ERA OF ONE PARTY DOMINANCE Ch-1 Class 12th Political Science (CBSE Board)

ERA OF ONE PARTY DOMINANCE Ch-1
Class 12th Political Science (CBSE Board)

Challenge of Building Democracy

1. After independence, our leaders became conscious of critical role of politics in a democracy as they wanted to run politics as a method to sort out problems as well as to decide and pursue the public interest.
2. Indian constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and signed on 24 January 1950. It came into effect on 26 January 1950.
3. The Election Commission of India was set-up in January 1950.
4. Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election Commissioner.
5. This commission required the drawing of the boundaries of electoral constituencies, electoral roll consisting eligible voters( 17 crores eligible voters) to hold free and fair elections.
6. India’s vast size and has population around 1.33 billion.
   
7. It was not easy to hold a free and fair Elections in India.
8. There were some of challenges to hold general elections in 1952.
9. To prepare the list of all the citizens eligible to vote.
10. There were 17 crore eligible voters were literate.
11. The election commission trained over 3 lakh officers and polling staff  to conduct the elections.
12. India adopted the concept of universal Adult franchise & many people criticised it.
13. An Indian editor called it “The biggest gamble in history.
14. Organizer, a magazine, wrote that J.L. Nehru “would live to confess the failure of universal  franchise in India.”
15. The First election held from October 1951 to February 1952.
16. It took 6 months for  the campaigning polling and counting to be completed.
17. Despite this the first general election of India were a success and  became a landmark due to its competitiveness, encouraging participation, fair results and proved its critics wrong .

Changing Methods of Voting

1. In the First general election, a box was placed inside each polling booth for each candidate with the election symbol of the candidate. Each Voter was given a blank ballot paper to drop into the box, they wanted to vote for.
2. The name had to be displayed in Urdu, Hindi and Punjabi.
3. After 2 elections it was changed to Ballot Paper carrying the name and symbol of the candidate and the voter had to put a stamp on the name of the candidate they wanted to vote for.
4. By 2004 the entire country had shifted to the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM). Press the button according to choice of voter.

First Three General Elections

1. The Congress dominated in the First three general elections. It had many popularfaces like Jawaharlal Nehru, C Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel etc.
2. Moreover Jawaharlal Nehru was charismatic and a very popular leader.
3. Congress worked at upper level as well as at grass root level. Congress was popularized due to the participation in Civil Disobedience Movement.
4. First General Elections: ( First past the post system adopted) FPTP .
5. In the 1952 election, Congress party scored a big victory, it won 364 seats out of the 489 seats.
6. 
7. The Communist Party of India won only16 seats.
8. It won a majority in all the states except Travancore-Cochin i.e. Kerala, Madras and Orissa, but finally formed the govt. there too.
9. Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru become the Prime minister after the first general election.
10. In the second and third general elections in 1957 and 1962 Congress won 3/4th of the seats. None of the opposition parties could even win one – tenth of the seats.
11. Congress dominated in India due to identification with freedom struggle, popular appeal of charismatic leaders, a broad manifesto including every section of society and consensus building role of party.

COMMUNIST VICTORY IN KERALA

1. In Kerala, in 1957 the Communist Party came to power in the world for the First time through democratic elections.
2. This was the First state where Non-Congress Government was formed after independence,It won 60/126 seats. 
3. E.M.S Namboodripad – He was become the Chief Minister.
4. Ideology – Radical and Progressive Policy measures.
5. In 1959 the Congress government at the centre dismissed the communist government in kerala under article 356 of the Constitution.
6. This decision proved very controversial and the misuse of constitutional emergency powers.

Nature of Congress Dominance

1. India is not the only country to have experienced the dominance of one party.
2. In countries like China, Cuba and Syria are permitted to be ruled by one party by the constitutional provisions.
3. Myanmar, Belarus, Egypt also experience one party system due to legal and military measures.
4. The dominance of Congress party was in democratic condition.
5. The roots of extraordinary success of the Congress party go back to the legacy of the freedom struggle.
   
   
   
6. Many parties contested elections in conditions of free and fair elections and yet managed to win election after election.
7. Many leaders on the forefront of independence struggle contested as Congress Candidates.
8. By the time of independence, the Congress was transformed into a rainbow-like social coalition broadly representing India’s diversity in terms of classes and castes, religions and languages and various interests.
9. This coalition-like character of Congress gave it an unusual strength.
10. Congress was an ideological coalition, it accommodates the revolutionary and Pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the center.
    

Congress as Social and Ideological Coalition

1. Congress evolved from its origins in 28 December 1885 by A.O. Hume as a pressure group for the newly educated, professional and commercial classes. 
2. Later it transformed into a mass political party.
3. The Congress began as a party dominated by the English speaking, upper caste, upper middle-class and urban elite.
   

Coalition like character of Congress gave it an unusual strength:

• Firstly – A coalition accommodates all who join.
• Has to avoid any extreme position and accommodates all those who join it.
• Compromise and inclusiveness are the hallmarks of a coalitio
  1. It brought together diverse groups like Peasants and industrialists, urban dwellers and lower castes, all found space in the Congress.
  2. Congress accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre.

