Politics of India works within the framework of the country’s Constitution. India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic in which the president of India is the head of state & first citizen of India and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. It is based on the federal structure of government, although the word is not used in the Constitution itself. India follows the dual polity system, i.e. federal in nature that consists of the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The Constitution defines the organizational powers and limitations of both central and state governments; it is well recognised, fluid (Preamble of the Constitution being rigid and to dictate further amendments to the Constitution) and considered supreme, i.e. the laws of the nation must conform to it.

There is a provision for a bicameral legislature consisting of an upper house, the Rajya Sabha (Council of States), which represents the states of the Indian federation, and a lower house, the Lok Sabha (House of the People), which represents the people of India as a whole. The Constitution provides for an independent judiciary, which is headed by the Supreme Court. The court’s mandate is to protect the Constitution, to settle disputes between the central government and the states, to settle inter-state disputes, to nullify any central or state laws that go against the Constitution and to protect the fundamental rights of citizens, issuing writs for their enforcement in cases of violation.

There are 543 members in the Lok Sabha, who are elected using plurality voting (first past the post) system from 543 Single-member districts. There are 245 members in the Rajya Sabha, out of which 233 are elected through indirect elections by single transferable vote by the members of the state legislative assemblies; 12 other members are elected/nominated by the President of India. Governments are formed through elections held every five years (unless otherwise specified), by parties that secure a majority of members in their respective lower houses (Lok Sabha in the central government and Vidhan Sabha in states). India had its first general election in 1951, which was won by the Indian National Congress, a political party that went on to dominate subsequent elections until 1977, when a non-Congress government was formed for the first time in independent India. The 1990s saw the end of single-party domination and the rise of coalition governments. The latest 17th Lok Sabha election was conducted in seven phases from 11 April 2019 to 19 May 2019 by the Election commission of India. Those elections once again brought back single-party rule in the country, with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) being able to claim a majority in the Lok Sabha.

Political parties and alliances

When compared to other democracies, India has had a large number of political parties during its history under democratic governance. It has been estimated that over 200 parties were formed after India became independent in 1947. And as per the current publication report dated 23 September 2021 from the Election Commission of the India, the total number of parties registered was 2858, with 9 national parties and 54 state parties, and 2796 unrecognized parties working in country.

Types of political parties

Every political party in India, whether a national or regional/state party, must have a symbol and must be registered with the Election Commission of India. Symbols are used in the Indian political

System to identify political parties in part so that illiterate people can vote by recognizing the party symbols.

In the current amendment to the Symbols Order, the commission has asserted the following five principles:

• A party, national or state, must have a legislative presence.
• A national party’s legislative presence must be in the Lok Sabha. A state party’s legislative presence must be in the State Assembly.
• A party can set up a candidate only from amongst its own members.
• A party that loses its recognition shall not lose its symbol immediately but shall be allowed to use that symbol for some time to try and retrieve its status. However, the grant of such facility to the party will not mean the extension of other facilities to it, as are available to recognized parties, such as free time on Doordarshan or AIR, free supply of copies of electoral rolls, etc.
• Recognition should be given to a party only on the basis of its own performance in elections and not because it is a splinter group of some other recognized party.

A political party shall be eligible to be recognized as a national party if:

• it secures at least six percent (6%) of the valid votes polled in any four or more states, at a general election to the Lok Sabha or, to the State Legislative Assembly; and .
• In addition, it wins at least four seats in the House of the People from any State or States.
• Or it wins at least two percent (2%) seats in the House of the People (i.e. 11 seats in the existing House having 543 members), and these members are elected from at least three different states.

Likewise, a political party shall be entitled to be recognized as a state party, if:

• it secures at least six percent (6%) of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election, either to the Lok Sabha or to the Legislative Assembly of the State concerned; and
• In addition, it wins at least two seats in the Legislative Assembly of the state concerned.
• Or it wins at least three percent (3%) of the total number of seats in the Legislative Assembly of the state, or at least three seats in the Assembly, whichever is more.

