As India is a federal state, more regional parties mean more influence of state parties in national politics.  Now, regional parties have a say in political policies as they win elections in their states.
In the present political scenario, no single national party has been able to form a government on its own strength since 1996.
Parties had to form alliances with the regional parties to form a coalition government at the centre.  This has broadened the concept of popular participation and strengthened the federation and democracy in our country.

Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) opposes imperialism and communalism.
This party was formed in 1964.
The following are two main features of CPI-M.
(a) It supports socialism, secularism and democracy.
(b) It accepts democratic elections as a useful and helpful means for securing the objective of socio-economic justice in India.
(c) It is critical of the new economic policies allowing free flow of foreign capital and goods into the country.

The following are the three elements of a political party.
(a) The leaders: The leaders contest elections and, if they win, perform the administrative jobs.
(b)  The active members: The active members attend party meetings and are close to the party leaders. They can be called the assistants of the leaders.
(c) The followers: The followers are the dedicated workers of the party.  They work under the able guidance of the active members.

No system is ideal for all countries and in all situations because party system is not something any country can choose. It evolves over a long time, depending on the nature of society, its social and regional divisions, its history of politics and its system of elections. Each country develops a party system that is conditioned by its special circumstances.

Political parties perform various functions in a democracy like
(i) They contest elections.
(ii) Parties put forward their policies and programmes for voters to choose from them.
(iii) Political parties play an important role in the law making process.
(iv) Political parties form and run governments.
(v) Political parties, which are unable to secure majority and form the government, play the role of opposition to the party in power.
(vi) They shape public opinion.

Defection is a new concept which advocates the changing of allegiance from the party in which a person got elected to a different party.  It means leaving a political party to join another for some personal gains.

The two-part or bi-party system is a political system where there are two major parties.  Power usually changes between two main parties, for instances, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Political  parties play the role of opposition by voicing different views and criticising the government in power for its failures or wrong policies.

In a democratic set-up, political parties are required because without political parties:
(a) every candidate in the elections will be independent.  No promises could be made and the utility of the government formed will remain uncertain.
(b) no one will be responsible for running the country. Elected representatives will only be accountable to their constituency.
(c) there will be no agency to gather and present different views on various issues to the government.
(d) no one will be responsible for bringing various representatives together so as to form a responsible government.
(e) there will be no mechanism to support the government, make policies and justify or oppose them.

(a) A law should be established to regulate the internal affairs of parties, thereby making them more transparent.
(b) Women should be given at least one-third tickets.
(c) The state should fund election campaigns, thereby eliminating lobbying groups and unfair competition.

The two-party system is one in which the power alternates between two parties. The following are the advantages of two-party system.
(a) Stable government: The government in this party system would be very stable as it comes to power by a majority and, thus, there will be continuity of policies and programmes.
(b) Strong opposition: In the bi-party system, the opposition will be very strong and effective as only one party forms the opposition.
(c) Responsible government: This system best reconciles responsiveness with order and representative government with efficient governance.
The following are the disadvantages of two-party system.
(a) Undemocratic: Sometimes, the two-party system is considered undemocratic as the ideological choice is very limited between two parties. The opinions of people cannot be expressed properly.
(b) Cabinet dictatorship: Since the party comes to power by an absolute majority, it is difficult to remove it and it can result in the dictatorship of the cabinet.

Bahujan Samaj Party, formed in 1984, draws inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Sahu Maharaj.
The following are the features of BSP.
(a) It is the youngest among the national parties and is an example of Dalit resurgence.
(b) It seeks to represent and secure power for the Bahujan samaj, including the dalits, Adivasis, OBCs and religious minorities.
(c) It draws its inspiration from the ideas and teachings of Mahatma Phule, Periyar Ramaswami Naicker and Babasaheb Ambedkar.
(d) Its main base is in Uttar Pradesh.  It also has its presence in neighbouring states of Delhi, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh and Uttarakhand.

The following are the differences between the national parties and regional parties.