The prevalence of well-organised political parties leaves scarcely any scope for independent thought and action. An individual may be the best-qualified candidate, but if he is not a favourite of the ‘party bosses’ he stands no chance at the elections. Even the party candidates require constant ‘whipping’ in the legislatures. I do not mean to suggest that the modern Party System does not have merits at all. It is quite useful in educating the electorate on specific issues of national importance. But it must be admitted that modern parties have grown too rigid and crystallised. In the words of A.R. Lord, “the party system seems to be too mechanical a method of dividing opinion to represent the popular will with any approach to exactness.”[31] “Our present electoral methods” writes H.G. Wells, “is a mere caricature of representative government”. “It has produced upon both sides of the Atlantic, big, stupid, and corrupt party machines.[32] The process of discussions in the legislatures has become wholly unreal, the result of every important debate being almost a foregone conclusion dictated by the ruling party. The so-called representative parliaments are, therefore, fast falling into public contempt as mere ‘talking shops.’
