International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Research

ISSN: 2455-2070
www.socialresearchjournals.com
Volume 2; Issue 1; January 2016; Page No. 52-55

Coalition governments and politics in India

Dr. Tara Devi
Assist. Prof., Department of Political Science, S.G.G.S Khalsa College, Mahilpur, Punjab, India

Abstract
A coalition government is formed when more than one political party or group comes together on the basis of common
understanding or agenda. In India after 1989 multi-party coalitional model has emerged at the national level. Since then
coalitional governments formed in India under the leadership of different parties. Some proved successful and some failed
because of the growing importance of regional or state parties in formation of coalition governments Federal practices of the
Indian constitution have become more effective, the coalition is dominated by the regional parties, and centralized tendencies are
becoming weak. Centralized nature of Indian federal polity moved towards cooperative federalism.

Keywords: Coalition, politics, India

Introduction the electorate on the basis of a joint manifesto. Moreover, the

In India after independence Congress was the dominant party radicalism of such parties is softened to a great extent in the
at the national and states level till 1967. At the national level process of mutual concession without causing the slightest
Congress as ruling party formulated policies and states damage to the image of either of them…. Sometimes there can
implemented those without contention. Due to its national be a coalition of Leftist parties alone and at times of the
character, vast area and multiplicity of diversities in the Rightist parties only. However, there is no dearth of such
country. The dominant party system proved unable to fulfill the coalition which represents curious affiliations between the
desires of the different region. Thus, the centralized nature of groups of both Left and Right. Sometimes coalition is based
the government created a gap between the local aspirations and primarily on racial community, sometimes on religious
national policies. This is evident from the State Assembly alignments, sometimes on economic interests. Coalition
Election of 1967, when regional parties became shareholders in provides an easy framework for binding diverse ideas and
the states. Hence, the “One Dominant” party system is ideologies (Shani, 1971: 22-23) [2].
responsible for the emergence and growth of regional parties in In India after 1989 multi-party coalitional model has emerged
India. at the national level. Since then coalitional governments
The term ‘coalition’ is derived from the Latin word “Coalition” formed in India under the leadership of different parties. Some
meaning to grow together. In the political system it implies that proved successful and some failed because of the growing
some political parties or groups will come together and form importance of regional or state parties in formation of coalition
alliance or temporary union in order to exercise control over governments. At the national level coalition politics emerged
political power. In the encyclopedia of Social Sciences, Prof. after 1969 partially when the Congress lost majority after split
Ogg defines coalition as a “co-operative arrangement under in the party and Congress (R) supported by the DMK at the
which distinct political parties or at all events members of such centre. From 1977 to 1979 it was a period when the Congress
parties unite to form a government or ministry (Chander, 2004) lost power at the centre. Government was formed by the Janata
[1]
. Party. It was coalition of various parties. But the coalition
A coalition is thus an alliance between two or more hitherto failed to completes its tenure. In 1980 Congress regained
separate or even hostile groups or parties formed in order to power at the centre and remained party with majority in the
carry on the government and share the principle affairs of the LokSabha till 1989. 1989 was the benchmark year when the
state. A coalition government is formed when more than one one party dominance system shattered and the Congress lost
political party or group comes together on the basis of common power at the centre. It was the year that changed the fate of
understanding or agenda. They do not lose their separate Indian politics. Multi-party system developed and coalition
identity. They agree to a common minimum political economic politics became inevitable for Indian political. Coalition
and social programme and when difference arises any group or politics and governance has distinct importance in the Indian
party is free to withdraw from the coalition. polity. Emergence of ‘coalition’ phenomena reflects the
A coalition can take place in two phases: pre-election alliance federalized tendencies of Indian society.
as adjustments between the partiesstinct political parties or at The coalition governments of 1989, 1991, and 1996 indicated
all events members of such parties unite to a coalition can take that there should be pre-poll alliances among the partners and
place in two phases: pre-election alliance as adjustments there should be an alliance on the ideological base otherwise
between the parties and post-election union to share power and there is always a fear of losing the support of coalition partners.
run the government. The former type of coalition has two The period also shows that the third force (National Front)
additional advantages than the latter. A pre-poll understanding proved unsuccessful for holding government for full term.
provides a common platform to the parties in order to attract
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National parties BJP and the Congress were responsible for the Congress had managed just 141 seats (25.8 per cent vote-
instability in 1990 and 1997. share). The BJP-led alliance called the National Democratic
Alliance with 256 seats (out of 545 seats) and 37.5 per cent
Aims and Objectives vote-share formed the government at the Centre under Atal
 To understand the organization and nature of coalition Bihari Vajpayee. The Congress-led UPA got 164 seats (30.8
government at centre. per cent vote) while the Third Front got 74 seats (General
 To understand the role of regional political parties in Election Report: 1998). But the government fell short by a
