Should Indian democracy now pave a way to bi-party system?

Should Indian democracy now pave a way to bi-party system?


Since independence, India has proudly been following the democratic form of government which is believed to be possible only if multiple parties have the authority to contest in election. No doubt, the constitution of India laid down these policies to provide equal opportunity to individuals and parties to render their contribution to the development of the nation. The question now is has India really benefitted from the multi-party system that is being followed over the years?

There are indeed some advantages of a multi-party system like ensuring democracy to the people of all regions and religions, allowing flow of ideas and concepts, and equal opportunity to prove the worth of a party. But the disadvantages of a multi-party system are comparably too many and unquestionably shadow the integrity of the prevailing system.

The kind of complexity and disputes that arise due to multiple parties competing for power totally hinders the democracy part of the system. Democracy was created to ensure peace and equality amongst people and not to divide people on the basis of region and religion. Political parties brainwash the commoners who have little means for good living with promises that leave them with no other option but to believe them.

India has people of various religion speaking different languages and this becomes the weapon of the political parties when they are contesting from a state. It doesn’t take much to move a mob against their rival group with a promise of support and development to them. People blindly believe what is being said to them and what more could we expect given that the majority of the population in India are poor and illiterate.

Bi-party system as in US and other countries would ensure a more stable government and lesser political gimmicks as there shall be only one competitor in the field. And of course, lesser government treasure shall be spent in election campaigns. The country needs politically aware people and not hundreds of politicians contesting from different states and regions. The country needs two parties with mixed set of people representing various regions who can concentrate on the development of the nation rather than planning strategies to gain sympathy from their respective region by moving them against the other region or religion.

Bi-party system would make the ruling party more responsible towards their duties and actions as any sort of apathy could leave to a protest from the other party that could take advantage of the situation. There shall be much lesser confusion within the system and for people too while casting their votes as there shall be fewer options. Most importantly, in a bi-party system, the ideologies of the parties shall be concentrated towards the development of the entire nation rather than for the individual demands of a set of people.

In a bi-party system, the two political parties contesting in an election shall not have to resort to methods of political gimmicks to prove their worth. It is either you are worthy or you are not. There shall be no in between clause for confusion. The smaller parties in a multi-party system often fail to secure a position of their own and hence offer support to the major parties of which the nation always remains dubious. The best example of such an imbroglio is the current situation when AAP is doubted to be a surreptitious part of the Congress.

Another advantage of bi-party system is swiftness in making laws and policies or for passing a bill. These are delayed in a multi-party system since there is much antagonism that sometimes make no sense but are still a reason for a haul. It is high time when India must pave a way to bi-party system if changes are to happen in present conditions.
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    Discussion

  • RE: Should Indian democracy now pave a way to bi-party system? -K.Govindan (09/07/14)
  • Indian democracy should have more more political parties than at present as the aspirations of many regions, races, languages, religious beliefs etc. are not reflected in the views of existig parties. States like Madhya Pradesh, Rajastthan, Gujarat, Karnataka need regional parties to reflect the aspirations of the people of the states.East, North and Central Indian tribal populations need representations, languages of tribals need to be promoted, local religious beliefs of several sections are not voiced. No party in India should have majority in the .Parliament as it would be tempted to become dictatorial.
  • RE: Should Indian democracy now pave a way to bi-party system? -Deepa Kaushik (05/06/14)
  • Bi-party system could be the better resolution to the political system prevailing in India today. With the emergence of new parties and individual candidates every now and then, the final resultant is the formation of hung parliament.

    Increasing the candidature for the elections only divides the votes. All these candidates finally get summed up beneath two big parties providing their affiliation and support to that party. When the parliament gets the common head of governance and opposition as the end result, then why can’t this be initiated at the preliminary stage of contesting the election.

    The major set-back of having small parties is that they can neither form the government individually, nor can they initiate their work as per their principles they claimed on their manifesto, without the intervention of the others. As they provide and receive support from other party, they get bound to walk on the mutual grounds pleasing each other for power.

    At the end of the day, it is the common man who gets the shock of unaccomplished targets and missions. On the other hand, if we get to see two parties in the initial phase, people can understand that the manifesto need to be completed by the ruling party as per their promise and can raise the voice with a check, where the government can’t find any escapism of the affiliation. Hence, it would be really fair and wise to initiate a bi-party system in Indian democracy.