What is a regional party?

Regional parties in India are any political party with its headquarters in a single area, irrespective of its purposes and medium. Most of the country’s major parties are classified by the Election Commission as State parties. There was a rise in the regional parties in India as the national politics failed to satisfy the regional aspirations and the absence of any powerful opposition in the Central. Characteristics of a Political Party Difference Between Regional and National Parties

Who was the founder of the Bahujan Samajwadi party?

Kanshi Ram is the founder of the Bahujan Samajwadi party. He launched this regional party on B. R. Ambedkar’s birth anniversary (14 April 1984). Kanshi Ram called one-time school teacher Mayawati as his heir of BSP in 2001.

How many regional parties are there in India?

The total number of registered regional parties in India, as per the latest publication released on 23 September 2021 from the Election Commission of India , was 2858, with 8 national parties, 54 state parties, and 2796 unrecognized parties. The role and significance of the regional parties in India assist the voters in choosing the parties that will uplift and upgrade the regional aspirations.

How do the regional parties participate in the decision-making process of the Parliament?

The regional parties participate in the decision-making process of the Parliament by following the below steps. Criticising the political parties. Passing laws regarding the need of the region’s people. Contesting elections and allowing all the individuals at the grassroots.

What are the examples of regional parties?

The major examples of Regional parties in India include the Social Democratic Party of India, Akhil Bhartiya Sena, Indian Secular Congress, Bhartiya Hindu Sena, and more. All registered parties contesting elections must pick a symbol from a list of available symbols presented by the EC. Different Types of Party System Challenges Faced by Political Parties

Which was the first regional party in India?

TDP, or Telugu Desam Party, was the first regional party after India’s independence to have created the main opposition in the 8th Lok Sabha (1984). Presently, TDP maintains 3 Lok Sabha Seats. It was founded on 29 March 1982.

What are the criticisms faced by the regional parties?

The criticisms faced by the regional parties in India encourage rivalry. They made it hard to execute foreign contracts. The regional parties in India increase the threats to national interests by promoting regional objectives. This leads to the instability of the Government. They emphasize on populist initiatives, including standard loan forgiveness.

What is the status of regional parties in India?

Regional parties in India have become increasingly influential in national politics in the era of coalition governments. They represent the specific interests and concerns of their respective regions and communities and are often better equipped to address local issues.

What is the importance of regional parties in India?

Regional parties in India are important as they encourage the participation of more people in the political process. They also represent the linguistic and cultural differences of the regions and provide a voice to the marginalized and backward communities.

What is the need of regional parties in India?

Regional parties are crucial in India as we are a huge and diverse country. With so many states with different languages and cultures, it becomes difficult for a handful of national parties to represent everyone and address local issues.

Which national and regional political parties are active in India?

There are several national political parties in India , including the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Communist Party of India, and Nationalist Congress Party . Regional political parties include Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party, Shiv Sena and Telangana Rashtra Samithi, among others.

What is the difference between regional and national party in India?

Regional parties in India are primarily focused on representing the interests of a specific state or region, whereas national parties have a broader agenda and a presence across multiple states. Hence, regional parties are often more effective in addressing local issues and concerns.

How to download notes for regional parties in India?

The regional parties of India is an essential concept for the exam. It is essential for the candidates to be well-versed in the details of the topic. The aspirants can download the regional parties in India notes to prepare effectively for the exam.

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Regional Parties in India – Role, Significance, Rise of Regional Political Parties

By BYJU'S Exam Prep

Updated on: November 14th, 2023

Regional parties in India are regarded as any political party with its headquarters in a single area, irrespective of its purposes and medium. The Election Commission has majorly classified numerous parties as “State Parties”, these are also renowned as regional parties, other than the 8 national parties, which include Bharatiya Janata Party, Nationalist Congress Party, Communist Parties, Rashtriya Janata Dal, All India Trinamool Congress, National People’s Party, Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party.

Regional parties in India are offered unique symbols which only the official nominees of that party can utilize. These parties enjoy special privileges and other facilities acknowledged by the Election Commission of India, which is why they are also referred to as recognized parties. This article will provide an in-depth analysis of regional parties in India that will be of tremendous help in the Polity part of the UPSC Exam. It is essential to know the features, classification, and factors that led to the rise of regional parties in India.

Table of content

1. What is Regional Party?
2. Characteristics of Regional Parties in India
3. Themes of Regional Political Parties in India
4. Role and Significance of Regional Parties of India
5. Rise of Regional Parties in India
6. Provisions of Regional Parties of India
7. Regional Parties in India with Symbols and Leaders
8. Criticism Faced by Regional Parties
9. Regional Parties in India UPSC

What is Regional Party?

The existence of several cultural, ethnic, religious, linguistic, and caste groups within the Indian community is significantly liable for the source and development of regional parties of India.

