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List of Political Parties in India

Overview

Political parties in India operate within a multi-party parliamentary democracy and are regulated by the Election Commission of India (ECI) under the framework of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The ECI classifies registered parties into three categories: National Parties, State Parties (also called recognised regional parties), and Registered Unrecognised Parties. Recognition is based on criteria such as vote share and the number of seats secured in elections to the Lok Sabha and the State Legislative Assemblies.

Key Facts

Regulator Election Commission of India
Governing Law Representation of the People Act, 1951
Recognition Categories National, State, Registered Unrecognised
Registration Provision Section 29A, Representation of the People Act, 1951
System Multi-party parliamentary democracy

Categories of Parties

National Parties

A party is recognised as a national party if it meets the criteria laid down by the Election Commission of India relating to performance in general elections across multiple states. National parties are entitled to a reserved election symbol valid throughout the country.

State Parties

State parties are recognised within specific states based on their electoral performance in Assembly or Lok Sabha elections from that state. They are allotted a reserved symbol within that state.

Registered Unrecognised Parties

Registered Unrecognised Parties are those that have been registered with the Election Commission under Section 29A but have not secured sufficient votes or seats to be recognised as state or national parties. They contest elections using free symbols allotted at the time of nomination. The number of such parties runs into the thousands and changes regularly as new parties register.

Registration and Recognition

Any association of Indian citizens may apply to the Election Commission for registration as a political party under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. The applicant party must adopt a constitution providing for democratic internal functioning and must affirm allegiance to the Constitution of India and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy. Recognition as a state or national party is governed by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968, and is subject to periodic review by the Commission.

Alliances

Indian elections are often contested by pre-poll and post-poll coalitions. Two prominent national-level alliances in recent decades have been the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Bharatiya Janata Party, and the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), an opposition grouping that includes the Indian National Congress and several state parties. The earlier United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Indian National Congress, formed Union governments between 2004 and 2014.

Significance

Political parties form the institutional core of representative government in India. They contest elections to the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha, the State Legislative Assemblies, the State Legislative Councils, and to local bodies such as panchayats and municipal corporations. The wide range of parties—national, regional, ideological, caste-based and identity-based—reflects the linguistic, religious, regional and social diversity of the country, and is a defining feature of Indian federal politics.

References

  • Election Commission of India – Official notifications on recognised national and state parties.
  • Representation of the People Act, 1951.
  • Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.