Exp) Option b is the correct answer.

A Regional Party is a political party that operates primarily within a small geographic area and whose activities are limited to a single or a few states.

Statement 1 is incorrect: Although different regions in India, being very diverse and distinct, have a very strong sense of regional identity like Maharashtrian, South Indian, North-Eastern identities, none of the regions wish to dominate the others by ruling from the center. Their clamor is more for advancement of their own region within the architecture of the Indian nation, and not about dominating others.

Statement 2 is correct: Various regions in India have not seen a balanced economic development, before as well as after independence. Regions such as Forested Plateaus of Odisha & Chhattisgarh, dry regions of Vidarbha, Marathwada, Bundelkhand, Rayalseema, etc have poor access to modern infrastructure and economic opportunities, educational and health services, etc. This leads to resentment and formation of regional political parties, like the MNS, Shiv Sena, TDP, BJD, etc for creating pressure groups catering to interests of people in these areas, as they feel their needs have been overlooked by the larger national parties.

Statement 3 is correct: India is a diverse country with a great variety of cultural identifiers including language, history, festivals, food, etc. In such a situation often people with distinct cultures cannot identify and don’t feel adequately represented by national parties that have to focus on issues concerning a wide base of people. This encourages people to form regional parties, like the AIADMK, TDP, etc which they feel represents their interests and concerns much better in a focussed manner.

Statement 4 is correct: Since colonial times, the Tribals, especially those in the North-east have lived in comparative seclusion, according to their own customs and sociopolitical setups. They have not felt very absorbed within the national identity of India as they were relatively cut off from the independence struggle as well thus depriving them of the shared historical causes which were the chief reasons behind the creation of the Indian national identity. Furthermore, these people also feel short changed as economic development, even important infra like telecom connectivity, roads, electricity, etc have not reached the region properly. This has led to repeated calls for greater autonomy in the region. While unfortunately some of it has been expressed through formation of separatist outfits like NSCN-K, there has been a proliferation in the number of regional political parties as well who are fighting for increased political space in order to legitimately take larger control of their lives.