Coalition Politics
How India's extraordinary party fragmentation forces coalition governance, the art of managing diverse alliances, and whether the BJP's dominance has ended the coalition era.
The Coalition Era (1989-2014)
From 1989 to 2014, no single party won a majority in the Lok Sabha. Every government was a coalition. The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) and the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) alternated in power, each depending on a shifting constellation of regional and caste-based parties. The UPA's second term (2009-2014) involved over a dozen coalition partners.
Coalition politics gave regional parties enormous leverage. The DMK in Tamil Nadu, the Trinamool Congress in West Bengal, and the JD(U) in Bihar could extract major policy concessions in exchange for support. Cabinet portfolios were distributed among coalition partners, sometimes giving small parties control over important ministries. Critics argued this made governance chaotic and policy incoherent. Defenders argued coalitions ensured India's diversity was represented in government and prevented any single party from accumulating excessive power.