Relationship between National and Regional parties

Published on 07 Jan 2025

Relationship between National and Regional parties in terms of federalism

India is a federal nation with central and state governments having their spheres of power. The independence of states coupled with the regional diversity has led to the growth of many regional parties in India. These regional parties support as well as oppose the national parties thus making their relation quite complex.

Areas of cooperation between National and Regional parties

• Formation of coalition government: The increasing power of regional parties since 1970’s has increased their bargaining power making them an ally of national parties in the coalition governments.

• Example: BJP has the support of regional parties like Shiv Sena in the NDA alliance.

• Facilitate regional development: The regional parties better understand the local needs and they can cooperate with national parties to implement them.

• Example: BJP’s coordination with regional parties of Northeast has been crucial for the development of Northeast.

• Resolving interstate disputes: National parties can play the role of mediator and resolve regional conflicts with cooperation from regional parties.

• Example: 11 states and one union territory in India have pending border disputes which require cooperation from national and regional parties for solving the disputes.

• Implementation of policies: Government programmes at the national level can be implemented successfully at the local level with coordinated efforts with regional parties.

• Example: Flagship programmes like Krishi Sinjayee Yojana and Awaz Yojana are centrally sponsored and have been successful with the cooperation of regional parties.

Areas of conflict between national and regional parties

• Political

• Struggle for power: Regional parties compete with national parties for more power and autonomy and this has led to many regional parties leaving coalitions.

• Example: AIADMK and TDP withdrew from NDA alliance due to power conflict.

• Implementation of central schemes: Many state governments led by regional parties may not be willing to implement central schemes leading to conflict.

• Example: Trinamool Congress led West Bengal not implementing the PM JAY scheme.

• Foreign policy: Central government’s foreign policy decisions may go against the regional interest and this can cause rifts between national and regional parties.

• Example: DMK opposing alliance partner Congress over Sri Lankan Tamil issue.

• Socio economic

• Protection of cultural identity: Regional parties strongly advocate for protection of tradition and culture and oppose national efforts for homogenization.

• Example: Protests in the Northeast over attempts to impose Hindi.

• Economic policies: Regional parties may have specific economic interests and priorities for their states which may not align with the economic policy promoted by national parties.

• Example: Opposition by regional parties against GST.

• Resource allocation: Regional parties would demand more funds from the centre for the regional development projects and this leads to conflict with the national government.

• Example: In the 2023-24 budget, none of the 17 demands made by Kerala got sanctioned in the document.

Both national and regional parties are relevant for the smooth functioning of a diverse nation like India. But there should be better coordination between them for protecting and promoting the spirit of federalism. Attempts to grab power should be replaced with willingness to cooperate for regional development which would lead to national development.

Tags:
Polity

Keywords:
Regional parties National parties Challenges to federalism

Syllabus:
General Studies Paper 2

Topics:
Governance and Transparency