indian polity book series 38

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Political Parties

The year in which massacres of Dalits took place in Karamchedu was 1985.

2. State BC Commission:

• State BC Commission is a non-constitutional body. It is statutory.
• It was formed in 1994 under the Andhra Pradesh BC Commission Act (1993).
• Note: Telangana State BC Commission was established in October 2016 through a Governor Ordinance.
• Both state commissions consist of a Chairman and four members (1+4).
• The chairman should have the qualifications of a High Court judge.
• One of the members should be a social scientist.
• The remaining members should have an understanding of the conditions of BCs.
• The Chairman and members are appointed by the State Government.
• Their term of office is 3 years.

Functions:

1. Recommends to the state government for inclusion or removal of castes in the BC list.
2. Studies the conditions of BC castes and submits a report to the State Government.

Chairpersons of Andhra Pradesh State BC Commission:

S.No.	Name	Period
1.	K. Puttaswamy	1994 - 2000
2.	Dalwai Subramanyam	2004 - 2011
Current	Chairman of Andhra Pradesh BC Commission - Justice Shankar Narayana
Current	First and Current Chairman of Telangana State BC Commission - B.S. Ramulu (October 22, 2016)

3. State Human Rights Commission:

• The Human Rights Commission in संयुक्त Andhra Pradesh was established on August 11, 2005.
• It is a non-constitutional body.

Structure:

• Initially, there were five members.
• But in 2006, through an amendment to this Act, there is currently one Chairman and two members (1+2).
• The chairperson should be a former Chief Justice of the High Court.
• One member should be a current or former judge of the High Court.
• Another person should be a person with knowledge in the field of human rights.
• They are appointed by the Governor on the recommendation of a high-powered committee headed by the Chief Minister.

High Power Committee Members:

The high power committee includes the Chief Minister, State Home Minister, Assembly Speaker, Legislative Council Chairman, Leaders of Opposition in both Houses, and the leader of the House to which the Chief Minister is not a member.

• The term of office of the Chairman and members of the State Human Rights Commission is 5 years or up to 70 years of age.

Chairpersons of Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission:

S.No.	Name	Period
1.	B. Subhashan Reddy	2005-2010
2.	Nisar Ahmed Kakru	2011-2016
Current	The post of Chairman of Andhra Pradesh State Human Rights Commission is currently vacant.
Current	Telangana State Government announced the Telangana State Human Rights Commission for the first time on December 24, 2019. Its first and current chairman is Justice Gunda Chandraiah.

4. State Women's Commission:

• The State Women's Commission was formed under the संयुक्त Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission Act - 1998.
• It consists of a Chairperson and five members.
• The term of office of the Chairperson and members is 5 years.
• They are appointed by the State Government.

Functions:

1. Helps in protecting women's rights at the state level.
2. Works for women's welfare and their development.
3. Visits women prisoners' jails and issues orders on the conditions there.
4. Submits an annual report on women's welfare to the State Government.

Chairpersons of State Women's Commission:

S.No.	Name	Period
1.	Cheruku Sushila Devi	1999-2004
2.	Mary Ravindranath	2005-2007
3.	Tripurana Venkataratnam	2013-2015
4.	Nannapaneni Rajakumari	2016-2019
5.	Vasireddy Padma	2019 - Present
Current	Current Chairperson of Andhra Pradesh Women's Commission - Vasireddy Padma
Current	Current Chairperson of Telangana State Women's Commission - Vakati Sunitha Lakshmareddy

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15. Political Parties

Political parties are essential for a democratic government to function effectively. That is why political parties are considered synonymous with democracy.

Naturally, political parties are non-constitutional bodies.

Political parties are not mentioned in the Constitution.

In 1985, through the 52nd Constitutional Amendment, the word political parties was used in the Anti-Defection Law added in the 10th Schedule.

There is no mention in the Constitution about the organization of political parties and their types. However, political parties can be formed according to Article 19(1)(C).

A political party can be defined as a community of people united by some common principles with the aim of promoting national interests.

In the 17th century, two parties, Whigs and Tories, emerged in England. These were recognized as the first parties in the world. The Whig Party emphasized liberalism, while the Tory Party emphasized conservatism.

Over time, the Whig Party became the Liberal Party, and the Tory Party became the Conservative Party.

In America, two parties, Republican and Democratic, have developed.

Note: * Democratic Party symbol is Donkey.

* Republican Party symbol is Elephant.

According to the Representation of the People Act 1951, political parties must register with the Central Election Commission.

