Coalition governments reflect the nature of the present Indian society. Let me draw a few parallels between a coalition government and the society.

First of all, in this society, each one of us needs to depend or rely on someone or the
other to ensure our sustenance and growth. It can be our parents, peers, bosses, relatives, etc. Even if you happen to be a big fish, you need to depend on smaller fishes, else the eco-system around you might get altered, which might threaten your existence. Similarly, members of a coalition government have to depend on each other to maintain the coalition and, thus, further their individual interests. In a coalition government, a party with the highest number of MPs needs to depend on the allies with much lesser MPs for the sake of the coalition.

Secondly, today’s society is full of individuals who are opportunists. They are always on the look-out for opportunities when they can outsmart or outwit their compatriots to gain big. Many times, such creatures may pose to be your friend or well-wisher but the moment they find a favorable opportunity, they will not think twice to push you back and grab the opportunity. Similar is the situation in coalition governments. The concerned parties of a coalition may call themselves as allies but are actually opportunists. You present them with an issue which, if pursued, can put them in an advantageous position, they will not think twice to grab it, pressurize the government, bargain to their advantage, and then tom-tom about their achievement to secure larger vote banks. In the process, one party gets side-lined while the other takes the driver’s seat.

Compromise is another name for coalition. In any coalition, members of one party often have to compromise with their ideologies and ethics to stay together and, thus, earn their daily bread. In today’s society, we are compromising with our values every moment. We do not raise our voice when somebody is being wrongfully harmed. Casting couches is another form of compromise which the society has recently heard about but has been in practice for quite sometime. Whether it is the question of keeping our jobs, or keeping a bad marriage intact, we are always compromising.

In any social circle, there are some non-competent individuals who create hurdles for a person who is efficient, proactive, committed and sincere by influencing others simply because they perceive the other person as a threat to their personal well-being. They fear that if this individual has his way, it can definitely serve the larger purpose of the society but will impact the non-competent individual(s) negatively. They tend to manufacture controversies around the individual to put on the brakes to his wisdom. Similarly, in any coalition government, when we come across an individual who is proactive and empathetic to the national interests, we find that there are some non-competent members within the coalition who instead of supporting his activities actually create an alliance to derail his progress.

The above-mentioned elements, viz., dependency / reliance, opportunism, compromise and perceived insecurity not only describes coalition governments and the Indian society, but also justifies the statement that coalition governments truly reflect the nature of the Indian society.

Concluded.

* Contributed by -
Kisholoy Roy,
MBA (Marketing),
Content Editor, Infoedge Management Solutions.