Coalition Government

coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a

government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an
absolute majority after an election.

Meaning of Coalition Government

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.

Coalition Government in India- Background

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

o The Congress party had sway in a democratic setting.

o The origins of the Congress party’s unprecedented success may be traced back to the heri
tage of the liberation fight.
o The Congress brought together various organisations with frequently contradicting goals.
o At the time of independence, the Congress had evolved into a rainbow-
colored social alliance that represented India’s variety in terms of classes and castes, faith
s and languages, and diverse interests.
o Congress’s coalition-
like nature gave it remarkable strength. Actions are groups within a party with opposing b
eliefs.
 o Some of these divisions were founded on intellectual reasons, but the majority of them w
ere founded on personal aspirations and rivalries.

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.

Political rise of Other Backward Classes

Many members of Janata Party like Bharatiya Kranti Dal and Samyukta socialist party had
powerful influence among OBC communities.

Mandal Commission

o National front government decided to implement the recommendations of the Mandal

Commission which helped in mobilizing OBCs in politics and providing opportunities in
education and employment.
o During 1977-79, the Janata Party demanded reservation for backward classes in North
India and at National level.
o A new policy of reservation was introduced in Bihar by Karpoori Thakur (CM of Bihar).
o In 1978, the Central government appointed a Commission to recommend ways to improve
conditions of backward classes and named it the Second Backward Class Commission
(SEBC).
o Bindeshwari Prasad Mandal was its chairperson and hence it is known as Mandal
Commission.
o Its role was to identify the extent of educational and social backwardness and ways to
identify backward classes with recommendations to end this backwardness.
 o It recommended 27% seat reservation in the educational and employment sector along with
land Reforms improve conditions of OBCs.
o The recommendation of reservation was implemented by the National Front government
in 1990.
o This decision was challenged in the Supreme Court and came to be known as the ‘Indira
Sawhney case’ causing political fallouts.
o In 1978, BAMCEF formed as a trade union of government employees took a stand in
favouring political power to SC, ST, OBC and minorities.
o Later Bahujan Samaj party (BSP) was formed from Dalit Shoshit Samaj Sangharsh Samiti
under Kanshi Ram’s leadership.
o It received support from Punjab, Haryana, UP and emerged as a major political player in
state due to the Dalit voters.

Features of Coalition Government

The features of a Coalition Government are highlighted below:

1. Coalition is formed for the sake of reward, material satisfaction

2. A coalition implies the existence of a least two partners
3. The underlying principle of a coalition system stands on the simple fact of temporary
conjunction of specific interest.
4. Coalition politics is not a static but a dynamic affair as coalition players and groups can
dissolve and form new ones
5. The keynote of coalition politics is compromise and rigid dogma has no place in it.
6. A coalition works on the basis of a minimum programme, which may not be ideal for each
partner of the coalition.
7. Pragmatism and not ideology is the hall-mark of coalition politics. In making political
adjustments, principles may have to be set aside.
8. The purpose of a coalition adjustment is to seize power.

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.

Formation of Coalition Governments in India

The table below highlights the Coalition Government formed in India in the ensuing years:

Formation of Coalition Governments in India (1977-Present)

Period Coalition Prime Minister

(Party)

1977- Janata Party Morarji Desai

1979 (Congress (O))

1979- Janata Party Charan Singh

1980 (Secular) (Janata (S))

1989- National Front V.P Singh (Janata

1990 Dal)

1990- Janata Dal Chandra Shekar

1991 (Socialist) or (Janata Dal (S) or
Samajwadi Samajwadi Party)
Janata Party

1996- United Front H.D Deve Gowda

1997 (Janata Dal)

1997- United Front I.K Gujral (Janata

1998 Dal)
 1997- BJP-led A.B. Vajpayee
1998 Coalition (BJP)

1999- National A.B. Vajpayee

2004 Democratic (BJP)
Alliance (NDA)

2004- United Manmohan Singh

2009 Progressive (Congress)
Alliance (UPA)

2009- United Manmohan Singh

2014 Progressive (Congress)
Alliance – II
(UPA-II)

2014- National Narendra Modi

2019 Democratic (BJP)
Alliance (NDA)

2019- National Narendra Modi

present Democratic (BJP)
Alliance (NDA)

Merits and Demerits of Coalition Government

The merits and demerits of a coalition government is highlighted in the table below:

Demerits and Merits of Coalition Government

Merits Demerits

• There is an • They are

accommodation of unstable or
 diverse interests in the prone to
functioning of the instability. The
government. difference of
opinion among
• A coalition government coalition
acts as a channel to members leads
meet the expectations to the collapse
and redress the of the
grievances of different government
groups
• Leadership of
• India is a highly the Prime
diversified country. Minister is a
There are different principle of
cultures, languages, parliamentary
castes, religions and form of
ethnic groups. This government.
means that the This principle
coalition government’s is curtailed in a
more representative in coalition
nature and reflects the government as
popular opinion of the the Prime
electorate Minister is
required to
• A coalition consult the
government comprises coalition
different political partners before
parties having their taking any
own ideologies or major
agendas. But the decisions.
government policy
requires the • The Steering
concurrence of all the Committee or
coalition partners. the
Therefore, a coalition Coordination
government leads to Committee of
consensus-based the coalition
politics partners acts as
the ‘Super-
• Coalition politics Cabinet’ and
strengthens the federal thereby it
fabric of the Indian undermines
political system. This is the role and
because a coalition position of the
government is more cabinet in the
 sensitive and functioning of
responsive to regional the
demands government
machinery
• A coalition government
reduces the chances of • There is a
despotic rule. This is possibility of
due to the reduced the smaller
domination of a single constituents of
political party in the the coalition
functioning of the government
government. All the playing the
members of the role of a ‘king-
coalition participate in maker’. They
the decision making. demand more
than strength
in the
Parliament

• 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

Questions about Coalition Governments

1. Under which conditions can a coalition government be formed?

A coalition government might also be created in a time of national difficulty or crisis (for example,
during wartime or economic crisis) to, give a government the high degree of perceived political
legitimacy or collective identity, it can also play a role in diminishing internal political strife.

2. What are the positive and negative aspects of a coalition government?

Advocates of proportional representation suggest that a coalition government leads to more

consensus-based politics, as a government comprising differing parties (often based on different
ideologies) need to compromise about governmental policy. Another stated advantage is that a
coalition government better reflects the popular opinion of the electorate within a country. Those
who disapprove of coalition governments believe that such governments have a tendency to be
fractious and prone to disharmony, as their component parties hold differing beliefs and thus may
not always agree on policy.