Describe the nature of coalition politics in India?

The nature of coalition politics in India can be described in the following points :
  • Mature and stable : Coalition politics in India has evolved into a mature and stable phase which is visible from successful completion of two terms of UPA at the centre.
  • Representative: Coalition politics in India is  representative in nature  as multiple regional parties from various regions  form an important part of ruling and opposing coalition in the Parliament. The regional parties are also able to represent the regional aspiration at national level.
  • Evolving : The Coalition Politics of India is still evolving as it is slowly breaking the traditional single party dominance in the alliances and more regional parties having a say in the decision making.

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India is today undergoing a complex and tortuous political transition.

The demise of th6 one party dominance system has given birth to an eraof coali- tions. With the decline of the Congress and in the absence of a national alternative having a counttywide spread, it was logical for the people to repose faith in different parties and groups, some confined to region. 2. The transormative process has however been fraught with un- precedented instability and weak governance. The tentative experiment in coali- tion government, specifically at the centre, has evoked mixed responses ranging from extreme scepticism to post facto admiration and acceptance. There have been a plethora of scholarly aaicles from senior politicians,journalists and even consti- tutional experts about the inevitability of the arrival of coalition politics in the working of our democracy. 3. A clear and in depth analysis of coalition polities is crucial for us to understand the myriad of changes that are occumng our polity in order to better manage the transition and anticipate and influence the' future course. 4. As demands by religious, cultural or ethnic groups for greater autonomy have increased in India, there is an urgent need to think afresh about approaches to structures of governance in multicultural arid multiethnic societies like India. India's experience as arguably the most diverse society in the world and her attempt to wrestle with tensions between centralising and decentralising ten- dencies is reflected in our experiment in coalition government. 5. This paper seeks t o achieve the following objectives. (i) To study the key developments in the recent politics of India. (ii) To outline a theoretical framework within which coalition politics is examined. . . (iii) To identify the issue areas specially the challenges that the experiment with coalition government throws up. (iv) To ksess and critically examine the efficacy and desirability of coalition politics for. * Reader in Law, La1 Bahadur Sastry National Academy of Administration, Mussoorie, Uttranchal State. ** M.L.~chdor,.Andhara University, Vishakhapatnam.
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