India's National Front and United Front Coalition
INDIA’S NATIONAL FRONT AND UNITED FRONT COALITION GOVERNMENTS A Phase in Federalized Governance M. P. Singh The onset of coalition and minority governments in New Delhi is an important aspect of the paradigmatic shifts in the Indian political system in terms of political federalization and economic liberalization in the 1990s. A political system that previously had functioned as a predominantly parliamentary regime is becoming more federal, and a public (state) sec- tor–dominated planned economy is opening up to market forces both domes- tically and globally. The immediate political context of coalition politics is the decline of the once-dominant Congress Party and the continuing failure of any party from the center, right, or left of the party system to win a working majority of its own to govern India. The recent trends of the metaphors of mandal (affirma- tive action reservations) and mandir (in essence, communalism) and the issue of state autonomy triggered different strategies of mobilization that signifi- cantly transformed the social and psychological bases of politics in India. Besides, a new pattern of social movements centered on single and region- specific issues relating to quality of life (e.g., ecology, gender, utilities, and services), in addition to the older, comprehensive concerns of economic pro- duction and distribution have appeared on the scene. After decades of Congress dominance, coalition or minority governments today must govern India. However, neither coalition politics nor govern- M. P. Singh is Professor of Political Science, University of Delhi, In- dia. An earlier version of this article was delivered at the national seminar on coalition politics in India at the Rajendra Prasad Academy, New Delhi, March 2000.
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