(Shubham Ganguly’s essay is among the Top 10 of the My Report Debate. Participants were asked the question: Who do you think should lead India – a single party or a coalition?)
The general elections are approaching and it's high time political parties start full-fledged campaigns. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been advocating a "strong government" which will be able to take decisions on its own and the Opposition is coming together under the banner of a “United India Alliance”.
The question does arise, what kind of a government is better, one with the dominance of a single party or several parties forging an alliance? Let us take some historical examples to see which one is better.
The conception created by many that a coalition government cannot take strong decisions is absolutely false. The PV Narasimha Rao government took one of the strongest decisions to liberalise the Indian economy, which changed India's economic scenario forever. Guess the kind of government? A coalition.
World Bank data indicates that India's GDP and annual GDP growth rate were unaffected due to a minority coalition government at the Centre between 1996 and 98.
Another myth is that in a coalition government portfolios are assigned to underqualified individuals, while it's evident that ministers of the current government have made a mockery out of their portfolios.
Single-party governments also always have an affinity towards becoming authoritarian.
The recent attacks on Opposition parties are nothing but politically motivated.
A clear majority doesn't automatically ensure good governance.
Good governance is expected when the Executive works for the betterment of the nation and not just of individuals and people from the ruling party.
Quite sadly, the constitutional institutions have lost their meaning under the current government. The CBI was once termed as a “caged parrot” but its recent activities clearly indicate that it has evolved like a Pokémon to become a “selectively guided hawk”.
A single-party government’s decisions, taken on its own, have often faltered, be it Indira Gandhi's declaration of Emergency or Narendra Modi’s demonetisation. This leads them to lose allies or makes them volatile and creates a politically tense climate in the country.
A majority government can't prevent unwanted things from happening, the most potent example is that of the Pulwama attack, where several discrepancies were found out. Coalition partners, on the other hand, are often major players in their home states. If they foster an alliance with a larger party with an all-India base like the Congress or the BJP, the developmental works of the states get sped up because there is much more cooperation between the two.
Federalism owes a lot to coalition governments which have always sought to look after the regional aspirations of people rather than looking after their own interests. A political rainbow is always desired if we were to choose between the current system or one like that of the US. A stable and accountable government is what people aspire for and not one which terms them anti-national.
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