Filling the Silences: Political Parties as de facto Constitutional Architects in Contemporary India

Dr. Manisha Mirdha contends that political parties, despite barely featuring in India’s constitutional text, are its most consequential informal architects. They shape constitutional meaning through legislation, executive action, judicial appointments, and amendments. Drawing on Foucault and Gandhian traditions of strategic silence, the author contends that constitutional gaps are not passive omissions but contested spaces where political parties exercise real normative power. Case studies spanning the Basic Structure doctrine, GST, the 1975 Emergency, and the NJAC controversy illustrate how partydriven negotiations have filled these gaps, sometimes strengthening democracy, sometimes undermining it. The author concludes that leaving political parties outside the constitutional framework has produced democratic deficits and judicial inconsistency. Therefore, the author advocates for gradual statutory reform and a stronger Election Commission to bring these informal architects within the reach of democratic accountability.

CALJ Special Issu_Mirdha.pdf

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