https://facebook/groups/1439097312978040/ In the 2009 Lok Sabha elections,363 political parties(seven national parties, 34 state parties,and 242 registered and unrecognised parties)contested,along with 3,831 independent candidates.Thirty-eight political parties(and nine independents) are currently represented in Lok Sabha.Twelve parties have only one member,seven are represented by two members,another 10 have between three to 10 members in Lok Sabha.Only the Congress and the BJP have more than 5 per cent of the seats(27 seats)in the House.With the emergence of new players Jaganmohan Reddys YSR Congress,B.S.Yeddyurappas Karnataka Janata Paksha ,Keshubhai Patels Gujarat Parivartan Party,P.A.Sangmas National Peoples Party,Arvind Kejriwals Aam Aadmi Party—there could be many more parties trying their luck in the 2014 general elections.At last count,there were more than 1,400 political parties registered with the Election Commission of India The increase in the number of parties associated with the making and unmaking of state leadership changes the incentives of politicians.As the winning differential (the difference in the vote share between the winning party and the runner up) at the constituency level declined,it provided greater incentive to a politician to form a political party and contest elections.Figure 2 shows that as the margin of victory declines, the number of parties that compete increases.Since elections are won by narrow margins in terms of vote share,even a small share of votes can provide a handful of seats.In an era of coalition politics,a few seats provide large returns to individual politicians in terms of their ability to extract resources from the government in power Will a two-party system work best for India? It will put an end to coalition politics.The declared agenda of the contesting parties won’t change as a result of any coalition formed after the election The elected government will be able to function without any undue pressure.It will be able to take crucial decisions without having to succumb to the demands of coalition partners. For example,India could have signed the Civilian Nuclear Deal with the US far earlier had it not been for coalition politics It is far easier to choose between two candidates,rather than studying the policies of different parties before making a choice Both parties in a two-party system tend to be moderate in their views on all issues.This automatically rules out any radical ideas being implemented by the government For all practical purposes,there are only two real major players on the political scene anyway.The smaller parties do play significant roles,but can never hope to form the government on their own Leaders of the UPA could seriously consider making the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) a national party.The coalition already has a Common Minimum Program.It can be broadened into a party manifesto.The BJP-led NDA (National Democratic Alliance) can follow suit, resulting in a two-party system at the national level
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 21:24:17 +0000