UNIT 15 POLITICAL PARTIES AND

POLICY-MAKING
Structure
15.0 Objectives
15.1 Introduction
15.2 Political Parties : Meaning and Importance
15.3 Political Parties in India
15.4 Political Parties and Policy-Making
15.5 Let Us Sum Up
15.6 Key Words
15.7 References and Further Readings
15.8 Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

15.0 OBJECTIVES
After studying this unit, you should be able to:
Describe the meaning and importance of political parties;
Discuss the nature of operation of the political parties in a representative system of
government;
Highlight the role of party system in aggregating various interests in the policy-
making process; and
Understand the implication of party structures for policy-making in a democratic
set-up.

15.1 INTRODUCTION -

A political party is a group of individuals, often having some measure of ideological

agreement, who organise to win elections, operate government, and determine public
policy. It is a body of persons united for promoting national interests on some
particular principles on which they all agree. Political parties normally d o not confine
to a limited number of issues. "A political party in the modern sense may be thought
of as a relatively durable social formation which seeks office of power in government,
exhibits a structure of organization which links leaders at the centres of goverriment
to a significant popular following in the political area and its local enclaves, and
generates in group perspectives or at least symbols of identification of loyalty."
The general discussion in this unit is upon the nature and role of India's political
parties in the context of public policy-making. The Indian political parties have been
categorised, and their linkages with the interest groups have been identified. In this
connection, two cases, one referring to policy-making at the national level and the
other at the state level, have been discussed. How both these cases highlight the nature
of connections between the ideological stances of the ruling political parties, the
interest groups and public policy-making has been analysed.

15.2 POLITICAL PARTIES : MEANING AND

IMPORTANCE
A democratic Constitution provides for a representative and responsible system of
government. Concepts of responsibility and representation are woven into the fabric
of a modern democracy. It is through this system that public demands are articulated,
synchronised and converted into public policies.
Political parties initiate a process of opinion-formation on various issues and merge
the opinions, with varying degrees of success, into some alternative policies. While the
 representative system provides for periodical choices of such policies by the voters, PuliricaI Ipartic\ and lBolic>-
such choices do not automatically lead to a coherent programme which the Making
government can pursue. In order to formulate concrete public policies a government
is obliged to compromise and reconcile the varying demands of sections of the people.
1 A political party is a group operating to secure the control of government. Obviously,
the first important point about political parties is that they are groups with some
t degree of organisation and permanency. Here, they may be contrasted with the
I temporary political organisations such as Famine Resistance Committee, which are
formed for the single purpose of concentrating on a particular temporary issue; and,
moreover, on such organisations various political parties and voluntary organisations
are represented. Political parties, on the other hand, have some degree of permanency,
and they live by the strength of their organisation. Secondly, parties have definite
aims and objectives. These are often a mixture of ultimate and immediate objectives.
Besides, a recognition of material advantage that goes with the securing of power, is a
force which motivates the party programmes. In the United States, as in many other
. countries the concern for material interests appears dominant. As Carl J. Friedrich
points out, "What is mere observation of the actual working of the government points
toward the conclusion that the ideal objectives are forced upon parties by struggle for
gaining control of the government. It is a platitude of practical policies that the outs
are invariably more emphatic in their advocacy of principles than the ins."
Thus the parties have an organisation and a programme combining ideal and material
objectives. The programme, especially in its material aspect, reflects a blend of
interests. Various interests find individual and group expression in party alignments.
Parties in fact serve as convenient agencies for the expression of individual and group
interests. The most vital interest determining party affiliation is held to be economic.
Individuals are strongly motivated in political behaviour by their economic interests.
This is, however, far removed from the Marxist assumption of economic determinism
and its concomitant dichotomy of social classes. What is stressed here is that people
tend to support and vote for the political party that holds the prospect of promoting
their desired economic objectives in public policy-making. In terms of such interests
parties can be categorised into Liberal, Conservative and Radical.
However, in policies and programmes parties actually unite sectional interests, as no
party in a modern system of representative democracy can form a government by
mobilising the support of one specific interest or section. Every party is obliged to the
electorate beyond one or two specific sectional interests. At the same time, it is
difficult for a serious party to surrender completely its ideological stance. Within the
broad ideological framework a party makes compromises to come to terms with
reality.
The most important function of a party is to collect the opinions of the variegated
"publics" from the areas of society and carry them into the machinery of government
for public policy-making. As Maclver says, "It is the agency by which public opinion
is translated into public policy."
In appraising the role of parties in public policy-making three facets have to be kept
in view. These are : 1) ideological stances, 2) organisational structures and
3) leadership. The first one, that is, ideological stances, has already been considered.
The other two facets are equally relevant. As Maurice Duverger opines, "the present-
day parties are distinguished less by their programmes or the class background of
their members than by the nature of their organisation." He draws attention to the
great variety of party organisation. The most interesting theme in Duverger's anAlysis
is the classification of party structure. He mentions four types of structure. These are
i) the caucus, ii) the branch, iii) the cell and iv) the militia. Most of the modern
political parties operating in a democratic system, are branch parties having a
centralised party structure with its basic units being distributed geographically in
space. Delegates are elected by the branches and the regions t o a central body which
represents the highest policy-making body. However, within each party there is a
caucus whose members are influentials and elites.
In this connection, the theory of party structure, as presented by R. Michels, is
relevant. According to him, the party organisations fall victim to, what he calls, the
'iron law of oligarchy'. He says that the party leaders who hold positions of authority
within the organisation or who hold positions of authority within the organised are
not controlled by the individuals holding subsidiary positions in the organisation.
 These leaders provide direction and guidance In party policies, and obviously, they
I'c~liq-IlaLinp: exercise authority in public policy-making. In this connection the concept of
Uelrre~inanl\
hegemonic party is significant. This conveys the idea of a very strong degree of
hierarchical control, and there is no real section of the leadership which commits the
hegemonic party to responsible government. So there is a manifest tendency towards
irresponsible public policy-making. Such hegemonic party formation, as experience
shows, is possible even within a formal democratic framework.

