INC Symbol : Hand

Name of the founder: Allan Octavian Hume Other important leaders : 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Sonia Gandhi Rahul Gandhi Manmohan Singh Digvijay Singh P Chitambram Prithviraj Chavan Menka Gandhi

POLICIES AND AGENDAS

Social policy
Social policy of the INC is officially based upon the Gandhian principle of Sarvodaya (upliftment of all sections of the society.) In particular INC emphasises upon policies to improve the lives of the economically underprivillaged and socially disprivilleged sections of society. This includes publicising employment generation efforts for the rural population (through schemes such as National Rural Employment Generation Scheme) etc. The party supports the somewhat controversial concept of family planning with birth control but hasn't overtly supported elective abortion (i.e. Gender-Selective [citation needed] abortion) , which would be controversial and dangerous as certain groups (e.g.Feminists) could consider that to be sexist or insensitive and the INC wouldn't have been able to survive under such pressure. The INC supports the highly controversial 'Reservation' system (i.e. reserving jobs and other things for underprivileged factions of society) which could lead to an inexperienced poorer person getting [citation needed] a job instead of an experienced wealthier person, though it could also be vice versa.

Economic policy
Initially and for a long time, the economic policy of the INC was centred around the public sector and aimed at establishing a "socialistic pattern of society". However, after the recent adoption of Economically [citation needed] Liberal policies started by Manmohan Singh the then Finance Minister in the early 1990s, the economic policy of INC has been changed somewhat and it is now adopted free market policies, though at the same time it is in favour of taking a cautious approach when it comes to liberalising the economy

claiming it is to help ensure that the weaker sectors aren't affected to hard by the changes that come with liberalisation

Role in national and regional government formation INC has made national government 11 times and at current it has a regional govt in 13 states

CPI Formed on 26 dec 1925 Symbol

Founder: Charu Majumdar and M.N Roy Imp leaders Prakash karat Vrinda karat Budhdev bhattacharya

BJP Founded: dec 1980 Founder; Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee

Hindutva[edit]
Main article: Hindutva This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (October 2013) The BJP expresses a commitment to Hindutva, an ideology developed by Hindu politician Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. It asserts that Hindutva is cultural nationalism, which favours India's heritage, civilisation and culture over Westernisation. While critics allege that the party is antagonistic to religious minorities, the BJP asserts that cultural nationalism naturally extends to all Indians, including Muslims and Christians. The BJP in turn accuses the Congress party of allegedly employing so-called "pseudo-secular" political tactics that included giving preferential treatment and appeasement of Muslims and other minorities at the expense of Hindus, and promoting Western culture at the expense of India's indigenous culture. The BJP criticises Congress and other opponents for allegedly exploiting minorities and India's lower caste communities by taking their votes for granted Atal Bihari Vajpayee considered the European concept of "secularism" inappropriate for his interpretation of Indian culture, and places it in opposition to the BJP's version of Mohandas Gandhi's doctrine of Sarva [23] Dharma Sambhava, which the BJP considers as a traditionalised Indian form of secularism. He describes the Indian secular as follows: Mahatma Gandhi describes the correct attitude towards religion as 'Sarva Dharma Sambhava', equal respect to all religions. The concept of 'Sarva Dharma Sambhava' is somewhat different from European secularism, which is independent of religion ... We may say that the Indian concept of secularism is that of Sarva Dharma Sambhava ... Sarva Dharma Sambhava is not against any religion. It treats all religions with equal respect. And, therefore, it can be said that the Indian concept of secularism is more positive.
[24]

The concept of Integral Humanism has always been a pivotal element of the BJP's ideology, the party's considerably right-wing stance comprises some aspects of modern conservatism, social [clarification needed] conservatism,progressivism and enlightened nation , drawing much of the party's ideology from India's ancient culture and values, a major source of guidance for the BJP. As per the [unreliable source?] party's constitution , the objectives of the party are explained thus:

