COALITION POLITICS OF NDA UNDERGOING A RADICAL CHANGE
SMALLER PARTNERS WARY OF LOSING BASE TO BIG BROTER BJP
2020-10-03 10:10
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The decision of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) to part company with its long-term ally need not be surprising except on the question of timing. Coalition theorists would describe the post-2014 NDA as a surplus majority coalition — the BJP has had the numbers in Lok Sabha on its own and all allies have been superfluous. It was sustained because the allies could get a share in power at the Centre and make the most of the alliance in their states. Most of the NDA allies have been unable to win majorities on their own in their states and that forced them to remain with the BJP. But by nature, smaller partners are redundant in surplus coalitions.