Check Your Progress 1

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.

ii) Check your answers with those given at the end of the unit.

1) Discuss the important features of political parties.

'

2) Mention the facts which should be kept in view while appraising the role of
parties in policy-making.

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15.3 POLITICAL PARTIES IN INDIA

As has been noted in an earlier unit, a myriad of interest groups exist in India. In a
pluralist society, like the United States, the parties aggregate the interests into public
policies. However, in India, since some of the principal interest groups such as caste,
are alien to the western society, and since, for many of the organised interest
associations the areas of operation are limited, the parties do not perform the
aggregative role as neatly as is done by their western counterparts.
Among all political parties in India, the Congress (I) performs most perfectly the
I aggregative function. This is mainly because the Congress, after Independence,

I
I
eventually turned into a political party with the responsibility of governance. During
the freedom movement the task of the party was to accommodate all the discrete
interests in order to mobilise the entlre country against colonialism. It was a subtle.
I coalition of interests. However, as we will eventually see, this historical character of

1 16
the Congress (Indian National Congress) got enormously diluted in the course of its
governance of post-Independence India.
 ~ i c : ~; IlI \ ~I ' < > ~ c > -
l ~ ~ ~ ~ ill:~rlicb
Formally, the Congress is a mass party with an extensive hierarchical organisation, blahin!:
the Working Committee being the apex executive body. However, almost from the
beginning of post-Independence period, the iron law of 'oligarchy' started operating.
From 1950-51 onward Nehru had complete sway over policy and politics, and set up
an intimate core group the members of which acted as his mediators in intra-party
conflicts at the state level. Later, with the rise of an extremely powerful leader, Indira .
Gandhi, especially from early 1970s, the Congress increasingly developed a hegemonic
tendency. This resulted in an almost total collapse of the local units and the rise o f a
caucus at the summit. The sanction of normal democratic, federal system was
rendered almost inoperative.
The Congress is a middle-range party whose ideological position is spelt out in tcrms
of generalities. The Janata Dal too is a middle-range party. However, the heightened
centralisation of the Congress is missing in the Janata Dal which is a strong advocate
of decentralisation. Actually, the Janata Dal is an extremely loose and disjointed
party with its erstwhile constituent units trying to project their former territories of
influence. It does not seem to have a strong organisational centre. Besides, while in
the Congress industrial and professional classes dominate, the influence of mobilised
rural-agricultural interests seems strong in the Janata Dal.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has an extensive organisational base in the States of
the Hindi Heartland, and has lately extended its influence to some non-Hindi areas
such as Karnataka. The BJP, is a cadre-based party and its organisational discipline
lies in its ideological cohesion. It believes in the unity of the country through a n
assertion of the dominant Hindu culture. The BJP is the dominant rightist party. It is
favoura,bly disposed towards a strong national government and a deregulated
e.copoq$. Its traditional social support base comprises the middle class, and the small
traders and businessmen as well as a myriad of mainly city-centred Hindu
I'fundamentalist groups. Lately, of course, a segment of the party's social group
support is drawn from the locally dominant middle castes whose aspiration to
influence national politics and policy is now being mediated through mobilised Hindu
nationalism.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is the single most powerful among the leftist
, '
parties. Other leftist parties include the Communist Party of India (CPI),
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) and Forward Bloc. All these have their
ideological roots in the Marxist brand of socialism. Naturally, therefore, these parties
insist that economic development and management should receive priority in public
policy-making. Besides, these parties are advocates of decentralisation and radical .
institutional reforms. However, these parties, taking into consideration the nature of
the rural reality, have, at times, pursued the multiclass strategies, rather than
concentrate solely on the agricultural workers and the poor peasantry.
There are several regional parties in India. These include the Telugu Desam in
Andhra Pradesh, the AIADMK and the DMK in Tamil Nadu, the Akali Dal in
