Revision summary
Parties aggregate social demands and convert them into governments and opposition. Coalitions let regional parties shape Union politics. Costs include dynastic control, expensive campaigns, and criminalisation of tickets. The whip under the Tenth Schedule can silence dissent inside the House. The system stays party-centred; inner democracy and finance reform remain weak.
Model answer
Introduction
- Political parties are the engines of parliamentary democracy in India: they select candidates, form governments, and organise opposition. Critical examination must weigh those functions against dynastic, money, and polarising effects.
Body
Role in the system
- Parties aggregate demands of caste, region, and class into programmes that a voter can choose, which independent candidature cannot do at scale.
- The majority party or coalition supplies the Council of Ministers and legislative discipline, without which a hung House cannot govern.
- Opposition parties scrutinise, offer an alternative, and use committees and the street as well as the floor.
Impact, including costs
- National and regional parties together federalise politics, giving States a voice at the Centre through alliances.
- High election cost, criminal tickets, and weak inner-party democracy concentrate power in a high command or a family.
- Identity polarisation and the Tenth Schedule’s whip can shrink debate to loyalty tests.
- The anti-defection law stabilises governments but can mute the legislator as a conscience vote.
Critical balance
- India remains a party-centred, not a purely candidate-centred, system; reform of finance and internal democracy is the unfinished part of that role.
Flow diagram
flowchart TD V[Voters] --> P[Political parties] P --> G[Government and opposition] P --> F[Federal alliances] P --> D[Money dynasty whip] G --> S[Parliamentary system] D --> S
Conclusion
Parties make representative government possible by organising majorities and opposition, and they federalise the Union through regional bargains. Their impact is distorted where money, dynasty, and the whip replace programme and accountability.
Quick related
Students also ask
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Describe the role played by Parliamentary Committees in the functioning of Indian Parliament.
Next question in the 2021 paper (Q7). View answer →
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Can the Indian system work without parties?
Not at Union scale. Responsible government needs organised majorities; independents cannot sustain a cabinet system alone.
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Does anti-defection strengthen democracy?
It reduces horse-trading but can weaken the legislator’s independence; the net effect is stability more than deliberation.
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