  Tolerance and Management of Factions

  n.
• Secondly- In a coalition, there is a greater tolerance of internal differences and ambitions of various groups are accommodated.
• Since Congress followed the above ideology , even when a group was not happy with the position and power of Congress, it would remain inside the party and fight the other groups rather than leaving and becoming an opposition.
  
• Groups within party with diverse ideologies are called factions.
• Some of these factions were based on ideological considerations but very often these factions were rooted in personal ambitions and rivalries.
• The coalition nature of the Congress party tolerated and in fact encouraged various factions as leaders of different interest and ideologies remained within rather than go out and form a new party.
• System of factions functioned as balancing mechanism within the ruling party as the political competition took place within the Congress.
• Due to this ideology Congress acted both as the ruling party as well as opposition. This was known as CONGRESS SYSTEM.

Emergence of Opposition Parties

1. Some of the diverse opposition parties had come into existence before the first general election in 1952 as Non-Congress parties.
2. They also got the chance to representation in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies.
3. These parties maintained a democratic character of system.
4. These offered a criticism based on principles to keep ruling party under check.
5. These parties prepared the leaders also to play an important role in shaping the country.
6. In the early years, there were a lot of  respect between leaders of Congress and opposition parties that is interim government included even opposition leaders like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Jayaparkash Narayan, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee into the cabinet.

Socialist Party

1. It formed in 1948 by the Acharya Narendra Dev.
2. This party believed in the ideology of democratic Socialism.
3. They criticised the Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords and for ignoring the workers and the peasants.
4. The Socialist Party got Split in many Socialist parties.
5. These includes the “kisan mazdoor Praja party”, The Praja Socialist Party and Samyukta Socialist Party. 
6. Prominent Leaders: Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Acharya Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia and S.M. Joshi

The Communist Party of India (CPI)

1. In the early 1920s communist groups emerged in different parts of India.
2. From 1935, the Communists worked mainly with the INC (Indian National Congress) and separated in 1941.
3. This party Believed in Communism.
4. Communist party was primarily secular, modern & also authoritarian.
5. It separated from congress in December 1941 & decided to support the British in their war against Nazi Germany.
6. In 1951 Communist Party abandoned the path of violent revolution and decided to participate in general elections.
7. In the first general election, CPI won 16 seats and emerged as the largest opposition party.
8. Andhra Pradesh, west Bengal, Bihar and Kerala supported the party.
9. PROMINENT LEADERS: AK Gopalan, SA Dange, E.M.S., Namboodripad, PC Joshi, Ajay Ghosh and P Sundarraya .
10. In 1964 Split up due to ideological rift between Soviet Union and China and became CPI and CPI (M) respectively.

Bhartiya Jana Sangh 

1. The Bhartiya Jana Sangh was formed in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as its founder President.
2. It traced back to RSS and Hindu Mahasabha before independence.
3. It emphasized the idea of one country, one culture and one nation and believed that the country could become modem, progressive and strong on the basis of Indian culture and traditions.
4. The party Called for a reunion of India and Pakistan In Akhand Bharat.
5. The party was in the forefront to replace English with Hindi as the official language.
6. The Bhartiya janta party traced its roots to the Bhartiya Jana Sangh.
7. PROMINENT LEADERS: SHYAMA PRASAD MUKHERJEE, DEEN DAYAL UPADHYAYA AND BALRAJ MADHOK.

Swatantra Party

1. Swatantra party was formed in August in 1959 .
2. It emphasized on the free economy and less involvement in the government in controlling the economy.
3. It believed that prosperity could come only through individual freedom.
4. It criticised the policy of NAM & favoured to have closer relation with USA.
5. The party was against land ceiling in agriculture and opposed cooperative farming and state trading.
6. The party was led by old Congress men like C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Munshi and N.G. Ranga.
   
7. Opposed to progressive tax regime and demanded dismantling of the licensing regime
8. It was critical of the policy of non- alignment and maintaining friendly relations with the Soviet- Union and advocated closer ties with USA.
9. Gained strength in the country by way of merger with numerous regional parties and interests.
10. Attracted landlords and princes who wanted to protect their land and status that was being threatened by the land reform legislation.
11. PROMINENT LEADERS:The party was led by old Congressmen like C.Rajagopalachari, KM Munshi, NG Ranga and Minoo Masani.

IMPORTANT TERM

1. Electronic Voting Machine (EVM): It is a voting machine to record voters’ performances on electric device, used through election processes.
2. First Past the Post System: This is the simple majority system in which the candidate gets the maximum amount of votes is declared as elected. 
3. Ideological Oriented Party: It is the party in which policies and decisions are formulated under ideological considerations.
4. Interest--Oriented Party: This party protects particular interests and promotes the same also i.e. caste, community, region, tribes etc.
5. Charismatic Leader Oriented Party: It is the party in which leader holds a very strong position and is the nucleus of the party.