Question

What are the characteristics of a political party?

Answer 1

Hint: Political parties are formed when a few individuals with a common set of ideologies have the interest to work for the people and therefore run the nation. Parties thus compete with each other for power.

Complete step by step answer:
1) Contest elections: political parties are very competitive in nature. Their sole purpose is to contest elections to gain power. Often the spirit of competition is so high that these parties get involved in corrupt practices such as bribery, use of muscle power to win etc.
2) Mutual Agreement: Political Parties have a tendency to agree on some policies and programmes. This is done to ensure people’s support at all times and promote collective good. This is important for democracy since it is a government for the people and thus the needs and aspirations of people should be kept in mind.
3) Coalition government: If a political party is struggling to prove a majority, it makes an attempt to form an alliance with other parties. This form of government is known as the Coalition Government. The interest of each party that joins the coalition is ensured in such cases. Thus, this reduces internal conflicts which is very important for democracy.
4) Competition leads to better performance: Political parties persuade people to believe in them and their policies. The public has the freedom to judge the policies and compare if they are better than the others.

Note: There are 3 types of “party system”. The first is a “one-party” system where one major party is the most important. The second is a “two-party” system where 2 eminent parties compete for power. And the last is a “multi-party” system where various parties contest elections.