Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Fractured mandates

This refers to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s reference to “fractured mandates” that have made it difficult for governments to do what is manifestly obvious. At the time of casting the ballot, a voter has no idea of an election’s outcome. All he can do is to cast his vote in favour of the candidate who, in his opinion, is the best. It is not for him to speculate whether his vote will pave the way for a fractured mandate. The problem, therefore, is not with the voter but with the multi-party system.

One way to prevent fractured verdicts is to limit the scope of regional parties to the State Assemblies. MPs should be representatives of national parties with a truly national outlook.

D.V. Rama Krishna,

It is strange that Dr. Singh should talk about a fractured mandate after heading a coalition government for three years. The nuclear deal with the U.S., a highly contentious issue, was neither part of the CMP nor a priority agenda of the UPA government. How and why it became an important agenda would require a lot of explaining. Any nation aspiring to become great and strong must first ensure adequate food for its people. The UPA government’s ill-conceived obsession with the Sensex and nuclear deal reminds one of the NDA government’s ‘India shining’ blare. The Prime Minister would do well to concentrate on the basic agenda of providing good governance.

Bijay K. Dash,

The UPA government has been plagued by a basic defect from birth. And governance and good policy decisions have taken a backseat because of the defect. It has become increasingly clear from the past few elections that the Indian electorate does not want to give any political party a clear majority. This situation gave birth to an era of coalition in which a few like-minded parties joined together to form a government on the basis of a practicable, minimalist common agenda. The UPA government has taken the system further by assuming power on the basis of outside support from a set of political parties that do not have much in common with the Congress or other ruling coalition members. It is this ‘outside support’ that has become the bane of good policy decisions and decisive executive measures.

K. Parameswaran,

Since 1990, coalition politics has worked at the Union level and three Five Year Plans have been implemented without disturbing the economic growth. Many regional parties have come together to form a government at the Centre accepting a Prime Minister from the national parties. The Left parties have come forward to support the UPA from outside. Their only demand is that the Prime Minister adhere strictly to the common minimum programme. Coalition governance reflects the strength of a new federal polity.

K. Jothi Sivagnanam,

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