Coalition Government 3
Coalition Government 3
Coalition Government 3
The term ‘coalition’ is derived from the Latin world ‘coalitio’ which means ‘to grow ‘ or ‘to grow
together’. Thus, technically, coalition means the act of uniting parts into one body or whole.
Politically, coalition means an alliance of distinct political parties
Coalition usually occurs in modern parliaments when no single political party can muster a
majority of votes. Two or more parties, who have enough elected members between them to form
a majority, may then be able to agree on a common programme that does not require too many
drastic compromises with their individual policies and can proceed to form a government.
o End of Congress system: Congress party was defeated in 1989 elections and lost its
centrality even though it enjoyed a Majority with 415 seats in 1984 elections.
o Rise of Mandal issue: disputes between supporters and opponents of Mandal Commission
grew due to implementation of its recommendations to reserve jobs in the Central
government for other backward classes.
o New economic reforms: Rajiv Gandhi initiated various structural adjustment programs in
1991.
o Demolition of babri masjid in December 1992: It initiated the issue of nationalism and
secularism of India and led to rise of BJP and Hindutva politics.
o Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991: It was done by Sri Lankan Tamil during election
campaign in Tamil Nadu that caused transfer of leadership to Narasimha Rao.
Domination of Congress
Decline of Congress
o Congress was defeated in 1989 from National front (Janata Dal and regional parties).
o Decline of Congress started an era of multi party system where no single party secured
majority in elections from 1989 to 2014.
Alliance politics
o Many parties represented Dalits & OBC and emerged through the United front
government in 1996 which received support from Congress.
o In 1989, the National front government received the support from BJP and the left to
keep Congress out of power.
o But in 1996, the Congress and the left supported the National front to keep BJP out of
power.
o In 1996, BJP emerged as the largest party and formed a coalition government to come
into power from May 1998 to June 1999 and re-elected in October 1999 with Atal Bihari
Vajpayee as Prime Minister.
o A phase of coalition government began after 1989 elections as there have been 11
governments at the centre that were either in coalition or minority governments supported
by others.
Many members of Janata Party like Bharatiya Kranti Dal and Samyukta socialist party had
powerful influence among OBC communities.
Mandal Commission
9. A coalition agreement is a negotiated agreement between the parties that constitute a coal
ition government in multi-party nations.
10. It codifies the cabinet’s most essential common aims and objectives.
11. It is frequently written by legislative party leaders.
12. A coalition system’s core basis is the simple fact of temporary
convergence of specific interests.
13. Coalition politics is a dynamic affair in which coalition actors and organizations can diss
olve and create new ones.
14. Coalitions are divided into two types: internal coalitions and external coalitions.
15. Internal coalitions are made up of people who already work in an organization, such as a
workplace.
In India, coalitions have come up before or after elections. The pre-poll coalition is considered
advantageous as it provides a common platform for all parties to woo the electorate on the basis
of a joint manifesto. A post-election union is intended to enable constituents to share political
power and run the government.
The table below highlights the Coalition Government formed in India in the ensuing years:
The merits and demerits of a coalition government is highlighted in the table below:
Merits Demerits
• The leaders of
regional
parties bring in
the regional
facts in the
national
decision-
making. They
pressurise the
central
executive to
act on their
lines;
otherwise, they
would threaten
to withdraw
from the
coalition
• The members
of the coalition
governments
do not assume
responsibility
for the
administrative
failures and
lapses. They
could play
blame games
and there by
escape from
collective and
individual
responsibilities