jbp123/hello · Datasets at Hugging Face

instruction stringlengths 1 84	input stringlengths 1 85	output stringlengths 1 83
commencement of polls in the first phase and half hour after the	time fixed for close of poll for the last phase in all the States and	Union Territories.
(iii) Section 127A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951:	The printing and publication of election pamphlets, posters, etc.	is governed by its provisions, which make it mandatory to bear
on its face the names and addresses of the printer and the	publisher.	(iv) Section 171H of the Indian Penal Code: It prohibits incurring of
expenditure on, inter alia, advertisement without the authority of	the contesting candidate.	4. Voter Education and Participation
There is scope for a much larger and committed partnership from	media in the crucial area of voter awareness and participation. This is	one of the most promising areas of the Election Commission-media
relationship.	There is a gap between what the voters ‘should know’ and what	they ‘actually know’ in important areas like registration, EPIC/ identity
proofs, Polling Station location, use of EVMs, timings of the poll, use	of money/ muscle power by candidates etc. The elector should be	well-informed when he/she goes to exercise his/ her franchise on the
Voter education helps build an environment where values of	democracy are understood and acted upon by the population. Media	and civil society have an important role to play in fostering such an
environment. To improve participation of all sections of the electorate,	awareness levels need to be enhanced, especially amongst the	freshly eligible youth, uneducated, residents of far-flung, inaccessible
and remote areas, and socially and economically weaker sections of	the society. Such segments need to be reached through the Media,	apart from civil society and field based organisations. The Election
Commission has in place a framework of engagement for	collaboration between the Commission and Media Houses/	Organisations in this important area of voter participation. The
Election Commission expects that the Media should volunteer to take	up this task of informing, motivating and facilitating citizens to take	part in the democratic elections.
5. Responsibility of Government Media	In broadcast of election related news or analysis, Public Service	Broadcasters are expected to lead by example in terms of neutrality
and objectivity, and adhere to various guidelines including their own.	The Election Commission has a fruitful arrangement with Prasar	Bharati in providing free broadcast time on All India Radio and
Doordarshan to recognised National and State parties so as to	ensure a level playing field in elections. The political parties in this	manner can reach out to every corner of the country, even in the
remotest parts. In addition to this, Prasar Bharati’s contribution in	spreading voter awareness and educating the public about their	voting rights and responsibilities is of great consequence to the
inclusion of all in the electoral process. The contribution of Prasar	Bharati has come in good measure in this arena.	The Election Commission also urges PIB, DAVP, National Film
Development Corporation, Directorate of Field Publicity, Song and	Drama Division and many other Central and State Information	Directorates/ Departments to come forward and shoulder the same
1. Gordon Marshall, Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, First	Indian Edition, 2004, p.696.	2. Oinam Kulabidhu, Electoral Politics in Manipur, 1980–1995
(Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the Manipur	University, 1998).	3. Stephen L. Wasby, Political Science: The Discipline and its
Dimensions, 1972, Scientific Book Agency, Calcutta, p.308.	4. David Robertson, The Penguin Dictionary of Politics,	Second Edition, 1993, p.485.
5. K.R. Acharya (Ed.), Perspectives on Indian Government	and Politics, Second Edition, 1991, S. Chand & Company	Ltd., p.403.
6. Caste in Indian Politics and Politics in India are the two	major contributions of Rajni Kothari to the study of Indian	politics.
7. Paul R. Brass, The Politics of India Since Independence,	Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, pp. 97–98.	8. Linguism means love for one’s language and hatred
towards other languagespeaking people.	9. ‘Charisma’ means exceptional and attractive qualities of a	leader.
10. Paul R. Brass, The 1984 Parliamentary Elections in Uttar	Pradesh, Asian Survey, June, 1986.	11. Handbook for Media-2014, Election Commission of India,
75 Coalition Government	MEANING OF COALITION GOVERNMENT	The term ‘coalition’ is derived from the Latin word ‘coalitio’ which
