Starting on April 19, India will oversee the largest democratic elections worldwide
with 969 million registered voters. The Asian country currently has more than
2,500 political parties, but a mere 10 of them currently hold 86 percent of the
seats in the lower house of parliament, the Lok Sabha.
India's most important parties in an overlook:
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)
The BJP was born in 1980 out of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh party, and is the party
of current Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It claims to be the world's biggest
political party with almost 180 million members.
In 2014, Modi led the BJP to form its first-ever majority government on its own
and he has been in power since.
The party is considered right-wing, with Hindu cultural values and nationalism
being the main ideological points.
Indian National Congress
Congress is India’s oldest political party, dating back to 1885 when the British
ruled over the Indian subcontinent and has been very influential since then.
The party was responsible for many economic reforms who shaped India's open
market economy.
However, in recent years the party has suffered due to Prime Minister Modi's
popularity. Rahul Gandhi is the main campaigner of the party.
His father Rajiv Gandhi, grandmother Indira and great-grandfather Nehru were
all prime ministers and led the country for more than 37 years.
The Congress currently forms an 26-member coalition to challenge Modi, called
INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance).
Gandhi is contesting this year’s election from Wayanad in the southern state of
Kerala.
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)
The Aam Aadmi Party, or Common Person's Party, has been created after anti-
corruption protests, led by Anna Hazare. It's part of the INDIA alliance.
The party currently controls Punjab State and an state government in the capital
Delhi.
However, the AAP’s suffers from pre-election protests of several of its high-profile
leaders, including Kejriwal, in an alleged corruption case. While the party dismisses
the allegations as “a desperate attempt to malign the image” of Kejriwal for political
gains, the protests have shown effect on the party's chances.
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)
The DMK has established itself as a strong force in the south and is alligned with
the Congress. It runs the southern state of Tamil Nadu.
It's India’s third-largest party in terms of the number of seats it holds in Lok Sabha,
the lower house of parliament.
All India Trinamool Congress (TMC)
By seats in parliament, the TMC is India's fourth-largest party. The party has joined
INDIA and is a close ally of of Congress. It controls the state of West Bengal, where
it is the dominant force since 13 years.
While the TMC hasn't yet decided for an candidate, one of the candidates for the
election is Mahua Moitra, a persistent critic of Modi, who was expelled from
parliament last year over bribery allegations.
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