Features of Political Parties in India

A national party competing in a Kerala assembly election and a state-specific party competing only in Tamil Nadu can both win seats in the same Lok Sabha, and both can end up part of the same ruling coalition in Delhi. Understanding how Indian political parties actually work means understanding features you will not find described this way in any Western textbook.

In two minutes

Political parties in India are characterised by an unusually large number of parties, a mix of national and regional/State-level parties, frequent personality-centred leadership, organisation often along caste, religious, linguistic or regional lines, and a recurring pattern of splits, mergers and coalition-building.

The rest of this chapter

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