Published Paper Details:

India has the largest democracy in the world and one of the important feature of the Indian Party System is the presence of a large number of regional parties, which basically means "a party operating within a limited geographical area and its activities are restricted only to a single or few states". India has a multi-party system with recognition conferred to national, state and district level parties. Those political parties who wish to contest local, state or national elections are required to be registered by the Election Commission of India. The status is reviewed periodically by the Election Commission of India (ECI). A recognized party enjoys privileges like a reserved party symbol, free broadcast time on state run television and radio, a consultation in setting of election dates and giving input in setting electoral rules and regulations. As per recent publication from Election Commission of India (2018), the total number of parties registered in India is 2,598, out of which, 8 are National parties, 52 are recognized as State parties and 2,538 are unrecognized parties. Registered parties are considered as recognized national or state level parties based upon their party's objective criteria. These regional parties functions simultaneously with national parties and will have huge influence and impact on national politics. Compared to the more comprehensive objectives of national political parties, these regional parties represent the interest, needs and requirements of a particular area. Regional parties necessarily concentrate on specific issues, such as, usage of river water, creating local job opportunities, meeting the local needs of the people etc., In simple words, regional parties differ from National parties both in terms of their objectives, outlook, operations as well as the interests they pursue. This paper attempts to highlight the role and influence casted by regional parties in exercising national policies and politics.