Introduction
“Democracy is when the indigent and not the men of property, are the rulers” –Aristotle.
The Opposition Political Parties are the second largest Parties after the ruling parties who have formed the government, in the Parliament and the State legislature of India. The opposition political parties should fulfill the mandatory criteria of the 10 percent of the total strength of the house to get the formal recognition. The opposition political parties have played a pivotal role in India’s democratic setup. The fair and transparent elections, equality among the people, freedom of speech, expression and choice, federal rights, impartial judiciary system, right to education are the outcomes of the democracy in the country. The term “opposition” derived from the Latin word ‘oppositio’. This is termed as ‘to oppose’, though it is the negative word, but in regards to the political parties, it is termed as the positive aspects to nurture the democracy in the country. The famous American writer and political commentator, “Walter Lippman”, has quoted that, “In a democracy, the opposition is not only tolerated as constitutional, but must be maintained because it is indispensable’.
Meaning and Recognition of Political Parties as the Opposition
In the democratic political system, the governmental powers are issued to the representatives elected by the people through the elections, which means the ruling parties are the autonomous organisation of people to gain the control of the powers of the government. To form and run the government, the Election Commission conducts the election at centre and state level periodically. The definition of the Political Party – “A Political Party is an autonomous group of citizens having the purpose of making nominations and contesting elections in the hope of gaining control over the governmental power through capture of public office and the organisation of government”.
The registration of the political parties is governed by the Section 29 A of the Representative of the People Act, 1951. The Election Commission has been authorised with powers to deal with the framework of the constitution. The political parties have to apply to the Election Commission with the application after its formation within the period of 30 days as per the Section 29 A of the Representative of the people Act, 1951. After that the political parties has to publish the proposed “Name of the Party” in the two daily newspapers. There are 30 days provided by the Election Commission to any person, if there are any objections on the proposed name of the party. So, after accomplishing the regulations and guidelines of the Election Commission, the Political Parties come into existence.
Role of Opposition Political Parties:
- The Opposition is a term used in Parliament of India and state legislatures to designate the Political Party which has secured the largest numbers of seats after the ruling party.
- The Opposition Political Party counters the decision of the ruling party for the benefit of the public in general.
- The main role of the Opposition Political party is to criticise or to question the government and make them accountable in front of the media and in the parliament/state legislature.
- The Opposition works as the checks and balances for the decision taken by the government.
- They also safeguard the public from the misuse of powers by the government.
- The importance of opposition arises essentially from the capabilities to maintain the transparency of each and every decision taken by the government.
After Independence: Post-independence, the Congress (Jawaharlal Nehru’s party) dominated Indian politics, retaining power at the Centre and in most States. Despite this, opposition parties like the Socialist Party, the Communist Party, the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, and the Bharatiya Jan Sangh emerged, offering different political ideologies. Though weak in parliament, these parties actively participated in the legislative system, contributing to the establishment of India’s democratic framework.
In the Year 1967: The Congress Party faced setbacks in the 1967 elections, especially at the State level. New parties with different ideologies gained public support and recognition, weakening Congress’s dominance. This period marked the rise of a multi-party system, with opposition parties playing a crucial role in the democratic process.
In the Year 1977: The 1977 elections, held during the Emergency, saw the Congress government face backlash due to its anti-democratic actions. The opposition, particularly the Janata Party, gained significant support, presenting a strong challenge to Congress. The 1977 elections marked a pivotal moment, strengthening the opposition’s presence in parliament and among the public.
In the Year 2014 and 2015:
- 2014: The BJP won the 2014 Lok Sabha elections with a historic majority, while the Congress performed poorly, failing to meet the 55-seat requirement to become the official opposition. This highlighted the need for a strong opposition to ensure checks and balances in a democracy.
- 2015: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) emerged as a significant force in Delhi, defeating the BJP and Congress in the legislative assembly elections. The AAP’s success in 2015, following their performance in the 2013 Delhi elections, changed the political dynamics, demonstrating the importance of a strong opposition in both state and national politics.
Current Scenario of Opposition Party Post-2024 Lok Sabha Elections
Following the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, the Opposition parties have posed a tremendous challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Despite the BJP securing another term, the Indian National Congress (INC) and other opposition parties have significantly increased their vote share and seat count. This surge indicates a resurgence in their influence and an ability to mobilize voters effectively against the ruling party. The opposition’s strategic alliances and focus on critical issues such as unemployment, economic policies, and social justice resonated with a substantial portion of the electorate. This electoral performance has emphasized the need for the BJP to address pressing concerns and has shown the potential for a more balanced political landscape in the future.
Legal Framework of Political Parties
- The Constitution of India provides the basic legal framework for the Political Parties in our country. It provides the organisational powers and restrictions for the centre and state Government. Our country is the parliamentary democratic republic as stated by the founding fathers in the Preamble of our Constitution, which is based on the federal structure of government. But the Constitution of India does not provide the well-settled law in regards the regulation of political parties. After independence with the growing dominance of the various political parties, the need for the legal regulation was recognised. Under the Constitution of India, the conduct of the political parties was first highlighted in the year 1985. In the year 1985, the Tenth Schedule was added by the Fifty-second Constitutional Amendment for the disqualification of the elected members in the political parties for their defection in the political parties. Under this amendment, only the anti-defection framework of political parties was recognised, but on the other aspects the Constitution of India is silent.
- The Election Commission has the power and authority to inquire about political parties, provides them with the powers and functions, and conducts the election for them at a particular period of time. In other words we can say that the Election Commision is an autonomous constitutional body charged with the power to conduct fair and transparent elections of the Political Parties.
- The Representative of the People Act, 1951 furnishes some specific rules and regulations in regards to the Political parties for their registration process. But there is no such provision under the Act for the Cancellation of the registration of Political Parties and also the act does not provide any regulations in regards to the conduct of working of these political parties.
- Recently, the Supreme Court of India has provided the guidelines and directions concerning the Political Parties to identify the criminal charges on the contesting candidate in the election and also to publish the same on the particular website without any delay.
Conclusion
The democratic countries give the freedom to citizens to elect the government, which could bring positive outcomes through its decisions. The Opposition has emerged effectively after the independence of our country and played a vital role in the democratic setup of our country. Due to the evolution of time, the parliamentary opposition has shown severe positive aspects in politics. The roots of the positive outcomes of the Opposition can be traced from the historical factors of our country. It is important for our country to provide the legal framework in concern to the working of the political parties to ensure more accountability and transparency. This would provide a boost to the democracy setup of our country. Currently, the citizens of our country are well informed about their rights and freedom in the country. So their issues cannot be underestimated or could be neglected by the political parties. The protests and movements by the citizens play the most prudent role to set the blueprint for the democracy in the world. Many opposition political parties came out to support the public for their rights during Citizenship Amendment Bill, Farmers Protest, Covid-19 situations etc, but though several times it was observed that the opposition political parties at the national and state has criticised the government ideologies for their own benefit rather to regulate the constructive criticism for the safeguard of nation’s interest. In recent times, the opposition political parties had scarcely shown any interest towards the democratic setup in our country due to their internal hitch on the different political ideologies. There is need of strong opposition with the effective ideologis for the development of worlds largest democratic country.
“A righteous government with the strong opposition is blueprint for the democratic setup”.
SOURCE – THE TIMES OF INDIA
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