coalition governments at centre. single ballot in the confidence vote in April 1999 after one of
 To understand impact of regional parties on decision the NDA allies, AIADMK pulled out P.M lasted for 13
making process. months. In 1999 elections the BJP had emerged as the largest
party again with 182 seats while the Congress's tally got
Research Methodology reduced to 114. The BJP's vote-share this time was 23.8 per
The present study is based on secondary data. Data has been cent while that of the Congress was 28.3 percent. Out of 543
collected through content analysis such as books, journals, seats, the NDA got 299 (41.1 per cent) while the UPA got 139
magazines, newspaper records and general election reports seats (35 per cent). The Third Front accumulated just 41 seats.
also. It is an analytical study various methods have been Vajpayee returned as the PM for the third term and completed
adopted to conduct the study. As Descriptive, analytical and his term (General Election Report: 1999). In 2004 elections the
comparative methods adopted for the study. Congress-led UPA came to power after these elections and
Manmohan Singh took over as the second non-Gandhi prime
Analysis and Interpretation of General Elections since minister. The Congress won 145 seats (26.5 per cent) in this
1989. election while the UPA won 225 seats (vote-share 36.8 per
In 1989 elections the second non-Congress government had cent) while the BJP won 138 seats (22.2 per cent vote-share)
come to power after the 1989 elections. Vishwanath Pratap while the NDA won 189 seats (35.9 per cent) (General Election
Singh became the prime minister of the National Front Report:2004).
government led by Janata Dal with 143 seats. The vote-share of In 2009 elections United Progressive Alliance (UPA-II) came
the Congress and Janata Dal were 39.5 and 17.8 per cents, to power under the leadership of Dr. Manmohan Singh. It was
respectively. The BJP had supported the V.P Singh government also a coalition government, no party could gain majority.
from outside (General Election Report: 1989). In 1991 Large section of the electorate across the country voted to bring
elections the Congress returned to power after a short stint of back the regime of the Congress led United Progressive
Chandra Sekhar as the prime minister, but far away from its Alliance (UPA) and brought it within striking distance of the
dominance, it headed a minority government with PV simple majority mark of 272. Though the number thrown up by
Narasimha Rao as its Prime Minister. The Congress got 244 the results would, technically, imply a hung parliament, there is
out of 545 seats and gathered 36.4 per cent of the votes polled. little doubt about the mandate given to the Manmohan Singh
The BJP finished second with 120 seats, the first time ever that led government to run its course for five years.
it had crossed the three-figure mark while its vote-share was 20 In 1989, 1991, 1996 and 1999 elections coalition governments
per cent (General Election Report:1991). Narasimha Rao, the formed at the centre. In these elections the regional parties also
first-ever non-Gandhi Prime Minister, saw two important formed government at the centre and national parties provided
events happning during his stay in office. One was the them out-side support. It also affected the nature of Indian
liberalisation of the Indian economy and the other was the federalism. Stability of the regional parties, vote share and seat
demolition of the Babri Masjid in Ayodhya in December 1992. share in these elections increases it indicates that the regional
In 1996 elections these elections saw a hung parliament. The parties are supplementary to the national parties. Electoral
BJP, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was the largest party with politics also indicates that the masses accepted the alliance
161 seats (vote share 20.3 per cent) but he could not prove strategy of national and regional parties. In different regions
majority in the LokSabha and resigned after serving just 13 people voted according to the alliance combinations.
days as the PM. The Congress was the second largest party Developments from 1989-99 provide evidence that coalition
with a paltry 140 seats (vote-share 28.3 per cent). It instead governments have an element of vanity built into them. Any
chose to back a United Front government of the Janata Dal and hard policy decision is almost ruled out in a coalition
other parties (192 seats with 28.52 per cent vote-share) and H. government. At best, a coalition can just hang on. This is
D DeveGowda took over as the Prime Minister (General particularly true of coalition where the government has to cope
Election Report: 1996). The Congress, however, withdrew up with countervailing pressures. Along with it, it has often
support and the DeveGowda government collapsed in April been observed that the functioning of a coalition becomes a
1997. A compromise was made and I.K Gujral was elected the battle of nerves as various constituents scramble for greater say
new Janata Dal Prime Minister but his government did not last in the decision making and grater share of the national cake.
long much after leaders of the 13-party United Front coalition Moreover, the phenomenon of coalition governments hampers
rejected the Congress' demand to oust the DMK, and its three the process of political polarization, since the national level
representatives in Gujral's cabinet, after a report said that it had political parties seek to ride to power by leaning on the support
a good relation with a Sri Lankan guerrilla group suspected of of regional and state level parties and groups, it is not only
killing Rajiv Gandhi. After Narasimha Rao's tenure ended in multiplies the bargaining power of the later but also adds to
1996, the country had to wait for another three years to see the their over-all electoral strength. The situation has reached a
beginning of next regime that lasted its full term. In 1998 point where anyone and everyone is not only ready to join
elections the BJP had emerged as the largest party in these hands with anyone else but also to split the party merely at the
elections with 182 seats (25.6 per cent vote-share) while the drop of a hat or merely to stay in power. The only exceptions to
53 
 
