Question

What are the various challenges faced by political parties?

Answer 1

Hint: In the arena of politics, a group of individuals who have a common set of ideologies and interests and who also wish to run the country to fulfil certain agendas, join together to form a political party. Many political parties then compete with each other to form the government.

Complete Step by Step answer:
Political parties often face multiple challenges. First and foremost is the lack of internal democracy. It is seen that because of the concentration of power in the hands of a few eminent leaders of a party, many other ordinary members are not heard or consulted while making any major decision. It thus creates room for internal conflicts within the party itself.

There is also increased dependence on money as well as muscle power. During elections, the major focus of political parties is to anyhow capture the power and form the government. The only thing that matters to them is winning the elections. More often than not it is seen that many business tycoons provide funds to the political parties to influence the decisions of the government. Moreover, sometimes parties also support criminals who can win elections because they have muscle power.

Nepotism is the biggest challenge that parties face. In many parties, the most important positions are always controlled and handled by members of one particular family. This is not only unfair to other members of that party but is also a threat to democracy. This is unjust because people who do not have adequate experience or popular support also occupy positions of power while the deserving candidates are not given even given a chance.

Fight of ideologies over sensible issues is another challenge. There is a decline of meaningful choices because many political parties attach themselves with some fundamental, ideological issues due to which voters have restricted options to go to.

Note: The classification of political parties can be made broadly into two types: cadre parties and mass-based parties. Many other types such as communist or socialist and liberal or conservative parties also exist.