Coalition Politics in Indian Democracy: A Journey from 1989 to Contemporary Era

Moumita Debnath

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.72261

Coalition Politics in Indian Democracy: A Journey from 1989 to Contemporary Era

Author(s)	Ms. Moumita Debnath
Country	India
Abstract	In contemporary Indian politics, the coalition government has become an indispensable feature at both the national as well as state levels. The coalition, a predominant phenomenon in present day electoral politics, may occur as a pre-poll or post-poll alliance: varying in its ideology-based or issue-based nature. Multiple political parties coalesce each other in a desperate search to wrest state power in elections; however, India began its journey as a single party dominant multi-party system with a stable Union and State Governments formed by none other than the INC alone for almost over two and half decades. After 1990, a huge socio-political and economic transformation took place under the impact of Globalization paving thereby a new age for electoral politics not known to India ever before. The challenges, faced by coalition government at both levels in maintaining stability or in formulating and implementing government policies are highlighted by the fact that they are formed in support of political parties with different ideologies. This paper aims to (1) analyze the emergence and development of coalition politics, (2) asses the rise of regional political parties in different states post-1967, (3) find out the transformation of Indian politics from ideology – based to Issue-based politics. The study seeks to reveal answers to the following queries with the help of the historical-analytical method: First, whether ideology has taken a back-seat and sheer pragmatism in Indian politics has become the order of the day? Second, is coalition politics the future of Indian democracy if democracy is to be stable in nature? The study adopts an analytical research methodology and is primarily based on secondary sources such as official documents, scholarly articles, and policy papers. The findings will contribute to a deeper understanding of how the inherent plurality that prevails in the Indian social system can also be an important clue for our present quest.
Keywords	Coalition, Government, Election, Ideology, Issue, Politics.
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 2, March-April 2026
Published On	2026-03-25
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i02.72261

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Coalition Politics in Indian Democracy: A Journey from 1989 to Contemporary Era

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