Political parties that once held power in a state or at the national level sometimes fade away. Once a powerful force, the Bharatiya Rashtra Samithi (BRS) in Telangana is now weakening in politics like many others. BRS MLA A. Gandhi’s defection to Congress last week reflects its leader’s tactics. The ruling Congress now has 75 MLAs supporting it, including 65 from Congress, one from CPI, and nine former BRS members.

India has six national parties, 57 state parties, and 2,764 unrecognized parties participating in a democratic process overseen by the Election Commission. Many leaders have established parties representing specific regional and caste-based interests, reflecting the complex and engaging nature of Indian politics. Many once-charismatic party leaders have become irrelevant, leaving their supporters disillusioned and driving them to seek other parties. Regional leaders now wield significant influence, shaping the political landscape more than national parties. A single influential figure typically holds such parties together. The parties tends to disintegrate if the leaders leaves, underscoring their pivotal role. When a leader’s influence wanes, a new leader emerges, adding a sense of unpredictability and drama to the political narrative. For instance, who would have thought Arvind Kejriwal would appear as a leader in 2012 when he was part of India Against Corruption?

Biju Patnaik’s son Naveen Patnaik is another leader who held Odisha for a long time in his own right. Many political leaders in India believe in passing down leadership to their families. For example, Lalu Prasad Yadav, the leader of RJD, has supported his wife, sons and daughters in leadership roles. This trend of familial succession is also evident in the DMK, Samajwadi Party, Janata Dal (S), Nationalist Congress Party, National Conference, PDP and Shiv Sena as well as other regional parties across different states in India. The division between Left and Right-wing politics is increasingly crucial to Indian and global politics. Right-wing politics is gaining support from big businesses; the left wing is divided and on the defensive, but strives to unite democratically.

This division is a political reality but also a critical aspect. Since 1991, there has been a rise in neo-liberalism, a political ideology that advocates for free-market capitalism and limited government intervention, and fascism, a far-right authoritarian nationalist political ideology in Indian politics. This has prompted a Leftist response from affected groups and parties who fear that various rights may be taken away. This brings us to the crux of the matter. Why do most parties, including the oldest parties like Congress and CPI, play the snakes and ladder game? It is because they are not moving with the times and continue to live in the past. They are unable to understand the younger generation’s aspirations. However, the youth’s desire for change and progress gives hope for a dynamic future in Indian politics. The rise and fall of political parties is quite intriguing. First, it is often due to their reliance on charismatic leaders.

These leaders tend to protect their interests, and the party suffers when they fail to meet expectations. Secondly, these leaders often neglect to develop secondary leadership, leading to the party’s collapse when their influence wanes. This is true even for the Congress and the BJP. Thirdly, regional parties frequently make ambitious promises in their manifestos before elections, which leads to a loss of credibility when they fail to deliver. Democracy provides space for alternative ideologies to develop. There are ideological political cycles similar to economic cycles of booms and recessions. While an ideology may be pure in theory, people often need help to implement it fully. The rise in popularity of the far Right can be attributed to anti-incumbency sentiments directed towards the Left and the Centre-Left. Finally, regional parties often prioritize pleasing their leaders over the party’s interests, leading to the dominance of dynastic politics. In the years after independence, people asked, “After Nehru, who?”

Lal Bahadur Shastri succeeded Nehru as Prime Minister. After Indira Gandhi, the leadership passed to Rajiv Gandhi and so on. While some charismatic leaders held the position, others like H D Deve Gowda and I K Gujral unexpectedly became Prime Ministers, earning them the nickname “accidental prime ministers”. Deve Gowda’s Janata Dal (Secular) and Gujral’s Janata Dal have faded, existing only in pockets. In the past, Congress was the focal point on which most opposition parties relied for political support. It was an umbrella party giving space to various ideologies and opinions. However, now the Congress has become so weak that it depends on regional parties for survival. Nevertheless, the Grand Old Party cannot be written off, as its revival was demonstrated in the 2024 elections. The lesson to be learned is that India has demonstrated ups and downs in politics, and they are part of democracy. This snakes and ladders game will continue as people see charismatic leaders come and go.