means ‘to grow together’. Thus, technically, coalition means the	act of uniting parts into one body or whole. Politically, coalition	means an alliance of distinct political parties.
Coalition politics or coalition government has been defined in	the following way:	When several political parties join hands to form a government
and exercise political power on the basis of a common agreed	programme/agenda, we can describe the system as coalition	politics or coalition government1 .
Coalitions usually occur in modern parliaments when no single	political party can muster a majority of votes. Two or more parties,	who have enough elected members between them to form a
majority, may then be able to agree on a common programme that	does not require too many drastic compromises with their	individual policies, and can proceed to form a government2 .
Coalition denotes a co-operative arrangement under which	distinct political parties, or at all events members of such parties,	unite to form a government or ministry3 .
Coalition is a direct descendant of the exigencies of multi-party	system in a democratic set-up. It is a phenomenon of a multi-party	government where a number of minority parties join hands for the
purpose of running the government. A coalition is formed when	many splinter groups in a House agree to join hands on a	common platform by sinking their broad differences and form a
FEATURES OF COALITION GOVERNMENT	The features or implications of coalition politics or coalition	government are very well summarised by J.C. Johari in the
following way5 :	1. Coalitions are formed for the sake of some reward, material	or psychic.
2. A coalition implies the existence of at least two partners.	3. The underlying principle of a coalition system stands on the	simple fact of temporary conjunction of specific interest.
4. Coalition politics is not a static but a dynamic affair as	coalition players and groups dissolve and form new ones.	5. The keynote of coalition politics is compromise, and rigid
dogma has no place in it.	6. A coalition government works on the basis of a minimum	programme, which may not be ideal for each partner of the
coalition.	7. Pragmatism and not ideology is the hallmark of coalition	politics. In making political adjustments, principles may have
to be set aside.	8. The purpose of a coalition adjustment is to seize power.	In our country, we have seen coalitions coming up either before
the elections or after the elections. The pre-poll coalition is	considerably advantageous because it provides a common	platform to the parties in order to woo the electorate on the basis
FORMATION OF COALITION GOVERNMENTS	In the first four Lok Sabha elections (1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967),	the Congress party secured the required majority to form the
government at the Centre. Even though there was a split in the	Congress party in 1969, the minority government of Indira Gandhi	managed to continue with the outside support of the CPI, the DMK
and other parties. Again, the Congress party won the 1971	elections and formed a single-party government.	However, the dominant Congress party was badly defeated in
the 1977 elections. Since then, there have been a number of	coalition governments at the Centre. The details are mentioned in	Table 75.1.
Table 75.1 Formation of Coalition Governments at the Centre	Sl. Period Coalition Prime Partners	No. Minister
(Party)	1. 1977– Janata Party Morarji Desai Congress (O),	1979 (Congress (O)) Bharatiya Jana
Sangh, Bharatiya	Lok Dal, Socialist	Party, Congress for
Democracy,	Chandra Shekhar	Group (former
congressmen) and	others.	2. 1979– Janata Party Charan Singh Janata (S) and
1980 (Secular) (Janata(S)) Congress (U).	Congress (I)	supported from
outside.	3. 1989– National V.P. Singh Janata Dal, TDP,	1990 Front (Janata Dal) DMK, AGP and
Congress	(Socialist) BJP and	Left parties
supported from	outside.	4. 1990– Janata Dal Chandra Janata Dal (S) and
1991 (Socialist) or Shekhar Janata Party.	Samajwadi (Janata Dal (S) Congress (I)	Janata Party or Samajwadi supported from
Janata Party) outside.	5. 1996– United Front H.D. Deve Janata Dal, CPI,	1997 Gowda Congress (T),
(Janata Dal) DMK, TDP, TMC,	AGP, SP and	others. Congress
and CPM	supported from	outside.
6. 1997– United Front I.K. Gujral Janata Dal, CPI,	1998 (Janata Dal) TMC, SP, DMK,	AGP, TDP and
others. Congress	supported from	outside.
7. 1998– BJP-led A.B. Vajpayee BJP, AIADMK,	1999 Coalition (BJP) BJD, Shiv Sena,	Lok Shakti,
Arunachal	Congress, Samata,	Akali Dal, PMK,
TRC and others.	TDP and	Trinamool
Congress	supported from	outside.