"The party is pledged to build up India as a strong and prosperous nation, which is modern, progressive and enlightened in outlook and which proudly draws inspiration from India's ancient culture and values and thus is able to emerge as a great world power, playing an effective role in the community of nations for the establishment of world peace and a just international order. The Party aims at establishing a democratic state which guarantees to all citizens irrespective of caste, creed or sex, political, social and economic justice, equality of opportunity and liberty of faith and expression. The Party shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of socialism, secularism and democracy and would uphold the sovereignty, unity and integrity of India." The BJP supports the construction of the Ram Janmabhoomi Temple in Ayodhya at the site of the Babri Mosque. It advocates banning the killing of cows since the cow is considered as one of the Hindu Gods (in line with conservative Indian belief) and promotes the teaching of Indian [clarification needed] cultural subjects in schools and colleges. During the Vajpayee government (199804), Education Minister Murli Manohar Joshi ordered the incorporation of Vedic astrology as a subject in college curriculum and ordered other controversial changes to history curriculums determined by the NCERT. Some members of the BJP-led Government of Karnataka have recommended the teaching of the Hindu holy book, the Bhagavad Gita in schools. The BJP also supports banning religious conversions and generally opposes Muslim and Christian missionary activities. Although the BJP [citation needed] [which?] asserts that it respects the Constitution of India and secularism, some BJP leaders have called for a constitutional amendment that declares India a "Hindu Rashtra" (Hindu Nation). On India's founding fathers, the BJP has expressly criticised India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, for his fabian socialism, pro-Muslim bias and mistakes in resolving the Kashmir dispute. The BJP has praised the role of India's first home minister Vallabhbhai Patel in unifying the country. Despite the fact that the BJP officially commemorates Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, and has Narendra Modi as a prominent leader in the party, it is often criticised as a party of the Hindu upper castes. The BJP has been affected by the various criticisms against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which has been criticised for being anti-Muslim, fascist in nature and for encouraging communal conflict. The BJP's affinity towards the ideologies of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar has been equated with criticism of Mohandas Gandhi, and allegations against the RSS that it endorsed Gandhi's killing have also impacted the BJP. While the RSS strongly denies these allegations, it has often criticised Gandhi for appeasement of Muslims and for consenting to the partition of India. However, the BJP vehemently denies being anti-Gandhi or anti-Muslim, defends its ties with the RSS and in turn criticises its political opponents with allegations of appeasement and exploiting the votes of minorities and lower castes.

Economic policies[edit]
The BJP and its predecessors opposed Marxism and the socialist economic policies of the Congress party, which has ruled the Republic of India for most of its history. However, it

espoused Swadeshi, or the promotion of indigenous industries and products as opposed to foreign imports and the establishment of friendly trade relations with foreign nations, thus remaining protectionist. During its tenure, the Vajpayee government continued the free-market reforms and economic liberalisation that was initiated in 1991, and oversaw a period of rapid [25][26] economic growth after years of stagnation. Concurrently, the BJP-led government invested in major infrastructure development projects such as the Golden Quadrilateral network of national highways and launched a major effort to [citation needed] attract foreign investment and introduce free trade. Despite the emergence of a burgeoning middle-class , the BJP lost the 2004 elections over criticism that it neglected the needs of India's poor in favour of Indian industrialists and mercantile classes.
[citation needed]

Defence and terrorism[edit]

This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (October 2013) The BJP is seen as supporting a strong national defence policy, which includes a modernisation of India's armed forces and a strong nuclear deterrence. It supports the full integration of Jammu and Kashmirinto India by revoking its "special status" granted in the Indian constitution. The Vajpayee government oversaw Pokhran-II - five nuclear tests in May 1998 and the tests of multiple ballistic missile systems. The Vajpayee government also ordered the Indian armed forces to take all measures to expel Pakistani infiltrators who had occupied territory in Indian administered Kashmir, in what became known as the Kargil War. Although the Vajpayee government was later criticised for the intelligence failures that failed to detect Pakistani infiltration, the decisive response and success of military operations bolstered its popularity and image of toughness on national security. After the 2001 Indian Parliament attack, Prime Minister Vajpayee ordered the mobilisation of India's armed forces along India's border with Pakistan, but tensions were later defused. In response to the December 2001 terrorist attacks on the Indian Parliament, the BJP-led government passed the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), which significantly expanded the scope of intelligence operations and the authority of police forces to detain suspects. The measures were criticised by the Congress and other opposition parties, which criticised the law as targeting India's Muslims. As a result, ajoint session of Parliament had to be called to enable the bill to pass. It was later repealed by the Congress-led government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The BJP has continually criticised the Congress government's [clarification needed] [why?] response to terrorist attacks perpetrated in India as being weak and ineffectual .

Foreign policy[edit]
This section possibly contains original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research may be removed. (October 2013)

Historically, the BJP has criticised the Congress-led governments that brought India closer to [clarification needed] the Soviet Union and the Communist bloc, although technically non-aligned. During its tenure, the Vajpayee government oversaw major improvement in Indo-U.S. relations, precipitated by the 2000 visit of U.S. President Bill Clinton to India. After the September 11th attacks, India expanded its cooperation with the United States in fighting the Taliban and AlQaeda, and in turn received greater investment, trade and military aid. Although expected by most observers to take a hardline approach in foreign policy, the Vajpayee government took steps to improve relations with India's traditional rivals, Pakistan and the People's Republic of China. In 1998, Vajpayee made a landmark visit to Pakistan, inaugurating the Delhi-Lahore Bus service. Although the Lahore Declaration was signed to improve relations in the aftermath of the 1998 nuclear tests, Pakistan's infiltration into Kashmir was discovered only three months later. After several years of hostility and tensions, Vajpayee again initiated a peace process in 2002 by inviting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to Delhi and Agra, but talks were inconclusive. In 2003, Vajpayee renewed the peace process over Kashmir by calling a ceasefire by Indian security forces and initiating talks with Pakistan again.

