Coalition Politics in India : The Post Emergency Janata Experiment

Abstract

The socio-economic turmoil of the 1970s was converted into a political opportunity by the leaders of the opposition parties irrespective of ideological differences. Such an attempt galvanized the mutually opponent political parties into a single political identity called Janata Party which successfully replaced the dominant Indian National Congress from the centre of power at te Raisina Hills of New Delhi. Though it could not survive for its full term but it was able to send a message that the one party dominance may be successfully challenged. The present paper intends to explore the reasons of coming together of political power on the one hand and the crumbling down of the first coalitional government at the national level.