The Central Election Commission recognizes political parties.

Multiple political party system is in practice in India.

Classification of Political Parties:

The Election Commission has classified political parties into three types.

1. National Parties
2. Regional Parties
3. Registered and Un-Recognized Political Parties

1. National Parties:

A party must have the following qualifications to be recognized as a national party.

• In the general elections held for the Lok Sabha or State Assembly, a political party must secure 6% of the valid votes polled in four or more states. And must win 4 Lok Sabha seats in any state (or)
• In the Lok Sabha general elections, it must win 2% of the total Lok Sabha seats in 3 or more states (or)
• Must be recognized as a state party in four states.

Currently, the number of national parties in our country is 8. They are:

1. Indian National Congress - INC (1885).
2. Bharatiya Janata Party - BJP (1980)
3. Nationalist Congress Party - NCP (1999)
4. Bahujan Samaj Party - BSP (1984)
5. Communist Party of India - CPI (1925)
6. Communist Party of India - Marxist - CPI-M (1964)
7. All India Trinamool Congress - AITMC (1997)
8. National People's Party - NPP (2013)

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2. Regional Parties:

A regional party is also called a State Party.

A political party must meet at least one of the following conditions to be recognized as a regional party.

1. In the last general election to the State Legislative Assembly, the candidates contested from that party must secure at least 6% of the total valid votes polled in the entire state. Along with this, at least 2 candidates must be elected as members of the State Legislative Assembly. (or)
2. In the last general election to the Lok Sabha, the candidates fielded from that party must secure at least 6% of the total valid votes polled in the entire state. Along with this, at least one candidate must be elected as a member of Lok Sabha. (or)
3. In the last Legislative Assembly elections, it must have won at least 3% of the total seats in the State Legislative Assembly. Or must have won at least 3 seats. (Whichever is higher is taken into account) or
4. In the last Lok Sabha elections, at least one candidate per 25 Lok Sabha seats allotted to that state or in that fraction must be elected to the Lok Sabha. (or)
5. In the last election held for Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, the candidates contested from that party must secure at least 8% of the total valid votes polled in the entire state.

Examples of Regional Parties: Telugu Desam Party, DMK, Anna DMK, YSR Congress, National Conference etc.

3. Parties Founded in India Before Independence

S.No.	Party Name	Establishment	Founder
1.	Congress Party	1885	A.O. Hume
2.	Muslim League	1906	M.A. Jinnah, Aga Khan
3.	Gadar Party	1913	Lala Har Dayal, Sohan Singh Bhakna
4.	Hindu Mahasabha	1915	V.D. Savarkar, Madan Mohan Malaviya
5.	Shiromani Akali Dal	1920	Master Tara Singh
6.	Swarajya Party	1922	Chittaranjan Das, Motilal Nehru
7.	Communist Party of India	1925	M.N. Roy, S.A. Dange
8.	National Conference	1932	Sheikh Abdullah
9.	Congress Socialist Party	1934	Jayaprakash Narayan
10.	Independent Labour Party	1936	B.R. Ambedkar

Comprehensive Information of National Parties in India

1. Congress Party:

• The first political party in our country is the Indian National Congress.
• Founded on December 28, 1885 by A.O. Hume, a retired British civil servant.
• The first president of this party was Womesh Chandra Banerjee.
• Emerged as a political party in the 1952 elections and has been in power at the Center continuously until 1977 since then.
• When India became independent, the Congress President was J.B. Kripalani.
• The Congress Working Committee is called the Congress Party High Command.
• For the first time, the Congress Party split in 1969 into New Congress (Congress-R) and Old Congress (Congress-O).

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• Indira Gandhi led Congress 'R' and Nijalingappa, Morarji Desai led Congress 'O'. Later, the Election Commission recognized Congress 'R' led by Indira Gandhi as the official Congress Party. Later, the Organization Congress merged into the Janata Party.
• The Congress split for the second time in 1978.
• In 1978, Kasu Brahmananda Reddy, who was the president of the Congress Party, criticized Indira Gandhi's leadership and expelled her from the party. While she started Congress 'I', the Election Commission recognized the remaining party led by Brahmananda Reddy as the Indian National Congress (Reddy).
• In 1980, the Reddy Congress faction merged back into the Congress Party.
• The election symbol of the Congress Party is Hand. The current president is Sonia Gandhi.

