Hope versus reality in coalition politics

Come election season, and publishers waste no time in rolling out books by or about politicians, both dead and alive.

- CHINTAN GIRISH MODI

It is, undoubtedly, the perfect moment to shape public opinion about various candidates, parties and ideologies that are eager to impress voters and secure their loyalty.

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) Manoj Kumar Jha’s In Praise of Coalition Politics and Other Essays on Indian Democracy, a collection of previously published writings revised for this volume, arrived just ahead of the recent Vidhan Sabha elections in Bihar. The timing is hard to ignore, while reading the pieces compiled in the book. His party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has much soul-searching to do after its coalition with the Indian National Congress (INC) and other Mahagathbandhan partners failed to impress voters. Their manifesto promised employment, improved governance, better infrastructure and social welfare but the electoral results were appalling.