{"id":3530,"date":"2026-08-11T22:11:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:41:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/ideological-and-social-bases-of-parties\/"},"modified":"2026-08-11T23:01:53","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T17:31:53","slug":"ideological-and-social-bases-of-parties","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/ideological-and-social-bases-of-parties\/","title":{"rendered":"Ideological and social bases of parties"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
PSIR Notes<\/a>\u203a<\/span>I-B Indian Government and Politics<\/a>\u203a<\/span>Ideological and social bases of parties<\/span><\/div>\n
\n
Paper I \u00b7 Indian Government and Politics<\/div>\n

Ideological and social bases of parties<\/h1>\n
Syllabus \u00b7 Paper I-B \u00b7 10<\/b> \u2014 Party System : National and regional political parties, ideological and social bases of parties<\/span>; Patterns of coalition politics; Pressure groups, trends in electoral behaviour; changing socio-economic profile of Legislators.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
\n
<\/p>\n

Ideology & Social Base of Major Parties<\/h3>\n

Maurice Duverger<\/span> treats class character and ideology<\/span> as tools for studying parties \u2014 read through the social background of members and leaders, interest groups represented, newspapers and funding groups, and actual policies.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Party<\/th>\nIdeology & key moments<\/th>\nSocial base<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Indian National Congress<\/span><\/td>\nSocialism, secularism, democracy, non-alignment, democratic socialism, state control of the commanding heights, anti-monopoly, land ceilings, Panchayati Raj, later liberalisation-friendly. Avadi Session 1956 (socialistic pattern); 1971 Garibi Hatao; Emergency 20-point programme; 1989 Panchayati Raj; 1999 capitalist economy linked to the global system with secularism.<\/td>\nBegan with the educated urban middle class; broadened in the 1920s to upper castes, Brahmins, Scheduled Castes and Muslims; led by upper-caste landlords, urban intellectuals and business; declined in the Gangetic region after 1991.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Socialist parties<\/span><\/td>\nClaimed workers, peasants and the lower middle class. Praja Socialist Party stronger in towns, Samyukta Socialist Party among poor peasants; no stable all-India alternative. Ram Manohar Lohia<\/span> shaped backward-caste mobilisation.<\/td>\nWorkers, peasants, lower middle class.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Bharatiya Janata Party<\/span><\/td>\nRooted in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (Shyama Prasad Mukherjee<\/span>, 1951). Nationalism and national integration, democracy, positive secularism, Gandhian socialism, value-based politics; Deendayal Upadhyaya<\/span>\u2019s Integral Humanism; later liberalisation within NDA governance; cultural nationalism and Hindutva.<\/td>\nExpanded from upper castes, traders and shopkeepers to rural voters, lower castes, non-dominant OBCs and welfare beneficiaries.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Communist parties<\/span><\/td>\nMarxism-Leninism, anti-imperialist and anti-feudal democratic revolution, socialist society, working-class leadership, secularism, a self-reliant economy, opposition to communalism. CPI supported Indira Gandhi during the Emergency; CPI(M) advocated People\u2019s Democracy and a working-class-led front.<\/td>\nWorking class, middle classes, agricultural labourers, small peasants; strongholds in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura; pockets in Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Reading the parties<\/span><\/p>\n

Myron Weiner<\/span> notes Congress adopted traditional values and conciliatory roles; Rajni Kothari<\/span> stresses its consensual politics of pluralism, accommodation and negotiation. On the BJP: Thomas Blom Hansen<\/span> links its rise to democratic transformation, middle-class anxieties and majoritarian rhetoric; Christophe Jaffrelot<\/span> to Hindu identity politics and Congress\u2019s reduction to a minority-associated party; Milan Vaishnav<\/span> to discipline, technology and campaigning; Pratap Bhanu Mehta<\/span> to governance and aspiration; Ashutosh Varshney<\/span> to the pairing of Hindutva and development. On the Left\u2019s decline: Praful Bidwai<\/span> (weak grassroots and high-command culture), Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd<\/span> (neglect of caste), Prabhat Patnaik<\/span> (resistance to neoliberalism), Aijaz Ahmad<\/span> (renewal for globalisation and identity), with Sumit Sarkar<\/span> and Sudipta Kaviraj<\/span> urging self-correction.<\/p>\n

Right, Left, Third Front & the Aam Aadmi Party<\/h3>\n

Right-wing parties<\/span><\/p>\n

Christophe Jaffrelot<\/span> warns the BJP\u2019s rise signals majoritarian pressure on pluralism and secularism; Rajni Kothari<\/span> against polarisation and identity politics; Aseem Prakash<\/span> links environmental narratives with Hindu-nationalist framing; Suhas Palshikar<\/span> flags authoritarian tendencies; Pratap Bhanu Mehta<\/span> shrinking freedoms and institutional weakening; Wendy Doniger<\/span> against a monolithic representation of Hindu culture.<\/p>\n

Left-wing parties<\/span><\/p>\n

Declined through organisational rigidity, a weak caste response and globalisation. Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd<\/span> (neglect of caste), Prabhat Patnaik<\/span> (welfare against neoliberalism), Romila Thapar<\/span> (secular historical approach), Aijaz Ahmad<\/span> (adapt to identity and globalisation), Sumit Sarkar<\/span> (engagement beyond class) and Sudipta Kaviraj<\/span> (rigour without dogmatism).<\/p>\n

Third Front<\/span><\/p>\n

A coalition of regional and smaller parties representing marginalised groups, Muslims, backward castes and regional interests. It struggles for lack of a national vision and cohesive agenda, often forming post-election arrangements \u2014 showing both the limits of national parties and the instability of purely anti-Congress or anti-BJP blocs.<\/p>\n

Aam Aadmi Party<\/span><\/p>\n

Emerged from the India Against Corruption movement led by Anna Hazare<\/span>; founded by Arvind Kejriwal<\/span> in 2012. Focus: anti-corruption, Jan Lokpal, transparency, accountability, Swaraj, education, healthcare and urban governance \u2014 an urban middle-class demand for clean politics and welfare delivery. Suhas Palshikar<\/span> (adopted old tactics), Milan Vaishnav<\/span> (long-term fiscal viability), Pratap Bhanu Mehta<\/span> (reset urban-governance expectations), Yogendra Yadav<\/span> (transparency-oriented), Rajeev Bhargava<\/span> (ethical governance) and Christophe Jaffrelot<\/span> (neglected urban middle-class aspirations).<\/p>\n

Previous<\/em>National and regional political parties<\/b><\/a>Next<\/em>Patterns of coalition politics<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/main><\/p>\n