Political Participation in India: A Study of key factors Affecting Political Participation
Political systems differ from one society to another; hence, the involvement of people in the political process of the political system may also differ from one society to another. It is not equal in all the political systems. Participation of people in modem democracies is large as compared to the political systems of the ancient times. The involvement of people in the decision making process of the government, i.e. political participation, is duly affected by several important factors. Some of such common factors are psychological factors, socio-economic factors, political factors and situational factors which always influence the people mostly to take part in the decision or policy formation process of the government. The term Political participation covers all kinds of activities which involve the people in shaping and influencing the political decision making process and in the selection of their rulers, casting of votes in elections, making of organized demands on the political system, participating in party politics, participation in political movements, conferences, discussions, strikes and demonstrations, communications with the representatives and other political leaders, involvement in political communication etc. all form part of political participation. Obviously, there are some cogent reasons for this poor turnout. Politics in India has, in recent years, often become a dirty game and this is one of the reasons why many take no interest. Moreover, people often feel that sometimes crime and politics go hand-in-hand and the mafia-dons have polluted the atmosphere by their unholy alliance with the ruling party leaders. But if a large number of people stay away from the polling booths due to so many factors, democracy surely becomes a misnomer. Modern democracy has become an indirect system due to the enlargement of territory and population. So, people"s rule through elections has come to the fore. Naturally, it requires the active and full-fledged involvement of the people in electoral affairs.