Local Government in India

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Role of Political Parties in Urban Local Governments

The role of political parties and their participation in the politics of municipal government has been a subject of much controversy. The question has been whether political parties of national and state character should participate in local politics so as to gain control over the local government machinery. In most countries of the world, particularly, the European, national parties actively associate themselves with local politics. In the UK elections to town councils are usually on party lines. The London county council (now known as Greater London Council), the greatest municipal polity in the world has the best organized party system. ‘I doubt’, says Harbert Morrison, ‘Whether the fine ...