MP Board · Class 10 · Social Science · Civics: Political PartiesWhat is meant by a 'Political Party'? Describe the necessary components and major functions of political parties in a modern democratic setup.

Introduction\nA political party is a group of people who come together to contest elections and hold power in the government. They agree on some policies and programmes for the society with a view to promoting the collective good. Since there can be different views on what is good for all, parties try to persuade people why their policies are better than others.

Necessary Components of a Political Party\nEvery political party essentially consists of three components:

1. The Leaders: The top decision-makers and campaigners who formulate policies and manage the party machinery.
2. The Active Members: Those who are directly involved in party work, committees, and mobilization of supporters.
3. The Followers/Supporters: The ordinary citizens who believe in the party's ideology and vote for it during elections.

Major Functions of Political Parties\nPolitical parties perform a series of vital functions in a democracy:

1. Contesting Elections:

   • Explanation: Parties contest elections. In most democracies, elections are fought mainly among the candidates put up by political parties. Parties select their candidates in different ways. In countries like India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.

2. Formulating Policies and Programmes:

   • Explanation: Parties put forward different policies and programmes and the voters choose from them. A government is expected to base its policies on the line taken by the ruling party. Political parties bundle a large number of diverse opinions into a few basic positions which the party supports.

3. Making Laws:

   • Explanation: Parties play a decisive role in making laws for a country. Formally, laws are debated and passed in the legislature. But since most of the members belong to a party, they tend to go by the direction of the party leadership, irrespective of their personal opinions.

4. Forming and Running Government:

   • Explanation: Parties recruit leaders, train them and then make them ministers to run the government. The big policy decisions are taken by political executives that come from the political parties.

5. Playing the Role of Opposition:

   • Explanation: Those parties that lose in the elections play the role of opposition to the parties in power, voicing different views and criticising government failures or wrong policies. Opposition parties also mobilize opposition to the government.

6. Shaping Public Opinion:

   • Explanation: Parties launch movements for the resolution of problems faced by people. Often party opinions are backed by the people-wide pressure groups and social movements. Parties raise and highlight issues and shape public opinion.

7. Providing Access to Government Machinery:

   • Explanation: Parties provide people access to government machinery and welfare schemes implemented by governments. For an ordinary citizen, it is easy to approach a local party leader than a government officer.

Conclusion\nThus, political parties act as the vehicle of federal and representative democracy. Without political parties, democracies cannot function, as they provide the essential link between the citizens and the government.