Internal party democracy

Also called: Inner-party democracy, Intra-party democracy · Topic: Political Parties, Party Systems and Anti-defection · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 10, Ch 4 "Political Parties"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"

Meaning

Internal party democracy (also called inner-party or intra-party democracy) means that a political party runs itself democratically. It holds regular elections for its own posts, keeps open lists of its members, and lets members have a say in decisions such as who gets tickets and what goes into the manifesto.

It matters because parties choose candidates, write manifestos and form governments. If a party is run by one family or a small group, voters only get to pick from choices that a few people have already made.

Explanation

What it looks like in a party

• Regular organisational elections. The party's officials, up to its president, are elected by its members. They are not simply nominated by the leader.
• Open membership register. A public, honest list of who the members are. Without this, nobody can tell whether an internal election was real.
• Members take part in decisions. Members help decide:
• who gets the party ticket (candidate selection);

• what the manifesto promises.

• The party follows its own constitution. Every party has a written constitution with internal rules. Internal democracy means it actually follows those rules.

• Fair settling of disputes. Fights inside the party are settled by agreed rules, not by the leader alone.

Why it is missing: the main complaints

• Control by a few. One family or a small group runs the party (dynastic rule).
• Money and muscle power. Wealth or force, not merit, decides who gets tickets.
• No real internal elections. Where elections are held, NCERT (Class 10) calls them "sometimes mere formality".
• Hidden funds. Nobody knows where the money comes from. Most party income still comes from "unknown sources" (donations below the reporting limit).

Limits of the present law

• The ECI can only advise.
• The Election Commission of India (ECI) has asked parties to hold internal elections and file income-tax returns.
• The Representation of the People Act, 1951 (RPA) does not give the ECI any power to enforce internal elections.

• NCERT (Class 9) says the ECI "ensures" inner-party democracy. That overstates it.

• Registration is a one-time check.

• Under s.29A RPA, a party files its constitution only when it registers.
• That constitution must promise loyalty to the Constitution of India, socialism, secularism and democracy.

• The ECI usually cannot deregister a party for breaking its own constitution, because Parliament has not given it that power.

• No clause in the Constitution. The Indian Constitution says nothing about how parties must run themselves.

Why law alone may not work (NCERT, Class 10)

• Too much regulation pushes parties to find ways to cheat the law.
• Parties control the legislature, so they will not pass laws they dislike.
• So NCERT also points to routes outside the law:
• Citizen pressure: pressure groups, movements and the media can push parties through petitions, publicity and agitation.
• "More and better politics": good people should join parties and change them from inside.

In the Constitution and practice

• Anti-defection law and its side effect
• The Tenth Schedule was added by the 52nd Amendment (1985) and tightened by the 91st Amendment (2003). It disqualifies a legislator who leaves the party or votes against the party whip (the party's order on how to vote).

• Side effect: the party leadership becomes stronger. Members cannot disagree in the House, even on internal matters. This weakens internal democracy.

• Candidate affidavits. After Supreme Court orders, every candidate must file an affidavit listing their assets, education and pending criminal cases. Gap: there is no system to check whether these affidavits are true.

• Law Commission, 170th Report, "Reform of the Electoral Laws" (May 1999)
• It proposed a new Chapter IVC in the RPA called "Regulation of Political Parties" [5].
• The chapter would cover internal democracy, party constitutions, party organisation, internal elections, candidate selection and voting procedures [5].
• It would let the ECI de-register a party that does not comply [5].

• Order of reforms: regulate parties first (internal democracy, accounts, audit, filing with the ECI), and only then try state funding of elections [5].

• Law Commission, 255th Report, "Electoral Reforms" (2015)

• It proposed limits on candidates' spending, disclosure duties for candidates and parties, penalties on parties, and a review of state funding [6].
• It proposed that only ECI-registered parties may contest Lok Sabha or Vidhan Sabha elections, by amending ss.4–5 RPA [6].

• It also called for a stronger, more independent ECI [6].

• Draft bill (2011). A committee chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah prepared a draft law on registering parties and regulating their affairs.

