Critically evaluate the working of the coalition politics in india
Answers
Ans: Coalition politics or multi party system where there is no single party in majority has become a trend in Indian political arena since 1989.It paved ways to regional aspirations. People have fractured mandates so any ruling party have to be representative of all the member parties. As there is power sharing , different views of different coalition parties have to be accommodated leading to delay decisions e.g long delay of bills like civil nuclear liability. Coalition politics though representing regional character better , often leads to unstable government ,increase horse trading ,more corruption.
India is union of states .States have to be aligned along the growth of the nation with equity.
They should be part of the growth journey, so fruits of development have to shared optimally.States of their own don’t have sufficient funds and they are dependent on central pool of resources.
Coopertive federalism is a step forward where states can play crucial role in
national planning. Federalism has to be cooperative and planning should be need based
than area based which was followed earlier. Funding should be more untied so that States have the flexibility of utilizing them according to their need and better outcomes.
The term coalition is derived from the Latin word ‘coalition’ meaning to go or grow together. Thus it means an act of coalescing or uniting into one body or alliance. It indicates the combination of a number of bodies or parts into one body or whole. In the political sense it is used to indicate an alliance or temporary union between various political groups for the exercise or control of political power. Professor Ogg defines coalition in the Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences, as “cooperative arrangements under which distinct political parties or at all events members of such parties unite to form a Government or Ministry”. Thus, it can be said that result of the exigencies of competitive multi-party system in a parliamentary democracy is coalition. It is a phenomenon where more than two political parties come together to form a government , sinking their basic ideological differences in the event of the inability of any single party to command a workable majority in the lower House of the legislature.
Generally coalitions are said to be formed on account of one of the following reasons:
1. No single political party is able to secure a working majority in the popular house on account of the presence of multi-party system. Under these circumstances a number like-minded political parties form the coalition to provide a workable majority and run the government.
2. In a Bi-party system a deadlock may be created due of even balance between two parties allying itself with a minor group such as neutral or defectors till the majority in its favour.
3. A coalition may be necessitated by a national crisis when the various political groups may suspend their political strife and collaborate in the general cause of protecting and promoting their national interest.
Government in India:
The process of fragmentation of the national party system and emergence of minority or coalition governments started in India from 1967. This period also marked the emergence of coalitions and also new parties and mergers along with breakup of some parties and absorption of the others.
This began the era of Coalition Politics or Multi party rule in India. The adoption of multi party system and regionalism changed the centre-state relations to a certain extent. Participation of many regional parties in the coalition government at the centre particularly indicates the significant shift from centralised governance towards shared rule and federal governance