Explain the increasing role of regional political parties in the national politics. (UPSC CSE Mains 2018 - Political Science and International Relations, Paper 1)
As the regional parties were becoming more assertive in national politics, the distinction between state and national-level parties was increasingly diminishing. The rise of many state-level parties has made it difficult for any single party to secure majority seats in the lower house. This kick-started the era of coalition politics, wherein different political parties joined hands to form a government. These regional parties have pressured the central government to recognize their interests thereby making the latter weaker. Some important features of Regional Parties in India include:
- It operates from a particular area and its base of elections is limited to a specific region.
- It helps in the articulation of regional interests and also tries to identify with a certain set of cultural, linguistic, or ethnic groups.
- The main motives of regional parties lay in the exploitation of local resources as well as preserving the demands of communities based on language, caste, or community of certain areas.
- The political desire for more power and autonomy of the states in the Indian Union.
- The main focus of these parties in India is for capturing political power at the state level.
Role of Indian Regional Parties in National Politics
- Apart from the exponential growth in the regional parties, the trend of regionalism in India has led to a refocusing on regional issues. In response to the growing political pressure on the central government, national politics has started reflecting and redressing the needs of regional people.
- Regional politics has negative implications, such as it acts as an impediment by neglecting national interests and undermining the importance of international diplomacy.
- It has changed center-state relations as state-level parties are becoming influential at the national level.
- Coalition governments require consensus among diverse social groups for the implementation of policies and programs.
Regional identities are not always a threat to the democratic machinery of a nation. India’s democratic system is moving towards providing spaces to articulate the opinions of different regions. In such a situation, there is a scope to promote and achieve balanced regional growth. However, it is also necessary to consider the internal threats of separatist movements that regional politics might accompany. Regional leaders who tend to use regional, cultural, or language barriers for the purpose of vote banks, undermine the principle of unity in diversity.
In order to achieve the twin goals of regionalism and nationalism, it is important for national leaders to incorporate the views and demands of regional leaders. The national leaders should be made aware of the needs of regional people in order to promote mass mobilization. In India, its diversity in terms of ethnicity, culture, language, etc. is the strength of its democracy. These diversities have been attributed to the emergence of regional parties that cater to the regional needs of people.
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