Professional Documents
Culture Documents
POLITICAL SYSTEM
-:Project Report on:-
Submitted by
Nirvikalp Shukla
B. A. LL. B. (Hons.) Student
Semester III, Section C, Roll No. 105
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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I feel highly elated to get to work on the topic Concept of Coalition Government and Indian
Political System. The practical realization of this project has obligated the assistance of many
persons. I express my deepest regard and gratitude for Mr. Avinash Samal, faculty of Political
Science. His consistent supervision, constant inspiration and invaluable guidance have been an
immense help in understanding and carrying out the nuances of this project report.
I would also like extend my hand of gratitude towards the friends and family, without whose
support and encouragement this project would not have been a reality.
I take this opportunity to thank the university, and the Honorable Vice Chancellor for providing
extensive database resources in the library and through Internet.
For any sort of errors that might have crept in, it is deeply regretted. I shall be grateful if further
comments and suggestions are put forth regarding improvisation of the provisions.
~Nirvikalp Shukla
~Semester- 3rd , Year- 2nd
~Section- B, Roll No.- 105
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Acknowledgements
1. Introduction 4
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Methodology of Study...6
1.5
Organization
of
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Concluding Observations15
7.
References..16
the
Introduction:
Topic: Concept of Coalition Government and Indian Political System
At the very outset, I would like to make it clear that this project report basically a study about the
dynamics of coalition government in a political system as complex as that of India. The reason
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Research Methodology:
The research conducted has been supplemented by secondary sources. It has been complimented
by the use of books and articles. The methodology adopted has tried to incubate objective results,
however, subjectivity has been respected.
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state and local levels. At the national level, the head of government, prime minister, is elected by
the members of Lok Sabha, lower house of the parliament of India.5 All members of Lok Sabha
except two, who can be nominated by president of India, are directly elected through general
elections which take place every five years, in normal circumstances, by universal adult
suffrage.6 Members of Rajya Sabha, upper house of Indian parliament, are elected by elected
members of the legislative assemblies of states and Electoral college for Union Territories of
India.
In year 2009, the elections involved an electorate of 714 million people7 (larger than both EU
and US elections combined). In year 2014, the Electoral Strength of India increased to 814.5
Million.8 Declared expenditure has trebled since 1989 to almost $300 million, using more than
one million electronic voting machines.9
The size of the huge electorate mandates that elections be conducted in a number of phases (there
were four phases in 2004 General Elections and five phases in2009 general election). It involves
a number of step-by-step processes from announcement of election dates by the Election
Commission of India, which brings into force the 'model code of conduct' for the political
parties, to the announcement of results and submission of the list of successful candidates to the
executive head of the state or the centre. The submission of results marks the end of the election
process, thereby paving way for the formation of the new government.
Electoral Process in India takes at least a month for state assembly elections with the duration
increasing further for the General Elections. Publishing of electoral rolls is a key process that
happens before the elections and is vital for the conduct of elections in India. The Indian
Constitution sets the eligibility of an individual for voting. Any person who is a citizen of India
5 Basu, Durga D. (2009). "11". Introduction to the Constitution of India. Nagpur, India: LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa
Nagpur
6 Basu, Durga D. (2009). "11". Introduction to the Constitution of India. Nagpur, India: LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa
Nagpur
7 "The recurring miracle of Indian democracy". New Straits Times. (16 April 2009).
8 "Number of Registered Voters in India reaches 814.5 Mn in 2014". IANS. news.biharprabha.com. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
9 Indian General Election Expenditure, from ECI website accessed 14 May 2006.
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and above 18 years of age is eligible to enroll as a voter in the electoral rolls. It is the
responsibility of the eligible voters to enroll their names. Normally, voter registrations are
allowed latest one week prior to the last date for nomination of candidates.
So, thats how the elections take place in India.
