Table of Contents

Introduction
India in the Time of Coalitions
Bharatiya Janata Party
In Search of the ′Right′ Strategy
Indian National Congress
A Return to Family Values
Caste in Stone
Politics of the Hindi Heartland
Small Is Beautiful
Rooted in Region
Left Parties
Caged Birds
Friends in Need
Are Coalitions Inherently Unstable?
Friends in Deed
Can Coalitions Govern Effectively?
Illusion of Consensus
Political Economy of Coalitions
Gazing at a Crystal Ball

About the Author

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta has been a journalist since 1977. His works cuts across different media—print, radio, television, the internet and documentary films—in three languages, English, Bengali and Hindi. He has worked full time with Business India, Business World, The Telegraph, India Today, The Pioneer and the TV18-CNBC television channel (for which he anchored a daily discussion and interview based programme for nearly six years). He has directed a number of documentary films, including one on the impact of television on Indian society ‘Idiot Box or Window of Hope’, one entitled ‘Grabbing Eyeballs: What’s Unethical About Television News in India’ and another five-part series on the resource curse of India’s main coal mining region ‘Hot As Hell: A Profile of Dhanbad’. He teaches at various educational institutions, spoken and acted as a consultant on subjects related to his areas of interest—India’s polity, its economy and media. He headed an educational institution, the School of Convergence as its director for six years. He is currently an independent media practitioner and commentator.

Reviews

"...the authors provide an excellent, well-written analysis of the Indian party system since 1989...Highly recommended."
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