New Delhi:
When Manmohan Singh assumes office as Prime Minister for the second consecutive term likely this week, India will have its 10th successive coalition government in 20 years.
The seeds of coalition governance was sown for the first time in 1989 in a country where until then a single party rule of Congress dominated the political landscape at the Centre since Independence except during the Janata experiment between 1977 and 1979.
In the 1989 elections, although incumbent PM Rajiv Gandhi and Congress won more seats than any other single party, he was unable to form a government with a clear majority.
The Janata Dal, a union of opposition parties, was able to form a government with the help of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties.
This loose coalition collapsed in November 1990, and the government was controlled for a short period by a breakaway Janata Dal group supported by Congress (I), with Chandra Shekhar as Prime Minister. That alliance also collapsed, resulting in national elections in June 1991.
On May 21, 1991, while campaigning in Tamil Nadu for Congress (I), Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. In the elections which was underway, Congress (I) won 213 parliamentary seats and put together a coalition, returning to power under the leadership of P V Narasimha Rao.
This Congress-led government, which served a full five-year term, initiated a gradual process of economic liberalization and reform, which has opened the Indian economy to global trade and investment. India's domestic politics also took new shape, as traditional alignments by caste, creed, and ethnicity gave way to a plethora of small, regionally based political parties.
The final months of the Narasimha Rao-led government in early 1996 were marred by several major political corruption scandals, which contributed to the worst electoral performance by the Congress Party in its history.
BJP emerged from the May 1996 national elections as the single-largest party in the Lok Sabha but without enough strength to prove a majority on the floor of that Parliament.
Under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the BJP coalition lasted in power 13 days.
With all political parties wishing to avoid another round of elections, a 14-party coalition led by the Janata Dal emerged to form a government known as the United Front, under the former Chief Minister of Karnataka H D Deve Gowda. His government lasted less than a year, as the leader of the Congress Party withdrew his support in March 1997.
Inder Kumar Gujral replaced Deve Gowda as the consensus choice for Prime Minister of a 16-party United Front coalition.
In November 1997, the Congress Party again withdrew support for the United Front.
Fresh elections in February 1998 brought the BJP the largest number of seats in Parliament - 182 -- but fell far short of a majority.
On March 20, 1998, the President inaugurated a BJP-led coalition government with Vajpayee again serving as Prime Minister. On May 11 and 13, 1998, this government conducted a series of underground nuclear tests.
In April 1999, the BJP-led coalition government fell apart after AIADMK withdrew support leading to fresh elections in September. The National Democratic Alliance -- a new coalition led by the BJP -- gained a majority to form the government with Vajpayee as Prime Minister in October 1999 for the third time.
In May 2004, the NDA lost power ushering in a Congress-led coalition -- United Progressive Alliance -- after a gap of eight years with Manmohan Singh emerging as the surprise choice of the Congress to take the reign of prime minister.
The UPA romped home winners again in the 2009 general elections and it will be a coalition government yet again though the Congress put up a good showing winning 206 seats.