How parties evolved in India and the features of its party system

Timeline: how India's party system evolved

1. 1885
   The Indian National Congress is founded. This is taken as the beginning of party formation in India. At first it was an umbrella body for all sections of society.
2. Before 1947
   Moderates such as Dadabhai Naoroji, Surendranath Banerjee and Gopal Krishna Gokhale, and extremists, 'Lal, Bal, Pal', shape the early Congress. After the First World War it leads the freedom struggle under Mahatma Gandhi. Other parties emerge: the Muslim League, the Communist Party of India and the Hindu Mahasabha.
3. 1947
   After independence, the Congress becomes a party in the electoral sense: it contests elections and forms governments.
4. 1952 to 1967★
   The Congress wins the general elections of 1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967 and rules almost all States. Other parties win few seats. This is the one-party dominant system, also called the 'Congress system'.
5. 1967
   Other parties, often in coalitions, form governments in several States. The party system begins to change.
6. 1977 to 1980
   The Janata Party wins at the Centre. It brought together the Congress (O), the Jana Sangh, the Socialists, the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Congress for Democracy. India seems to have a two-party system, but the Janata Party soon splits.
7. 1980 to 1989
   The Congress returns to power at the Centre.
8. 1989 onwards★
   No single party dominates. Coalition governments become common, and regional parties gain a big role.
9. 1998 and 2004
   Two broad alliances take shape: the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), formed in 1998 and led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), formed in 2004 and led by the Congress.

   Your NIOS lesson dates both alliances to 1999.

★ key step

Main features of India's party system

• Multi-party system: a large number of parties compete for power at the Centre and in the States.
• Bi-nodal: competition tends to gather around two poles, led by the Congress and the BJP, at both national and State levels.
• Competitive, not hegemonic: no party dominates for ever, and some parties change alliances before elections.
• Regional parties matter: they help form governments at the Centre, often seeking ministerial posts and help for their States.
• Contests between alliances: elections are often fought between coalitions, and the pattern differs from State to State.
• No permanent ruling or opposition parties: coalition politics keeps changing who rules and who opposes.
• Ideology takes a back seat: coalitions run on a Common Minimum Programme, and practical needs come first, as the lesson notes.
• Emotive issues and short-term gains: the lesson notes that parties often campaign on a single emotive issue or slogan. They look for quick electoral gains rather than lasting social coalitions.

Types of party system, and where India fits

The move to coalitions

A coalition government is formed by members of more than one party. In the States, coalitions began after the 1967 elections. At the Centre, the first came with the Janata Party government after the 1977 elections. From 1989, single parties often found it hard to win a majority alone, so they joined hands. Coalition partners agree on a Common Minimum Programme. Some parties have even supported a government from outside, without taking ministerial posts, as happened in 1999 and 2004.