Punjab and the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam. These parties made a good
impression on the political process in 1989 elections, but have since declined
considerably; with the exception of the AIADMK. These parties reflect strong
decentralising tendencies in India's party system. They concentrate on the local issues,
and have formulated demands for the federalisation of the Indian politicai system and
for the greater autonomy for state governments. In other words, the parties seek to
regionalise the public policy issues. Many of the parties represent the aspirations and
demands of the locally dominant castes such as Jat Sikhs in Punjab o r Kammas in
Andhra or Vokkaligas in Karnataka or the newly mobilised politically aspiring
Backward Communities such as Kapus in Andhra. However, the support of the castes
for the parties does not remain stable.
These parties vary in t x m s of their influence upon public policy-making . The
regional party/parties which are close to the national government, seem to exercise
,more influence. For in India's federal system, the national government has
considerable policy authority; by comparison, the state governments have little power.
ln i:;: existing configuration of political forces the AIADMK, which is in power in
Tamil Nadu, is close to policy centres in New Delhi, as the Narasimha Rao
government is dependent upon the AIADMK's support in the Lok Sabha for its
continuance in power. But the Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh and the Akali Dal in
Punjab, which are not in power at the state level, and a t the same time, are in the 17
 Public Policy-'Making:
Wajor Determinant\
national opposition, find it difficult to influence the public policy-making. Thus, the
strength of the regional parties to affect the public policies depends upon the extent of
their rapport with the party/parties in power at the national level.
India's political party system thus comprises several elements. There are few national
parties worth the name, and only two parties, the Congress and the Janata, have
exercised power at the national level, the latter, however, being in power only for two
short spells in 1977 and 1989. The Congress is more aggregative in its role
performance than the Janata, although the industrial and professional classes seem to
be more conspicuous than other interest groups in influencing the Congress party's
political decisions. The Janata Dal is more oriented towards the interests of the rural-
agricultural sections, especially of the backward castes. Hence, it has developed a
certaidrigid posture which has denied th'e party a wider manoeuverability to
accommodate and aggregate the various interests of India's complex society.
The BJP is seeking a comprehensive role in political decision-making by aggregating
the interests of the various groups. However, since, the party's ideology is turned to
strengthening the unity of the country through an assertion of the dominant Hindu
culture, the aggregative function is being performed within the boundary of the
majority community. In its attempt to mobilise Hindu nationalism the BJP is trying
to consolidate the various sections of the majority community. In particular, the party
is trying to move from the earlier segmented Brahmanical Hindu.identity to broaden
the Hindu community across castes and regions. The overall outcome is a certain rise
,
%-
of Hindutva community as a conscious interest group.
For other political parties like the CPI(M) the aggregative role is minimum. This is
mainly because the class ideology of the party, has an inbuilt bias for the toiling
masses. However, the reality of India's electoral politics does not allow the party to
pursue consistently its class ideology.
For it to acquire national status there is a need for a certain aggregative function
%however,limited, which the party perform. Nevertheless, the party like the essentially
regional parties, is seeking to mobilise the region as a perceived interest group
through constant centre-baiting and by asserting the regional claims in public
policy-making.
Thus the parties in India perform a certain aggregative function just as in the USA.
However, this function is not as neatly done by the Indian parties as by their
American counterparts, there are marked differences in the ideological stances,
organisational structures in the manner of operation of the Indian parties. Moreover,
some of the organised interest groups have their limited territorial bases. For instance,
the landless agricultural labourer and the poor peasantry are mobilised in the political
process, and so in the public policy-making, only in some states, such as Kerala and
West Bengal. They d o h o t constitute organised groups nationally. Hence, in most of
the states and at the national level, these sections are virtually outside the mainstream
political party system and thus, outside the public policy role.

