Coalition politics in India: A critical analysis

The study highlights the concept of coalition government and its impact in Indian government and politics of parliamentary democracy. It also reveals the reasons and circumstances in which coalition governments in India have become regular feature both at federal level as well as in the states. Furthermore, the study explores the nature, character and dominance of Indian National Congress (INC) and its replacement by non-Congress coalitions both at centre and in the states. It highlights brief working of minority coalitions at federal level which no doubt proved short-lived and instable, however opened a new coalition chapter in Indian political history. However, Indian politics experienced durable, mature and stable coalitions in the form of National Democratic Alliance-I and United Progressive Alliance-I at Union Level. Both these coalition governments though experienced tough political weather but successfully steered the coalition wagon to a predetermined destination. The study concludes that those coalition governments survive without any hiccups which followed a path of compromise, consensus and cooperation in place of strict ideological adherence of coalition partners.