PYQ Vault · Paper 1 · Party System & Electoral Politics
Political personalities are more significant than political parties in India.
How the answer moves
The flow snapshot — the routes in, the body, the counter-view and the routes out.
Flow snapshot — how the answer moves
Intro routes
*®!'_—sépersonality runs through Indian politics, Nehru → Indira → Modi → claim has a real basis R2 leaders drive electoral waves → but “significant” # “more significant” → put the claim to test
Body flow
charismatic leaders shape waves → slogans Garibi Hatao / Har Har Modi → mobilisation around a single face → cuts across caste, class, region → Indira personalises Congress → turn: organisation converts charisma into votes BJP cadre + resources carry Modi → Congress decline = charisma without organisation fails → over-personalisation weakens party from within → Michels’ “iron law of oligarchy” → intra-party democracy erodes
Counter-view
personality's cross-cutting mass appeal (beyond caste and party) vs party organisation as what converts and sustains power
Conclusion routes
= ®!_:~personalities and parties interdependent, not rivals → leadership + institutionalisation together → neither simply more significant R2 claim only half-true → personality necessary but not sufficient → the real answer is balance
Model answer
Handwritten, in the form it would be written in the examination hall.
