Q1. [3] deep thorough-understanding
After 1990, the rise of regional political parties and the era of coalition governments at the Centre led to a significant change in Centre–State relations. Explain how the compulsion to form coalitions produced a more genuine practice of federalism than had existed before.
Generated by claude-sonnet-4-6 · 2026-06-26 13:17 · grounding rag
Model Answer
After 1990, the rise of regional parties and coalition politics changed Centre–State relations in three key ways:
- No single party majority: No national party could win a clear majority in the Lok Sabha on its own, so they were compelled to ally with regional (State) parties to form the government.
- Power sharing culture: Since regional parties became coalition partners, the Central Government had to respect and accommodate the interests of State governments, creating a genuine culture of power sharing and autonomy.
- End of arbitrary dismissal: A Supreme Court judgement made it difficult for the Centre to dismiss State governments arbitrarily, further strengthening federalism in practice.
Thus, political compulsion—not just constitutional provisions—made federalism more genuine after 1990.
Source: Chapter 2 (Democratic Politics), Section: How is federalism practised? — Centre–State relations
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Explanation
- The examiner expects you to link coalition compulsion → respect for State autonomy as the core argument.
- Mention: (i) no single-party majority, (ii) alliances with regional parties, (iii) new culture of power sharing, and optionally the Supreme Court judgement. These are the textbook's exact points.
- Avoid writing vague statements like "federalism improved"—always explain why (coalition compulsion forced national parties to respect States).