Regional Parties in India PDF

TDP or Telugu Desam Party is considered the first regional party of India after Independence and became the main competitor in the 8th Lok Sabha (1984). Political Parties like Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) are regional parties.

Characteristics of Regional Parties in India

Regional parties of India express provincial welfare and recognize a distinct religious, ethnic, cultural, or linguistic group. The other features of regional political parties in India are as follows:

Its electoral ground is restricted to a specific state or region.
Regional parties in India mainly involve using the provincial resources of discontentment or maintaining a mixture of primordial needs based on caste, language, community, or region.
It concentrates on regional or local matters and seeks to capture political power at the state level. It has no preference for growing and maintaining the central government.
It has a political wish for greater provincial independence of states in the Indian Union.

Themes of Regional Political Parties in India

Regional parties in India are established based on themes like– Autonomy, Identity, Statehood, and Development etc. Get the complete details of the themes of the regional parties in India and their rise.

Autonomy demands greater potency to the Indian states (for example, the National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir).
Identity consists of opposing the glory of the cultural privileges of a group (like the DMK resisting the originality of the Dalits or the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra).
Statehood consists of battling for an autonomous state within the country (for instance, the Telangana Rastra Samiti requested a different state of Telangana).
Development comprises regional parties considering that they can bring change to the individuals of a certain province.
Regional parties form ‘cultural specificities’ sometimes for electoral profits.

Role and Significance of Regional Parties of India

Regional political parties play a significant role in Indian politics. They produce more competitive politics and encourage the widespread participation of people in the political process. Let’s discuss the role and significance of regional political parties in India in detail:

The presence of regional parties in Indian politics has led to the decentralization of power.
These parties challenged the one-party prevalent method in India and led to a reduction in their dominance.
Regional political parties represent the interests and aspirations of the people of a particular state or region, and their policies and agendas are meant to address the specific needs and concerns of that region.
Regional parties often represent underrepresented communities, castes, or tribes, providing them with political representation and a voice in the government.
They make a significant contribution to the smooth functioning of parliamentary democracy. This is possible because these regional parties are the ruling parties in some states and opposition parties at the centre.

Rise of Regional Parties in India

The rise of regional parties in India can be attributed to several factors. Some of the reasons for the rise of regional parties in India have been illustrated below:

Since India is a diverse country with many languages and cultures, regional parties represent the interests and aspirations of people from specific linguistic and cultural backgrounds.
The emergence of regional parties was also the result of the decline of the Indian National Congress in the 1980s.
Regional parties have become increasingly important in national politics due to the rise of coalition politics.
These parties are often better equipped to address local issues and problems as they understand the problems of the people better than national parties.

Provisions of Regional Parties of India

The creation of regional parties in India takes place in the same way as any other political parties by registering with the Election Commission of India. Before establishing a political party, it is essential to fulfilling the guidelines defined in the Representation of the People Act 1951.

It is the sole responsibility of the ECI to recognize a party as a state, unrecognized, recognized, or national party.
The Election Commission does not recognize a regional party separately.

Regional Parties in India with Symbols and Leaders

Since regional parties play a critical role in the framework of politics in India, here is a list of some regional parties in India along with their symbols and leaders:

Regional Parties	Leaders	Symbols
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP)	Mayawati	Elephant
Samajwadi Party (SP)	Akhilesh Yadav	Bicycle
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP)	Sharad Pawar	Clock
Shiv Sena (SS)	Uddhav Thackeray	Bow and Arrow
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS)	K. Chandrashekar Rao	Car
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)	Lalu Prasad Yadav	Lantern
Biju Janata Dal (BJD)	Naveen Patnaik	Conch Shell
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC)	Farooq Abdullah	Plough
All India Trinamool Congress (TMC)	Mamata Banerjee	Flower and Grass
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)	M. K. Stalin	Rising Sun

Criticism Faced by Regional Parties

The rise of regional parties of India made politics a cruel rivalry. It encouraged using wrong-headed means, including muscular force and money, to acquire power politically. It is seen during the elections in various states of India in the form of violence.

They also make it hard to execute foreign contracts and procedures on schedule.
Regional parties have put national interests at risk by favouring narrow regional objectives more.
The deterioration of national parties led to the instability of the Government.
Regional parties initiated the trend of state division along racial lines, like caste, tribe, language, and some other attributes.
The parties focus on populist initiatives, including standard loan forgiveness by different states, to extend their support base. It damages the Government’s revenue balance.

Regional Parties in India UPSC

The regional parties in India is an essential and important concept for the exam. The candidates must prepare well and curate an effective strategy to solve the questions in the exam. The rise of the regional parties, roles, significance, symbols, and leaders are essential segments of the syllabus.

The candidates must practice the previous year’s question paper and mark the type of questions asked from this segment. You can then optimize your efforts in that direction and prepare a well-thought-of preparation strategy for the exam.

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