressed.	All India Trinamool Congress (AITC)
		Elephant. The elephant represents the strength of the Bahujan community (OBC, SC, ST & religious/linguistic/ethnic minorities).	Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)
		Ears of corn and sickle. It depicts that the CPI is a party of the peasants, of farmers, or labourers, who work in the fields and earn a living and also depicts the conditions of the working class.	Communist Party of India (CPI)
		Hammer, sickle and a star. The symbol of the hammer and sickle represents proletarian solidarity of agricultural and industrial labourers, and is also replicated in logos and flags by other communist parties worldwide.	Communist Party of India (CPI-M)
		Analog clock that reads 10:10. It denotes that the party will keep fighting for its principles regardless of time, no matter how difficult the situation.	Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)
		Book. It denotes that only literacy and education can empower the weaker sections of society.	National People’s Party (NPP)

List of Chief Justice of India

Role of Regional Political Parties

At the regional level, they offer improved governance and a stable government. They provide a threat to the nation’s one-party dominating system and have reduced the power of the one party.

Regional Parties have a significant influence on the character and development of center-state relations. The central leadership is more receptive to the needs of the regional players as a result of the areas of stress in center-state relations and the demand for greater autonomy.

Regional Parties increase political competition and widespread citizen participation at the grassroots level. In both the parliamentary and assembly elections, they give voters more options. The party that seeks to advance the interests of the state or region may receive the support of the electorate.

Regional Parties raise peoples’ interest in politics as well as their political awareness. They highlight regional or local problems, which grab the public’s attention right away. They offer protection from the central government’s totalitarian tendencies. They challenge the dominant party’s position on some topics and pressure it to adopt a more acceptable strategy for resolving disputes.

They significantly aid in the parliamentary democracy’s efficient operation. The regional parties have successfully served this function by serving as the ruling parties in certain states and the opposition parties in others, as is required in a parliamentary democracy where the minority must have its say and the majority must get its way.