• NCERT's proposed law (Class 10). It would require a register of members, that the party follow its own constitution, an independent authority to settle internal disputes, and open elections to the highest posts. NCERT also suggests about one-third of tickets for women and a quota for women in party decision-making bodies.
• Transparency and RTI
• On 3 June 2013, a full bench of the Central Information Commission (CIC) held six national parties (INC/AICC, BJP, CPI(M), CPI, NCP and BSP) to be public authorities under s.2(h) of the RTI Act, 2005. This means bodies that must answer Right to Information requests [2][3].
• Reasons: parties get substantial indirect public funding, such as cheap land, bungalows in Delhi, income-tax exemption and free airtime on Doordarshan and AIR, and they perform public duties [2].
• The RTI (Amendment) Bill, 2013 would have removed parties from the Act, backdated to 3 June 2013. It lapsed without being passed [3].

• None of the six parties complied. In 2015 the CIC admitted it had no means to enforce its order. Petitions by ADR and others are pending in the Supreme Court. The ECI said it supports the CIC's position [4].

• Existing disclosure rules

• s.29C RPA: parties must report donations above ₹20,000 to the ECI.

• Parties must also file audited annual accounts and election expenditure statements. Since 2023 they can file all three online [9].

• ECI clean-up (2025). The ECI delisted 334 registered unrecognised political parties (RUPPs) in August 2025 [7] and 474 more on 18 September 2025, a total of 808 in two months, for not contesting any election for 6 straight years [8].

• Foreign model: Germany. Article 21 of the Basic Law (Germany's constitution) requires a party's internal organisation to follow democratic principles, and requires parties to publicly account for their funds.
• Case study: Nagarik Shakti (2007). Muhammad Yunus tried to start this new, clean party in Bangladesh. NCERT uses it to ask whether founding a new party is a realistic way to reform politics.

Don't confuse with

• Anti-defection law (Tenth Schedule): this controls how legislators behave towards their party. It actually makes leaders stronger. Internal party democracy is about members controlling the party.
• Party registration under s.29A RPA: this is a one-time filing of the party constitution with the ECI. It does not make the party hold internal elections or follow that constitution afterwards.
• Transparency / RTI on parties: this is about the public's right to see party information, especially finances. Internal democracy is about how decisions inside the party are made. The two are linked but separate reforms.
• State funding of elections: the government pays part of election costs, in kind (petrol, paper, telephone) or in cash (based on votes won last time). The Law Commission (1999) said internal democracy and audited accounts must come first [5].

Prelims Hooks

• Trap: "The ECI can enforce internal elections in political parties." False. The RPA, 1951 gives it no such power. It can only advise.
• The Law Commission's 170th Report (1999) proposed a new Chapter IVC, "Regulation of Political Parties", in the RPA, with ECI power to de-register parties that do not comply [5].
• Germany's Basic Law, Art. 21 requires a democratic internal order and public accounting of funds. The Indian Constitution has no such clause.
• s.29A RPA deals with party registration. s.29C RPA requires parties to report donations above ₹20,000 to the ECI.
• The CIC decision of 3 June 2013 held six national parties to be public authorities under s.2(h), RTI Act, 2005. The RTI (Amendment) Bill, 2013, meant to overturn it, lapsed [3].
• The 2011 draft law on regulating parties was prepared by a committee chaired by Justice M.N. Venkatachaliah.

Mains Points

• A law to regulate parties (Law Commission 170th, 1999; 255th, 2015):
• For: membership registers, internal elections and audited accounts would curb dynastic rule and the sale of tickets.
• Against: NCERT warns parties will dodge or block such laws, and tight rules could make the ECI an umpire of party affairs.

• Middle path: put the rules in the RPA, enforced by the ECI, with an independent body for internal disputes.

• Order of reforms:

• Internal democracy and audited accounts should come before state funding [5].

• Otherwise public money only strengthens the people who already control the party.

• Limits of law:

• The anti-defection law (52nd Amendment, 1985; 91st Amendment, 2003) itself made party bosses stronger.
• Lasting change also needs pressure from citizens and the media, transparency (for example, RTI applied to finances and candidate selection), and people with integrity joining parties. In NCERT's words, "the problem of bad politics can be solved by more and better politics".

Related concepts

• Political parties under RTI

Read more

• Reforming parties: internal democracy, transparency and RTI