Functions of political parties in a democracy or part played by political parties in a democracy

A political party is a group of people who aim to attain power in the government through the elections. They have their own ideology and vision for society. They formulate various policies and programs for society. They work for the collective public interest. Let us learn about the functions of political parties.

Functions Of Political Parties:

1. Contest Elections. Political parties contest elections to win the majority and form the government. They choose their candidates who fight for the party in the elections. Those candidates are chosen who can either raise a lot of money or are sure to win the elections.

Popular personalities are also chosen to represent the political party. The candidates are chosen either by all the members of the party or only by the top leaders of the party.

2. Policies and Programmes: The political parties talk about policies in the public. They try to convince the public that the policies of their party are better. They organize demonstrations, public meetings, and speeches to discuss the policies that they would take. They discuss the problems facing the country and the policies that, they would adopt once elected. They try to gain the support of the public through such measures.

3. Law-making: Political parties play a very important role in making the laws for the country. Any proposed law is first called the bill. The bill is debated in the legislature and if it gets a majority it is considered to be passed. Such a bill then becomes law for the country.

4. Form and Run the Government

The political party that wins the majority in the elections forms the government. Such a party is called the ruling party. It forms and then runs the government. It takes all the important decisions. Trained and experienced members are made the ministers who implement the politicizing of the government.

5. Role of the Oppositions: The political party that loses the elections forms the opposition party. It keeps a check on the ruling party. Opposition parties criticize the ruling government if it implements a policy that is not in favor of the masses. They also ensure that the ruling party does not misuse its power.

6. Form the Public Opinion: Political parties discuss various issues facing the country, discuss their policies and form public opinion on it. The pressure groups associated with parties inform the public about various matters. They launch movements for the problems of the country and mobilize mass support for various issues.

7. Access to Government Machinery Welfare Schemes: The political parties form an important link between the public and the] government. The leaders are answerable to the people for the policies followed by their party. It is easy for the public to approach the local leaders to raise their demands. The leaders cannot ignore their concerns as the public might not vote for them in the next elections.

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