Dinesh Kamath's Editorial 'Is multi-party system advisable?' that was published in Newsband

Is multi-party system advisable?

How has United Progressive Alliance managed to survive in spite of so many crises it faced, so many mistakes it committed and so many scandals it got involved in?

The ongoing scenario in Indian politics is the newest evidence of politician's lack of interest in the welfare of the country; it proves once again that their only goal is attaining their personal goals.

This UPA government has proved to be useless. But the alternatives are not promising. Indians are destined to elect the best of the worst either for the Parliament or the legislatures.

Democracy unfortunately is not Physics. It is Chemistry and as long as you have the right reactants and favorable conditions the organism survives and survival is the essence of the political system.

Future of coalition party system at the center is interesting and seems as the only system through which politics could survive. An arrangement like Third front will be an ultimate positioning of this kind of system, where no party with a dominant authority will make matter worst. This is a clear indication of the regional parties taking away the shine of big national parties like Congress and BJP.

The above cited system increases checks and balances in the functioning of democratic systems but also increases instability and slows policies formulations.

The spectrum scam, the coalgate and Commonwealth game scams would have ensured early departure of any Government. But, UPA continues to survive. How? It is the fear of the BJP/NDA coming to power that has made the regional parties support the UPA, notwithstanding their inherent contradictions. The regional parties know very well that a very weak center provides them with the best chance for their own survival and to build their base. This posture of the regional parties is not in the national interest but their own interest.

The main opposition party i.e BJP failed to turn the tide completely against UPA when the government faced numerous potentially ruinous scams. BJP tried its best in turning tide against UPA but apparently it wasn't quite successful. It was internal politics and lack of stability within BJP which made the BJP’s attempt in defaming UPA not quite successful.

The secret of UPA’s longevity is implied in the spectrum of coalition politics. The coalition politics has weakened the decision making of the government which has gone against our nation as many crucial decisions are paralyzed by the continuous threats of the coalition partners to withdraw support and subsequent bargaining for more portfolios, withdrawal of the pending cases etc etc. One wonders if multi party system is helping us in any way.