Politics and New Delhi

Political Hub of India: New Delhi

New Delhi is the capital of India and the hub of national and international politics in the country.  The massive city of 14 million houses the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace), both the lower and upper houses of Parliament, the Supreme Court of India, as well as the diplomatic missions of many countries.    The parliamentary houses are in session periodically through the year and deliberate on matters of national interest and policy making. 

Politics in the Land of India

New Delhi lies within the National Capital Territory of Delhi, (NCT).  Three local municipal corporations work in tandem to govern the region - New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), and the Delhi Cantonment Board.  The Union Territory of New Delhi has been given special status and has its own legislative assembly, Council of Ministers, Lieutenant Governor, and Chief Minister.  Seats in the legislative assembly are filled through direct elections in the territorial constituencies of the NCT.  But the government of India and the government of the NCT jointly administer the region.  Elections to the legislative assembly as well as the three municipal corporations are hotly contested and are a colourful affair.  Successive governments of New Delhi have tried to grant statehood to the region, but the matter is still under consideration.   

India is a multiparty democracy.  The Congress Party, the Left Parties, and the Bharatiya Janata Party are among the main political forces.  New Delhi has traditionally been a Congress stronghold.  In the 1990s, the BJP ruled over the NCT for a short period of time.  However, the Congress is back in power in the region now.  A glimpse of the political influences that govern all of India can be had via a political examination of New Delhi.