It’s true that regional parties do play a significant role in the formation of the government at the Centre but can’t dictate outcomes. Yet, they are as strong as ever. The Congress and the BJP rise at each other’s cost without significantly eroding the vote share of regional parties. Vote share of the BJP+Congress and the regional parties has remained equal in the last two decades.
“The data from the past several election cycles reveal that there is a surprising degree of stability in the relative appeal of regional parties, notwithstanding the hype to the contrary. In national elections, the vote share earned by parties other than the BJP and the Congress has hovered around the 50 percent mark since 1996. The remaining share of the all-India vote, the other 50 percent, has gone to the Congress and the BJP. This balance of power suggests that while regional parties have beRNEW DELHI: Regional parties have long been ruled out as national players. That’s due to several failed coalition experiments at the Centre which produced lame-duck prime ministers and shaky, short-living governments. The rise of the BJP has made many think that India is veering towards a presidential system with the power shifting between the two large parties, the BJP and the Congress.
