It means that we have a government chosen by the people and it is answerable to the people. All adult citizens of our country have the Right to vote in the elections. They also have the Right to contest in any of the elections, whether for village panchayats, municipal corporations, for State Legislative bodies like the Vidhan Sabha, or even for the Lok Sabha, etc. Political democracy grants equality to everyone regardless of caste, creed, sex, religion or wealth.
But does this really happen in practice?
The government is supposed to protect the rights of all the people. However, the fact is that all the citizens of India do not enjoy equality for various reasons. Poverty and illiteracy prevent many from being aware of their rights. Many are exploited because they belong to the lower castes even though both our Constitution and the government have made laws against this practice. But these people have not been able to rise and improve their social status, so they continue to remain backward.
Similarly, women are suppressed and often do not get the same opportunities that men do. This means that our democracy does not work in practice. We might have political democracy but because we do not have social democracy our goals are not being met. A large section of our country remains poor and backward. Thus, our country cannot prosper and advance, as it should.