Political Parties Test - 18

The Samajwadi Party has not been a national political party. Its base is in the state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party. This party was formed by Mulayam Singh Yadav and is now led by Akhilesh Yadav. 

Large scale societies need representative democracy.  As societies became large and complex, they also needed some agency to gather different views on various issues and to present these to the government. They needed some way to bring various representatives together so that a responsible government could be formed. They needed a mechanism to support or restrain the government, make policies, justify or oppose them. Political parties fulfill these needs that every representative government has.

The Bahujan Samaj Party was formed in 1984 under the leadership of Kanshi Ram. It seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan Samaj which includes the Dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities. It draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj, Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar. It has its base in Uttar Pradesh and an elephant is its symbol.

Formed in 1999 following a split in the Congress party under the leadership of Sharad Pawar. Supports democracy, Gandhian secularism, equality, social justice and federalism. Wants that high offices in government be confined to natural born citizens of the country. A major party in Maharashtra and has a significant presence in Meghalaya, Manipur and Assam. Since 2004, it is a member of the United Progressive Alliance. 

Political parties can be classified as state and national parties. A party that secures at least 6 percent of the total votes in an election to the Legislative Assembly of a State and wins at least two seats is recognised as a State party. Example Telugu Desam Party, Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress Party, etc.

 Founded in 1980 by reviving the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Cultural nationalism (or ‘Hindutva’) is an important element in its conception of Indian nationhood and politics. Wants full territorial and political integration of Jammu and Kashmir with India.

Changing allegiance from the party in which a person gets elected to a different party is called defection. The 10th Schedule to the Indian Constitution, that is popularly referred to as the 'Anti-Defection Law' was inserted by the 1985 Amendment to the Constitution. It lays down certain conditions under which a member can be disqualified under the anti-defection law.

Save Democracy was the slogan given by Bharatiya Janata Party in the Lok Sabha elections held in 1971. The party had promised to undo the excesses committed during Emergency and restore civil liberties. 

Political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes  for the society.