Oligarchy in Indian Politics

Context:
Major Indian political parties are dominated by the group of few or a single family which lead to centralised tendencies and best performance of the party is restricted.
Why?
  • Historical base of politics which consider hierarchical nature of leadership rather than merit based or performance based leadership. For ex. Congress role in Freedom Struggle is still a strong influencing factor among many Indians
  • Lack of awareness among people and socio-economic constraints blind them of the true nature of politics.
  • Criminalisation of Politics and Politicisation of Crime. Very difficult for common man to rise and grab power. Those who already have power, don’t want to loose it and thus don’t let others rise.
  • Role of money in elections. ADR report (80% chances of win if candidate is a crorepati)
  • No democracy within the party.
  • Charismatic nature of Indian politics
Steps Taken:
  • Major role played by Election Commission and Judiciary
  • EC regulations like Code of Conduct, expenditure limits etc to curb role of money and criminals in elections
  • Several verdicts like barring of convicted criminals to hold post, forcing candidates to file details of assets etc.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top