Alliances

National Democratic Alliance (NDA) – Centre-right to right-wing coalition led by BJP was formed in 1998 after the elections. NDA formed a government, although the government did not last long as AIADMK withdrew support from it resulting in 1999 general elections, in which NDA won and resumed power. The coalition government went on to complete the full five-years term, becoming the first non-Congress government to do so. In the 2014 General Elections, NDA once again returned to powers for the second time, with a historic mandate of 336 out of 543 Lok Sabha seats. BJP itself won 282 seats, thereby electing Narendra Modi as the head of the government. In a historic win, the NDA stormed to power for the third term in 2019 with a combined strength of 353 seats, with the BJP itself winning an absolute majority with 303 seats.

Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A.) – formed by merger of United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Left Front and other smaller alliances, centre-left to left-wing coalition led by Indian National Congress (INC); this alliance was created ahead of the 2024 Indian general election, to take down the ruling National Democratic Alliance government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the 2024 Indian general election. The alliance has been formed ahead of the ahead of the 2024 Indian general election with 26 opposition party, with the INC being the principal opposition party, but without the official status of the Leader of the Opposition since they failed to win the minimum required seats.

Corruption

India has seen political corruption for decades. Democratic institutions soon became federally owned, dissent was eliminated and a majority of citizens paid the price. India has consistently scored poorly on the Corruption Perceptions Index, with more than 39% of people paying bribes for public services. The political corruption in India is weakening its democracy and has led to the erosion of trust by the general public in the political system, as 89% of people in India recognize the widespread problem.

Political issues

Law and order

Terrorism, Naxalism, religious violence and caste-related violence are important issues that affect the political environment of the Indian nation. Stringent anti-terror legislation such as TADA, POTA and MCOCA have received much political attention, both in favour and against, and some of these laws were disbanded eventually due to human rights violations. However, UAPA was amended in 2019 to negative effect vis-á-vis human rights.

Terrorism has affected politics in India since its conception, be it the terrorism supported from Pakistan or the internal guerrilla groups such as Naxalites. In 1991 the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated during an election campaign.[19] The suicide bomber was later linked to the Sri Lankan terrorist group Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, as it was later revealed the killing was an act of vengeance for Rajiv Gandhi sending troops in Sri Lanka against them in 1987.

The Godhra train killings and the Babri Masjid demolition on 6 December 1992 resulted in nationwide communal riots in two months, with the worst occurring in Mumbai with at least 900 dead. The riots were followed by 1993 Bombay bombings, which resulted in more deaths.

Law and order issues, such as action against organised crime are issues which do not affect the outcomes of elections. On the other hand, there is a criminal–politician nexus. Many elected legislators have criminal cases against them. In July 2008, The Washington Post reported that nearly a fourth of the 540 Indian Parliament members faced criminal charges, “including human trafficking, child prostitution, immigration rackets, embezzlement, rape and even murder”.

State of democracy

From 2006 to 2022 the situation of Indian democracy worsened. Indians lost state identity caused by the naxalite rebellion, little state presence in tribal areas and tensions between Hindus and minorities. The rebellions are a sign of the governments’ loss of power. Interreligious riots where observed. Political freedoms are limited since funding of NGOs, such as amnesty international, got more difficult due to the “Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act”, though the constitution guarantees freedom of association. Hindu-nationalist groups created a climate of intimidation over the country. Freedom of press is through the intimidation of journalists by police, criminals and politicians.

In 2023, according to the Freedom in the World report by Freedom House, India was classified as a “partly free” country for the third consecutive year. The V-Dem Democracy Indices by V-Dem Institute classify India as an ‘electoral autocracy’. In 2023, it referred to India as “one of the worst autocratisers in the last 10 years”. According to the Democracy Index of the Economist Intelligence Unit, India is a Defective democracy.