Coalition Politics in India

COALITION POLITICS: CHANGING INDIAN POLITICAL SCENARIO*
Key Words: Coalition, Government, Politics, Party
Introduction:
India is a land of many contradictions.   One of the biggest contradictions lies in the nature of the Indian polity itself.   Our constitution envisioned a polity wherein states were placed on considerable footing vis-à-vis the central government.   The states were also organised on the basis of languages and ethnic considerations- thus leading to a widespread belief that the concept of India as a nation is tenuous.   The disintegration of the erstwhile USSR lent credence to such beliefs.   Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened, and is not likely to place in the foreseeable future.
In the present scenario coalition politics it has become the ultimate truth of Indian politics.   No doubt, a coalition gives the chance and pleasure of running a government, but in the course of time, temporal friendships, deceit and blackmailing turn out to be the cause of brutal termination of a coalition government.   In most of the cases, a coalition is principle less, irresponsible and unaccountable alliance of some power-seeking individuals.   We have the very best example of Karnataka where the BJP got deceived in a game of ridiculous political farce.
In early post-colonial period, ideologies were meant to unite different sects of people.   The congress as a union of people from different points of view but the Communist Party, the Jansangh, and the Socialist Party were totally based upon their strong ideologies.   During the long regime of the Congress, the Jansangh and other parties did not even try to see a day-dream of ruling the country but they were quite dedicated to build a society, rather a nation, based upon nationalism, communalism or socialism.   In order to strengthen their ideology among the party members, they used to organize special camps and sessions.   Taking their principles as the base, despite the fact that the Congress rules the...