Coalition Politics in India: Phases, Merits, Demerits (UPSC Polity)

After a decade of single-party majority rule, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections returned India to coalition politics. The BJP could not repeat its 2014 and 2019 majorities; a government was formed with the support of NDA partners, especially the TDP and JD(U). For UPSC Polity, coalition politics is a recurring mains topic that blends constitutional design (parliamentary system), political history (seven phases), and governance outcomes (stability vs representation).

About Coalition Politics

• The term "coalition" is derived from the Latin word coalitio, meaning "to grow together."
• When several political parties join hands to form a government and exercise political power based on a common agreed programme, we describe the system as coalition politics or coalition government.
• Coalitions usually occur in modern parliaments when no single party can muster a majority of votes.
• Two or more parties who have enough members between them to form a majority may agree on a common programme that does not require too many compromises with their individual policies.
• A coalition denotes a cooperative arrangement in which distinct political parties — or at least members of such parties — unite to form a government or ministry.

Features of Coalition Politics

Political scientist J.C. Johari summarised coalition politics as follows:

• It is a phenomenon of multi-party government where several minority parties join hands to run the government.
• A coalition is formed when splinter groups in a House agree to sink their broad differences and form a majority.
• Coalitions are formed for some reward — material or psychic.
• A coalition implies the existence of at least two partners.
• The underlying principle is the temporary conjunction of specific interests.
• Coalition politics is not static but dynamic — coalition players and groups dissolve and form new ones.
• The keynote is compromise; rigid dogma has no place.
• A coalition government works based on a minimum programme — which may not be ideal for each partner.
• Pragmatism, not ideology, is the mark of coalition politics.
• The purpose of coalition is to seize power.

Pre-Poll vs Post-Poll Coalitions

Pre-Poll Coalition

A pre-poll alliance is a political arrangement where two or more parties agree to cooperate and support each other before an election. The alliance aims to:

• Improve chances of winning by consolidating votes.
• Avoid vote-splitting.
• Present a united front against common opponents.

Pre-poll coalitions are considered considerably advantageous because they provide a common platform to woo the electorate based on a joint manifesto. The Sarkaria Commission gave first preference to pre-poll alliances in its hung-assembly guidelines.

Post-Poll Coalition

A post-poll alliance is a political arrangement where parties cooperate and form a coalition after the election results are announced. Usually formed when:

• No single party secures an outright majority.
• Collaboration is needed to achieve the numbers required to govern.

Post-election unions enable constituents to share political power and run the government.

Coalition Politics in India: Seven Phases

Phase 1: 1947-1967 — The Congress System

• Indian politics was coalitional in nature — but within the Congress party.
• Political scientists Rajni Kothari, Morris Jones, and Myron Weiner developed a theoretical model of the "one-party dominant system" or "Congress system."
• Rajni Kothari highlighted consensual politics based on pluralism, accommodation, and bargaining within Congress.
• The Congress absorbed diverse interests and served as an umbrella coalition within a single party.

Phase 2: 1967-1977 — Coalitions at the State Level

• Non-Congress opposition parties formed coalitions in 9 states.
• Morris Jones called this a "market polity" leading to a "pretty regular and continuous defectors' market."
• Divergent ideologies helped win elections by providing a mass base, but led to crises in governance.
• This phase gave rise to the Anti-Defection Law debates that eventually produced the 10th Schedule in 1985.

Phase 3: 1977-1979 — The First Non-Congress Coalition at the Centre

• The Emergency (1975-77) led to the defeat of Congress in the 1977 Parliamentary as well as state Assembly elections (in six states).
• The introduction of populist, bureaucratic, and authoritarian modes of politics in Congress had led to the Emergency — which became the reason for the debacle of Congress.
• The Janata Party coalition took power but collapsed within two-and-a-half years due to internal contradictions.

Phase 4: 1980-1989 — Decline of Coalition Politics

• The failure of the Janata coalition gave an opportunity to Congress — recovering from the 1978 split under Indira Gandhi — to capture power in 1980.
• Congress received a massive victory in the 1984 general elections (Rajiv Gandhi wave).
• For a decade, coalition politics came to an end at the Centre; it continued at the state level.

Phase 5: 1989-1999 — Decade of Instability

• Further decline of coalition politics, with immature coalitions leading to:
• Hung assemblies
• Minority governments at the Centre
• Rise of bipolar regional politics at state assemblies
• Seven Prime Ministers in ten years — V.P. Singh, Chandrashekhar, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Deve Gowda, I.K. Gujral, Vajpayee (13 days), Vajpayee (13 months).
• Regional parties became king-makers.

Phase 6: 1999-2014 — Mature Coalitions

• Stable coalitions: The NDA (1999-2004) under Vajpayee and the UPA I (2004-09) and UPA II (2009-14) under Manmohan Singh.
• Common Minimum Programmes became standard.
• Coordination committees and unofficial "super-cabinets" emerged.
• Regional parties institutionalised their role at the Centre.

Phase 7: 2014-2024 — Return of Single-Party Dominance

• 2014: BJP won 282 seats — first single-party majority in 30 years.
• 2019: BJP won 303 seats — reinforced dominance.
• Coalition existed (NDA), but since BJP had its own majority, it was not dependent on coalition partners to fulfil its manifesto.
• Not committed to a Common Minimum Programme.

Phase 8: 2024 Onward — Coalition Returns

• 2024 Lok Sabha: BJP won 240 seats — 32 short of a majority.
• Government formed with TDP, JD(U), and other NDA partners.
• Return of coalition bargaining: Andhra Pradesh special package, Bihar special status demands, cabinet portfolio negotiations.
• Common Minimum Programme-style governance has returned in a muted form.

Merits and Demerits of Coalition Government

Merits

Demerits

Latest Developments (2024-26)

• June 2024: 18th Lok Sabha — NDA formed government with coalition support.
• TDP (N. Chandrababu Naidu) and JD(U) (Nitish Kumar) emerged as pivotal coalition partners.
• Cabinet allocation reflected coalition bargaining.
• Budget 2024 included special packages for Andhra Pradesh and Bihar — reflecting regional-coalition priorities.
• Waqf (Amendment) Bill and other contentious legislations saw Opposition plus some coalition partners push back — demonstrating legislative bargaining.

Updated context: Coalition politics has returned as a defining feature of Indian governance, potentially reshaping policy-making, portfolio distribution, and centre-state dynamics through the rest of the decade.

UPSC Relevance

GS-II mapping: Parliament and State legislatures — functioning; appointment and functioning of government; separation of powers; federalism.

Prelims bullets:

• Coalition = Latin coalitio ("to grow together").
• Rajni Kothari — Congress system / one-party dominant system.
• Pre-poll vs post-poll alliance.
• NDA (1999), UPA (2004), NDA-3 (2024).
• Common Minimum Programme (CMP) — key feature of coalition governance.

Mains angles:

• Trace the evolution of coalition politics in India across its seven/eight phases.
• "Coalition politics strengthens federal fabric but weakens governance." Discuss.
• Examine the merits and demerits of coalition government with reference to recent Indian experience.
• How does the 2024 election mark a return to coalition politics and what are its implications for policy-making?