Match the following correctly

Party	Symbol
A) Bahujan Samaj Party	1) Clock
B) Nationalist Congress Party	2) Arrow
C) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	3) Elephant
D) Janata Dal (United)	4) Rising Sun

(4) (APSI - 2018)

Choose the correct option:

1. 1) A-2, B-4, C-1, D-3
2. 2) A-2, B-3, C-1, D-2
3. 3) A-2, B-1, C-3, D-4
4. 4) A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2

2. Bharatiya Janata Party:

• Bharatiya Janata Party was founded on April 6, 1980.
• In 1951, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L.K. Advani were prominent leaders in this.
• In 1975, when Indira Gandhi imposed a national emergency, all the non-Congress parties came together and formed the Janata Party in 1977. Jana Sangh merged into it.
• Vajpayee and Advani served as ministers in the Janata government formed under the leadership of Morarji Desai.
• When the Janata Party disintegrated in 1979, Jana Sangh leaders came out and founded the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980.
• Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is an affiliated organization of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• B.J.P. Current President (January 20, 2020) - Jagat Prakash Nadda
• B.J.P. election symbol is Lotus.
• The official magazine of Bharatiya Janata Party is Kamal Sandesh.

3. Communist Party of India (CPI) - 1925:

• M.N. Roy in India, along with S.A. Dange, Muzaffar Ahmed, founded the CPI on December 26, 1925.
• CPI official magazine is New Age.
• The symbol of the Communist Party of India is Hammer and Sickle.
• CPI Current General Secretary - D. Raja

4. Communist Party of India (Marxist)

• As a result of the conflict between Soviet Russia and China in the Communist movement, the Communist Party of India split and Communist Party of India (M) was formed in 1964.
• Jyoti Basu is the founder of CPI(M) party.
• CPI (M) Current General Secretary is Sitaram Yechury.
• CPI (M) election symbol is Hammer, Sickle and Star.
• CPI (M) official magazines are People's Democracy, Prajasakti.

5. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP):

• BSP was founded in 1984 by Kanshi Ram.
• The election symbol of the party is Elephant.
• Party founded with the main objective of welfare of SC, ST, OBCs.
• Mayawati served as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for 4 times on behalf of BSP.
• Currently holds national party status.

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6. Nationalist Congress Party:

• NCP was founded in 1999 by Sharad Pawar, P.A. Sangma and Tariq Anwar after coming out of the Congress Party.
• The election symbol of this party is Clock.
• Currently holds national party status.

7. Trinamool Congress:

• All India Trinamool Congress Party is currently in power in the state of West Bengal.
• This party was founded in 1998 by Mamata Banerjee who came out of the Congress Party.
• Party election symbol is Grass flowers. Currently holds national party status.

8. National People's Party (NPP):

• The Central Election Commission announced national status for it on June 7, 2019.
• It was founded by P.A. Sangma on January 6, 2013.
• Its symbol is - Book.
• It is the ruling party in Meghalaya. It has won some seats in the legislative assemblies of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya states.
• Won one seat in Lok Sabha (Agatha Sangma).
• Its current president - Conrad Sangma
• NPP is the first party from the North-Eastern states to get national party status.

Regional Parties:

1. Telugu Desam Party:

• Year of establishment March 29, 1982.
• Founder President Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao.
• Current President Nara Chandrababu Naidu.
• Created a record by coming to power within 9 months of starting the party.
• Party that gave prominence to the slogan of Telugu self-respect.
• N.T. Rama Rao created a record as the first non-Congress Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.
• The election symbol of this party is Cycle.

2. Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)

• Telangana Rashtra Samithi Party was founded by Kalvakuntla Chandrasekhar Rao on April 27, 2001 at Konda Laxman Bapuji's residence Jaladrisyamin Hyderabad with the sole aim of achieving Telangana state.
• The intellectual supporters of this party - Prof. K. Jayashankar
• The election symbol of this party - Car, party flag - pink
• Flag depicts the geographical shape of Telangana region
• This party's magazine - Namaste Telangana, this party's cultural organization - Jagruthi.
• This party's strategy - Agitation strategy from 2001-2009, protest program strategy from 2009-14.
• K. Chandrasekhar Rao achieved the announcement of Telangana state by going on an indefinite hunger strike for 11 days from November 29 to December 9, 2009.
• As protests erupted from the Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions, the Center stepped back from the Telangana state formation process. Many movements were conducted by TRS party from 2009.
• Played a key role in the formation of Telangana state in 2014 and came to power by winning in the 2014 general elections.
• TRS won for the second time in 2018 as well and KCR ascended the Chief Minister's seat for the second time in a row.