India, a union of states, is a Sovereign, Secular, and Democratic Republic with a Parliamentary system of Government. The Indian polity is governed in terms of the Constitution, which was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November, 1949 and came into force on 26 November, 1950. 

The President is the constitutional head of Executive of the Union. Real executive power vests in a Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as head. Article 74(1) of the Constitution provides that there shall be a Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister to aid and advise the President who shall, in exercise of his functions, act in accordance with such advice. The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha, the House of the People.

In the states, the Governor, as the representative of the President, is the head of Executive, but real executive power rests with the Chief Minister who heads the Council of Ministers. The Council of Ministers of a state is collectively responsible to the elected legislative assembly of the state. 

The Constitution governs the sharing of legislative powers between Parliament and the State Legislatures, and provides for the vesting of residual powers in Parliament. The power to amend the Constitution also vests in Parliament. The Union Executive consists of the President, the Vice-President and Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister as the head to aid and advise the President. 

Minister as the head to aid and advise the President. 

Political System

A recognised political party has been classified as a National Party or a State Party. If a political party is recognised in four or more states, it is considered as a National Party. The Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party, Janata Dal, Communist Party of India and Communist Party of India (Marxist) are the prominent National Parties in the Country.

Telugu Desam in Andhra Pradesh, Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha in Bihar, Maharashtrwad Gomantak Party in Goa, National Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, Muslim League in Kerala, Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, Akali Dal in Punjab,All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu, Bahujan Samaj Party and Samajwadi Party in Uttar Pradesh

and All-India Forward Block in West Bengal are the prominent state parties.

Fourteen Lok Sabhas have been constituted so far. Except for the short-lived Sixth and Ninth Lok Sabha, the Congress Party ruled the country. For More Info click here

 India gained independence on 15th August, 1947 and became a Republic on 26th January, 1950 when the Constitution of India came into effect. The Constitution declared "India, that is Bharat" a union of states, a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic Republic with a parliamentary system of government at both the Centre and in the states. The Constitution guarantees certain fundamental rights to the people, including freedom of religion, of occupation and of speech, and the right to vote. India is the largest practising democracy in the world, with elections at every level based on universal adult suffrage. General elections, with the 11th election in the 50 years of independence taking place in 1998, are normally held every 5 years.

Today, the Union of India comprises 25 states and 7 union territories with the Central Government at New Delhi, the capital of the country. The political structure laid down by the Constitution is federal in nature but unitary in spirit, with legislative powers and revenues divided between the states and the Centre, and residual powers vested in the Centre. Certain subjects are jointly controlled and enforced by both the Centre and the states, with the Centre superseding the state if necessary.

At both the Centre and in the states, the powers of government are divided between the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. At the Centre, the Executive comprises the President, Vice-President and the Council of Ministers, headed by the Prime Minister. The Union Legislature (Parliament) has two houses - the Lok Sabha (the lower house, elected by the people of India from individual, simple majority constituencies) and the Rajya Sabha (the upper house, elected by the State Legislatures who in turn are directly elected by the people on the same lines as the Lok Sabha).

The Judiciary is vested in the Supreme Court of India. This structure is paralleled in India's states, with the Executive comprising the Governor (appointed by the President of India), the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister who are responsible to the directly elected Legislative Assembly and the High Court.

Each state is further divided into districts, which are divided into municipalities, further divided into blocks down to the individual village. At each level legislative, executive and judicial powers are divided along lines largely similar to that in the Centre and the states.

STATES AND UNION TERRITORIES

STATES

Andhra Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chhattisgarh
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu & Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka
Kerala
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Orissa
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttaranchal
West Bengal

Union Territories

Andaman & Nicobar (UT)
Chandigarh (UT)
Dadra & Nagar Haveli (UT)
Daman& Diu (UT)
Delhi(NCT)*
Lakshadweep (UT)
Pondicherry (UT)

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