Coalition government

Also called: Coalition · Topic: Recent Developments in Indian Politics: Coalitions, Mandal and a New Consensus · NCERT: Class 8, Ch 5 "Universal Franchise and India's Electoral System"; Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 10, Ch 1 "Power-sharing"; Class 10, Ch 2 "Federalism"; Class 10, Ch 4 "Political Parties"; Class 11, Ch 3 "Election and Representation"; Class 11, Ch 4 "Executive"; Class 11, Ch 5 "Legislature"; Class 12, Ch 5 "Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System"; Class 12, Ch 8 "Recent Developments in Indian Politics"

Meaning

A coalition government is a government formed when two or more parties share power and ministries. This usually happens because no single party has a majority (more than half the seats) in the Lok Sabha.

It matters because India has been governed this way for long stretches. NCERT notes that all eleven governments from 1989 to 2014 were coalition or minority governments. Coalitions change how the Prime Minister leads, how the President picks a PM, and how much power regional parties have at the Centre.

Explanation

How a coalition works

• Why it forms:
• The election produces a hung House (a Lok Sabha where no party or pre-poll alliance has a majority).

• So parties must join together to reach the majority mark. In a 543-seat Lok Sabha, that mark is 272 [5].

• Partners share power:

• Portfolio bargaining: each partner trades its seats for ministries and posts.
• Common Minimum Programme (CMP): a written list of policies that all partners agree on. It covers only the points they share.
• Coordination committee: leaders from the partner parties meet to settle disputes and keep the alliance together.

• "Coalition dharma": the unwritten duty to consult allies, respect the CMP and not act alone.

• The PM changes role:

• The PM is no longer the unchallenged leader of one party.
• The PM becomes a negotiator among allies and must keep partners on board before big decisions.
• This puts strain on collective responsibility (the rule that the whole council of ministers stands or falls together before the Lok Sabha, Art. 75(3)), because ministers answer to different party bosses.

Types of alliance

Type	When it forms	Logic	Strength
Pre-poll alliance	Before voting. Parties share seats and campaign together	Voters back the alliance as a package	More legitimate and usually more stable
Post-poll alliance	After results, when no one has a majority	Parties bargain for numbers	Seen as opportunist and less stable

• Coalition vs minority government: in a minority government, the ruling party or alliance has less than half the seats. It survives because other parties support it from outside: they vote for it but do not take ministries.
• Coalition form with a single-party majority: in 2014 and 2019, the BJP won a majority on its own. It still governed with its pre-poll allies in the NDA (National Democratic Alliance).

Forming a government in a hung House (steps in order)

• Step 1: Invitation. Under Art. 75(1), the President appoints the PM. The President invites the largest pre-poll alliance or the single largest party.
• Step 2: Proof of support. The President asks for letters of support from allies or independents.
• Step 3: Floor test. The new PM must prove majority on the floor of the Lok Sabha within a set time through a vote of confidence. The motion must pass by a majority of members voting in the House.
• Guide for the choice: the Sarkaria Commission (1988) gave an order of preference for a Governor facing a hung state Assembly. It is applied by analogy (as a guide, not a binding rule) to the President: 1. An alliance formed before the election. 2. The largest single party that has the support of others, including independents. 3. A post-election coalition where all partners join the government. 4. A post-election coalition where some partners join and others support from outside.

Limits and conditions

• The Constitution has no written rule on whom to invite in a hung House. This is why the President's discretion (power to judge and decide) grows in coalition times.
• The 91st Amendment (2003) put limits on coalition bargaining (see next section).
• Allies can pull down the government at any time by withdrawing support.

In the Constitution and practice

• Constitutional base:
• The word "coalition" does not appear in the Constitution. Coalitions work through the rules of parliamentary government.
• Art. 75(1): the President appoints the PM. The Article gives no rule for a hung House.

• Art. 75(3): the council of ministers is collectively responsible to the Lok Sabha.

• Sarkaria Commission (1988):

• It set out principles to guide a Governor in selecting a Chief Minister. Its aim was a fair choice, not a partisan one [4].

• The Punchhi Commission (2010) later looked again at the Governor's role in such cases.

