Internal Democracy
How a political party’s democratic responsibility differs from that of a nation:
- Democratic responsibility differs significantly between a political party and a nation.
- A political party is a means for people to work together to seize state power and realise a certain social agenda.
- The role of democracy is to ensure that the state is representative of the broadest portion of the population through routine elections because there are often stark differences amongst individuals regarding the vision and ideals of their own country.
- Therefore, democratic accountability within a political party occurs within an ideological framework, whereas democracy at the level of the country is a bottom-up possibility to completely shift direction.
Are party leadership elections held internally a solution?
- The ability of current power centres to undermine internal institutional procedures in order to consolidate power and preserve the status quo is underestimated by proponents.
- The idea that the lower levels would be independent and hold the higher levels of leadership accountable glosses over the various ways power expresses itself.
- Independence and quality of electorate: The results of internal elections depend on the electorate’s independence and quality.
- The voters in indirect elections (via delegates) would probably reflect the current power dynamics.
- Concerns about ideological dilution and/or capture through opportunistic membership arise in direct elections.
- It is clear that while internal elections may splinter control, they are unable to create normative accountability that applies to every party member along the three interconnected axes of ideology, organisation, and competence.
- As a result, normative accountability is founded in a changing environment and necessitates a deliberate effort.
- Political party democracy is not a goal in and of itself.
- Democracy is not a goal in and of itself for a political party, in contrast to the state.
- An end in itself is the ultimate possible attainment of individual well-being and self-will through a democratic state.
- A political party exists to seize control of the government.
- Democratic functioning is not a political party’s aim in and of itself; it may be an ideological requirement, a practical decision, or a legitimising strategy.
Moving ahead:
- Eliminating the anti-defection law is one strategy to decentralise power rather than focusing on internal party procedures.
- There will be opportunity for bargaining in the party organisation because of the necessity to canvass votes in the legislature.
- Most importantly, this reform will place an equal weight on all political parties and may open up opportunities to alter the political climate as a whole.
- Think about the statement, “Lack of internal democratic functioning in the political parties has implications for the broader political functioning of the nation. Examine the causes of its absence in India and make recommendations for how to promote it.
Conclusion:
- Democracy’s function is to ensure that the state is representative of the majority of the people through regular elections, not only to establish a framework for conflict negotiation.
