Is the candidate more important than the party?

Is the candidate more important than the party?

How many of you have heard the word Modi-fied India? The General Elections 2014 were not about the political parties, but were more about the leaders representing the party. The entire elections the one thing which anyone cannot get rid of was the term Modi wave. Most of the people will agree to the fact that it was Modi’s magic that propelled BJP to the majority win. People were never found talking about the BJP or its work in its last tenure, but the people talked more about the Modi and the Gujarat Model. Does it imply that the candidate is more important than the party?

Yes

• It is the leader who designs the plans, strategies and policies, and leads the political party from the front.

• Aam Aadmi Party was just another small political party, but what it special and popular among the masses was its leader Arvind Kejriwal.

• The leader matters and it can be seen in the victory of BJP who steal the show by receiving more than 30% of the total votes after the 1991 Lok Sabha elections.

• If a candidate can make a party win, it can also be the reason for its defeat. The leader of Congress Rahul Gandhi cannot even get a respectable defeat.

• Only leaders can motivate the party. If they fail, the entire party fails. Congress doesn’t have a strong candidate, and therefore UPA has started parting off.

No

• For the regional parties, it is not about the leadership or about the candidate but it is more about the political party.

• A single leader cannot develop the country or can work for better governance until and unless it gets support from the entire party.

• Congress is still considered for the opposition party choice in the Lok Sabha. The reason is simple; it is still the second largest political party of India.

• There was news of BJP splitting during the elections. The timely measures taken to reunite the party attracted more votes in the party’s favor.

• If the candidate is more important than party then how is it a democratic form of government?

Conclusion

If the candidate and party are compared, the two most important factors need to be analyzed. If is a dynastic political party, it will be more important than the candidate but with the regular failures, the time will come where candidate will become more important for leading the party. Party and candidates always go together hand in hand. Still ultimately it is the candidate who is given the responsibility to represent the ideology and principles of the party to the masses and the country.