The Bharatiya Janata Party ; translation: Indian People's

Party; abbr. BJP) is one of the two major parties in the

Indian political system, along with the Indian National
Congress. As of 2014, it is the country's largest political
party in terms of representation in the national
parliament and state assemblies. The BJP is a right-wing
party, with close ideological and organisational links to
the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
The official ideology of the BJP is "integral humanism",
first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965. The
party expresses a commitment to Hindutva, and its policy
has historically reflected Hindu nationalist positions. The
BJP advocates social conservatism and a foreign policy
centred on nationalist principles. Its key issues have
included the abrogation of the special status to Jammu
and Kashmir, the building of a Ram temple in Ayodhya
and the implementation of a uniform civil code. However,
the 19982004 NDA government did not pursue any of
these controversial issues. It instead focused on a largely
neoliberal economic policy prioritizing globalisation and
economic growth over social welfare.

The Indian National

Congress( pronunciation (helpinfo)), abbr.INC, also
commonly called theCongress is one of the two major
contemporary political parties in India, the other being
the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is one of the largest and
oldest democratically-operating political parties in the
world. After independence in 1947, it became the

nation's dominant political party; in the 15 general

elections since independence, the Congress has won an
outright majority on six occasions, and has led the ruling
coalition a further four times, heading the central
government for a total of 49 years. The party's social
liberalplatform is largely considered to be on the centreleft of theIndian political spectrum.
Social policy of the INC is officially based upon
the Gandhian principle ofSarvodaya . In particular INC
emphasises upon policies to improve the lives of the
economically underprivileged and socially unprivileged
sections of society. The party primarily endorses social
liberalism and secularism.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) (Hindi: ) is a

national political party in India. It was formed mainly to
represent Bahujans (literally meaning "People in
majority"), referring to people from the Scheduled Castes,
Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes (OBC) as
well as minorities. The party claims to be inspired by the
philosophy of B. R. Ambedkar, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule &
Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj. The BSP was founded by a
charismatic leader Kanshi Ram in 1984, who was
succeeded by his protege Mayawati in 2003. The party's
political symbol is an Elephant. The party was the third
most-voted party in the 2014 Indian general election, but
still failed to win any seat in the 16th Lok Sabha.[4] The
BSP has its main base in the Indian state of Uttar
Pradesh.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) (abbreviated CPI(M)or CPM) is
a communist partyin India. The party emerged from a split from theCommunist

Party of India in 1964. The strength of CPI(M) is concentrated in the states

ofKerala, West Bengal andTripura. As of 2013, CPI(M) is leading the state
government in Tripura. It also leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties. As of
2013, CPI(M) claimed to have 1,065,406 members.

The Communist Party of India(CPI) (Hindi: , Bhratya

Kamyunist Prt
) is a communist party in India. In the Indian Communist

movement, there are different views on exactly when the Communist Party of
India was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by the CPI is 26
December 1925. However, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), which
separated from the CPI, claims that the party was founded in 1920.

Communist Party of India

Secretary-General

S. Sudhakar Reddy

Founded

25 December 1925; 89
years ago

Headquarters

New Delhi, India

Newspaper

New Age (English),

Mukti Sangharsh (Hindi)

Student wing

All India Students

Federation

Youth wing

All India Youth Federation

Women's wing

National Federation of
Indian Women

Labour wing

All India Trade Union

Congress and Bharatiya
Khet Mazdoor Union

Peasant's wing

All India Kisan Sabha

(Ajoy Bhavan)

Ideology

Communism
Socialism

Political position

Left-wing

International
affiliation

International Meeting of
Communist and Workers'
Parties

Colours

Red

ECI Status

National Party[1]

Alliance

Left Front

Seats in Lok Sabha

1 / 545

Seats in Rajya Sabha

2 / 245

Election symbol

Website
www.communistparty.in

Indian National Congress

President

Sonia Gandhi

Parliamentary
Chairperson

Sonia Gandhi

Lok Sabha leader

Mallikarjun Kharge

Rajya Sabha leader

Ghulam Nabi Azad

(Leader of the Opposition
in Rajya Sabha)

Founded

28 December 1885(129
years ago)

Headquarters

24, Akbar Road, New

Delhi 110001

Newspaper

Congress Sandesh

Student wing

National Students Union

of India
Youth wing

Indian Youth Congress

Women's wing

Mahila Congress

Labour wing

Indian National Trade

Union Congress

Membership

~20 million[1]

Ideology

Populism
Liberal nationalism
Social democracy
Democratic socialism
Gandhian socialism
Progressivism
Internal factions:
Social liberalism
Secularism
Centrism
Social conservatism

Political position

Centre-left[2]

International
affiliation

Progressive Alliance[3]
Socialist International[4]
Aqua

Colours
ECI Status

National Party[5]

Alliance

United Progressive
Alliance (UPA)

Seats in Lok Sabha

44 / 545
(currently 542members
+ 1 Speaker)
[6]

Seats in Rajya Sabha

69 / 245
[7]

(currently 243members)

Election symbol

Website
www.inc.in

Bharatiya Janata Party

President

Amit Shah

Parliamentary
Chairperson

Narendra Modi

Lok Sabha leader

Narendra Modi

(Prime Minister)
Rajya Sabha leader

Arun Jaitley

Founded

6 April 1980 (34 years

ago)

Preceded by

Bharatiya Jana Sangh

Janata Party

Headquarters

11 Ashoka Road,
New Delhi 110001

Newspaper

Kamal Sandesh

Student wing

Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi

Parishad

Youth wing

Bharatiya Janata Yuva

Morcha

Women's wing

BJP Mahila Morcha

Peasant's wing

BJP Kisan Morcha

Membership

40 million (Jan 2015)[1]

Ideology

Hindu nationalism
Social conservatism
Gandhian socialism[2]
Integral humanism
Conservatism

Political position

Right-wing[3][4]

International
affiliation

None

Colours

Saffron

ECI Status

National Party[5]

Alliance

National Democratic
Alliance (NDA)

Seats in Lok Sabha

281 / 545
(currently 542members
+ 1 Speaker)
[6]

Seats in Rajya Sabha

45 / 245
[7]

(currently 243members)

Election symbol

Website
www.bjp.org

Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Secretary-General

Prakash Karat

Lok Sabha leader

P. Karunakaran[1]

Rajya Sabha leader

Sitaram Yechury[2]

Founded

1964

Headquarters

Gole Market, New Delhi,

India

Newspaper

People's Democracy

Student wing

Students Federation of
India

Youth wing

Democratic Youth
Federation of India

Women's wing

All India Democratic

Women's Association

Labour wing

Centre of Indian Trade

Unions

Peasant's wing

All India Kisan Sabha

Membership

1,065,406 (2013)

Ideology

Communism
MarxismLeninism

Political position

Left-wing

International
affiliation

International Meeting of
Communist and Workers'
Parties

ECI Status

National Party[3]

Alliance

Left Front

Seats in Lok Sabha

9 / 545

Seats in Rajya Sabha

9 / 245

Election symbol

Website
www.cpim.org