My Report Debate: It’s a Myth That One-Party Govt is Always Stable

Lasting changes in our economy came during the coalition headed by Narasimha Rao.

(Photo: Arnica Kala/Kamran Akhter/The Quint)

(Kalyan Kumar Banerjee’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?)

We are a culturally and economically diverse country, and proud of it. Most of the world’s religions find a place in India including ones that have faced persecution elsewhere. We have 60 languages with at least 1,00,000 speakers. Art, architecture, customs, rituals, deities, capabilities, even aspirations vary delightfully across the country, making us a sub-continent more diverse than Europe, a perennial mystery to those seeking to decode us through alien lenses.

On the other hand, 40 percent of our quarter billion households are considered deprived. Around 30 percent of households in rural areas are “landless deriving a major part of their income from manual labour,” and our literacy rate is under 75 percent in significant number of states. We are among the countries with the most unequal wealth distribution among our population.

Our top 1 percent elite now control over 70 percent of national wealth (Business Today, January 2019). With such diversity, it is imperative that all sections of the country have a voice in shaping the country’s policies and destiny.

Coalition is a necessity, and not a drag if we must preserve the richness of our multi-hued heritage, while also addressing economic inequality. It is a myth that “development” and “stability” emerge only from single-party governments.

Lasting changes in our economy came during the coalition headed by Narasimha Rao.

The coalition led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee ensured the directional shifts survived change of leadership. However, brute majorities between 1980-89 have not delivered as significantly.

In Karnataka, Ramakrishna Hegde’s motley conglomerate in 1983 charmed the electorate more than his single-party majority in 1985. We need stability in our nation – stability of policies – on industry, farming, taxation, defence, education, healthcare, or external affairs.

And stability of direction or stability of the country must not be confused with stability of one party in power, or one leader in power.

Ideas from the UPA regime were implemented by the current government, suggesting progress transcends instability of political leadership.

Coalitions are necessary, ensuring leaders of governments respect aspirations of minor segments of society who may not have a voice when the government has a “secure” majority. When we tune in to diverse perspectives, we are likely to take robust decisions – our country is likely to prosper when our leaders remain humble enough to respect others and collaborate. The boundaries of our nation are safe when the fringes are peaceful and happy.

One last point – we are a democracy, but our political parties lack internal democracy. Not just that, most are single-leader parties. As voters, too, we vote for the party leader rather than the candidate. When we elect a prime minister with a secure majority, we run the risk of becoming a Constitutionally Elected Autocracy. We can’t force internal democracy and primaries in the parties we support. As responsible citizens, can we ensure broad coalitions that force the leader to care for the kaleidoscopic interests that make up our great nation?

(All 'My Report' branded stories are submitted by citizen journalists to The Quint. Though The Quint inquires into the claims/allegations from all parties before publishing, the report and the views expressed above are the citizen journalist's own. The Quint neither endorses, nor is responsible for the same.)