Multiparty democracy Vs Two party rule: A plethora of choices and yet a lack of them

Multiparty democracy Vs Two party rule: A plethora of choices and yet a lack of them The 16th president of the United States, Abraham Lincoln once said of democracy, “Democracy is government of the people, by the people and for the people". In modern-day democracies, people, through their elected representatives run the government and therefore this type of government is known as a representative democracy. In such a government, it can be seen that a group of people having political aspirations and ambitions and the wish to run the government come together to form different political parties. In practical terms, a political party is a group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power. Presently in the 21st century, party systems are of three types-two-party, multiparty, and single-party. The two-party system is prevalent in Great Britain and the United States, whereas some countries like Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany and India have multi-party systems. In two-party systems, power usually alternates between the two main parties. The system allows for several other parties but these parties do not generally have a chance of winning in the national elections. For example, in the recently concluded US Presidential elections of 2020, the prime contenders for the Presidential seat were the Democratic Party and the Republican Party even though there are many other smaller parties in the US. The major percentage of seats was won by either of these two parties. If we are to consider the ideological point of distinction and the different policies which they offer to the citizens, it would be found that there is not much difference between their ideas of governance and the way they run the country. This poses a problem to the voters- they are offered lesser alternatives and there is a decline of varied policies on different issues. But in countries like India, where the multi-party system is more rampant, it is expected that there should be multiple and diverse opinions on a wide spectrum concerning all political and social issues. Yet today, that is not the case. The re-election of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2019 for the second consecutive term has triggered massive debates that India is becoming one-party oriented and this moves away from the ideal system of a multi-party democracy. Moreover, the major opposition parties also do not offer strong political agenda which can influence the choice of the voters in their favour. Two-party systems generally focus on consolidating the largest voting group and attending to its loyalties. As a result, party positions on various issues begin converging. India is a multi-party system but it has two-party systems in several states which results in convergence of economic and other policies between the major parties at these states. Therefore, the multi-party system which apparently appears to be more open becomes limited to the policies of only two major parties. The other national parties might be in a stronger position of competence at the state but they do not have majority share in the national government which leads to their opinions remaining mostly unacknowledged. Parties therefore in effect imitate each other, become majority-oriented i.e. respond more to the needs of the majority while the minority’s interests are sidelined. In responding to the wishes of the majority, the number of policies decreases and becomes less varied but that is not the case everywhere. Regional parties do offer different policies on issues at the state-level and the capacity to accommodate multiple voices and realities should not be completely underestimated in a country like India. The solution to addressing such problems of governance and decision-making not just in multi-party democracies like India but also in two party systems as that of the US lies in reinforcing and understanding mechanisms of public accountability and the people’s decisions and wishes.