Political Parties of India

Political parties in India lists political parties in India. India has a multi-party system with a predominance of small regional parties. National parties are those that are recognized in four or more states. They are accorded this status by the Election Commission of India, which periodically reviews the election results in various states. This recognition helps the political parties to claim unique ownership of certain identities, such as the party symbol, until the next review of their status. Below are national parties as per October 2004. The Constitution of India stipulates that India be a federal polity with a central government in New Delhi, and state governments for the various states and Union territories. Consequently, political parties in India are classified as national and state (regional) parties based on their realms of influence.

Some of them listed below:

INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS:

Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress Party and abbreviated INC) is a major political party in India. Created in 1885 by A. O. Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji and Sir Dinshaw Edulji Wacha, the Indian National Congress became the nation's leader in the Independence Movement, with over 15 million Indians involved in its organizations and over 70 million participants in its struggle against the British Empire. After independence in 1947, it became the nation's dominant political party, only challenged for leadership in more recent decades. In the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-2009), 145 INC members, the largest contingent amongst all parties, serve in the house. The party is currently the chief member of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition supported by the Left Front.

The oldest Indian political party, the Indian National Congress was formed in 1885 and was the most powerful force behind the country's struggle for independence It also held power for most years after independence. The party has also been instrumental in the making or fall of non-Congress governments at the centre when it was out of power.The Party boasts of the leadership of what can be said the first political family of the country. The dynasty goes back to the time of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. His daughter, Indira Gandhi, active during the years of the freedom struggle was the natural heir to the throne. The suspension of democratic institutions during emergency earned her many critics and also led to the birth of many anti-Congress factions. Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984. Rajiv Gandhi, then a political novice, swept the polls through the apparent sympathy wave. His tragic assassination again brought the Congress to power in 1991, with PV Narasimha Rao as the Prime Minister.

The Congress popularity nose-dived mainly due to the involvement of its leaders, including Narasimha Rao, in the vote buying case during a confidence vote and other corruption charges.In 1999 Mrs. Sonia Gandhi entered politics and took the reins of the party. This was the time when the party most needed the support of the Nehru -Gandhi Family. Now she has matured in the game and is again leading the party in General Elections 2004. The party in her leadership plans the comeback to power.

The main agendas for the elections are
Generation of more jobs
Eradication of poverty
Step up public investment in agriculture
One-third reservation for women
Commission for the problems of North Eastern States

Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)

The Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] (Hindi: भारतीय जनता पार्टी [भाजपा], English: Indian People's Party), created in 1980, is a major Indian political party. It projects itself as a champion of the socio-religious cultural values of the country's Hindu majority, conservative social policies, and strong national defense. Its constituency is strengthened by the broad umbrella of Hindu nationalist organizations, informally known as the Sangh Parivar (League of Indian nationalist organizations), in which the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh plays a leading role.

Since its inception, the BJP has been a prime opponent of the Indian National Congress. It has allied with regional parties to roll back the left-of-centre tendencies formerly endorsed by the Congress Party, which dominated Indian politics for four decades. The ideological rallying cry of the BJP is Hindutva, literally "Hinduness," or cultural Hindu nationalism.

The BJP, in alliance with several other parties, led the Government of India between 1998 and 2004, under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, its most senior leaders. It is the leading party within the National Democratic Alliance and leads the opposition.Jana Sangha was a political party founded in 1951 which later came to be known as Bhartiya Janata Party. Throughout the Congress regime it remained one of the major opposition parties, guiding the rout to be taken by the opposition.During 1986 elections it made it's presence felt in a string way and after that the popularity has been rising by the day.

In 1996 it emerged as a single largest party in a hung parliament and then in 1999 came into power as a part of NDA Alliance under the leadership of Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The BJP led NDA alliance completed its five year regime in year 2004.It's guiding philosophy of integral humanism was first presented by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965. The party clearly defines its organisation and objectives and commitments.The aim of the party is to establish a democratic state guaranteeing equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression. It commits itself to 'Sarva Dharma Sambhav' and value based politics. The Party stands for decentralisation of economic and political power.The Party pledges to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation with a progressive and enlightened in outlook.The main agendas for the elections are
Making India a Developed Nation and a Great Power by 2020
Broadening and deepening of economic reforms, based on a self-reliant approach
To fulfill the basic needs in education, healthcare, housing, cultural development.
Commitment to women's all-round empowerment ·

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (usually abbreviated to CPI(M) or CPM) is a political party in India. It is strongest in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. In all of these states, as of 2006, it currently holds the government. It split from the Communist Party of India in 1964. CPI(M) claims to have 814,408 members as of 2002.

The CPI (M)’s manifesto reaffirms its anti-BJP stand, in which it holds the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) responsible for the coming general elections. “After the last general elections, the BJP-led alliance was nowhere near commanding a majority in the Lok Sabha. Inspite of this, the BJP opportunistically formed a government under its leadership”, it states.Hitting out at the RSS, it says that the BJP “believes in Hindutva, and is committed to dismantling the secular-democratic values of the Indian Republic. It also lashes out at the BJP by describing its 13-month rule a disaster. It accuses the BJP of ”increasing authoritarianism”, for it used the “draconian Article 356-not once, but twice-to dismiss the elected Bihar state government. It is only the firm stand taken by the President and the BJP’s failure to muster a majority in the Rajya Sabha, which foiled this brazen attack on democracy”.It goes on further to attack BJP’s stand on most of the issues ranging from Prasar Bharati to its economic policy and from Pokhran to Kargil.It also stresses that Congress is not the alternative and that it is a party bereft of the political and ideological will to rally all the secular and democratic forces to fight the menace of communalism.The manifesto reinstates its stand on not compromising with communalism in any form. The Left parties stand for uniting all sections of the people in order to advance the struggle to bring in alternative policies opposed to liberalisation and communalism.The CPI (M) advocates:

Legislation for separation of religion and politics in light of the Supreme Court judgement in the Bommai Case;
Effective prohibition on the use of religions issues for electoral purposes;
Implementation of the Protection of Places of Worship Act to see that no disputes on religious places arise;
The Ayodhya dispute to be referred to Supreme Court under Article 138(2) for a speedy judicial verdict;
Special steps to prosecute all those found guilty by the Sri Krishna Commission for the Mumbai riots of 1993.
Federalism for National Unity