Transformation From Single Party To Region Based Multi-Party System: A Study In Electoral Geography

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1 Reviewed Paper Volume 2 Issue 12 August 2015 International Journal of Informative & Futuristic Research ISSN (Online): Transformation From Single Party To Region Based Multi-Party System: A Study In Electoral Geography Paper ID IJIFR/ V2/ E12/ 035 Page No Subject Area Geography Key Words Scenario, Geo-political, Regional, Competitiveness, Spatial, Delineate Received On Accepted On Published On Dr. Ramesh Singh Parmar Associate Professor Department of Geography D.A.V College, Ambala City-Haryana(India) Abstract Indian political party system prior to 1970s was dominated by Indian National Congress predominantly described as one party or one party dominant system with wider Geographical expansion and having popular support in all the socio-cultural segments of the society. In 1990s the scenario has changed altogether by making Indian party system more competitive and pave the way for a large number of political parties without a well-defined ideology to enter into the fray, where the local and regional parties and their emergence has a geo-political rationale with regional interests and articulate and seeks to defend region based cultural identity and sometime bargain with the Centre for better regional development. Here in the present study, an effort has been made to identify and delineate the geographical regions and spatial distribution of party competitiveness in parliamentary elections. 1. Introduction Decline of congress mass base in the recent parliamentary elections has vacated the political space and provided the manure for mushroom growth of Local and Regional parties spread over states or a geographical region enhancing the competitiveness with multi cornered contest. The various parties in Indian political arena have localized stronghold pockets and sometime with inconsistent support. Here for the measurement of party competition in Copyright IJIFR

2 twelfth parliamentary election the methods developed by Das Gupta and Morris Jones have been used with slight modification. Cartographic methods have been used to know the voting strength and competitiveness among the parties. 2. Aims And Objective Of The Study The Aims and Objective of the present study are as follows: - To delineate the regions of direct fight or less split of votes due to pre poll alliance among the opposition parties. To identify the stronghold areas of the party in terms of voting strength where party emerged as the only party with landslide victory. To study the spatial pattern of competitiveness among the parties in the election of Data Base The present study is based on the secondary sources of data. The electoral data for 1998 Lok Sabha elections have been collected from the library of election Commission. The map of the parliamentary constituencies is collected from the office of the Chief Election commissioner, New Delhi. 4. Methodology And Techniques In the present study the method developed by Jones and Das Gupta has been used which is comparatively better than the other available methods to measure the competitiveness among the parties. But Jones and Gupta s categories based on district as a unit of analysis is also not devoid of drawbacks because of mismatch of constituency and district boundaries. So here an attempt has been made to measure the competitiveness just by taking Parliamentary Constituency as a unit of analysis rather than district as a unit. In the present study, all the Lok Sabha have been divided into the following four Categories in terms of competitiveness. 1. Constituency a>=50% a-b >= 20% 2. One party Dominant 40% <= a < 50% a-b >= 20% 3. Two party a+b >= 60 % a-b < 20% c < 15% 4. Multi Party a <40% and a+b <60% a+b >= 60% and c>= 15% Whereas a= % share of the leading party in the constituency. b= % share of the Second party in the constituency. c=% share of the Third party in the constituency. 4530

3 5. Party Competition In Twelfth General Election- : In the 1998 parliamentary election, only 58 constituencies are such, where one party emerged with overwhelming support, which is lowest so far, compare to other elections since 1977 parliamentary election. Only West-Bengal has shown the highest number of such constituencies, where just 10 constituencies fall under this category of no competition. Whereas, in other states, the one party constituencies could not reach to double figure. The region wise distribution shows that in the Indo-Gangetic region, fifty percent constituencies of this category are concentrated. Only 10 one party constituencies are found in Deccan plateau region. Andhra-Pradesh, H.P., Haryana, Kerala, 4531

