Political Parties In India

India’s party system has been under flux, transformation and reconfiguration since the end of the 1980s. By the time the sun set on the twentieth century, the party system in India had developed a plurality of national and regional levels and following several experiences in fits and starts, coalition making among the parties too stabilized at the national level. The dawn of twenty first century thus witnessed a federalized party system in place, where coalition making and cohabitation amongst the parties stabilized at both national and regional levels. As a result, since 1999 India has had two completing governments completing their full term at the national level; the third, UPA II, has completed four years, and despite hiccups is likely to complete its full term till mid-2013. However, the party system in the country has turned competitive and several trajectories of alternation are being attempted by parties and leaders, making the emerging political situation fluid. The volume attempts to capture the emerging trajectories of the party system in India in the second decade of the twenty first century with seventeen essays written specially for this volume by scholars who met several times to discuss and formulate questions and critique each other’s drafts. Overall, the volume provides an incisive and comprehensive analysis of the far-reaching changes that India’s political parties and party system are undergoing. It looks into the institutional dimensions, processes and agenda, federal manifestations, transitions (including generational change) and extraneous influences brought in by globalization, Indian Diaspora and the impact of new media technology. Constituting an important contribution to the on-going debate on the Indian party system, this volume will attract the attention of students of Indian politics, political science, democracy, party systems and comparative politics.

Contributed articles.

This volume is the sixth in the series of essential readings on Indian government and politics and its focus is on political parties in India. It introduces the reader to the extensive and varied landscape of political parties in India by bringing together classic articles on national and regional organizations and the politics they represent. The book covers an exceptionally wide terrain ranging from individual parties, to the development of nationalism and communalism, and to more current issues like state funding of elections and women's representation.

The first thorough study of the co-existence of crime and democratic processes in Indian politics In India, the world's largest democracy, the symbiotic relationship between crime and politics raises complex questions. For instance, how can free and fair democratic processes exist alongside rampant criminality? Why do political parties recruit candidates with reputations for wrongdoing? Why are one-third of state and national legislators elected--and often re-elected--in spite of criminal charges pending against them? In this eye-opening study, political scientist Milan Vaishnav mines a rich array of sources, including fieldwork on political campaigns and interviews with candidates, party workers, and voters, large surveys, and an original database on politicians' backgrounds to offer the first comprehensive study of an issue that has implications for the study of democracy both within and beyond India's borders.