COALITION AND REFORMS: A BACK STORY

But, in coalition, focus may go off policies like labour court, privatisation

- INDIVJAL DHASMANA, ASIT RANJAN MISHRA & SANJEEB MUKHERJEE

The next government at the "Centre may not be a lame duck but it would rely on partners known for shifting their political sides frequently. However, it may not sound the death knell for economic reforms, given the track record of the coalition governments for more than two decades since 1991-92.

Although the previous two Narendra Modi governments were also a coalition of sorts since those were technically National Democratic Alliance (NDA) regimes, the main partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) - had a majority. This is for the first time in 10 years that no single party has got a majority in the Lok Sabha.

This may prompt the government to seek a larger consensus over reforms but they may still carry them forward as was witnessed in introduction of goods and services tax and works of previous governments not having any single party with a majority. Experts point out that the coalition era with no single-party majority can be divided into four distinct periods: 1991-92 to 1994-95, 199697 to 1997-98, 1999-00 to 2003-04 and 2004-05 to 2013-14. During each of these periods, significant economic reforms were implemented despite the challenges of multi-party governance (see chart).

A set of India's most significant economic reforms was carried out by a coalition government led by the perceived weak Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.