2004 Democratic (BJP) Trinamool	Alliance Congress, Shiv	(NDA) Sena, BJD, LJP,
DMK, PMK, INLD,	MDMK, National	Conference, Akali
Dal, RLD, AGP	and others.	9. 2004– United Manmohan Congress, NCP,
2009 Progressive Singh DMK, RJD, LJP,	Alliance (Congress) PMK and others.	(UPA) CPI and CPM
supported from	outside.	10. 2009– United Manmohan Congress, NCP,
2014 Progressive Singh DMK, Trinamool	Alliance-II (Congress) Congress, National	(UPA-II) Conference and
others.	11. 2014– National Narendra Modi BJP, LJP, TDP,	2019 Democratic (BJP) Shiv Sena, Akali
Alliance Dal, Rashtriya Lok	(NDA) Samata Party,	Apna Dal (S) and
others. TDP left	NDA in 2018.	12. 2019- till National Narendra Modi BJP, Akali Dal,
date Democratic (BJP) LJP, Shiv Sena	Alliance and others. Shiv	(NDA) Sena left NDA in
MERITS OF COALITION GOVERNMENT	The various advantages or strengths of the coalition governments	are as follows:
1. There is an accommodation of diverse interests in the	functioning of the government. A coalition government acts	as a channel to meet the expectations and redress the
grievances of different groups.	2. India is a highly diversified country. There are different	cultures, languages, castes, religions and ethnic groups, and
all these get represented in the coalition governments. This	means that a coalition government is more representative in	nature and it better reflects the popular opinion of the
electorate. In other words, it represents a much more	broader spectrum of public opinion than the single-party	government.
3. A coalition government comprises different political parties	having their own ideologies or agendas. But, the	governmental policy requires the concurrence of all the
coalition partners. Therefore, a coalition government leads to	consensus-based politics. In other words, there is	consensual decision-making in the coalition governments.
4. Coalition politics strengthens the federal fabric of the Indian	political system. This is because a coalition government is	more sensitive and responsive to the regional demands and
concerns than the single-party government.	5. A coalition government reduces the tyranny of government	(despotic rule). This is due to the reduced domination of a
single political party in the functioning of the government. All	the members of the coalition participate in the political	decision-making. In short, the decisions made are more
DEMERITS OF COALITION GOVERNMENT	The various disadvantages or weaknesses of the coalition	governments are as follows:
1. They are unstable or prone to instability. The difference of	opinion among the coalition partners on policy issues leads	to the collapse of the government.
2. Leadership of the Prime Minister is a principle of	parliamentary form of government. This principle is curtailed	in a coalition government as the Prime Minister is required to
consult the coalition partners before taking any major	decision. The critics have called them as ‘Super Prime	Ministers’ or ‘Ultra Prime Ministers’.
3. The Steering Committee or the Co-ordination Committee of	the coalition partners acts as the ‘Super-Cabinet’, and	thereby it undermines the role and position of the cabinet in
the functioning of the governmental machinery.	4. There is a possibility of the smaller constituents of the	coalition government playing the role of a ‘King-maker’. They
demand more than their strength in the Parliament.	5. The leaders of regional parties bring in the regional factors	in the national decision-making. They pressurise the central
executive to act on their lines; otherwise, they would	threaten to withdraw from the coalition.	6. The size of the Council of Ministers in a coalition
government is generally quite large. This is because the	ministry has to reflect all the constituents of the coalition. For	example, the A.B. Vajpayee ministry of 1999 had 70-plus
ministers and it was called as ‘Jumbo Ministry’. This creates	the problem of distribution of portfolios as well as the proper	coordination among the members.
7. The members of coalition governments do not assume	responsibility for the administrative failures and lapses. They	play blame games and thereby escape from both collective
NOTES AND REFERENCES	1. Ghai, K.K., Indian Government and Politics, Eighth	Edition, Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana, 2012, p. 508.
2. Robertson, D., The Penguin Dictionary of Politics,	Penguin Books, London, 1993, p. 73.	3. Ogg, F.A., Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2,
New York, 1957, p. 600.	4. Sahni, N.C., The theory of coalitions. In Sahni, N.C.	(Ed) Coalition Politics in India, Jullundur, 1971, pp. 17–

