Very Short Question and Answers - Reforms in Political Parties

Reforms are measures to make parties more transparent, democratic, and accountable because parties often face issues like opacity, dynastic control, corruption, and centralization of power.

Enacted by the 52nd Amendment (1985), it aims to prevent elected representatives from switching parties for personal gain; a defector can lose their seat.

If an MLA elected on Party A’s ticket joins Party B for a ministerial post, they can be disqualified and lose their seat under the law.

Parties must register with the ECI and follow its rules, such as submitting audited annual accounts, which promotes accountability and standardization.

Following Supreme Court (2002) directions and ECI rules, candidates must file affidavits to inform voters and enable cleaner candidate selection.

Expenditure limits (e.g., about Rs 70 lakh for Lok Sabha candidates in 2019 in most states) aim to curb money power and create a level playing field.

Under the Representation of the People Act and ECI guidelines, parties appealing to religion or caste through names or symbols can be denied registration; for example, a party named Hindu Sena may not be registered.

It involves public disclosure of funding sources and expenditures; currently, parties must declare donations above Rs 20,000, though loopholes in anonymous cash donations exist.

Parties must maintain and publish audited accounts (enforced by ECI since 2008), helping the public and regulators verify income and expenditure.

By publicly announcing criteria for ticket distribution and avoiding nepotism and criminalization, parties can select cleaner, merit-based candidates.

Parties can publish donations, spending, candidate criteria, and decisions online, allowing easy public access and scrutiny.

It refers to regular, fair internal elections, collective decision-making, leadership rotation, and inclusion of youth and women within party structures.

The Indian National Congress has held elections for party president, such as the contest involving Mallikarjun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor.

It means decisions are made collectively rather than by a single leader; coalitions like the NDA and UPA discuss policies among member parties.

It prevents monopoly of power and brings fresh ideas; many parties in democracies like Germany and the UK change leaders through internal elections.

By reserving posts, creating active youth and women wings, and prioritizing tickets for them; some parties like AAP have such wings.

Through vigilant voting, social movements, RTI use, and campaigns like No Criminals in Politics to discourage tickets to tainted candidates.

They investigate and expose wrongdoing; for example, ADR publishes criminal and financial profiles of candidates to inform voters.

It is public funding for parties or candidates to reduce dependence on private or corporate money; some countries like Germany provide partial state funding.

Easing registration and fair access allows honest groups to compete and renew politics; Aam Aadmi Party emerged in 2012 from a popular movement.