Political Parties: Chapter-4, Class-10 Civics Notes

Political Parties Class 10 Notes cover the nature and workings of political parties in India, both at the national and regional levels. It discusses the role of political parties in the functioning of a democracy and their significance in representing the diverse interests and opinions of the people. Political Parties Class 10 also highlights the challenges faced by political parties in India, such as corruption, lack of internal democracy, and regional imbalances. It further explores the measures that can be taken to improve the functioning of political parties and make them more accountable and responsive to the needs of the people. Overall, Political Parties Notes provide insight into the role and importance of political parties in the Indian democratic system.

The Class 10 Political Parties Notes cover all the necessary topics that are extremely important for the board examination 2023-2024. It can save you time and will positively affect your results. For complete notes of class 10 social science, visit CBSE Class 10 Social Science Notes where you can find Geography, History, Civics, and Economics notes all in one place.

Board	CBSE
Textbook	NCERT, Democratic Politics
Class	10
Subject	Civics, Social Science
Chapter	6
Chapter Name	Political Parties
Category	Notes

Political Parties Class 10 Notes Civics Chapter 6

Political Parties Class 10 Notes Civics Chapter 6

These Class 10 Political Parties Notes contain all the relevant information according to the most recent CBSE Syllabus. Each topic is discussed in detail below:

Why Do We Need Political Parties?

Political Parties are the most visible institution of democracy. For ordinary citizens, democracy means casting a vote for their favourite party.

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and also create opinions on various policies for the social good and persuade people why their policies are better than others.  They implement these policies by seeking the support of the people which helps them to win elections.

Political parties represent social division and involve partisanship means that they create the ability among people to take a side on a particular issue by supporting the political parties.  A political party has three components

• Leaders
• Active Members
• Followers

Read More: Why do we need Political Parties?

Functions of Political Parties

Apart from filling political offices and exercising political power political parties perform the following functions:

1. Political Parties contest elections. They give tickets to candidates i.e. they allow candidates to use party names and symbols to contest elections.
2. Parties put forward various programs and policies and voters choose from them. Since there are a large number of people hence exist a large number of ideas which is very difficult to handle. Therefore political parties club a large number of similar ideas into a few basic options which the party supports.
3. Parties play an important role in making laws for the country. Since legislatures make laws, most of which are members of a particular political party.
4. Parties form and run government once they get the majority in the house. 
5. Parties play the role of opposition when they lose the majority in the legislature. They constantly monitor the functions of existing governments and criticize them for misuse of power and resources. 
6. Parties shape public opinion. They raise and highlight issues. They have active members, and pressure groups as their extended arms to launch movements as and when needed. 
7. Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by the government. They do so in order to get the support of the people so that they can win further elections.

The Necessity of Political Parties

Although the above functions are enough to understand the necessity of political parties in a democracy, the importance of anything can be best understood when it is not present.

1. In case of the absence of political parties, there will be independent candidates with diverse opinions. There will be no majority in the house to form the government. Elected candidates will be accountable for their constituency but no one will be accountable for how to run the country. 
2. As in the case of panchayat where there is no interference from political parties the support of people divide into more than one faction as there is no one to shape public opinion. Political parties present a well-researched analysis of any issue which helps people in taking a side.
3. As societies are complex and so are opinions we need agencies such as political parties to club various issues on different matters and present them to the government in an effective manner. 
4. The rise of political parties is directly linked to the rise of representative democracy. As a large-scale society, we need representative democracy because ordinary citizens can’t participate in the daily business of the government.

How many parties should we have?

In a democracy like India where the constitution provides the “Right to the formation of association” there exist as many 750 political parties which are registered under the Election Commission of India. However, out of 750 only a few are actively participating in democratic politics and gained popularity among citizens over the period of time.

The number of political parties that a country should have can’t be decided in a day but it gets evolved over the years based on the history of the evolution of governance in the country and the past experiences and present needs of the people. Based on the practice across the world, currently, we have three types of the party system:

1. One Party System: In this only one party can contest elections and form government. Although there is a legal provision for the formation of political parties, there is no free and fair competition for power. This type of system doesn’t offer choice to people and hence is not good for democracy. For example China, and North Korea.
2. Two-Party System: In this type, the competition for power is largely between two major parties only. Although several small parties exist and win few seats in elections but the competition for a larger number of seats is among two major parties only. For example the United States of America and the United Kingdom.
3. Multi-party System: In this system, more than two parties compete for power in elections and each has a reasonable chance of winning a majority to form the government. In this system, people have a variety of choices to choose candidates from different parties for their state as well as for the country. For example India.