15.4 POLITICAL PARTIES AND POLICY-MAKING

It is necessary to view the nature and extent of connections between parties, interest
groups and public policy-making within one framework. Let us discuss party politics
and public policies from this perspective and in the context of some sign~ficantissues
of development. One such issue relates to the role of the state in planning and
managing economic development. The Congress Party, at its annual session at Avadi
in January 1955, adopted a resolution affirming its faith in socialism. The resolution
said: "In order to realise the object of the Congress. . . and to further the objectives
stated in the Preamble and Directive Principles of State Pollcy of the Constitution of
India, planning should take place with a view to the establishment of a socialist
pattern of society, where the principal means of production are under social
ownership and central production is progressively speeded up and their is equitable
distribution of the national wealth."
In subsequent years the Congress reaffirmed the Avadi resolution, and took measures
for executing it. At its annual session at Indore in January, 1957, the Congress
18 amended its Constitution to read that the objective of the Congress was the
'"establishment" in India by peaceful and legitimate means, of a "Socialist Co- Political Parties and Policy-
operative Commonwealth." Thus the Congress gave the State pivotal role in the Making
economic planning.
In conformity with this ideological parameter of the ruling party the basic objectives
and strategies of economic development were formulated. And, these were embodied
in the Second Five Year Plan (from 1956 to 1961). The central theme of the plan was
a n assertive proposal for capital intensive, heavy industrialisation, dominated by the
public sector, which would set up the key industries and control the commanding
heights of the economy. The private sector was assigned a relatively insignificant role,
that is, "to play a complementary role in the mixed economy".
This model of economic development was not derived from indigenous wisdom as
embodied in Gcindhian blueprint of development; it was patterned largely after the
experience of Soviet Union mellowed by Fabian Socialism. Its principal objective was
t o turn India into a modern industrial power. The other aims of development such as,
agricultural growth, the augmentation of job opportunities, etc. were subordinated t o
this principal strategy as focussed in the Second Five Year Plan.
However, from early 1980s, the controversy regarding the relative roles of public and
private sectors, emerged again. An important segment within the Congress (I) adopted
.a critical stance about the performance of the public sector which increasingly became
huge loss-incurring units. There also arose a n extensive criticism against the state
regulation of private investment. This influenced the thinking of the leadership,
especially the ruling oligarchy of the Congress (I). In particular, Rajiv Gandhi
successfully "resisted demands for a reinstatement of the earlier public investment
- strategy and instead shifted the balance in the planning process in favour of private
investment while taking several modest measures to liberalise the licensing, import
control, and foreign trade regimes which have been criticised for restricting private
enterprise and for distorting and corrupting the entire development process"
Thus, there took place a shift in public policy regarding the role of State in industrial
development. This, however, evoked mixed reactions. Some opposition parties,
especially the leftists, started seeing in this new public policy the gradual
abandonment of the socialist framework, which, in the beginning, acted as a basis'for
legitimising change. While the right-wing opposition parties and sections of
professional economists and jurists welcomed the shift.
During the last few years from opposition to government control o i the national
economy has increased. The popular discontent against the appalling performance of
the public sector enterprises, has further strengthened such opposition. The severity of
the mounting economic crisis, as evidenced by unmanageable balance of payment
difficulties in the recent months, made the P.V. Narasimha Rao government opt for
extensive liberalisation measures. The enormous pressure from the World Bank and
the IMF, made this choice unavoidable for the government which looked to those
institutions for assistance t o tide over the balance of payments crisis. As the Statement
on Industrial Policy says, "The attainment of technological dynamism and
international competitiveness requires that enterprises must be enabled to swiftly
respond to fast changing external conditions that have become characteristic of
today's industrial world. Government policies and procedures must be geared t o
assisting entrepreneurs in their efforts. This can be done only if the role played by the
Government were to be charged from that of only exercising control to one of
providing help and guidance by making essential procedures fully transparent and by
eliminating delays." T o d o this, as the statement further says, "industrial licensing will
henceforth be abolished for all industries", except for those having overriding
security, social and environmental considerations. The main objective is "to unshackle
the Indian industrial economy from the cobwebs of unnecessary bureaucratic
control".
This policy of liberalisation, however, has had an effect upon the behaviour of India's
party system. A segment of the ruling party seems t o believe that this policy marks a
departure from the Nehruvian model of development and may eventually marginalise
the role public sector. The Janata Dal and the left combine are opposed to this
f
:

