Political parties in India
In India and the world, political parties are voluntary associations or organised groups of individuals who share the same political views and who try to gain political power through constitutional means and who desire to work for promoting the national interest.
Types of political parties in India and the World
Political parties in India and the world are basically of four types these are:
(i) Reactionary Parties
These parties are clinging to the old socio-economic and political institutions.
(ii) Conservative Parties
Which belief in the status-quo
(iii) Liberal Parties
Liberal parties aim at reforming the existing systems and institutions.
(iv) Radical Parties
The main aim of these radical parties is to establish a new order by overthrowing the existing systems and institutions.
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Broad Classification of Political parties in India
Political parties in India are broadly classified into three categories. These classifications are given below:
- National political parties
- State political parties
- Regional political parties
National Parties in India
The election commission of India registers the political parties for the purpose of elections and allotted them the symbol, but to become a National Political Parties in India, the political party has to full fill any of the following criteria.
- If the political party secures 6 per cent of valid votes polled in any 4 or more states at a general election to the Lok Sabha or to the legislative assembly and in addition to that in the Lok Sabha it has to win 4 seats from any state or states; or
- The political party wins 2 per cent of Lok Sabha seats in the general election and these candidates are elected from at least 3 states; or
- Recognised state party in 4 states.
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List of National Political Parties in India with symbol
The list of the national political parties of India is given below with their symbol, founding leader and year of foundation.
| National Party | Full-Form | Foundation Day | Party Leaders | Party Symbol |
| AITC or (TMC) | All India Trinamool Congress | 01/01/1998 | Mamata Banerjee | Jora ghas phul |
| BSP | Bahujan Samaj Party | 14/04/1984 | Mayawati | Elephant |
| BJP | Bharatiya Janata Party | 06/04/1980 | Jagat Prakash Nadda | Lotus |
| CPI | Communist Party of India | 26/12/1925 | D. Raja | Ears of Corn and Sickle |
| CPI(M) | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 07/11/1964 | Sitaram Yechury | Hammer, Sickle and Star |
| INC | Indian National Congress | 28/12/1885 | Sonia Gandhi | Hand |
| NPP | National People’s Party | 06/01/2013 | Conrad Sangma | Book |
| NCP | Nationalist Congress Party | 10/06/1999 | Sharad Pawar | Clock |
Also Read: Prime Minister of India List
State political parties in India
To be a state political party in India, the party has to fulfill any of the following criteria:
- If it secures 6 percent of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned, and in addition, it wins 2 seats in the assembly of the state concerned; or
- It has to secure 6 percent of the valid votes polled in the state at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned, and in addition, it wins 1 seat in the Lok Sabha from of the state concerned; or
- Party wins 3 percent of the seats in the legislative assembly at a general election to the legislative assembly of the state concerned or 3 3 seats in the assembly which is more; or
- At least 1 seat in the Lok Sabha election won by the party for every 25 seats or any fraction of seats allotted to that State; or
- The 8 percent of total valid votes which is polled in the state at the Lok Sabha election secures by the party from the state or to the legislative assembly to the state.
List of Important State political parties with symbols
| State Party | Full-Form | Party Leaders | Symbol |
| AIADMK | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | E. Madhusudhanan | Two Leaves |
| DMK | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | M. K. Stalin | Rising Sun |
| JDU | Janata Dal-United | Nitish Kumar | Arrow |
| RJD | Rashtriya Janata Dal | Lalu Prasad Yadav | Hurricane Lamp |
| SS | Shiv Sena | Uddhav Thackeray | Bow and Arrow |
| BJD | Biju Janta Dal | Naveen Patnaik | Conch |
| SAD | Shiromani Akali Dal | Sukhbir Singh Badal | Scales |
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Regional political parties
Regional political parties are parties that are popularly divided on the basis of the regions. They are basically of two types is Communal and Non-communal. The examples of these Communal and Non-communal political parties are given below:
List of Important Regional political parties with symbols
| S.NO | Communal | Non-communal |
| 1. | Shiromani Akali Dal | Telugu Desam Party |
| 2. | AIADMK and DMK | Asom Gana Parishad |
| 3. | Shiv Sena | National Conference |
| 4. | Muslim League | Haryana Congress |
| 5. | Republican Party of India |
Some major political parties in India
BJP
| BJP Full Form | Bharatiya Janata Party |
| BJP Symbol and Logo | Lotus |
| BJP Flag | The main colors in the BJP flag are saffron and green with lotus. |
| BJP President | Jagat Prakash Nadda |
| BJP Leaders | Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh |
| BJP First President | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
| BJP Background | BJP is formed as Bharatiya Jana Sangh in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee. |
INC (Congress Party)
| Congress Full Form | Indian National Congress |
| Congress Symbol and Logo | Hand |
| Congress Flag | The main colors of the congress flag are saffron, white, and green with the hand as the main symbol. |
| Congress President | Sonia Gandhi |
| Congress Leaders | Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, etc. |
| First President Indian National Congress | Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee |
| First woman president Indian National Congress | Sarojini Naidu |
| Congress Background | Congress party was formed on 28th Dec. 1885 by A.O Hume. |
| Congress Meaning | A large formal meeting |
| Congress Seva Dal | It is a front organization of INC. They wear Gandhi topi. |
AIADMK Party
| AIADMK Full Form | All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| AIADMK Symbol and Logo | Two Leaves |
| AIADMK Flag | The flag has 2 leaves with green as its primary color. |
| AIADMK President | E. Madhusudhanan |
| AIADMK Leaders | O. Panneerselvam, Edappadi K. Palaniswami |
| AIADMK First President | M. G. Ramachandran |
| AIADMK Background | It is a Dravidian party of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry formed by M. G. Ramachandran in 1972. |
DMK Party
| DMK Full Form | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
| DMK Symbol and Logo | Rising Sun |
| DMK Flag | The main colors of the DMK flag are black and red with the rising sun as its main symbol. |
| DMK President | M. K. Stalin |
| DMK Leaders | T.R. Baalu, Tiruchi Siva |
| DMK First President | C. N. Annadurai |
| DMK Background | DMK is founded by C. N. Annadurai on 17th September in 1949. has a major influence state of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. |
| DMK online membership | https://dmk.in/joindmk/en |
RJD Party
| RJD Full Form | Rashtriya Janata Dal |
| RJD Symbol and Logo | Hurricane Lamp |
| RJD Flag | The flag has green as its primary color with Hurricane Lamp as its symbol. |
| RJD President | Lalu Prasad Yadav |
| RJD Leaders | Rabri Devi, Tej Pratap Yadav, Tejashwi Yadav |
| RJD First President | Lalu Prasad Yadav |
| RJD Background | RJD is a Bihar-based political party formed by Lalu Prasad Yadav in 1997. It has an alliance with United Progressive Alliance (UPA). |
FAQs on Political Parties in India
Q.) How many national political parties are in India?
Ans.) As per the recent Election Commission of India, there is a total number of 2698, with 8 national parties, 2638 unrecognized parties, and 52 state parties.
Q.) How many major political parties are in India?
Ans.) There are 8 national political parties in India which play a major role in the active Indian political system.
Q.) What are the top political parties in India?
Ans.) At the Lok Sabha general election, there are only two political parties that are top these are BJP and Congress.
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