In a multi-party system when no party gets the clear majority to form the government, in that case, few parties with common goals and similar views come together to form an alliance or front and form a coalition government. For example, United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by Congress, and National Democratic Alliance led by BJP. 

Types of Political Parties

Democracies that follow the federal system have generally two types of parties. The first type includes those parties whose presence is limited to only two federal units or states; they are called state parties. The second type includes those parties whose presence is across most of the states and plays an important role in the formation of central government; they are referred to as national parties.

Every party has to be registered with Election Commission. While the Election Commission treats every party equally it provides some special facilities to large parties such as providing them with a unique symbol that can be used by the candidates of that party for contesting elections.

The Election Commission recognizes such parties which get some privileges and symbols and hence are referred to as recognized political parties. Election Commission has laid down detailed criteria for the proportion of votes and seats that a party should obtain in order to get the status of “recognized party”.

National Parties

These parties have a national-level presence and play an important role in forming government or opposition at the national level. They highlight issues and shape public opinion on matters of national interest.

The following are the conditions  for a political party to get the status of  a national party:

1. A party should secure at least six per cent of total votes in the Lok Sabha election or in the Assembly election of four states.
2. It should win at least four seats in the Lok Sabha election. 

Currently, India has six important national parties:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)

Election Symbol: Broom

• It was formed by Arvind Kejriwal in 2012 after a split of opinion with Anna Hazare following the anti-corruption movement in 2011
• It has a significant presence in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, etc. 
• It promotes the ideology of nationalism, populism, secularism, and socialism.
• It is currently the ruling government in Delhi and Punjab and Arvind Kejriwal is its national convener.

Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)

Election Symbol: Elephant

• It was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram.
• It was formed to represent and address the views of Bahujan which means majority which includes scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, and minority religions.
• It follows the principles of BR Ambedkar, Jyotiba Phule, Gautam Budha, and other renowned scholars and social reformers.
• It promotes the ideology of social equality, social justice, and self-respect.
• It has its main base in the state of Uttar Pradesh and is also present in Madhya Pradesh, Chhatisgarh, Delhi, and Punjab.
• It won 10 seats in the 17th Lok Sabha election in 2019 and Mayawati is its current national president.

Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP)

Election Symbol: Lotus

• Founded by reviving erstwhile Bharatiya Jan Sangh in1980
• It wants to build a strong and modern India by drawing inspiration from India’s ancient and cultural values.
• It is a right-wing party and promotes the concept of cultural nationalism(Hindutva).
• It is currently the ruling government at the center under the leadership of Narendra Modi and also the ruling government in several states.
• It is the leading party of the National Democratic Alliance and its national president is JP Nadda.

Communist Party of India Marxist (CPI-M)

Election Symbol: Sickle and Hammer

• This party was formed in 164 after the split from the Communist Party of India
• It believes in Marxism-Leninism, supports socialism, democracy, and secularism, and opposes imperialism and communalism.
• It accepts election as a useful and helpful means of securing social justice in India.
• It enjoys support in the states of West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, etc., especially among factory workers, and agriculture laborers.
• It is critical of capitalism and new economic policies which allow the free flow of foreign goods in India.

Indian National Congress (INC)

Election Symbol: Palm

• It is one of the oldest parties in India. It was formed in 1885 and experienced many splits since then. 
• It plays an important role in both national and state-level politics.
• Under the leadership of Jawahar Lal Nehru, it sought to build a strong and modern India.
• It is a centrist party (neither left nor right) in terms of orientation.
• It has ruled India for almost 70 years after independence under the prime ministership of great leaders such as JL Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Rajeev Gandhi, PV Narasimha Rao, and Manmohan Singh.
• It is currently the opposition party at the national level and leading United Progressive Alliance.

National People’s Party

Election Symbol: Book

• It was formed by PA Sangama after the split from National Congress Party in 2012.
• Its significant presence is in the state of Meghalaya. It is also present in the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Manipur.
• It believes only education can empower weaker sections of society and hence its symbol is a book.
• It promotes the ideology of regionalism and ethnocentrism.
• It is the first party from the northeast to get the status of a national party

Read More: National Political Parties in India

State Parties

They are regional parties and their presence is limited to one or two states. They play an important role in federal structure by highlighting regional issues and demanding power sharing.

Over the past few years, their importance has increased. They win one or two seats at Lok sabha and hence national parties are compelled to form a coalition government with them. In total, there are 56 state parties recognized in India. Some important parties include:

1. Biju Janata Dal
2. Mizo National Front
3. Sikkim Democratic Front
4. Telangana Rashtra Samithi

Read More: Role of State Parties in India

Condition for the status of a state party

• A party should secure at least 6 per cent of total votes in an election of the Legislative Assembly of the state.
• Should win at least two seats in a Legislative Election. 

