Explain the increasing role of regional political parties in the national politics. (2018, 15 Marks)
Between 1989 and 2014, seven Lok Sabha elections produced no single-party majority. On Yogendra Yadav‘s reading, the state became the effective unit of political choice, so national power had to be assembled from state mandates, with regional parties as its brokers.
Why their weight grew
- Fragmentation: the Congress’s national vote fell from 39.5% in 1989 to about 26% in 1998.
- Concentrated support: under first-past-the-post, 20–40 seats from one state outweigh a thin national vote, and identity-based state bases are hard for national parties to enter.
How they shape national politics
1. Kingmakers
- The National Front (1989) and the United Front (1996) rested on the DMK, the TDP and the AGP. The UF made H. D. Deve Gowda, then Karnataka’s Chief Minister, Prime Minister.
- The AIADMK’s withdrawal brought down Atal Bihari Vajpayee‘s government by one vote (269–270) in April 1999.
2. Ministries
- Regional allies have held Railways (Lalu Prasad Yadav‘s RJD, 2004–09, and Mamata Banerjee‘s TMC, 2009–11), Telecom (the DMK) and Defence (the Samata Party’s George Fernandes, 1998–2004). The TDP’s G. M. C. Balayogi was Speaker from 1998.
- In 2024 the TDP took Civil Aviation and the JD(U) Panchayati Raj and Fisheries, though the BJP kept the four senior portfolios.
3. Policy vetoes
- Mamata Banerjee stalled the Teesta water agreement with Bangladesh in 2011. The TMC left the UPA over foreign investment in retail in 2012, and the DMK left over Sri Lanka in 2013.
- Allies wrote their terms into the Common Minimum Programme (1996, 2004) and the NDA’s National Agenda for Governance (1998).
4. Leverage after 2024
- With the BJP at 240 seats, the TDP (16) and the JD(U) (12) became pivotal. The July 2024 Budget offered ₹15,000 crore for Amaravati and ₹26,000 crore for road projects in Bihar.
- The lateral-entry advertisement for 45 posts was withdrawn in August 2024 after the LJP(RV) and the JD(U) objected. The Waqf Bill went to a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) before it passed in 2025.
5. Constitutional veto
- The 131st Amendment Bill on delimitation was defeated on 17 April 2026 (298–230, short of two-thirds). The DMK, the TMC and the SP joined the Congress against it.
The counter-trend since 2014
- Majorities made allies optional. With 282 and then 303 seats, the BJP lost the TDP (2018), the Shiv Sena (2019) and the Akali Dal (2020) without danger.
- Squeeze and absorption. In 2024 the BJD and the BRS won no Lok Sabha seats. The Shiv Sena and the NCP split. Samrat Choudhary became Bihar’s first BJP Chief Minister in April 2026, with the JD(U) as the junior partner, and the BJP took West Bengal.
- Limits. The effective number of parties by seats rose again to about 4.2 in 2024, and the TVK won Tamil Nadu in 2026.
Conclusion
The national role of regional parties is cyclical but structural. It swells whenever the leading national party falls short of a majority, as in 1989–2014 and again since 2024. Through the states, the Rajya Sabha and constitutional amendments, they never disappear. They have made national governance more negotiated and inclusive, sometimes at the cost of policy coherence.