The era of coalition politics....

Tupsy-turvy era of coalition politics. The era of coalition in Indian politics is now a decade old, but we are yet to see any fruitful benefits out of it. The main reason behind the formation of two blocks in Indian political system has always been a compulsion to prohibit the other from joining the power centre. Both the blocks, namely the NDA and the UPA,which was inspired by the formation and structure of the NDA i.e. one major national party at the helm and several regional parties participating, started allying with regional parties not by choice or because of their similar ideologies but because of the post poll compulsion of 1998 general election. Thus, the basis of coalition has never been the national interest but the self interest the political parties to defeat the other and secure the north block. The dawn of the coalition era dates back to 1998 when after repeated attempts the BJP, led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee, failed to offer a stable government. It was then that the political honchos in BJP’s central committee arrived to a conclusion of allying with the regional players to get closer to the magical number required to form the government at the centre. The announcement of the National Democratic Alliance in May 1998 signalled the first step in the building of the coalition, which formed the Government in 1998, but collapsed within a year due to the AIADMK pulling out. But it moved ahead to win the next elections held in 1999, with a greater majority and new alliances. The formation of the NDA-government led to an internal debate in the congressional brass. It was widely felt that on the lines of NDA the congress and the non-allied parties should form another block to counter it, as it was almost impossible to form a government single handedly. After the elections it was quite clear that the ruling NDA is far behind the required number and this opportunity led to the formation of UPA (united progressive alliance) soon after the 2004 general elections. The UPA's policies were initially guided by a common minimum programme that the alliance hammered out with fruitful consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59 member Left front. Hence, government policies were generally perceived as center-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC and the Left. Despite having a common minimum programme allied parties always targeted the congress party for some or the other reason. But just after the UPA sealed the Indo-US nuke deal, the left parties withdrew their support and kicked the government on the verge of collapse. However, at that time the Samajwadi Party saved the government during the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition against the UPA resulting in a completetion of the full term of the UPA government. At one point of time both these parties, INC and Samajwadi Party were foes and now they are friends which show the ideological differences among the two parties. However, in a political setup like the one we have its very difficult predict which party will corner itself with which party. In the recent time, after the dates for the 15th Lok Sabha elections were announced, all the major parties started to set up a front to project themselves as the leading contender for the top job, irrespective of their earlier rivalries. This election is quite different from the earlier ones. This time it’s a 3-way fight and not the traditional 2-way. The formation of the third front has led to the sleepless nights for both the major parties. Also, the unclear picture about the voter’s favorite party has increased the risk. Despite the shortcomings of the coalition governments, there is something good which we have sidelined. The more and more participation of the regional parties have put the regional issues on the central table, which otherwise would have been not treated sincerely. In his election, the effort of the parent party is to focus on the regional issues through the regional allies to maximize their gain. So, it would be wrong to say that the coalition era has been an all wrong political era but it has been a mixed bag with some compromises and some challenges. The Third front joining the fray has made the fight more interesting and forces the other parties to have a reality check on their previous work.