POLITICAL PARTIES:Meaning and Functions:

A political party is a group operating to secure the control of a government.The main aim of a political party is to take part in the struggle for power.The persons of this organization i.e political party agree on some important matters of public policy.

According to Gilchrist , A political party is an association of an organized group of citizens who prefer to share the same political views and who by acting as a political unit try to control the government .

In order to constitute a political party , persons combining together should satisfy some conditions .These are

1. They agree upon certain fundamental principals of public policy .

2. In pursuit of their political objectives ,they formulate a practical programme and platform .

3. They create an effective organization for putting across to the people their ideology and programme .

4. Their programme is formulated in such a manner as to promote the general interests of the people as a whole .

5. They employ only constitutional methods and work strictly within the framework of the constitution .

Functions of Political Parties.

Parties are an essential part of democracy . Representative government’s cannot work without political parties . Following are some important functions of political parties .

1.Formulate and mould public opinion : Parties select various issues and present their manifestoes before the public . The policies are then explained and discussed . The issues are clarified by criticism and counter criticism . All these activities of the parties help in formulating and moulding of public opinion.

2. Contest elections : Every political party select its best candidates and contest elections to gain power.

3. Form the Govt : The party which secures majority in the election forms the government and implements the policies which it formulated at the time of elections.

4. Role of opposition: The minority party forms the opposition and keeps a watch over the activities of the government.

5. Link between the people and the government : Parties explain the government policies to the people and take the public grievances to the government.

6. Social and Economic reforms : In order to win the favour of public opinion ,parties try to bring social and economic reforms in the society .

7. Political Education: The activities of political parties keep the people wide awake.The parties advocacy of policies involves elaborate instructions which is carried on through mass media and personal contacts.