Coalition Government:
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which
several parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own
can achieve a majority in the parliament. A coalition government might also be created in a time
of national difficulty or crisis, for example during wartime, to give a government the high degree
of perceived political legitimacy it desires whilst also playing a role in diminishing internal
political strife. In such times, parties have formed all-party coalitions (national unity
10 http://younghopes.wordpress.com/2011/05/06/characteristics-of-indian-party-system/
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Coalition in India:
At the national level India's first ever coalition government was formed under the Prime
Ministership of Morarji Desai which existed from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979 headed by
the Janata Party. The first successful coalition government in India which completed the whole 5
year term was the BJP Bharatiya Janata Party led National Democratic Alliance with Atal Bihari
Vajpayee as Prime Minister from 1999-2004. Then another coalition, the United Progressive
Alliance, consists of 13 separate parties ruled India for two terms from 2004-2014. Now after the
elections in May 2014, National Democratic Alliance again came into power with Narendra
Modi as Prime Minister.
India has had coalition governments at the Centre as well as in individual states since the last two
decades. Since India is a diverse country with different ethnic, linguistic and religious
communities, it also has diverse ideologies. Due to this, the benefit that a coalition has is that it
leads to more consensus based politics and reflects the popular opinion of the electorate. The
current UPA-Left arrangement had been formed after parliamentary elections in 2004. Though
they have main adversaries in three states, this government was still a stable one till Left
withdrew support on matters of nuclear deal.
11 http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Coalition_government.html
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In order to have stable coalitions, it is necessary that political parties moderate their ideologies
and programmes. They should be more open to take others point of view as well. They must
accommodate each others interests and concerns. But this is not what is happening in India. In
India, parties do not always agree on the correct path for governmental policy. Different parties
have different interests and beliefs and it is difficult to sustain a consensus on issues when
disagreements arise. They often fail to see eye to eye with the government on many public
policies. However, this is not to say that we have never had successful coalitions. Governments
in Kerela and West Bengal and NDA at the Centre have been sucessful coalitions. Other
coalitions should learn from these because it is difficult to operate in an environment full of
disagreements.
The fact of the matter is that India has had coalition governments in the past and it will continue
to have in the future as well. Therefore, it is in best interest for all that parties develop a sense of
understanding and do not play games of power politics and bad politics. It is high time that the
MPs realize how bad India fares on other economic variables in the world, and it is time they put
their energy in improving those than just catering to their selfish interests.
If political parties feel that coalitions are too much of a compromise and always lead to unstable
governments, then India can think of alternative forms of government the ; presidential system
can be one but it has its own cons. It is very important for the political parties to moderate their
ideas as there are no ready made formulas or easy solutions to make coalitions work in a smooth
manner.12
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Concluding Observations:
After understanding the Indian Political System and the concept of coalition and also its pros
and cons, we may finally come to some conclusion. The fact of the matter is that India has had
coalition governments in the past and it will continue to have in the future as well. Therefore, it
is in best interest for all that parties develop a sense of understanding and do not play games of
power politics and bad politics. It is high time that the MPs realize how bad India fares on other
economic variables in the world, and it is time they put their energy in improving those than just
catering to their selfish interests.
If political parties feel that coalitions are too much of a compromise and always lead to unstable
governments, then India can think of alternative forms of government ; the presidential system
can be one but it has its own cons. It is very important for the political parties to moderate their
ideas as there are no ready made formulas or easy solutions to make coalitions work in a smooth
manner.
And, at the end of the day, the task of the government is to govern the people; to seek for their
development; to make plans and policies that will lead the country towards development. So, be
it any type of government, the needs and wants of the people should not be ignored because its
them who are the real leaders. I wish India gets fortunate enough to get a government which
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knows what its duties and obligations towards the cititzens are and also seeks to fulfill them.
Vande Matram.
References:
www.stanfordencyclopedia.com
www.scribd.com
http://theviewspaper.net
http://younghopes.wordpress.com
http://www.rogerdarlington.me.uk/Indianpoliticalsystem.html
Bibliography:
Basu, Durga D. (2009). "11". Introduction to the Constitution of India. Nagpur, India:
LexisNexis Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur
"The recurring miracle of Indian democracy". New Straits Times. (16 April 2013)
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