In what way did the imposition of Emergency affect the party system in India? Elaborate your answer with examples.
The imposition of Emergency certainly had a profound impact on the party system in India.
a. Congress no longer was an umbrella organisation that accommodated varied interests. There was a shift in Congress’ ideology, which now heavily relied on the votes of Dalits , Adivasis and other marginalised group. The party because of its pro-poor stance had come to power in 1971, with absolute majority, yet the party leadership decided to suspend a democratically-elected government.
b. There was a growing realisation among the existing opposition parties to come together and serve as a political alternative to the Congress. They had to ensure that opposition votes remain undivided so as to counter the existing Congress’ government. Emergency provided them an opportunity that brought about the consolidation of the opposition parties into the Janta Party that came to power in 1977.
c. For the first time, India had non-Congress coalition government at the Centre. The distinctive feature of this period was the rise of coalition government, an alliance which could be regarded as more of an alliance of opportunity that targeted personality of the ruling party.
d. A clear a tension surfaced between institution-based democracy and democracy based on spontaneous popular participation. It reflected the inability and weakness of the country’s party system to fulfil aspirations of the people. We may give example of how the Congress Party lost in 1977 election because of the imposition of Emergency which tarnished India’s democratic image and then how the Janta Party, which promised alternate reforms and leadership, could hardly survive for two years because of infighting. This period was indeed characterised by grave political crisis and instability.
a. Congress no longer was an umbrella organisation that accommodated varied interests. There was a shift in Congress’ ideology, which now heavily relied on the votes of Dalits , Adivasis and other marginalised group. The party because of its pro-poor stance had come to power in 1971, with absolute majority, yet the party leadership decided to suspend a democratically-elected government.
b. There was a growing realisation among the existing opposition parties to come together and serve as a political alternative to the Congress. They had to ensure that opposition votes remain undivided so as to counter the existing Congress’ government. Emergency provided them an opportunity that brought about the consolidation of the opposition parties into the Janta Party that came to power in 1977.
c. For the first time, India had non-Congress coalition government at the Centre. The distinctive feature of this period was the rise of coalition government, an alliance which could be regarded as more of an alliance of opportunity that targeted personality of the ruling party.
d. A clear a tension surfaced between institution-based democracy and democracy based on spontaneous popular participation. It reflected the inability and weakness of the country’s party system to fulfil aspirations of the people. We may give example of how the Congress Party lost in 1977 election because of the imposition of Emergency which tarnished India’s democratic image and then how the Janta Party, which promised alternate reforms and leadership, could hardly survive for two years because of infighting. This period was indeed characterised by grave political crisis and instability.
