Voters are equally influenced and guided by ideology, though in India, the appeal of ideology is at present confined to various pockets of influence of the Communists and the Jan Sangh. More important than the public pronouncements and postures of the parties are their 'real power bases'. This paper was an attempt to unmask the 'hidden hands', that operate party organisations and the 'interests' represented by them, Without such an attempt, understanding of the political parties would remain incomplete.