Preamble of Indian Constitution

Political Parties Symbols: 54 Recognized State Parties List

State Parties List
Aam Aadmi Party	Centre to Centre-left	Economic nationalism Secularism Nationalism Patriotism Humanism	2012	Arvind Kejriwal	Delhi Punjab Goa
Janata Dal (Secular)	Centre-left	Social democracy Secularism	1999	H. D. Deve Gowda	Arunachal Pradesh Karnataka Kerala
Janata Dal (United)	Centre-left	Socialism Secularism Integral humanism	2003	Nitish Kumar	Arunachal Pradesh Bihar Manipur
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	Centre to centre-left	Dravidianism Populism Social democracy	1972	Edappadi K. Palaniswami (General Secretary)	Tamil Nadu Puducherry
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	Centre-left	Social democracy Dravidians Social justice Federalism	1949	M. K. Stalin (President)	Tamil Nadu Puducherry
Naga People’s Front		Regionalism	2002	T. R. Zeliang	Manipur Nagaland
Rashtriya Janata Dal	Centre-left	Socialism	1997	Lalu Prasad Yadav Tejashwi Yadav	Bihar Jharkhand
Revolutionary Socialist Party	Far-left	Communism Marxism–Leninism^[17] Revolutionary socialism	1940	Manoj Bhattacharya^[18]	Kerala West Bengal
Telugu Desam Party	Centre^[19]	Populism Economic liberalism	1982	N. Chandrababu Naidu	Andhra Pradesh Telangana
Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party		Populism Regionalism	2011	Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy	Andhra Pradesh
Bharat Rashtra Samithi	Centre^[23]	Regionalism Populism Conservatism Separatism	2001	K. Chandrashekar Rao	Telangana
All India Forward Bloc	Left-wing	Left-wing nationalism Socialism Anti-imperialism Marxism	1939	Debabrata Biswas	West Bengal
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen	Right-wing^[28]	Composite Nationalism Minority Rights Dalits Rights Constitutionalism	1958	Asaduddin Owaisi	Telangana
All India N.R. Congress	Centre	Social democracy Populism	2011	N. Rangaswamy	Puducherry
All India United Democratic Front			2005	Badruddin Ajmal	Assam
All Jharkhand Students Union			1986	Sudesh Mahto	Jharkhand
Asom Gana Parishad	Centre-right	Regionalism Anti-Bengali sentiment	1985	Atul Bora	Assam
Biju Janata Dal	Centre to centre-left	Regionalism Populism Secularism Liberalism	1997	Naveen Patnaik	Odisha
Bodoland People’s Front		Secularism Democratic socialism	2005	Hagrama Mohilary	Assam
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation	Far-left	Communism Marxism–Leninism Maoism	1974	Dipankar Bhattacharya	Bihar
Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam	Centre to centre-left	Social welfare Populism Secularism Social democracy	2005	Vijayakanth	Tamil Nadu
Goa Forward Party		Regionalism	2016	Vijai Sardesai	Goa
Hill State People’s Democratic Party			1968		Meghalaya
Indian National Lok Dal	Centre	Social liberalism Regionalism	1996	Om Prakash Chautala	Haryana
Indian Union Muslim League		Muslim interests Social conservatism	1948	Hyderali Shihab Thangal	Kerala
Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura	Centre-right	Regionalism Ethnic nationalism Anti-immigration	2009	Mevar Kumar Jamatia	Tripura
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference		Kashmiriyat Kashmiri autonomy Secularism	1932	Farooq Abdullah	Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party		Democracy Anti-corruption Secularism Women’s rights	1982	Bhim Singh	Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party		Kashmiriyat Kashmiri autonomy Regionalism	1999	Mehbooba Mufti	Jammu and Kashmir
Janta Congress Chhattisgarh	Left-wing	Social justice Feminism Direct democracy Agrarianism	2016	Renu Jogi	Chhattisgarh
Jannayak Janta Party		Democratic socialism	2018	Dushyant Chautala	Haryana
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha			1972	Sibhu Soren Himant Soren	Jharkhand
Kerala Congress (M)		Welfare Democratic socialism	1979	Jose K. Mani	Kerala
Lok Janshakti Party			2000	Chirag Paswan	Bihar
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena	Far-right	Hindutva Right-wing populism Regionalism Ultranationalism Marathi interests	2006	Raj Thackeray	Maharashtra
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party	Centre	Populism Regionalism	1963	Deepak Dhavalikar	Goa
Mizo National Front			1961	Zoramthanga	Mizoram
Mizoram People’s Conference			1975	Lalhmangaiha Sailo	Mizoram
Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party		Regionalism	2017	Neiphiu Rio	Nagaland
Pattali Makkal Katchi	Centre	Populism	1989	S. Ramadoss	Pudduchery
People’s Democratic Alliance			2012	B.D. Behring	Manipur	Crown
People’s Democratic Front			2017	Ivanlum Marbaniang	Meghalaya
People’s Party of Arunachal		Regionalism	1977	Kamen Ringu	Arunachal Pradesh
Rashtriya Lok Dal			1996	Jayant Chaudhary	Uttar Pradesh
Rashtriya Loktantrik Party			2020	Hanuman Beniwal	Rajasthan
Samajwadi Party	Centre-left^[49] to left^[50][51]	Social democracy Democratic socialism Left-wing populism Social conservatism	1992	Akhilesh Yadav	Uttar Pradesh
Shiromani Akali Dal	Centre-right	Punjabiyat Conservatism Federalism	1920	Sukhbir Singh Badal	Punjab
Shiv Sena	Right-wing to far-right	Conservatism Hindutva Ultranationalism Right-wing populism	1966	Uddhav Thackeray	Maharashtra
Sikkim Democratic Front	Centre-left to left-wing	Democratic socialism	1993	Pawan Kumar Chamling	Sikkim
Sikkim Krantikari Morcha		Democratic socialism	2013	Prem Singh Tamang	Sikkim
United Democratic Party		Regionalism Populism	1997	Metbah Lyngdoh	Meghalaya
United People’s Party Liberal	Centre	Regionalism	2015	Urkhao Gwra Brahma	Assam	Tractor
Zoram Nationalist Party			1997	Lalduhawma	Mizoram

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