4 Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are the states, where even not a single constituency could enter in this category. Among Union territories, only one constituency of Delhi (South Delhi) comes under the category of one party constituency. The state wise distribution of one party constituency is as follows In West-Bengal, there are 10 constituencies of one party category, which are concentrated in the South-Western part of the state. CPM emerged as the major party in five constituencies (Arambhag, Jhargram(ST), Vishnupur (SC), Burdwan and Bolpur), CPI in two constituencies (Panskura and Midnapore) and RSP, FB and WBTC in other remaining three constituencies. In Bihar, only 4 constituencies (Maharajganj, Hazipur (SC), and Dhanbad & Ranchi) come under this category. In Dhanbad and Ranchi, the BJP became the only party, whereas Samata Party in Maharajganj and Janata Dal emerged in Hajipur without having any competition. In the Easternmost states, Assam recorded highest number of such constituencies (3), where the Congress emerged as the only party in all the three constituencies (Dhubri, Jorhat and Dibrugarh). In South India -- there are only ten constituencies of no competition category, which are spread in Karnataka (4), Maharashtra (4) and Tamilnadu (2). The BJP and the Congress emerged as the only party in Karnataka and Maharashtra states respectively. Whereas, in North, the BJP emerged as the only party (6 constituencies), which are spread in Western Uttar-Pradesh. 5.1 Dominant In the election of 1989, 1991 and 1998 there were 10 constituencies of one party dominant category. All these constituencies are concentrated in North and Eastern states. Whereas. In other regions even not a single constituency comes under this category. The one party dominant constituencies are only limited to three states, whereas in Union-Territories even not a single constituency could qualify for this category. The state-wise distribution of one party dominant constituencies show that highest number of such constituencies are concentrated in Uttar-Pradesh (5) - 4 in Rohilkhand plain (Hathras (SC), Aligarh, Mathura and Hapur) and one in Avadh plain (Kanpur). Bhartiya Janata Party gained the immense support and emerged as the dominant party in all these constituencies. In West-Bengal, there are 4 one party dominant constituencies- Jalpaiguri, Balurghat(SC), Murshidabad and Joynagar(SC). In West-Bengal, Left parties emerged as the dominant parties in all the four constituencies- CPM in Jalpaiguri and Murshidabad and Revolutionary socialist party (RSP) in Balurghat and Joynagar schedule caste constituencies. In Bihar, the Hazaribagh constituency of Chotta-Nagpur plateau, where Bhartiya Janata Party emerged as the dominant party without having any competition from the rivals. 5.2 Two Party In this election, the highest number of two party competition constituencies is recorded since 1977 general election. The main feature of the 1998 election is the emergence of a bi-polar situation at the center supported by various regional parties. Pre-election seat adjustments and post-electoral alliances were made by the major parties at the Center. In this election, there are 276 such constituencies where the competition was between two parties. The largest pocket of direct competition is scattered in Great Indian Desert, Deccan Lava trap and Chhattisgarhi area. The second pocket is extended to the South of Nilgiri hills and third pocket is scattered in Punjab plain and Jammu region. Other small pockets are scattered in small patches in Bihar and West- Bengal plains. The state-wise distribution of direct competition is as follows: in the North, about 100 parliamentary constituencies witnessed the two party competitions. Bihar, recorded the highest number of Bi- party constituencies (29), where the competition was mainly between the BJP and 4532

5 the RJD and in some constituencies, the competition was between the SAP and the RJD. In Madhya Pradesh, 27 constituencies recorded the direct competition, where the competition was between the Indian National Congress and the Bhartiya Janata Party. Two party Multi- Party Constituency Figure 1: Party Competition In other Northern states, the distribution of two party competitions is as follows : Rajasthan (20), where the competition was mainly between BJP and the Congress (1); in Uttar-Pradesh (9), the competition was between BJP and Samata party (on 6 constituencies) and BJP and Congress (1) in three constituencies of Almora, Nainital and Partapgarh. Among Union territories - Delhi witnessed the highest number of two party competition constituencies (5), where the competition was between the BJP and the Indian national Congress. Among the Southern states, nearly 120 constituencies witness the two party competitions. The highest number of such constituencies are in Maharashtra(42) followed by Tamilnadu(33) and Kerala(all 20 constituencies). In Maharashtra the competition was mainly between the Congress and the BJP (in some constituencies Shiv-Sena enters into the direct competition with Congress). In Tamilnadu, the competition was between the regional parties such as AIADMK,DMK TMC(M) and PMK. Whereas in Kerala the competition was between the Congress party and the Left parties i.e. CPM and CPI. In Andhra Pradesh (18) the competition was between the Congress and the Telugu Desam Party(TDP). There are some states, where even not a single constituency witnessed the two party competitions which are as follows: Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, H.P, Goa, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim. 4533

