"It is very difficult to remove party leaders; there is little discussion or consultation with ordinary members when setting the party
agenda; young politicians find it difficult to climb
the ranks, and the influence of family connections remains powerful."
Sounds familiar? It should because these are the findings of a
study on internal democracy in political parties in India today.
The study which was conducted by Research Foundation for Governance in India (RFGI), titled 'Democracy Within and Without' reveals that despite being a proud democracy as a country, the political parties are yet to attain effective democracy within their party.
"Democracy requires more than just institutions. It also requires that people use those institutions in good faith, and believe in them. It requires that individuals encourage substantial debate and seek compromise rather than abuse power. Democratising India's political parties is an important step towards improving Indian politics as a whole," said founder and MD of RFGI Kanan Dhru.
The findings of the study have been compiled in a book which will be released on Sunday at the Ahmedabad Management Association. The report discusses the functioning of the two major parties of India - Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The study focuses on the state of Gujarat.
The report was compiled through interaction with relevant academicians and people well-versed with functioning of the political parties and those within the party as well. However, the report is not aimed at comparing parties or passing judgments on whether a political party is internally more democratic than another, but tries to set up a benchmark for all stakeholders to move towards.
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