Democracy at work: How various national parties elect their leaders

While the leaders of bigger national parties like BJP and INC have limitation to their powers, smaller parties tend to give wholesome control to their leaders

Among the seven national parties recognised by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the common theme in their election of their leader is that it is indirect. In the context of the upcoming elections to the post of president of the Indian National Congress (INC), where Mallikargun Kharge and Shashi Tharoor are in the fray, it is instructive to examine how each party goes about this crucial business of electing their national leader. 

The constitutions submitted by them with the ECI shows that not all the members line up to vote and elect their national leader. Instead each of these seven parties (see list) broadly allows members to vote to elect their immediate superiors like block, or district level officials, who then go on to elect state level officials who then elect a national level body that elects the chief of the party.  

While all these parties have elaborate procedures for elections, they differ in: a) the composition of the electoral college, b) the number of years the chief can hold their posts, and c) the frequency with which these elections shall be held. 

Sounding a note of caution, Jagdeep Chhokar, co-founder of Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said these constitutions should be read with caution. “Parties often do not follow what is written there”.  

According to the constitutions of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and INC, only a member with at least three years’ membership is eligible to vote for elections within the party. The BJP constitution notes that a decision to waive this requirement lies with the district president who “can waive this condition of three years’ period to become an active member in such cases where it is absolutely necessary”. 

Both BJP and INC constitutions lays down detailed rules for how the grass root members will elect local committees and upwards. In the BJP, the next level is Mandal committee, and from thereon to district committees. The state council is formed by members elected by the district units besides state legislators, members of Parliament from the state, all former state presidents, presidents of district committees and so on.  For INC it is the primary committees, blocks and then district committees. 

While the INC structure is broadly similar to the BJP till the state level, the differences emerge at the national level. In the BJP, the process becomes one for the selection of a national council, whose members vote to elect the national president along with his/her national executive. The BJP constitution says, “No member will hold the post of a president for more than one term of three years” and also holds that the state and the national president will have at least 25 per cent new members in his committee. The INC constitution, in contrast, does not specify such a term limit, specifically for the President, or insist on a mandate to bring in new members with voting rights.

Election of National President

Indian National Congress

• The Chairman of the Central Election Authority will be the Ex-Officio Returning Officer for the election of the President.
• Any ten delegates may jointly propose the name of any delegate for election as President of the Congress. Such proposals must reach the Returning Officer on or before the date fixed by the Working Committee.
• On a date fixed by the Working Committee, which shall not ordinarily be less than seven days after the final publication of the names of contesting candidates, each delegate shall be entitled to vote. 
• The Pradesh Congress Committees shall immediately forward the ballot boxes to the AICC.
• As soon as may be after the receipt of the ballot boxes, the Returning Officer shall count the votes of the first preferences recorded for each candidate

Bharatiya Janata Party

• The National President shall be elected by an electoral college consisting of:
• Members of the National Council plus Eligible members of the State Councils
• The election shall take place in accordance with the rules framed by the National Executive.
• Any twenty members of the electoral college of a state can jointly propose any person who has been an active member for four terms and has fifteen years of membership, for the post of National President. But such joint proposal should come from not less then five states where elections have been completed for the National council. The President is elected for one term of three years 

Trinamool Congress

• The elected members from different States for the AITC will collectively form an electoral college.
• That electoral college will elect Chairman/Chairperson of the party and also elect another 9 members for the purpose to form working committee. The Chairman/Chairperson shall co-opt 10 (ten) persons in National Working Committee who shall have their full voting fight for one year, and the tenure of the member may be extended 
• In the event of Election the voting shall be by secret Ballot.

Bahujan Samaj Party

• The national President shall be elected by vote or consensus by delegates each representing 10,000 members.
• The term of the National President shall be for five years and shall also operate bank account of the party

Nationalist Congress Party

• Same as INC

Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Communist Party of India

• There is no role of a President of the party.
• The Central Committee of the party shall “choose a Polit Bureau with a General Secretary.
• The number of members in the Polit Bureau shall be decided by the Central Committee.
• In turn the Central Committee shall be elected at the Party Congress, the numbers being decided by the Party Congress

It is this national executive that appoints a returning officer for conducting the triennial election of the party in both BJP and INC.  However, while the BJP constitution notes that “all elections of the Party, excepting for the Local Committee shall be held by secret ballot”, the INC one is ambivalent at the national level. 

The other major difference between the two parties is that of treatment of membership. The BJP constitution says, “The term of membership will ordinarily be of 6 years…With the beginning of the new term all members of the party will have to fill membership forms again”. INC offers a three-year membership and then it is expected to have been renewed automatically post payment of party fees. “Renewal of membership will be deemed to have been completed by depositing requisite membership fee”, it notes.

The constitutions of the two communist parties, Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM) and Communist Party of India (CPI) and very different from one another. In both, the party Congress at the national level is their supreme organ. The party congress, in turn, elects the Central Committee by secret ballot. In principle, every member of the party, after a probation period of one year, becomes eligible to be part of the Party Congress. 

National parties recongnised by the Election Commission of India

• Indian National Congress
• Bharatiya Janata Party
• Bahujan Samaj Party
• Nationalist Congress Party
• All India Trinamool Congress
• Commmunist Party of India
• Commmunist Party of India (Marxist)

The choice is dependent on the central committee.  The “basis of representation at a regular Party Congress…shall be decided by the Central Committee on the basis of total Party membership, strength of the mass movements led by the Party, strength of the Party in the respective States”. In line with the same principles, the central committee “chooses” from among its members a Polit Bureau including the General Secretary. “The number of members in the Polit Bureau shall be decided by the Central Committee”. All other party organs like the secretariat and its number of members, are chosen by the central committee. The election of the secretaries of the state committees and of editors of state Party organs shall require the “approval” of the central committee.

The choice of party president in the case of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and Trinamool Congress (TMC) is fairly similar to each other. Each party, possibly because of the dominance of the party leader, offers the person vast room to exercise authority. BSP, for instance, notes the National President of the party “shall be elected by vote or consensus by delegates each elected by 10,000 members”. It offers no reason for how it has arrived at the magic number. The term of the President shall be for five years, and shall also manage the funds of the party. The bank account of the party shall be operated by the President or any one s/he chooses to authorise. 

The Trinamool Congress constitution is more democratic. “The elected members from different States for the AITC will collectively form an electoral college. That electoral college will elect Chairman/ Chairperson of the party and also elect another 9 (nine) members for the purpose to form working committee”, it says. It also says the chairman of the party shall have a working committee, of which the majority shall be appointed by him\her with full voting rights. However, funds for the party can be handled by the state level bodies too. 

Neither of these two parties set any limit on the number of times, or years for which the party president or chairman can continue. 

The NCP constitution closely follows that of INC, in almost every respect. However, it does away with any mention of the term of the President. While it mentions that “The term of every Committee of the Party and of its office bearers and members shall ordinarily be three years”, it does not say if this rule shall apply to the President too.