Jun 24, 2026 16:23 pm IST

Opinion | Why Indian Parties Are Beginning To Look Like Political 'Spare Parts'

India has thousands of political parties on paper. Some are genuine vehicles of aspiration. But others are beginning to look like political spare parts: useful when the main engine needs reassembly. Maharashtra and West Bengal are examples.

Rasheed Kidwai Rasheed Kidwai Columnist

Rasheed Kidwai Columnist

In the old imagination of Indian democracy, a seat was won after a campaign. The candidate filed nomination papers, voters listened to speeches, caste elders made their calculations, party workers fought over polling booths, and the Election Commission announced the result. Today, in several corners of the Republic, the more advanced practitioners of politics are trying something more efficient: win before the voter gets a chance to vote.

Maharashtra's recent Legislative Council elections offer a telling example. Of the 17 seats from local authorities' constituencies, Mahayuti candidates se cured six unopposed victories after withdrawals by Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) candidates in Thane, Raigad-Ratnagiri-Sindhudurg, Pune, Ahilyanagar, Yavatmal and Wardha-Chandrapur-Gadchiroli. On paper, this is a legitimate democratic outcome. No contest, no polling, no uncertainty. In practice, it is more revealing. A great deal of politics has already happened before the official election.

There were the usual signs of modern electoral management: withdrawals, rebels, independents, triangular contests and last-minute recalibration. In Ahilyanagar, controversy reportedly arose after an Independent candidate later claimed he had not voluntarily withdrawn. In Pune, multiple withdrawals paved the way for an unopposed victory. In Yavatmal, Congress and potential MVA-backed names withdrew. What voters eventually see is the result. What they do not always see is the pressure, persuasion, arithmetic, and inducement that may shape the field itself.

This is not new. But it has become more systematic.

Surat in the 2024 Lok Sabha election remains the boldest recent template. The BJP's Mukesh Dalal was elected unopposed after the Congress candidate's nomination was rejected and other candidates withdrew. The Congress called it "match-fixing"; the BJP called it victory.

Both descriptions, in their own way, captured the moment. In a first-past-the-post system, defeating rivals is one route. Ensuring that rivals do not remain in the fray is another.

The Party As A Vehicle

If Maharashtra shows the politics of withdrawal, Bengal offers the politics of transfer.

The recent Trinamool Congress (TMC) rebellion, with rebel MPs moving towards the........

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