4.6. Impact of Coalition Politics on the office of PM

CMs who became PMs:

1. Morarji Desai

2. Charan Singh

3. V.P.Singh

4. P.V. Narasimha Rao

5. H.D. Deve Gowda

6. Narendra Modi

Generally, it is being witnessed that the authority of PM weakens when he heads a coalition government as witnessed in the UPA-2 government (2009-14) or NDA government of 1999- 2004. This is because a coalition government is usually formed in case there is a fractured mandate.

Many a times, the members of the constituent parties start treating their leader as the PM, rather than the actual PM.

However, this phenomenon varies with the personality of the PM, nature of coalition politics, and the manner in which it is managed, which also plays an important role. The role of the PM, in such cases, becomes more of a manager of the coalition, rather than a leader of the party alone.