commencement of polls in the first phase and half hour after the

time fixed for close of poll for the last phase in all the States and

Union Territories.

(iii) Section 127A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951:

The printing and publication of election pamphlets, posters, etc.

is governed by its provisions, which make it mandatory to bear

on its face the names and addresses of the printer and the

publisher.

(iv) Section 171H of the Indian Penal Code: It prohibits incurring of

expenditure on, inter alia, advertisement without the authority of

the contesting candidate.

4. Voter Education and Participation

There is scope for a much larger and committed partnership from

media in the crucial area of voter awareness and participation. This is

one of the most promising areas of the Election Commission-media

relationship.

There is a gap between what the voters ‘should know’ and what

they ‘actually know’ in important areas like registration, EPIC/ identity

proofs, Polling Station location, use of EVMs, timings of the poll, use

of money/ muscle power by candidates etc. The elector should be

well-informed when he/she goes to exercise his/ her franchise on the

Voter education helps build an environment where values of

democracy are understood and acted upon by the population. Media

and civil society have an important role to play in fostering such an

environment. To improve participation of all sections of the electorate,

awareness levels need to be enhanced, especially amongst the

freshly eligible youth, uneducated, residents of far-flung, inaccessible

and remote areas, and socially and economically weaker sections of

the society. Such segments need to be reached through the Media,

apart from civil society and field based organisations. The Election

Commission has in place a framework of engagement for

collaboration between the Commission and Media Houses/

Organisations in this important area of voter participation. The

Election Commission expects that the Media should volunteer to take

up this task of informing, motivating and facilitating citizens to take

part in the democratic elections.

5. Responsibility of Government Media

In broadcast of election related news or analysis, Public Service

Broadcasters are expected to lead by example in terms of neutrality

and objectivity, and adhere to various guidelines including their own.

The Election Commission has a fruitful arrangement with Prasar

Bharati in providing free broadcast time on All India Radio and

Doordarshan to recognised National and State parties so as to

ensure a level playing field in elections. The political parties in this

manner can reach out to every corner of the country, even in the

remotest parts. In addition to this, Prasar Bharati’s contribution in

spreading voter awareness and educating the public about their

voting rights and responsibilities is of great consequence to the

inclusion of all in the electoral process. The contribution of Prasar

Bharati has come in good measure in this arena.

The Election Commission also urges PIB, DAVP, National Film

Development Corporation, Directorate of Field Publicity, Song and

Drama Division and many other Central and State Information

Directorates/ Departments to come forward and shoulder the same

1. Gordon Marshall, Oxford Dictionary of Sociology, First

Indian Edition, 2004, p.696.

2. Oinam Kulabidhu, Electoral Politics in Manipur, 1980–1995

(Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis submitted to the Manipur

University, 1998).

3. Stephen L. Wasby, Political Science: The Discipline and its

Dimensions, 1972, Scientific Book Agency, Calcutta, p.308.

4. David Robertson, The Penguin Dictionary of Politics,

Second Edition, 1993, p.485.

5. K.R. Acharya (Ed.), Perspectives on Indian Government

and Politics, Second Edition, 1991, S. Chand & Company

Ltd., p.403.

6. Caste in Indian Politics and Politics in India are the two

major contributions of Rajni Kothari to the study of Indian

politics.

7. Paul R. Brass, The Politics of India Since Independence,

Second Edition, Cambridge University Press, pp. 97–98.

8. Linguism means love for one’s language and hatred

towards other languagespeaking people.

9. ‘Charisma’ means exceptional and attractive qualities of a

leader.

10. Paul R. Brass, The 1984 Parliamentary Elections in Uttar

Pradesh, Asian Survey, June, 1986.

11. Handbook for Media-2014, Election Commission of India,

75 Coalition Government

MEANING OF COALITION GOVERNMENT

The term ‘coalition’ is derived from the Latin word ‘coalitio’ which

means ‘to grow together’. Thus, technically, coalition means the

act of uniting parts into one body or whole. Politically, coalition

means an alliance of distinct political parties.

Coalition politics or coalition government has been defined in

the following way:

When several political parties join hands to form a government

and exercise political power on the basis of a common agreed

programme/agenda, we can describe the system as coalition

politics or coalition government1 .