this emerging pattern are the cadre based parties–the BJP in politics among political formations of all denominations.
(Vaghela notwithstanding) and the communists (Sharma, 2000: They are becoming leader-based parties rather than the other
33-34) [3]. In the earlier period regional parties bargain only for way round. Politics of ego and vanity can only generate
their personal benefits but after 1999 elections the parties fissiparous tendencies. There has been no leader after Gandhi
actively participating in the nation building process along who could overcome this phenomenon. This large country
bargain for their states welfare, TDP is a big example of this. needs a large number of local leaders for mobilization and
Now these regional parties tried to do best for the development growth of healthy democratic political traditions (Prasad,
of their own states. 2009:9) [7]. In fact there is a need for a new culture of politics
Coalition dharma demands an ethos of ‘give and take’ by both not based on depredatory competition but on qualities of
the major and minor partners. Just as the major partner is duty character, vision and foresight suited to the area and population
bound to accommodate the interest of all partners, the junior and the cultural segment it is working for. This task continues
partners, on there part should not blackmail the major partner to be neglected.
into submitting unjustifiable demands (Niloferop, 2009: 758) Despite the inherent tensions of coalition governance, the
[4].
So the similar situation was faced by the UPA after the Indian experiments, especially that of the NDA and UPA, add
formation of the government. Soon after the government was new theoretical twists to the phenomena. As the regional
formed, it faced the threat of withdrawal from the DMK for not parties, regardless of their individual numerical strength in the
getting plum posts. UPA government faced all problems which ruling coalition are crucial, the nature of political
are obvious in a coalition government. In 2008 UPA administration is likely to undergo dramatic changes in two
government faced another problem. When the left parties ways. First, given their importance in the coalition government,
withdrew the support to the UPA government on 23rd July the leaders are correspondingly entrusted with responsibilities
2008. Serious differences arose on nuclear agreement with at the national level. They cannot therefore think only of the
United State of America. But Dr. Manmohan Singh played as region to which they belong rather, they need to take into
reasoned politician and saved his government when confidence account the problems and issues which are relevant at the
motion was passed by 275 votes against 256 votes with the national level. The growing importance of Despite the inherent
support of Samajwadi party (SP) led by Mulayam Singh Yadav tensions of coalition governance, the Indian experiments,
and other parties. However, BJP has tried all its best to defeat especially that of the NDA and UPA, add new theoretical
the motion of confidence moved by Dr. Manmohan Singh, but twists to the phenomena. As the regional parties, regardless of
it was in vain (Ibid). UPA government completed its full term their individual numerical strength in the ruling coalition are
with ups and towns. The UPA coalition proved a successful crucial, the nature of political administration is likely to
coalition. The NDA (1999) and UPA (2004) both proved that undergo dramatic changes in two ways. First, given their
coalition can be stable (Sharda, 2010:37) [5]. importance in the coalition government, the leaders are
The success and failure of the coalition was not merely a correspondingly entrusted with responsibilities at the national
matter of alliance arithmetic, but also reflective of a significant level. They cannot therefore think only of the region to which
change in electoral behaviour. The coalitions involved in the they belong rather, they need to take into account the problems
elections relate to far deeper alignment of social and political and issues which are relevant at the national level. The growing
power than earlier. The loose, pre-electoral alliance formed by importance of regional parties in the government is therefore a
the Congress worked well, presumably because it happened to positive development from the point of view of governance as
coincide and express a deeper head within the political system, well. With their involvement in the administration, the regional
the need to create an alternative to the BJP’s social block. parties gain a national perspective while articulating their
Constituted by parties holding views opposed to the NDA, the responses to issues that may or not have regional
pre-poll Congress alliance sought to articulate a political vice underpinnings. Second, the inevitability of coalition
that tragedy remained peripheral in the erstwhile regime. In this governments is also indicative of significant changes in the
sense, the 2004 election is a watershed. On the one hand, it has conceptualization of politics in India. It is now clear that the
brought about radical changes in the party system by redefining failure of the pan-Indian parties to deal with regional issues
its nature primarily in terms of coalition of parties holding largely contributed to the rise and growing importance of
comparable political views, on the other, with the regional and state based parties. The notion that the regions are
crystallization of these two competing coalition, this election neglected or bypassed for the national gains remains ground at
also seems to have compartmentalized the contending social the root of the formation and the gradual electoral strength for
blocks with allegiance to either the BJP or the Congress led these parties in contemporary Indian politics (Chakrabarty,
amalgamation (Chakrabarty, 2006. cit: 213) [6]. op.cit: 215-216) [8].
One thing seems certain the coalition system will not fade
away soon despite the two major parties wishes in which they Findings and Conclusion
have the support of the county’s corporate industry. The two  Coalition politics in India gave space to the regional parties
largest parties with national way have to shed their emotional in politics.
antagonism of regional parties. This election is tending to show  The federal principles followed by national parties due to
prospects for further fragmentation of the mandate in terms not coalition compulsions.
of the percentage of vote share and winning candidates but also Thus, in India after 1989 multi-party coalition model has
the number of parties trying for a share in the central power emerged at the national level. Since 1989, seven national
pie. It may foreshadow a more trying period for organizing and governments formed all were the coalition governments
running a coalition. Will the trend of disintegrating coalition formed with the help of the regional parties at the centre. No
instead of consolidating coalition be further reinforced. It looks national party was able to form government at its own. In all
like. This is a natural outgrowth from the centralizing tendency the coalitions regional parties had dominant position. Thus at
54 
 
