State the various functions political parties perform in a democracy.

Some of the functions of political parties in a democracy are as follows:

a) Parties contest elections: In nearly every democratic country, the elections are mainly fought between the candidates who represent different political parties. In India, top party leaders choose candidates for contesting elections.

b) Different policies and programmes: There are a large number of opinions of different people and in a democracy large number of similar opinions has to be grouped together to provide a direction in which policies can be formulated by the government.

c) Parties make laws for the country: As we all know that all the laws that are formed are passed by the legislature but indirectly are formed by the political parties as most of the members belong to a particular party.

d) Parties form and run government: Political Parties after winning the elections by recruiting and training leaders form and run their government

e) Parties play the role of the opposition: Parties who fail to win in the elections play a role of opposition parties. They voice different views and criticize government for its failures or wrong policies