Regional Parties in India
India is a nation known for its multi-religious, multi-ethnic, multi-linguistic, and related diverse societies and groups. In the post-independent era till 1967, the Indian National Congress Party, popularly known as the Congress Party, maintained a monopoly of power in Indian politics. Due to the excessive domination of single-party leadership, regional parties came into existence. The origin of regional parties in national politics can be traced to South India. The protests against the imposition of Hindi as an official language instilled the feeling of regional and linguistic aspirations. The neglect of some regions led to dissent among the people concentrated in such areas. Thus, the population started shifting towards supporting regional parties that advocated their interests. This process of shifting of power and influence from a national party to parties operating at the state or regional level is referred to as ‘regionalism’. It is also important to note that local regional parties have exploited the phenomena of regionalism to turn voters to vote in their favor. For instance, people belonging to backward classes and castes have often supported regional parties. These regional parties have also profoundly influenced national parties and politics.
Role of Regional Parties in India
An important feature of the Political system in India is the presence of a large number of regional parties that play an important role in the politics of India at various levels- local, state, and national level. 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.
Regional Parties of India