the centre level regional parties articulated the plurality of the
country. It is evident from the electoral politics and role of
regional parties in running the coalition governments. The local
forces in the coalitions have become dominant. Federal
practices of the Indian constitution have become more
effective, the coalition is dominated by the regional parties, and
centralized tendencies are becoming weak. Centralized nature
of Indian federal polity moved towards cooperative federalism.
Practically in the coalitions regional parties performed the
function of cheques and balances. Now the centre cannot
behave arbitrarily and as colonizer in the case of the states. The
centre has to be very conscious in using and misusing the
various. Thus, after 1989, the coalition government resulted in
the democratic decentralization in Indian polity and evolution
of healthy federalism in the country.

References
1. Chander N. Jose. Coalition Politics: The Indian
Experience. New Delhi: Concept Publishing
Company, 2004.
2. Sahni, Nares Chander. ed. Coalition Politics in India.
Julludur. New Academic Publishing Co, 1971.
3. Sharma TR. Seamy Side Coalition Governments, in
Vidhanmala., Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Vidhan
Sabha Secretariat, 2000, VII(1).
4. Nilofer S. Wassem Ahmad. Coalition Government in
India, in Indian Journal of Political Science. Vol.
LXX. No.3, September-October, 2009.
5. Sharda, Mridula. Regional Political Parties and
Indian Federalism, in Vidhanmala, Shimla:
Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha Secretariat, 2010,
IV(2).
6. Chakarbarty, Bidyut. Forging Power: Coalition
Politics in India. New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
2006.
7. Prasad Kamla. Lok Sabha Elections 2009: Emerging
Trends in National Politics, in Mainstream. 2009;
XLVIII(22).
8. Chakarbarty, Bidyut. Forging Power: Coalition
Politics in India, op., cit.

Reports
 General Election Commission Report 1989.
 General Election Commission Report 1991.
 General Election Commission Report 1996.
 General Election Commission Report 1998.
 General Election Commission Report 1999.
 General Election Commission Report 2004.
 General Election Commission Report 2009.

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