Why in the News?

Discussions are ongoing about the role of Election Commission of India (ECI) in enforcing democratic functioning of political parties in India.

What is Internal Party Democracy?

Internal party democracy is conceived as the internal arrangement, structure, and coordination of political parties in consonance with democratic principles with direct bearing on how candidates are selected, leaders emerge, policies are made and funding is provided.

Need for Internal Party Democracy

• Decentralization: It limits the centralized discretionary control exercised by top-level party leaders and opens decision-making processes to input from wider circles of party stakeholders at various levels.
• Prevent criminalization: Addresses the systemic issue of candidate selection based on "winnability", often driven by money and muscle power. 
  • As per Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), 46% of the newly elected Lok Sabha members have criminal cases against them.
• Representation: It provides citizens equal political opportunity to participate in politics and contest elections.
• Youth participation: It opens up opportunities for new talent and reduces the influence of established leaders.
• Reduce corruption: Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC)’s 2008 Ethics and Governance report noted that corruption is caused by over-centralisation.
• Transparency and Free flow of information: John Stuart Mill's "On Liberty" (1859) argues for the “absolute” protection of the “liberty of thought and discussion.

Reasons for Lack of Internal-Party Democracy

• No statutory backing: The only governing provision is under Section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples’ Act (RPA), 1951 which provides for registration of political parties with the ECI.
  • Also, ECI’s Guidelines and Application Format for the Registration of Political Parties under Section 29A only prescribe provisions for internal accountability and not candidate selection.
• Lack of penal provisions: As per the judgment under Supreme Court in Indian National Congress (I) v Institute of Social Welfare, the ECI currently lacks the power to deregister a party.
• Structural Challenges: Prevalence of dynastic politics; Centralized power structures; Anti-Defection Law (52^nd Amendment to the Constitution) of 1985 mandating strict party line adherence, etc.
• Other issues: Lack of political will, Weak Organizational Framework, etc.

Way Forward 

• Transparency: Several government-constituted committees related to electoral reforms like the Tarkunde Committee (1975), Dinesh Goswami Committee (1990), and Indrajit Gupta Committee (1998) strongly argued for more transparent working of the political parties in the country.
• Recommendations of Law Commission (255^th Report) on “Electoral Reforms”:
  • New Chapter IVC in RPA, 1951: To deal with internal democracy, party Constitutions, party organisation, internal elections, candidate selection, voting procedures, and the ECI's power to de-register a party in certain cases of non-compliance.
• National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC):
  • Comprehensive legislation [as the Political Parties (Registration and Regulation) Act], regulating the registration and functioning of political parties or alliances of parties in India.