What a Political Party Is

In one line

A political party is an organised group that seeks to capture governmental power through elections in order to carry out a programme, which is what separates it from every other kind of political organisation.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: a political party is an organised body of persons holding broadly similar political views who seek to obtain and exercise governmental power, ordinarily by contesting elections, in order to give effect to a programme; its defining features are organisation, a measure of ideological or programmatic coherence, the pursuit of governmental office rather than merely of influence, the claim to represent a national or general interest, and the acceptance of responsibility for governing.

The five features

1. Organisation. A structure, a membership, office bearers and a means of taking decisions. A crowd, a mood or a tendency is not a party.

2. Some coherence of views or programme. Not unanimity, which no large party has, but enough shared position for the party to mean something to a voter.

3. The pursuit of governmental power. The decisive feature. An interest group seeks to influence whoever governs; a party seeks to be the government.

4. A claim to speak for a general interest. A party asks for the votes of people whose interests differ, so it must present a programme for the whole and not for a section. This is why parties are broad and often internally inconsistent, and it is a consequence of the third feature rather than a defect.

5. The acceptance of responsibility. A party that wins must govern, must answer for what it does, and must face the electorate again. This is what disciplines it, and it is what an interest group never has to accept.

Where Indian law defines a party

The definition matters practically, because in India recognition confers real advantages, and a law student should know where the definitions sit.

Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act 1951 provides for the registration of political parties with the Election Commission. An association or body of individual citizens of India calling itself a political party applies to the Commission, and its memorandum or rules must contain a specific provision that it shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established, and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy, and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India.

Recognition as a State or a national party is a separate matter, governed by the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order made by the Election Commission under article 324, and turns on performance at elections in terms of seats and vote share. Recognition brings a reserved symbol, free time on public broadcasting, and a larger number of proposers and star campaigners.