Recently, election in Germany witnessed change of the regime.
About Political Party:
A political party is an organised group of citizens who hold common views on governance and act as a political unit that seeks to obtain control of government with a view to further the agenda and policy they profess.
Role of Political Party:
They are indispensable links between the people and the representative machinery of government.
Political parties maintain a continuous connection between the people and those who represent them either in government or in the opposition.
Status of Political Parties:
political parties in India are extra-constitutional, but they are the breathing air of the political system.
Section 29A(5) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 is the only major statutory provision dealing with political parties in India.
It orders that a political party shall bear true faith and allegiance
to the Constitution of India as by law established
to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy,
would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.
Issues with political Parties in India:
Most of the parties are openly caste- or religious-based.
Their finances are dubious and opaque.
Almost all the parties — the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Samajwadi Party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, the Indian Union Muslim League, etc. — are family fiefdoms.
The Congress high command is only a euphemism for the Gandhi family.
There are no periodical in-party elections in Indian parties except in a few like the CPI(M).
Germany Model:
The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany (1949) gives constitutional status to political parties.
Political parties shall participate in the formation of the political will of the people.
Their internal organisation must conform to democratic principles.
They must publicly account for their assets and for the sources and use of their funds.
They Shouldnt seek to undermine or abolish the free democratic basic order .
Way Forward:
it is high time to constitutionalise political parties to ensure in-party democracy, to impart transparency in their finances, and to de-communalise them.
The German model of constitutionalising political parties is more desirable for India than the U.S. and the U.K. models.
Criteria for National Parties:
A party should win 2% of seats in the Lok Sabha from at least three different states.
At a general election to Lok Sabha or Legislative Assembly, the party polls 6% of votes in any four or more states and in addition it wins four Lok Sabha seats.
A party gets recognition as a state party in four states.
Criteria for State Parties:
A party has to fulfill any of the following conditions for recognition as a state party:
A party should secure at least 6% of valid votes polled in an election to the state legislative assembly and win at least 2 seats in that state assembly.
A party should secure at least 6% of valid votes polled in an election to Lok Sabha and win at least 1 seat in Lok Sabha.
A party should win minimum three percent of the total number of seats or a minimum of three seats in the Legislative Assembly, which ever is higher.
A party should win at least one seat in the Lok Sabha for every 25 seats or any fraction thereof allotted to that State.
Under the liberalised criteria, one more clause that it will be eligible for recognition as state party if it secures 8% or more of the total valid votes polled in the state.