Challenges to Political Parties

Since political parties are the most visible face of democracy hence they face criticism over misconduct and malpractice in democracy. Popular dissatisfaction and criticism have highlighted the following four major problems that political parties need to overcome to maintain their effectiveness in the democracy 

1. Lack of internal democracy in the party: Most of the decision within a party is taken by a few influential leaders. Parties do not conduct regular internal elections for the appointment of the party posts. Parties do not keep membership registers, not hold organizational meetings regularly. As a result, ordinary members don’t get to know what happens at the party.
2. Dynastic Succession: This problem is related to the first problem. In this, the top post and top decisions are taken by members of a particular family. Any person who has a close relationship with that family gets an advantage in terms of party tickets during the election. This lead to the promotion of inexperienced and incapable candidate over capable one. In this case, ordinary members never get a chance to rise to higher posts within the party in a transparent manner.
3. The growing role of Money, Muscle, and Power: This generally happen during election. As parties focus on only winning elections they give tickets to the rich and powerful people of the area so that they can win elections easily with the help of money and by threatening people. Big corporates and industrialists also donate a huge sum of money to the party fund so that if the party wins and forms the government it would form policies that would benefit them.
4. Lack of Meaningful Choice: Nowadays there is a decline in ideological differences among the party. The parties have similar fundamentals about an issue they are just different in the way of addressing issues or in the mode of implementation. Also, some political leaders keep changing their party hence it doesn’t give a clear idea about their orientation. Almost all parties are involved in corruption and ill practices in a democracy. These all factors reduce the number of meaningful choices available to people.

Read More: Challenges to Political Parties

How Parties can be reformed?

The alternative of one political party is another political party but the problem arises when all parties get involved in malpractice hence we need to reform them to save the effective functioning of democracy. The following steps have been taken to reform political parties:

1. The constitution was amended to introduce anti-defection laws to prevent the defection of leaders in greed of cash or ministerial posts. Defection means an elected representative leaves his current party from which he got elected and joins a rival party. As per new law if an elected representative involves in defection his candidature from the house will be dismissed.
2. The Supreme Court of India mandated every candidate who contests an election to give an affidavit of property and all the criminal cases pending against him. This information is made public. This has been done to reduce the growing influence of muscle and money in politics.
3. The election commission passed an order making it mandatory for parties to hold internal elections and file income tax.

Besides the above steps, some suggestions are often made to reform political parties:

• A law should be made to regulate the internal affairs of the parties. Every party should have a register of members, follow its own constitution and have an independent authority to resolve disputes within the party.
• It should be mandatory for every party to give one-third of the tickets to women candidates. There should also be a quota for women in the decision-making bodies of the party.
• There should be state funding of elections. This means every party would be provided resources or cash equally by the government. This would help in preventing huge sums of money spent by large parties to win elections and at the same time would help smaller parties in contesting elections effectively.

Although the above suggestions would reform political parties, it is not possible if political parties don’t wish to implement them. Hence there are two more ways by which parties can be reformed 

• First, people can put pressure on people to adopt reforms through petitions, publicity, and agitations. If parties would feel they would lose support if they do not adopt reforms they will start taking reforms seriously.
• Second, political parties can be reformed if those who want reform join politics. The quality of democracy depends on the degree of public participation. The problem of bad politics can be resolved by better policies.

Read More: How Parties Can be Reformed?

Conclusion

The whole Class 10 Political Parties Notes can be summarised in the following points:

• Political parties are groups of people who intend to contest elections in order to pursue their programs and policies.
• Political Parties shape public opinion, create partisanship, form government, and provide easy access to government machinery.
• There are three types of party systems in the world; party system, two-party system, and multi-party system.
• Based on the number of seats won in Loksabha and legislative assemblies election commission has classified parties into national and state parties. Currently, there are six national parties and 56 state parties in India.
• Political Parties face challenges in the form of a lack of internal democracy, dynastic succession, and money muscle, and power but can be reformed by conducting regular elections, filing income tax, and when pressurized by the public to adopt reforms.

FAQs on Political Parties Class 10 Notes Civics Chapter 6

What is a political party?

A political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government.

Why do we need political parties?

Political parties are an essential instrument of representative democracy. They are needed to raise and highlight issues of the country, shape public opinion, and run the government to rule the state and country in a structured manner.

What is defection?

When an elected candidate leaves the party from which he/she won the election and joins another party in the greed of a ministerial post or cash; this is referred to as defection.

How many political parties are there in India?

The Election Commission of India has recorded a count of 2858 political parties all over India on September 2021.

What is the minimum age in India to join a political party?

The minimum age to be a part of any political party in India is 25 years.