Polarization and Consensus in Indian Party Politics

Abstract

]he 1971 Indian parliamentary election was a watershed in a decade when watersheds have become commonplace. The election results were surprising to many because the Indian voter unexpectedly returned Mrs. Gandhi and her party to power with a vastly increased parliamentary majority and what appeared to be a substantial popular mandate. The result was unique because it followed a maj or schism in Congress and because the election brought together a broad national opposition coalition of the Old Congress, Jana Sangh, Swatantra, and the Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP). The New Congress in turn made electoral arrangements with the Right Communists and a variety of regional groups. Superficially the election results maintained a one party government at the center and reversed the trends toward multiparty coalitions, chronic instability and possibly the decline of constitutional government. However, if much of the partisan commentary in the leftist press -during 1969-1971 is to be taken at face value, the Indian political system has become more sharply polarized.1 It has also been suggested that differences over policy are becoming more acute. Although he did not explicitly suggest a bipolar model of Indian politics, Iqbal Narain described these tendencies in Indian politics in a recent article in Asian Survey.