policy, as large-scale retrenchment in the wake of the closure of public sector

enterprises is apprehended. Moreover, the government's policy of encouraging
multinational corporations to d o business in India, and of having greater links with
the IMF and the World Bank, is likely to imperil India's economic sovereignty.
Iauhlir Iaolic?.-hlnliiltg:
Major I)rtcrminanl\ A specific case study concerning democratic decentralisa~ionin the state of
Karnataka, is taken for this purpose.
'The rekommendation of the Team for the Study of Community Projects and National
Ext'cnsioq Services headed by Balvantray Mehta, that "public participation in'

and state levels,:the basic structure of democratic decentralisation as recommended by

the Balvantray Mehta Study Team, was found acceptable to the states.
In conformity with t i e basic recommendations of the Team, the Congress government
of erstwhile Mysore framed an appropriate legislation called Mysore Village
Panchayats and Local Boards Act, 1959. Under the Act, popularly elected taluk
development boards were set up and came to constitute the principa) rural centres of

the ex-officio chairman, lacked popular base and was not assigned any important role.

unip which fought the elections on a common platform, had an ideological

commitment to change the grassroots system of governance in order to enhance the

Since the idea was endorsed by the people, the first task of the Janata government was

Karnataka ~ i l l aParishads and ~ a n d a Panchayats

l Act. This was more or less based
upon the principles formulated in the Report of the Ashoke Mehta committee which
was set up by the Janata Party, when it was in power at the centre, in late 1970s.

Check Your Progress 2

Note: i) Use the space given below for your answers.
ii) Check your answers with those givcn at the end ot the unir.

1) Mention the names of any three Regional Partie*,. Discu~sthe important

characteristics of Regiqnal Parties.
 2 ) IiighLight thc role of Congrcss'Party in policy-making over the years. Political Parlies and Polir--
Mukinl:
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15.5 LETUS SUM UP , ' -