• 91st Amendment (2003): limits on bargaining

• Cap on ministry size: the total number of ministers, including the PM, cannot be more than 15% of the total members of the Lok Sabha [3].
• In a state, ministers including the CM cannot be more than 15% of the Legislative Assembly [3].
• Why: coalitions had built huge cabinets just to give every ally a post.
• Split exception removed: under the Tenth Schedule (anti-defection law, where a legislator who leaves their party or defies its whip can be disqualified), a one-third "split" used to be protected. The 91st Amendment deleted this protection [2].
• Only a merger is still protected. A merger needs at least two-thirds of the legislature party to agree to merge with another party.
• A disqualified defector cannot become a minister until re-elected [2]. They also cannot hold any remunerative political post (a paid political office) [2].
• These ideas go back to the Y.B. Chavan Committee (1967) [2].

• Limit: PRS notes the anti-defection law has not brought stability as hoped. Defection now happens through resignations and mass mergers [2].

• Why coalitions came: NCERT's "long-term trend"

• The Congress was itself a coalition. In the Congress system (one-party dominance after 1947), it held many castes, classes, regions and ideologies together.
• Groups left the Congress from the late 1960s.
• Regional parties grew after 1977.
• Dalit and OBC parties rose after 1990. OBC (Other Backward Classes) means socially and educationally backward castes other than SCs and STs.

• Result: the Congress weakened, but no single party replaced it. Parties strong in one state became king-makers at the Centre.

• Key instances:

• 1996, 1998, 1999: three Lok Sabha elections in four years, as governments fell when allies withdrew support.
• 2008: the Left parties withdrew support from the UPA over the India–US civil nuclear deal. The government then faced a confidence vote.

• 2012: the TMC left the UPA over allowing FDI in multi-brand retail.

• 2024: dependence on allies returns

• Results were declared on 4 June 2024 for all 543 constituencies [6].
• The BJP is the largest party with 240 seats, below the 272 needed for a majority [5].
• The INC won 99 and the SP won 37 [5].
• Candidates from 41 parties were elected, up from 36 in 2019 [5].
• The government now needs its NDA allies for a majority.

Don't confuse with

• Minority government: the ruling side has less than half the seats and survives on outside support. Supporters vote for it but take no ministries. In a coalition, the partners share ministries.
• Hung House: this is the election result (no party or pre-poll alliance has a majority). A coalition is the government that is often formed as a response to it.
• Pre-poll vs post-poll alliance: a pre-poll alliance is formed before voting and ranks first in Sarkaria's order. A post-poll alliance is formed after results and ranks lower.
• Split vs merger (Tenth Schedule): a one-third split lost its protection in 2003. Only a two-thirds merger is still protected from disqualification [2].

Prelims Hooks

• 91st Amendment (2003): council of ministers, including the PM, capped at 15% of Lok Sabha strength. The same 15% cap applies in states, including the CM [3].
• 91st Amendment (2003) deleted the one-third "split" exception in the Tenth Schedule. Only a two-thirds merger is still protected [2].
• Trap: the Y.B. Chavan Committee (1967) proposed limits on ministry size and on defectors becoming ministers. These were enacted only in 2003 [2].
• Art. 75(1): the President appoints the PM. The Constitution has no written rule for a hung House. Sarkaria's guidelines are advisory, not binding.
• Sarkaria order (1988): pre-poll alliance → largest single party with support → post-poll coalition with all partners in government → post-poll coalition with some outside support.
• NCERT: all eleven governments from 1989 to 2014 were coalition or minority governments. 2024: BJP 240 (short of 272), 41 parties elected [5].

Mains Points

• Coalitions as the "logic" of Indian democracy (GS-I/II):
• A diverse society with strong regional and caste identities produces many parties. Coalitions turn this diversity into shared power.
• Gains: Dalits, OBCs and regions get a voice at the Centre. State parties in the Union cabinet strengthen federalism (sharing power between the Union and the states) in practice. Allies act as a check on majoritarian excess.

• The return to dependence on allies in 2024 shows the trend is structural, not a passing phase [5].

• Stability versus representation:

• Costs: instability (1996–99). Veto points (a partner that can block a decision by threatening to leave), as in 2008 and 2012. Policy paralysis (big decisions delayed because one partner objects). Particularist demands (special state packages, key ministries).

• Balanced view: coalitions slow decisions down but make them more legitimate. Ideologically distant partners weaken the party system's ability to aggregate interests, that is, to gather many group demands into broad national programmes (Zoya Hasan). A CMP is a partial answer.

• Institutional reforms:

• Already done: the 91st Amendment (2003) curbed jumbo ministries and split-based defections [3][2]. PRS shows anti-defection law alone has not ensured stability [2].
• Still open: written conventions for the President and Governors in a hung House (Sarkaria 1988, Punchhi 2010), binding pre-poll alliance agreements, and formal coordination committees.

Read more

• Coalition government: logic and consequences