Successive national elections have seen the power of a strong central government wither away such that the idea of a strong, one-party central government seems inconceivable today. The decline in the fortune of national parties has been to the gain of regional satraps who, today, rule over many states as their fiefdoms. Mulayam and family in UP, Karunanidhi and clan in Tamil Nadu, the Abdullahs in J&K, the Chautalas of Haryana and the Gowda father-son duo of Karnataka- other than the Hindi heartland states of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, hardly any state in India can today boast of a strong presence of the national parties- Congress, BJP and the communists to a certain extent.
The rise of regional parties was inevitable, given the sheer diversity of the populace that inhabits the country, and probably it is good in a way, since it keeps dictatorial tendencies à la Emergency in check. But, the lack of strong political consensus in the country, in the form of electorate voting decisively for one or the other party or combination has now begun to take its toll on the strength of the central government. A strong central government is what the makers of the constitution had in mind when they drafted the Indian constitution. Accordingly, India practices a faux-federalism in which most of the power resides with the centre, even though there is a strong semblance of devolution of powers to states. With national parties losing their popularity, all elections since 1996 have seen governments of the largest national party being propped up by regional parties. Things have come to such a pass now, that central government is unable to enforce its writ lest it chooses to anger its regional allies, and ends up losing power at the centre as well. Take the case of Durga Nagpal for instance. The moment Sonia Gandhi spoke in support of the suspended IAS officer, Samajwadi Party announced its opposition to the crucial Food Security Bill. Things came to such a pass that one of the SP leaders asked the Centre to withdraw all its IAS officers if it was so worried. All this, even when the whole world knows that Durga Nagpal is being victimized for taking on the strong sand mafia.
India has been weakest when the Centre has been weak. The invasions of Mahmud of Ghazni, Abdali, Nader Shah and the British, took place when India was at best a patchwork of territories, lacking a strong leadership. If the predictions for the next elections are correct, India will again end up without a strong, credible central government, something that does not bode well for the country. India-the superpower of 21st century, most definitely needs an able and an effective central government.