6 6. under different categories of competition (Twelfth general Election) Sr. No States / U.T Dominant Two Party 1 Andhra Pradesh Arunachal Assam Bihar Goa Gujrat Haryana H.P J & K Karnataka Kerala M.P Maharashtra Manipur Meghalaya Mizoram Nagaland Orissa Punjab Rajasthan Sikkim Tamilnadu Tripura U.P West Bengal Multi Party 7. Multi-Party In the election of 1998, the multi-party competition was recorded in 195 parliamentary constituencies, which is just one constituency less than the previous election of These constituencies are mainly concentrated in three pockets- largest pocket is in plains of the Ganga & Yamuna and other two are in Assam Valley and Telangana plateau. More than half of such constituencies are only concentrated in North India whereas, Uttar-Pradesh recorded the highest number of multi-cornered competition constituencies (63), which are scattered all over the state except hilly tracts. In this state the competition was mainly between the Bhartiya Janata Party, Indian National Congress, Samajwadi Party (SP) and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP). After U.P., Bihar recorded the large number of multi-party constituencies (20), which are scattered throughout the state, without showing any regional concentration. The competition was mainly between the Bhartiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Samata Party and Janata Dal. In Haryana, all the constituencies except Bhiwani constituency witnessed the multi-cornered competition, where the main rivals were INC, BJP and HLD (R) (Haryana Lok Dal Rashtriya) and Haryana Vikas Party 4534

7 (HVP). Among Southern states, Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest number of multi-party constituencies (24), where the competition was between the INC, TDP (Telugu Desam Party) and the BJP. After A.P., Karnataka recorded the significant number of multi-cornered constituencies (17) followed by Tamilnadu (4). In Eastern states, West Bengal witnessed 11 multi-party constituencies, where the competitors were Left parties, INC and BJP. In Eastern most states, Assam recorded the highest number of constituencies of this category. There are some states like Kerala, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Sikkim & Tripura, where even a single constituency could not qualify for this category. 8. Conclusion Indian parliamentary elections since 1991, the constituencies with multi-party competition witnessed a triangular contest, whereas, in a few constituencies particularly when two regional parties entered into the fray, then the shape of the competition changed into quadrangular and some time contest become pentangular. The Multi-party constituencies were recorded highest in 1996 (196 constituencies) and in 1998 (195 constituencies) parliamentary election. The 1998 parliamentary election results should be understood as part of the ongoing process of transformation from a single dominant to a region-based multi-party system, seen over every election since the late 1980 s. The parliamentary election of 1998 witnessed a bi-polar situation at the center supported by various regional parties. References [1] Butler, D., India decides, Elections , Delhi: L M Books, [2] Dasgupta, Biplap, and Moorish Jones, W.H., Patterns and Trends in Indian Politics An Ecological analysis of aggregate data on Society and Election, New Delhi: Sallied, Dikshit, R.D, Geography of Election: Indian context, Delhi Rawat Publication, [3] Johnston, R.J, Geography of English Politics- The 1983 General election London: Croomhelm, 1985 [4] Rana, M.S., INDIA VOTES: Lok-Sabha and Vidhan Sabha election, Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation, [5] Singh, H.D., 543 faces of India: Guide to 543 Parliamentary constituencies ( ), New Delhi: Newsmen Publisher, [6] Srivastava, M. K., Electoral, Geography of an Indian state, Allahabad: Atul Dissertation, 1982 Taylor, P.J Johnston, R.J and Shelly F.M.L (ed.), Developments in Electoral Geography, London and New York: Rutledge, [7] ARTICLES: [8] Amani, K.Z, 'Elections in Haryana (India) - A Study of Electoral Geography the Geography, vol. 17, 1970, PP [9] Dikshit, R.D, 'On the Place of Electoral Studies in Political Geography', Transaction Institute of Indian Geographers, vol. 2, No. 2, 1980, PP The 1980 Assembly Election in Punjab - An Enquiry into Bases of Political Support', Annals of the National Association of Geographers, vol. 2, No. 1, 1982, PP [10] Dikshit, R.D and J.C Sharma - 'Electoral Performance of the Congress Party in Punjab ( ) - An Ecological Analysis, Trans. Inst. of Indian Geographers, vol. 4, No. 1, 1982, PP [11] Sharma J.C, 'The Indian Context and Geographical Study of voting Behaviour', Indian Geographical Studies, vol. 19, 1982, PP [12] Singh, C.P, 'Geography and Electoral Studies', Transaction Institute of Indian Geographers, vol. 3, No. 1, 1981, PP [13] 'Indian Electoral Geography - Some Methodology aspects', Annals of the National Association of Geographers, vol. 1, No. 2, 1981, PP