Imp leaders Lal krishana advani Lalit Modi Sushma Swaraj Yashwant Singh Atal bihari bajpayi Rajnath singh

SP

Founded: October 4 1992

Founder; mulayam singh Yadav

Agendas Provision for reservation in jobs, medical and technical institutions Reconstitution of the Shanti Suraksha Bal Remove illiteracy amongst Muslims Creating more employment opportunities and removing poverty

Imp leaders Mulayam singh Yadav Akhilesh Yadav Shiv gopal Yadav Azam khan Ram gopal

SHIROMANI AKALI DAL Founded : dec 14 1920 Founder; sukhvindar singh badal

Current imp leaders Surjit singh barnala Prakash singh badal Sukhbir singh badal
The Shiromani Akali Dal (Akali Dal, Punjabi: translation: Supreme Akali Party) is a Sikhism-centric political party in India. It's political inclination is far-right politics. There are a large number of parties with the name "Shiromani Akali Dal". The party recognized as "Shiromani Akali Dal" by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Sukhbir Singh Badal. It controls Sikh religious bodies Shiromani Gurudwara Prabandhak Committee, Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee and
[1]

is the largest and most influential Sikh political party worldwide. The basic philosophy of Akali Dal (Badal) is to give political voice to Sikh issues and it believes that religion and politics go hand in hand.

SHIV SENA Founded: 19 june 1966 Founder: Bal thakrey

IMP LEADERS Uddhav Thakrey Manohar joshi Sanjay raut Aditya thakre

POLICIES AND AGENDAS

Shiv Sena (Devangar: v Sen, meaning Army of Shiva, referring to Shivaji) is a right-

wing political party in India founded on June 19, 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who is currently the president of the party. The Senas ideology is based on the concepts of Bhumiputra (Marathi for Sons of Soil) and Hindutva or Hindu nationalism. The Bhumiputra ideology refers to the Shiv Senas belief that Maharashtrians deserve more rights in Maharashtra than those who are not from Maharashtra.[1]However, in recent times, the Sena has laid more emphasis on Hindutva. In the 13th

Lok Sabha (1999-2004), it had 15 (out of 545) members. During that period, the party was part of the government coalition at the national level. Manohar Joshi, a Shiv Sainik, was the Speaker of Lok Sabha 2002-2004. Shiv Sena has its employment cell Shiv Udyog Sena. Bharatiya Kamgar Sena (Indian Workers Army), a labour union, is affiliated to the Shiv Sena. The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Sena (All India Students Army) is the student wing of Shiv Sena.

ALL INDIA ANNA DMK Founded : 1972 Founder : M.G. Ramachandran

IMP LEADERS J.Jayalalitha

POLICIES
The ADMK moved from the anti-Hindi and anti-Brahman stand of the DMK party ideologies formulated [10] by C.N. Annadurai. MGR indicated he never "favored anti-Brahminism and ADMK would oppose ethnic

exclusion". Two Brahmin ladies Janaki and Jayalalitha were later fighting for the lead position. The ADMK sought to depoliticise the education policy of the government by not insisting on the medium of education to be Tamil language. Policies of ADMK were targeted to the poorer segments of Tamil society poor, rickshaw pullers, and destitute women and centralising the massive noon meal scheme for [11] [11] children. There was ambivalent approach towards the reservation policy and interest of farmers. The ADMK and its prime opposition party, the DMK have posted an array of populist schemes targeting the human development index of the state. Most of the schemes are accused to be targeting garner larger electoral support. Both the parties have schemes listed in the election manifestos covering various segments of the population involving fishermen, farmers and school children. Till the 2000s, the parties had welfare schemes like maternity assistance, subsidised public transport and educational grants. After the 2000s, the parties started competing at an increasing level over the distribution of consumer goods. The ADMK government distributed free cycles to class 11 and class 12 students during its tenure of 2001-06. The DMK, in competition, promised free colour televisions in its manifesto in 2006 elections. The competition continued during the 2011 elections when both parties announced free laptops for [12] schools students and grinder, mixer and fans for public.