Coalitions usually occur in modern parliaments when no single

political party can muster a majority of votes. Two or more parties,

who have enough elected members between them to form a

majority, may then be able to agree on a common programme that

does not require too many drastic compromises with their

individual policies, and can proceed to form a government2 .

Coalition denotes a co-operative arrangement under which

distinct political parties, or at all events members of such parties,

unite to form a government or ministry3 .

Coalition is a direct descendant of the exigencies of multi-party

system in a democratic set-up. It is a phenomenon of a multi-party

government where a number of minority parties join hands for the

purpose of running the government. A coalition is formed when

many splinter groups in a House agree to join hands on a

common platform by sinking their broad differences and form a

FEATURES OF COALITION GOVERNMENT

The features or implications of coalition politics or coalition

government are very well summarised by J.C. Johari in the

following way5 :

1. Coalitions are formed for the sake of some reward, material

or psychic.

2. A coalition implies the existence of at least two partners.

3. The underlying principle of a coalition system stands on the

simple fact of temporary conjunction of specific interest.

4. Coalition politics is not a static but a dynamic affair as

coalition players and groups dissolve and form new ones.

5. The keynote of coalition politics is compromise, and rigid

dogma has no place in it.

6. A coalition government works on the basis of a minimum

programme, which may not be ideal for each partner of the

coalition.

7. Pragmatism and not ideology is the hallmark of coalition

politics. In making political adjustments, principles may have

to be set aside.

8. The purpose of a coalition adjustment is to seize power.

In our country, we have seen coalitions coming up either before

the elections or after the elections. The pre-poll coalition is

considerably advantageous because it provides a common

platform to the parties in order to woo the electorate on the basis

FORMATION OF COALITION GOVERNMENTS

In the first four Lok Sabha elections (1952, 1957, 1962 and 1967),

the Congress party secured the required majority to form the

government at the Centre. Even though there was a split in the

Congress party in 1969, the minority government of Indira Gandhi

managed to continue with the outside support of the CPI, the DMK

and other parties. Again, the Congress party won the 1971

elections and formed a single-party government.

However, the dominant Congress party was badly defeated in

the 1977 elections. Since then, there have been a number of

coalition governments at the Centre. The details are mentioned in

Table 75.1.

Table 75.1 Formation of Coalition Governments at the Centre

Sl. Period Coalition Prime Partners

No. Minister

(Party)

1. 1977– Janata Party Morarji Desai Congress (O),

1979 (Congress (O)) Bharatiya Jana

Sangh, Bharatiya

Lok Dal, Socialist

Party, Congress for

Democracy,

Chandra Shekhar

Group (former

congressmen) and

others.

2. 1979– Janata Party Charan Singh Janata (S) and

1980 (Secular) (Janata(S)) Congress (U).

Congress (I)

supported from

outside.

3. 1989– National V.P. Singh Janata Dal, TDP,

1990 Front (Janata Dal) DMK, AGP and

Congress

(Socialist) BJP and

Left parties

supported from

outside.

4. 1990– Janata Dal Chandra Janata Dal (S) and

1991 (Socialist) or Shekhar Janata Party.

Samajwadi (Janata Dal (S) Congress (I)

Janata Party or Samajwadi supported from

Janata Party) outside.

5. 1996– United Front H.D. Deve Janata Dal, CPI,

1997 Gowda Congress (T),

(Janata Dal) DMK, TDP, TMC,

AGP, SP and

others. Congress

and CPM

supported from

outside.

6. 1997– United Front I.K. Gujral Janata Dal, CPI,

1998 (Janata Dal) TMC, SP, DMK,

AGP, TDP and

others. Congress

supported from

outside.

7. 1998– BJP-led A.B. Vajpayee BJP, AIADMK,

1999 Coalition (BJP) BJD, Shiv Sena,

Lok Shakti,

Arunachal

Congress, Samata,

Akali Dal, PMK,

TRC and others.

TDP and

Trinamool

Congress

supported from

outside.

2004 Democratic (BJP) Trinamool

Alliance Congress, Shiv

(NDA) Sena, BJD, LJP,

DMK, PMK, INLD,

MDMK, National

Conference, Akali

Dal, RLD, AGP

and others.

