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154 PoliticsinIndiasinceIndependence Political parties are also willing to ensure that the OBCs get adequate share of power. hird, acceptance of the role of State level parties in governance of the country – the distinction between State level and national T level parties is fast becoming less important. As we saw in this chapter, State level parties are sharing power at the national level and have played a central role in the country’s politics of last twenty years or so. ourth, emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions and political alliances without ideological F agreement – coalition politics has shifted the focus of political parties from ideological differences to power sharing arrangements. Thus, most parties of the NDA did not agree with the ‘Hindutva’ ideology of the BJP. Yet, they came together to form a government and remained in power for a full term. All these are momentous changes and are going to shape politics in the near future. We started this study of politics in India with the discussion of how the Congress emerged as a dominant party. From that situation, we have now arrived at a more competitive politics, but politics that is based on a certain implicit agreement among the main political actors. Thus, even as political parties act within the sphere of this consensus, popular movements and organisations are simultaneously identifying new forms, visions and pathways of development. Issues like poverty, displacement, minimum wages, livelihood and social security are being put on the political agenda by peoples’ movements, reminding the state of its responsibility. Similarly, issues of justice and democracy are being voiced by the people in terms of class, caste, gender and regions. We cannot predict the future of democracy. All we know is that democratic politics is here to stay in India and that it will unfold through a continuous churning of some of the factors mentioned in this chapter. As you know around the time of India’s independence, many other countries also became independent and adopted democracy. However, even India emerged as a mature democracy playing a great role in promoting social equality and national development, the same has not been the case in some of those countries. Discuss amongst yourselves the factors that have enabled democracy to thrive in India. Reprint 2026-27