[11]

[10]

DMK Founded: 1949 Headed by since 1969: M. Karunanidhi

IMP LEADERS M.Karunanidhi M.K. Stalin Kalanidhi maran Dayanithi maran Allagiri

Party Ideology[edit]
DMK, from its inception, wanted to have a separate independent state for the Dravidians. Annadurai wanted a separate Dravida Nadu but the DMK changed its stance with the Chinese invasion in 1962 and suspended its demand for the length of the war and supported India for raising funds for the war. When the war ended, nationalistic feelings were so strong that DMK gave up the [12] separate Dravida nation idea. The Anti-Hindi agitations of 1965 forced the central government to abandon its efforts to impose Hindi as the only official language of the country; still Hindi imposition continued as Indian government employees [12] are asked to write as much as 65% of the letters and memoranda in Hindi. In April 1974, the DMK government brought in a resolution in the House urging the Centre to accept the Rajamannar Committee recommendations on state autonomy and amend the Constitution of India to [12] pave the way for a true federal system.

Manifesto[edit]
The DMK and its prime opposition party, the ADMK have posted an array of populist schemes targeting the human development index of the state. Most of the schemes are accused to be targeting garner larger electoral support. Both the parties have schemes listed in the election manifestos covering various segments of the population involving fishermen, farmers and school children. Till the 2000s, the parties had welfare schemes like maternity assistance, subsidised public transport and educational grants. After the 2000s, the parties started competing at an increasing level over the distribution of consumer goods. The ADMK government distributed free cycles to class 11 and class 12 students during its tenure of 2001-06. The DMK, in competition, promised free colour televisions in its manifesto in 2006 elections. The competition continued during the 2011 elections when both parties announced free laptops for schools students and grinder, mixer and fans for public.

TELEGU DESAM PARTY Founder; Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao Founded: 29 march 1982

IMP LEADERS Chandra babu naidu

POLICIES
Prime among the promises made by TDP in its 64-page manifesto are a unique cash transfer scheme for the vulnerable sections, free colour television to families living below poverty line, comprehensive health insurance covering ailments from fever to heart problems, creation of 1,250 Modern Development Corridors for generation of about 25 lakh jobs, creation of a Rs 1,000 crore market stabilisation fund for the agriculture sector. Besides this, a monthly unemployment benefit of Rs 1,000 to unemployed youth, creation of 50 lakh jobs in government and private sectors as well as self-employment, special grants to entrepreneurs for setting up industries in rural areas and supply of cooking gas for Rs 150 per cylinder has also been promised. The government would create a Rs 5,000 crore corpus fund and also pool up another Rs 5,000 crore from banks as loan for employment generation through industrial development.

J&K NATIONAL CONFERENCE Founded: June 1939 Founder: Sheikh Abdulah

IMP LEADERS Omar Abdullah Farooq abdullah Mustafa kamal S.D. SHARIG Mehboob beg Muhammad shafi uri

POLICIES
As a regional political party, the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference has a number of significant achievements. Some of them are listed below: The JKNC has continually worked for the restoration of internal peace between the different factions within the state. It strongly objects the formation of any barrier between the two halves of the state of J&K. The JKNC is in complete support of attaining a lasting negotiation to solve the problems between India, Pakistan and the State of J&K, making all the three regions equally competent in progress and development. Sheikh Abdullah had initiated the policy of single-line administration in the state. This concept was people-centric, involving people in the day to day administration of the state, and take the government to the people, and not the people to the government. To maintain its secular identity, the JKNC has implemented policies and schemes for the Kashmiri pundits as well the maulvis. It has built colleges and universities for women and reserved categories of the population, thereby paying attention to the issues of minority rights. The Panchayati Raj Institutions in the state have been greatly enhanced by the JKNC, providing empowerment to many lakhs of Kashmiri residents. Allocation of funds is made to the local administrations, such as the revenue department, food department etc., in order to ensure their smooth functioning. The JKNC had an important role to play in its say against the AFPSA being implemented in the state of J&K, which would kill innocent civilians.

ASOM GANA PARISHAD Founded : 1985 Founder : Prafulla kumar mahanta

POLICIES
To protect its own national identity and integrity amidst diversity in the state of Assam, the land of various ethnic communities and multifa culture with secular, democratic and socialistic outlook, developing knowledge, science, technonolgy, art and culture and establishing a resourceful state of Assam within the Indian union ensuring political, social and cultural development and dignity of labour among men and womwen and a classless society free of any explotitation, emphasing well integrated agriculture and

industrial development. The Asom Gana Parishad, a political party is formed and this constitution is adopted.

IMP LEADERS