From National Front to NDA to UPA: A sneak peek into Indian coalition politics

INDIA vs NDA: The nature of Indian politics has drastically changed in the last few decades with the shrinking dominance of Congress over Indian polity. The end of the Indira Gandhi era was the real beginning of coalition politics. The absence of a charismatic and mass leader like her created a vacuum in the polity which was collectively filled by a bloc of several like-minded parties. From Independence to till Indira era, Indian politics was all about one party- Congress. However, Congres' split in two- The Indian National Congress (Organisation) led by Syndicate and Indian National Congress (R) headed by Indira Gandhi made the ground for the birth of coalition politics in 1969. From then to now, Indian politics radically changed. Now, politics in the country cannot be even imagined without a coalition, specially at the Centre. 

On Tuesday, we all witnessed how two major national parties- Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress were desperate to flaunt their strength by including a maximum number of parties in their respective camp- NDA (National Democratic Alliance) and newly formed INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance, earlier it was UPA- United Progressive Alliance). The claim to have a larger number of parties and the counter-claim tell the significance of coalitions in today's politics. The coalition politics started in 1969 and later strengthened post-Emergency and the 90s and 2000s were the best time of the coalitions and they were at play in Indian politics. But, it is a debatable issue whether coalition politics is good or bad for Indian democracy. Ideally, it seems that taking everyone on the board is ethically right but, on several occasions, we saw, the collapse of the government over the withdrawal of support. The first NDA government collapsed in 1999 because of one vote in Lok Sabha. But it does not mean, one-party dominance helps democracy. India witnessed an Emergency called by the Indira government in 1975. 

Here's the list of coalitions in India 
'Grand Alliance'
The first major coalition shaped in India was Congress (O), Samyukta Socialist Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh-led coalition- 'Grand Alliance' in 1971. All these three parties came together to oppose Indira Gandhi-led Congress (R), but failed to have an impact as Gandhi's party won the General Elections in 1971.

National Front 
Janata Dal factions formed National Front (NF) led by NT Rama Rao and VP Singh in 1989. Rao was the president of the front and Singh was its convener. Later, Singh became the Prime Minister after being elected as leader of the coalition and later succeeded by Chandra Shekhar. The Front collapsed before the Lok Sabha elections in 1996 after a split in the regional party - Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

United Front
The United Front, a coalition of 13 political parties formed two governments between 1996 and 1998. The governments were headed by two the Prime Ministers- Janta Dal's HD Deve Gowda, and IK Gujral. TDP leader N Chandrababu Naidu was the convener of United Front. In 1998, the coalition collapsed following the resignation of of N Chandrababu Naidu as the convener of the alliance.

National Democratic Alliance
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA), formed in 1998, was the real success story of coalition politics. Under the charismatic leadership of leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee and later Narendra Modi, the alliance produced governments five times with initial jolts. The first NDA government lasted just 13 days as Vajpayee failed to manage to get majority numbers. The fate of the second NDA government was also not so bright as it lasted just 13 months from 1998 to 1999. BJP-led NDA won the majority in the 1999 General Elections and Vajpayee served a full term from 1999 to 2004. Vajpayee, the first chairman of the NDA, served as the Prime Minister every time the alliance won till 2004. After Vajpayee, Advani was the face of the alliance. The descent of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah over national politics turned out to be a miracle for the NDA as the alliance got an unprecedented rise from 2014 to till date. The biggest ally- BJP witnessed historical success by achieving a majority alone- 282 seats (NDA-336 seats) in 2014. In 2019 NDA bagged 353 seats (BJP-303 seats). Currently, NDA has 30 allies.

UPA: Congress-led UPA, under Sonia Gandhi's leadership, defeated Vajpayee's NDA in 2004. It was a surprise victory for UPA as those days Vajpayee was dominating political space in the country. UPA, formed in 2004, retained power in 2009 defeating NDA again. Sonia Gandhi is the chairperson since its commencement. Congress leader Manmohan Singh served as the PM for the alliance.

INDIA: Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance is a newly born alliance. Almost all members of UPA is part of the alliance. Congress-led INDIA decided to fight NDA in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2024.
Also read: BJP's coalition strategy: Strengthening alliances and expanding reach