Indian political parties / by V. M. Sirskar and L. Fernandes

The beginning of political parties in India may be traced to the founding of Indian National Congress. During the years of free dom struggle the unprecedented mass mobilisation and political socialisation gave birth to a new political culture which provided an 'umbrella' character to the Congress. party. But the post-independence era witnessed a basic change in the situation. The non-Congress parties and regional parties formed the main opposition. The party structures became weak and personalised. Charismatic leadership, money, vote banks, manipulations and ad hoc structures began to be considered adequate to win the election and capture political power. Loyalty to the party ideology has given place to loyalty to party leader.

In the present study the authors. survey the historical background. and the socio-economic environment. in which the Indian political parties have grown. The parties have been discussed and compared in respect of their ideologies, organisation and performance. The study has come to the conclusion that there has been a marked decline in the political parties and there is an obvious need to revitalise them if we want to strengthen the polity of the country.