Emergence and Impact of Regional Parties Essay Example for Free

Emergence and Impact of regional Parties EssayIt is raining acronyms in politics and the vibrant Indian political landscape is flooded. Well, almost so as Regional parties ready ground with amazing alacrity in a diverse India where a fast-transforming political map today promises a never before variety. SAD in Punjab on one side, SP, BSP in Uttar Pradesh on the other, RJD, JD(U) in Bihar as overly DMK, AIADMK, PMK, MDMK and DMDK in the deep South and TMC, AGP and others in North-East they seem to be menstruation in from all nooks and corners to lend a different hue, their own hue, to the political waters as they turn tail in our country today. Though the experiment with regional politics first succeeded in the late mid-sixties when m any(prenominal) parties won against the Congress, it was solitary(prenominal) post-1989 that regional politics really became a phenomenon, here to stay, courtesy the internal Parties themselves. The alphabet-soup illustrating the striking tran sformation of Indias politics over the past two decades, brewed on the fire provided by the quadruplet vacated by study Parties to be wedded to the cause of regional issues, local aspirations and territorial priorities. Also, shrinking aloofness of the National Parties led to creation of a vacuum which the Regional parties were happy to fill. They sprung up and marched ahead as a consequence of the leanings of the public to advance its aspirations. Essentially individualistic, personality-driven parties bound by a lose mountain chain of thought rather than a cohesive coordinated ideology, these pandered to regional populism with a much narrower vision of things sans any broad-based National consensus on ideology and issues.But, then, what did the mushrooming of these regional parties, finally, find reflection in? While it strengthened the national structure with assertion by the States of the Union for its share in power, privileges, taxes, revenues and benefits of micro-macro schemes, it similarly led to a current amount of healthy competition inter se severalises, making us the republic that we really are. It also gave rise to the concept of shared sovereignty, marked by an increase in the capacity of the state to becharm its own development performance while enhancing the representative character of Indias democracy. The relentless rise of these regional home-grown parties, sharing the one common attribute of having a mass base in only the state of their birth, led to a spate of constitutional and legislative reforms in terms of judicial, administrative and centre-state relations.Not only this, it weaved together an interplay of forces, prompting National parties to not only rope them in for support but also brought about a dependency which lent a Regional flavor to National Policies. Then, it is in this that emerged the dish antenna of the dove-tailing of the National and these Regional entities. But, then, since beauty is never blemish-free, th ere is a flip side too. Given their strategical positioning, the Regional parties have not only exploited this dependence of the National Parties for their own advantage but, at times, even arm-twisted the latter to get their way.Theres a way out of this of labyrinth in which National Parties find themselves lost in and it does not lie in a top-down onrush which, in the present times, seems not only inadequate but also outdated. We have an India defined by mobilization of a plethora of identity and interest groups which have taken the shape and form of Regional parties to diffuse real power from the Centre to the states. The National Parties need to wake up and smell the coffee. The crutches of dependence on Regional parties have to go and they have to not only learn to stand on their own feet but even walk that extra mile to fulfill regional aspirations to show that individually one of the 28 states matters as much.For this, they must permit regional units to function at the lo cal take as semi-independent units with adequate flexibility for leadership-building at the regional level. This will help balance the regional interest with the National interest which many a times end upconflicting with each other. Besides, a cohesive National party with semiindependent regional strait-jacketed unit to cater to regional interests is the only guarantee for ensuring continuous unification in spite of appearance Indias multi-ethnic diversity which weaves the many strands of region, religion, culture and politics into one social fabric we holler out India.