9. 2004– United Manmohan Congress, NCP,

2009 Progressive Singh DMK, RJD, LJP,

Alliance (Congress) PMK and others.

(UPA) CPI and CPM

supported from

outside.

10. 2009– United Manmohan Congress, NCP,

2014 Progressive Singh DMK, Trinamool

Alliance-II (Congress) Congress, National

(UPA-II) Conference and

others.

11. 2014– National Narendra Modi BJP, LJP, TDP,

2019 Democratic (BJP) Shiv Sena, Akali

Alliance Dal, Rashtriya Lok

(NDA) Samata Party,

Apna Dal (S) and

others. TDP left

NDA in 2018.

12. 2019- till National Narendra Modi BJP, Akali Dal,

date Democratic (BJP) LJP, Shiv Sena

Alliance and others. Shiv

(NDA) Sena left NDA in

MERITS OF COALITION GOVERNMENT

The various advantages or strengths of the coalition governments

are as follows:

1. There is an accommodation of diverse interests in the

functioning of the government. A coalition government acts

as a channel to meet the expectations and redress the

grievances of different groups.

2. India is a highly diversified country. There are different

cultures, languages, castes, religions and ethnic groups, and

all these get represented in the coalition governments. This

means that a coalition government is more representative in

nature and it better reflects the popular opinion of the

electorate. In other words, it represents a much more

broader spectrum of public opinion than the single-party

government.

3. A coalition government comprises different political parties

having their own ideologies or agendas. But, the

governmental policy requires the concurrence of all the

coalition partners. Therefore, a coalition government leads to

consensus-based politics. In other words, there is

consensual decision-making in the coalition governments.

4. Coalition politics strengthens the federal fabric of the Indian

political system. This is because a coalition government is

more sensitive and responsive to the regional demands and

concerns than the single-party government.

5. A coalition government reduces the tyranny of government

(despotic rule). This is due to the reduced domination of a

single political party in the functioning of the government. All

the members of the coalition participate in the political

decision-making. In short, the decisions made are more

DEMERITS OF COALITION GOVERNMENT

The various disadvantages or weaknesses of the coalition

governments are as follows:

1. They are unstable or prone to instability. The difference of

opinion among the coalition partners on policy issues leads

to the collapse of the government.

2. Leadership of the Prime Minister is a principle of

parliamentary form of government. This principle is curtailed

in a coalition government as the Prime Minister is required to

consult the coalition partners before taking any major

decision. The critics have called them as ‘Super Prime

Ministers’ or ‘Ultra Prime Ministers’.

3. The Steering Committee or the Co-ordination Committee of

the coalition partners acts as the ‘Super-Cabinet’, and

thereby it undermines the role and position of the cabinet in

the functioning of the governmental machinery.

4. There is a possibility of the smaller constituents of the

coalition government playing the role of a ‘King-maker’. They

demand more than their strength in the Parliament.

5. The leaders of regional parties bring in the regional factors

in the national decision-making. They pressurise the central

executive to act on their lines; otherwise, they would

threaten to withdraw from the coalition.

6. The size of the Council of Ministers in a coalition

government is generally quite large. This is because the

ministry has to reflect all the constituents of the coalition. For

example, the A.B. Vajpayee ministry of 1999 had 70-plus

ministers and it was called as ‘Jumbo Ministry’. This creates

the problem of distribution of portfolios as well as the proper

coordination among the members.

7. The members of coalition governments do not assume

responsibility for the administrative failures and lapses. They

play blame games and thereby escape from both collective

NOTES AND REFERENCES

1. Ghai, K.K., Indian Government and Politics, Eighth

Edition, Kalyani Publishers, Ludhiana, 2012, p. 508.

2. Robertson, D., The Penguin Dictionary of Politics,

Penguin Books, London, 1993, p. 73.

3. Ogg, F.A., Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, Vol. 2,

New York, 1957, p. 600.

4. Sahni, N.C., The theory of coalitions. In Sahni, N.C.

(Ed) Coalition Politics in India, Jullundur, 1971, pp. 17–