The evolution of India's political economy seems to havecreated a situation where

several earlier axioms an.! assumptions have been rendered obsolete. The new
economic policy initiated recently by the Congress government at the centre aims at
growing deregulation. Behind this major shift in public policy in economic
'
qevelopment lie two causes 1) profound economic crisis and 2) pressures of the
international financial.institutions, such as the JMF and the World Bank for ;
liberalisation and linking the national economy to theglobal economy. t ow ever, this .
.
..
move seems to have impaired the initial interparty consensus on growth within a
socialist framework which had acted, for the first three decades of devdopment, as a
basis for legitimising change.
with the vast erosion of this consensus thipolitical party system appears to the
heading towards polarised politics. An intense resistance to the reversal oS the earlier
economic policies is arising among segments of the opposition. The Left parties and
the Janata Dal have come together to mobifise public opinion against the new policies . -
dhich, it is feared, will lead to closure of many public sector. undertakings and
surrender of economic sovereignty. At the same time, there seems to be a growing ,
convergence in views between the ruling Congress.Party and the principal opposition,
the BJP on the usefulness of the new economic policies. However, there are some
issues, such as Mandir-Masjid'at Ayodhya and public policy-making, on which the
BJP and the ruling Corigress do not agree, but on which the Leftists, the Janata Dal
and the Congress agree substantia!ly. Similarly, on the Mandal and reservation issue,
most of the parties do not agree with the Janata Dal:
Thus the party system in India reflects the forces of both fusion and fission. Bbth
these forces contribute to the public policy-making processes. The result is that the
perfect aggregation of interests is not done through the party system in the area af
. public policies. This, at times, has the effect of segmenting and polarising party
politics. .What happened in the wake'of emergency rule in 1975, the Janata Dal
government's policy of reservation id 1990, and thecongress government's policy of
liberalisation in 1991, shows in an intense form, the nature of interattions between
party system and public policy-making in India.

/ 15.6 KEY WORDS

'1 Colonialism: The rule of an areaand its people, by an external sovereignty, that
1 results from a policy of imperialism. Historically, two broad types of colonialism can
be identified: (i) that which involved the transplanting of immigrants from the mother
country to form a new political entity; and (ii) that which involved the imposition of
rule over the technologically less-developed, indigeneous peoples of Asia and Africa.
In either case, the colony was established to advance the military security, economic
advantage, and international prestige of the imperial power.
Ideology: The "way of life" of a people reflected in terms of their political system.
economic order, social goals, and moral values. It is particularly concerned with thc
form and role of government and the nature of a states economic system. Ideology is
the means by which the basic values held by a party, class, or group are articulated.
Interests Aggregation : The process by which two or more political actors combine,'
their demands to seek a common political objective. Interests aggregation within a
political system is commonly performed by political parties that seek, amid a matter
of individual interests, some common denominator of principles, policies, and
demands upon which all or most party members can agree.

15.7 REFERENCES AND FURTHER READINGS

Hartman, H. 1982. Political Parties in India, Meenakshi Prakashan : Meerut.
Hasan, zoyat(et al.), (Eds.). 1989. The State, Political Processes and Identity, Sage :
New Delhi.
Kothari, Rajni (Ed.), 1967. Elections and Party Sjstern in India, Allied : New Delhi.
Yothari, Rajni, 1989. Politics and the People, Ajanta Publications : New Delhi.

15.8 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS

EXERCISES -

Check Your Progress 1

1) Your answer should include the following points :
Political Parties initiate a process of opinion-formation on various issues and
merge the opinions, with varying degrees of success, into some alternative
policies;
It is a group operating to secure the control of government;
Political Parties have an organisation and a programme combining ideal and
material objectives; and
Parties unite sectional interests.
2) Your answer should include the following points:
Ideological stances; .
Organisational structure; and
Leadership.

Check Your Progress 2

1) Your answer should include the following points:
Regional Parties reflect strong decentralising tendencies in India's party system;
They concentrate on local issues;
They seek to regionalise the public policy issues;
These parties vary in terms of their influence upon policy-making; and
Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, and Akali Dal in
Punjab.
2) Your answer should include the following points:
The Congress is a mass party with an extensive hierarchical organisation;
The Congress party adopted a resolution affirming its faith in socialism at its
annual session a t Avadi in January 1955 and later took measures for executing
It;
The basic objectives and strategies ot the country's economic development were
formulated in conformity with the ideological parameter of the Congress party;
and
The shift in public policy regarding the role of the state in industrial
-1evelo~mentalso has the Congress party's ideological stance to support it.