Essay on “Politics of Alliance” Complete Essay for Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.
Politics of Alliance
A coalition is an alliance between two or more separate or even hostile groups or parties formed in order to carry on the government and share the principal offices of the state. The first casualty of coalition is the principle of collective responsibility. The cabinet speaks in many voices. The sense of direction and unity of purpose is very essential for proper functioning of a cabinet, get lost in coalition government. Leaks of positions taken by the constituent parties on various issues in the cabinet become almost a daily occurrence.
All the ministers work under pressure and in an atmosphere of doubt with a fear of deceiving each other. There is no total faith in fellow ranks and in leadership because party interest is the main interest of minister. When the government is in trouble nobody is ready to take the responsibility or blame. The working of a coalition cabinet is affected by the need to secure interparty consensus. All this frequently results in increasing the power and influence of bureaucracy.
The office of the Prime Minister sufferes and becomes a victim of coalition. In India, the Prime Minister does not enjoy a unique position as we see in case of British system. In a coalition government, the Prime Minister is always under constant pressure from even the smallest party in the coalition, The Prime Minister is not free to select his own team. He cannot reshuffle the cabinet without the consent of the constituent parties. Power goes from the Prime Minister to the co-ordination committee. A coalition by its very nature is a weak and unstable government.
The other serious consequence of a coalition is that it creates tension in political parties at the grass roots level. There is no co- operation but there is a possibility of division to attract part majority. There is no intention to praise the other party. Coalition last only as long as the parties do not prefer regional or part interests. Mere participation in coalition changes every party’s image. During election coalition becomes harmful. The reason is that in election time a party can claim only achievements but cannot blame other parties for the failures. A party which joins a coalition faces a problem of seats.
It has to divide or leave the seats for other allies. If a party enters into an electoral adjustment, it must have seat adjustment with other parties. If means it will have to leave many constituencies for its coalition partners. It is a kind of freezing of its strength. There will hardly be left any scope for the growth of the party as compared to independent electoral seas numbers. There may be a loss of individuality.