NCERT Solutions For Class 12 Political Science Chapter 4 Politics of Planned development

(a)- Author calls about the capacity of earlier Congress to accommodate diverse interests successfully but fragmentation of Congress into diverse parties created a challenge that raised the question on the party system of the nation. This phase has seen the mushrooming of various parties, representing different section of society. Author believes that Indian polity need to evolve a party system that can effectively articulate and aggregate a variety of interests.

(b)- An example of the lack of accommodation and aggregation was the emergence of powerful parties and movements during nineties that represented the Dalit and backward castes (Other Backward Classes or OBC). Many of these parties represented powerful regional assertion as well. In earlier times it was the Congress party itself that was a ‘coalition’ of different interests and different social strata and groups. During nineties when major parties failed to accommodate and aggregate the demands of Dalits and OBCs, new powerful parties emerged on political scene.

(c)- Political parties help people to sort out, clarify and specify their claims into demands for law making. Political parties always play an important role in interest articulation. Political parties are main agencies of interest aggregation. These are specialised aggregation structures of modern society. The articulated interests are aggregated into a set of policy proposals or alternatives by the political parties. These are then taken to the government for approval. Political parties are the main channels of flow of aggregated demand into the political system. Due to the role played by parties it becomes necessary for a party to accommodate and aggregate variety of interests.

The elections of 1989 marked the end of what political scientists have called the ‘Congress system’. To be sure, the Congress remained an important party and ruled the country more than any other party even in this period since 1989. But it lost the kind of centrality it earlier enjoyed in the party system.

Elections in 1989 led to the defeat of the Congress party but did not result in a majority for any other party. Though the Congress was the largest party in the Lok Sabha, it did not have a clear majority and therefore, it decided to sit in the opposition.

In the elections of 2004, the Congress party entered into coalitions in a big way. The NDA was defeated and a new coalition government led by the Congress, known as the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) came to power. This government received support from the Left Front parties. The elections of 2004 also witnessed the partial revival of Congress party. It could increase its seats for the first time since 1991. However, in the 2004 elections, there was a negligible difference between the votes polled by the Congress and its allies and the BJP and its allies. Thus, the party system has now changed almost dramatically from what it was till the seventies.

All these examples prove that in spite of the decline of Congress dominance the Congress party continues to influence politics in the country.

Presently India has multi party system.  Coalition politics has shifted the political parties from ideological differences to power sharing arrangements.

A two party system presents a limited choice for the voters and nation gets divided into two sharp groups or camps. The biggest drawback of two party system is that all sections of society do not get proper representation. On the other hand multi party system is best suited for society that has social, economic and cultural diversity. Because of these diversities the people organise several different political parties. A country like India owing to its diversity naturally requires multi party system.

In a state with multi party system, the voters enjoy more opportunities for electing their representatives.

Multi party system compels the political parties to enter into alliances for contesting elections.

Alliance parties do not act arbitrarily due to compulsion of alliance partners.

From nineties till date, the political competition between parties is divided into the coalition led by BJP and the coalition led by the Congress.

In the aftermath of the Emergency, the Bharatiya Jana Sangh had merged into the Janata Party. After the fall of the Janata Party and its break-up, the supporters of erstwhile Jana Sangh formed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980. Initially, the BJP adopted a broader political platform than that of the Jana Sangh. It embraced ‘Gandhian Socialism’ as its ideology. But it did not get much success in the elections held in 1980 and 1984. After 1986, the party began to emphasise the Hindu nationalist element in its ideology. The BJP pursued the politics of ‘Hindutva’ and adopted the strategy of mobilising the Hindus.

Two developments around 1986 became central to the politics of BJP as a ‘Hindutva’ party. The first was the Shah Bano case in 1985. The second development was the order by the Faizabad court that the Babri Masjid premises be unlocked so that Hindus could offer prayers at the site. As soon as the locks of the Babri Masjid were opened, mobilisation began on both sides. The BJP made this issue its major electoral and political plank, along with many other organisations like the RSS and the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP). The BJP, in order to generate public support, took out a massive march called the Rathyatra from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in UP. Thousands of people gathered from all over the country at Ayodhya on 6 December 1992 and demolished the mosque. This news led to clashes between the Hindus and Muslims.

In 1989, both Left and BJP supported the National Front Government because they wanted to keep the Congress out of power. In 1996, the Left continued to support the non-Congress government but this time the Congress, supported it, as both the Congress and the Left wanted to keep the BJP out of power.

BJP continued to consolidate its position in the elections of 1991 and 1996. It emerged as the largest party in the 1996 election and was invited to form the government. But most other parties were opposed to its policies and therefore, the BJP government could not secure a majority in the Lok Sabha. It finally came to power by leading a coalition government from May 1998 to June 1999 and was re-elected in October 1999. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister during both these NDA governments and his government formed in 1999 completed its full term.

The elections of 2004 witnessed the partial revival of Congress party. It could increase its seats for the first time since 1991. In 2009 Congress again formed Coalition government (UPA) at centre. In 2014, BJP got thumping majority in Lok Sabha elections and formed a coalition government (NDA) at Centre.

The BJP is now being viewed as an alternative to the centrist parties that have so far had a monopoly of power. The BJP has achieved this status because of its strong organisation and distinct identity.

Except in the initial years after independence, ideology did not become a bar to forge alliances among the parties. Thus, we find that relation of any party with any other is not fixed on ideological position. Parties are always ready to make compromises due to electoral compulsions and political requirements. The coalitional arrangements change as per the requirements of situation. Some of the socialists joined hands with the BJP in 1998 and they are happy together since then. DMK and AIADMK switch sides between NDA and UPA. In UP, the BSP formed a government with the support of the BJP. SAD and National Conference became partners of NDA.

There is emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions and political alliances without ideological agreement- coalition politics has shifted the focus of political parties from ideological differences to power sharing arrangements. Thus, most parties of the NDA did not agree with the ‘Hindutva’ ideology of the BJP. Yet, they came together to form a government and remained in power for a full term. The exclusion and inclusion is more due to party competition and electoral considerations rather than ideological positions.

The period after 1989 saw the demand for implementation of Mandal commission report by the other backward castes (OBC). That was finally implemented by V. P. Singh Government.

Another major political development was the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 that led to clashes between Hindus and Muslims in many parts of country.

Another significant issue after 1989 was the Anti- Muslim riots in the Gujarat. That was provoked when a bogey of train from Ayodhya full of Karsevaks was set on fire. Large scale violence against Muslims began in many parts of Gujarat.

The period after 1989 is seen sometimes as the period of decline of Congress and rise of BJP. BJP and Congress were engaged in a tough competition in this period. The votes polled by the two parties, Congress and the BJP do not add up to more than 50%. The seats won by them too, do not add up to more than half the seats in the Lok Sabha. The political competition during the nineties is divided between the coalition led by BJP and the coalition led by the Congress.

The political processes that are unfolding around us after the 1990s show the emergence of broadly four groups of parties- parties that are in coalition with the Congress; parties that are in alliance with the BJP; Left Front parties; and other parties who are not part of any of these three. The situation suggests that political competition will be multi-cornered. By implication the situation also assumes a divergence of political ideologies.

Mandal Recommendations (1980) and Anti Reservation Stir(1990)

Assassination of Indira Gandhi- October 1984

Formation of the Janata Dal- October 1988

The demolition of Babri Masjid- 6^th December 1991

The formation of NDA government- March 1998

Godhra incident and its fallout- February-March 2002

Formation of the UPA government- May 2004