- Another criticism of Regional Parties is their exclusionary ideology. Some parties like Shiv Sena function on double exclusion, by invoking Maratha and Hindu pride. These thus create artificial differences in society, by
- highlighting differences and ignoring the commonalities. Most national parties, on the other hand, have all inclusive ‘sarvajanik’ principles, inclusive of all people across the nation.
- Exclusionary ideologies are not always negative. They are sometimes needed in order to protect minorities.
- National parties, while trying to incorporate ‘all’, will invariably leave behind ‘some’. The practical reality is that while trying to target all groups, invariably those with greater power (financial and numerical) will always call the shots. Thus, in trying to represent ‘all’, the ‘some’ left behind are more often than not the minorities, due to their absence in the party cadre and non-prominence.
