Politics of India works within the framework of the country's Constitution. India is a parliamentary secular democratic republic in which the president of India is the head of state &first citizen of India and the Prime Minister of India is the head of government. It is based on the federal structure of government,although the word is not used in the Constitution itself. India follows the dual polity system,i.e. federal in nature,that consists of the central authority at the centre and states at the periphery. The Constitution defines the organizational powers and limitations of both central and state governments;it is well recognised,fluid and considered supreme,i.e. the laws of the nation must conform to it. India is officially declared a secular and socialist state as per the Constitution.
The Rajya Sabha,also known as the Council of States,is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. As of 2023,it has a maximum membership of 245,of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using single transferable votes through open ballots,while the president can appoint 12 members for their contributions to art,literature,science,and social service. The total allowed capacity is 250 according to article 80 of the Indian Constitution. The current potential seating capacity of the Rajya Sabha is 245,after the Jammu and Kashmir (Reorganisation) Act. The maximum seats of 250 members can be filled up at the discretion and requirements of the house of Rajya Sabha.
Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda is an Indian politician who served as the Prime Minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He was previously the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. He presently is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka. He is the national president of the Janata Dal (Secular) party. Born in a farming family,he joined the Indian National Congress party in 1953,and remained a member until 1962. He was imprisoned during the Emergency. He became President of the state unit of Janata Dal in 1994,and was considered to be a driving force in the party's victory in Karnataka. He served as the 8th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. In the 1996 general elections,no party won enough seats to form a government. When the United Front,a coalition of regional parties,formed the central government with the support of the Congress,Deve Gowda was unexpectedly chosen to head the government after V. P. Singh and Jyoti Basu declined the post and he was elected Prime Minister. During his tenure as prime minister,he also served as Home Minister for some time. His prime ministerial tenure lasted for less than a year. After his prime ministerial tenure,he was elected to the 12th (1998),14th (2004),15th,and 16th Lok Sabha,as Member of Parliament for the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency. He lost Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from Tumkuru but has been elected to Rajya Sabha since.
The Samajwadi Party is a socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. The Samajwadi Party is currently led by former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh,Akhilesh Yadav.
Shankarrao Bhavrao Chavan was an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Maharashtra twice from 1975 until 1977 and from 13 March 1986 until 26 June 1988.
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 10th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008. SM Krishna had served as the Speaker of the Karnataka Vidhan Sabha from December 1989 to January 1993. He was also a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at various times from 1971 to 2014. In 2023,Krishna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan,the second highest civilian award of India.
Jairam Ramesh is an Indian politician belonging to INC. He is a Member of Parliament representing Karnataka state in the Rajya Sabha. In July 2011,Jairam was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers of India and appointed Minister of Rural Development and Minister of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. However,in the cabinet reshuffle in October 2012,he was divested of the portfolio of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was previously the Indian Minister of State at the Ministry of Environment and Forests from May 2009 to July 2011.
Kollur Mallappa,also referred to as Malappa Lingappa Kollur was the first President of Hyderabad Pradesh Congress Committee,prior to the merger of Hyderabad state into Andhra Pradesh. He was a Member of Parliament from Raichur,now in Karnataka for several terms. He was a mentor of the late Indian Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao,several leaders like Virendra Patil,Shivraj Patil,S.B. Chavan and G. Venkataswamy,etc. He founded the Kuruba Sangham and the Kuruba hostel in Hyderabad.
Shankersinh Vaghela is an Indian politician and former Chief Minister of Gujarat from. He was also the Leader of Opposition in 13th Gujarat Legislative Assembly.
Although India is a parliamentary democracy,the country's politics has become dynastic or with high level of nepotism,possibly due to the absence of party organizations,independent civil-society associations which mobilize support for a party,or centralized financing of elections. The dynastic phenomenon is present at the national,state,regional,and district level. The Nehru–Gandhi family has produced three Indian prime ministers,and family members have largely led the Congress party since 1978. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also has several dynastic leaders. In addition to the major national parties,other national and regional parties such as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK),Shiromani Akali Dal,Shiv Sena,Samajwadi Party,Rashtriya Janata Dal,Janata Dal Secular,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha,Kerala Congress,Jammu &Kashmir National Conference,Indian Union Muslim League,AIMIM,and the Nationalist Congress Party are all dominated by families,mostly those of the party founders.
Subburaman Thirunavukkarasar is an Indian politician. He was the State President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee till 2 February 2019 and former secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. His introduction to politics in 1977 was facilitated by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,M. G. Ramachandran. Ramachandran founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 1972 and was facing his first elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 1977. He identified Thirunavukkarasar,a lawyer by profession,to contest the Aranthangi assembly constituency. Thirunavukkarasar won the seat,aged 27,and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He continued in that capacity till 1980. Subsequently,he served as Tamil Nadu state minister from 1980 to 1987 in the MGR cabinet,holding portfolios that included Industries,Housing Board,Excise and Handlooms. Later,he became a member of the Lok Sabha –the lower house of the Parliament of India –when he won the erstwhile Pudukottai Lok Sabha constituency. He served as Union Minister of state for shipping and later for telecommunications and information technology.
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected during the 2009 general election in India. It was dissolved on 18 May 2014 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
Randeep Singh Surjewala is an Indian politician from Haryana and a member of Indian National Congress party. He was an MLA in the Haryana state legislature until 2019 and a former minister. He held water supply and sanitation,parliamentary affairs,electronics and information technology,science and technology and public works as a minister in Haryana cabinet. In 2005,he was given the responsibility of Transport and Parliamentary Affairs and thus became the youngest minister in Haryana. He defeated Om Prakash Chautala in 1996 and 2005. As of December 2017,Surjewala is one of the official spokespersons of Indian National Congress party,and as of September 2021,is a General Secretary of the Indian National Congress and Party in-charge for Karnataka. In the biennial elections of the Rajya Sabha for the State of Rajasthan,held on 10 June 2022,Mr. Surjewala was elected as a Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha,with his term to start on 5 July 2022.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge is an Indian lawyer and politician serving as the President of the Indian National Congress since 2022,and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 2020.
K. C. Venugopal is an Indian politician who is a Member of Parliament,Lok Sabha elected from Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency and former member of parliament in Upper House and is a member of the Indian National Congress. He has been appointed a General Secretary of AICC and in charge of Karnataka on 29 April 2017. Later,he was given additional charge of the general secretary of the organization. He was the Minister of State for Civil Aviation &Ministry of Power in the UPA Government.
Rajeev Shankarrao Satav was an Indian politician from the Indian National Congress. At the time of his death,he was the member of the Rajya Sabha the upper house of Indian Parliament from Maharashtra.
Chaudhary Birender Singh Sheokand is a senior Indian political leader and a well-known face in Indian Politics. He lately served as Minister of Rural Development,Panchayati Raj,Sanitation &Drinking Water from 2014 to 2016 and later as the Union Minister of Steel from 2016 to 2019 in the Narendra Modi led NDA Government in India.
Shaktisinh Harishchandrasinhji Gohil is an Indian politician. He is a Member of Parliament and a member of the Indian National Congress. He was appointed president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee in June 2023,in run up to 2024 general election.
Daradahalli Byregowda Chandregowda was an Indian politician who was Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly,three-term MLA,one-term MLC,and Member of Parliament—three-terms from Lok Sabha and one-term from Rajya Sabha.
Venumbaka Vijayasai Reddy is a Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha;Chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport,Tourism and Culture and the National General Secretary of YSR Congress Party. He is a Chartered Accountant by profession.
