One-party Dominance of BJP: Emerging Dynamics of Conflict and Co-operation in Indian Federalism

Abstract

Federalism in India is a unique framework of governance that aims to meet the necessities of a heterogeneous and variegated society. In the Indian design, the destiny of States rests with the Union government, which can alter, dissolve or redefine issues with consultation, but without their consent. The rationale for adopting such an arrangement was to discourage centrifugal forces that had led to communal carnage and the partition of the Indian sub-continent at the time of Independence in 1947. Post-Independence, multiple constitutional, political and societal factors shaped the nature and course of Indian federalism as it evolved from one-party dominance of the Congress party to a phase of multiparty coalitions led by a national and/or regional parties in the 1990s and thereafter under a bi-nodal coalitional system. Subsequently, since 2014 the advent of BJP as a dominant party has strengthened federal centralisation that has unleashed several challenges that have a number of ramifications for federalism. Therefore, this paper examines the working of Indian federalism with a focus on contemporary trends of centralisation, conflict and co-operation.