in perfect ways, took place at both federal and state levels with significant
voter turnout – ranging from about 45 per cent in the first general election of 1951
to more than 58 per cent in the general elections of 1999 , 2004 and 2009.^31
Parliamentary democracy requires a framework in which political parties can
garner and galvanise the support of people around diverse political agendas.
Any association or body of individual citizens of India can apply to the Election
Commission for registration as a political party under Section 29 A of the Repre-
sentation of the People Act 1951. Depending on a certain percentage of votes
received and the number of candidates returned, political parties may be divided
into national, regional and state parties.^32 However, the designation of a political
party as a national party is not always an accurate reflection of political reality.
For example, out of six political parties currently recognised as national parties,
only the Indian National Congress (Congress) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
have significant national presence.
Although a number of national and state-level political parties have participated
in each general election since 1951 , Congress, which led the struggle for independ-
ence, has ruled the country for most of the time. The dominance of Congress was
dented at the state level only in the late 1960 s and at the national level in the mid-
1970 s. This led to an era of multiparty coalitions at both pre- and post-election
stages. The era of coalition governments also meant that political parties had to
adopt flexible ideologies and the party in power had to rely on several smaller
parties with diverse (sometimes conflicting) vested interests. To ensure political
homogeneity, coalition parties generally draw a common minimum agenda for
governance, which has often proved to be a difficult exercise.
One distinct feature of Indian political parties has been the perpetuation of heredi-
tary leadership. Congress is often cited as an example of this trend – starting with the
first prime minister, Pandit Nehru to Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Sonia Gandhi and
finally Rahul Gandhi. However, implantation and nurturing of family relatives in
politics and positions of power is quite widespread in almost all political parties.
iii. constitutional developments as a response to major
challengesUnderstanding major challenges
One thing that any outside observer will notice about India is the prevailing
poverty and vast socioeconomic inequalities. Despite recording robust yearly
(^31) See Election Commission of India, ‘Election results: full statistical reports’,http://eci.nic.
in/eci_main 1 /ElectionStatistics.aspx.
(^32) Centre for Indian Political Research and Analysis, ‘Political parties in India’,www.cipra.in/
paper/polparties.html.