Just numbers won’t ensure ease of governance

The might of the single largest party versus the muscle of coalition fronts is a debate raging now in Karnataka, as it was in Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur in the preceding months.

The might of the single largest party versus the muscle of coalition fronts is a debate raging now in Karnataka, as it was in Goa, Meghalaya and Manipur in the preceding months. In short, in all these states, the legislators seem consumed by the urge to swell the numbers as if that’s what the endgame is all about in realpolitik. Yet, the same Indian polity throws up many instances where numbers, apart from getting the basic arithmetic right, are the least of the concerns in the governance game.

When the Congress-led United Democratic Government (UDF) assumed office after the 2011 Assembly elections, it had 72 MLAs, two more than the halfway mark in the 140-strong Assembly and a cushion of a solitary seat. Yet, the CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) vowed never to engage in horse-trading. Going back a few decades, the P V Narasimha Rao government unleashed some of the biggest reforms including the liberalisation of the economy as a minority government from June 1991 to July 1993. The Congress had 232 seats and its ally another 11. It was only when a no-confidence motion was moved against the Rao government in July 1993 that it assembled new allies including Ajit Singh’s Rashtriya Lok Dal and the like. Even UPA I under Manmohan Singh, with 218 seats, could take some bold steps including the signing of the India-US Civil Nuclear Agreement, despite its ally, the Left, withdrawing support. But sheer numbers need not ensure ease of governance.

The LDF government, after coming to power in 2016 with 44 seats more than the UDF, saw the resignation of three ministers in its first 18 months. The numbers didn’t seem to help each time it got into a bind as ministers got embroiled in various issues. For that matter neither did the LDF government try to browbeat the Opposition with its numerical strength. As the Kerala government began celebrating its two years in power Thursday, this perhaps is the biggest takeaway. Surely, legislators cannot forget the voters only days after getting elected to office.

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