The Role of Politics and Government Structure in India

The structure of the Indian government is a blend of American and British styles that allow the government to run smoothly. India has both a prime minister and a president. There are two houses in the legislature called the Lak Sabha which is the House of the People and the Rajya Sabha which is the Council of the States. There is a Judicial System and a system of federalism between the national government and the states exists.

In the executive branch the president is elected indirectly by the electoral college of both houses of the legislature and all state legislatures. The prime minister is elected by a majority vote in the Lak Sabha. The president can select the prime minister when the Lak Sabha is deadlocked in a decision. The president also apppoints governors of all states, appointes judges to the Supreme Court, chief of the armed forces, can suspend the government by decree, can suspend the operations of the states. However the president can only do these functions provided that he has the advice and consent of the prime minister.

The prime minister is the chief legislator and has taken powers from the president that were originally given to the presidential office by the Constitution. Influential prime ministers include Mahatma Ghandi, Indira Ghandi, Nehru, Rajvi Ghandi and Sonia Ghandi.

A council of ministers also exists that has up to 100 members. There are three layers in the coucil: Cabinet members, non-cabinet members and deputy ministers.

The Lak Sabha has 545 members and the members are elected by Single Member District plurality. The Lak Sabha elects the prime minister and can also issue a vote of no confidence in the prime minister.

The Rajya Sabha on the other hand cannot issue a vote of no confidence. Members are elected for 6 year terms. There are 250 members of the Rajya Sabha who are elected by state legislators. 12 out of the 250 mmebers are appointed by the president for meritorious service. All legislation must be approved by both houses.

India has a Supreme Court which has the power of judicial review. However the authority of the court has been compromised because leaders can stack the court in his or her favor by political party and idealogy.

The system of federalism in India is very similar to the American federalist system. The central government is responsible for foreign affairs, defense, currency regulation and taxes. States are responsible for education, police, welfare and other local matters. Both the state and national government can control economic policy. The Bureaucracy in India is made up of the Indian Civil Service and the Indian Administrative Service.

For many years in India the party that held power was the Congress Party. They held power for close to 50 years in India. Popularity for the party came from Mahatma Ghandi and Nehru. However problems arose becuase the Congress Party is a secular party while India was becoming increasingly non-secular. India found a religious alternative in the Bharatya Janata Party. An econmic shift occurred from the socialist planning to the liberal capitalism.

In 1998 the Bharatya Janata party came to power when they won elections.

Economic questions that still linger in India is how to proceed with its capitalist plans. These econmic and political concerns with help determine whether India will indeed be a world power in future years.