Question

Describe any four issues on which a broad agreement has emerged among most of the political parties in India.

Hint:

To remember the four areas of consensus in modern Indian politics, think of the acronym E-S-R-P: Economic reform continuity, Social reservation policies (OBC/Mandal), Regional power-sharing in coalitions, and Pragmatic governance over dogmatic ideology.

Answer 1

Step 1: Introduction to the Era of Consensus in Indian Politics:
Despite intense electoral competition and ideological differences, the political landscape of India since the late 1990s has witnessed a remarkable convergence on several key issues. As coalition politics became the norm, political parties realized that pragmatic governance required a shared national agenda. This led to a broad consensus on four major policy areas, ensuring continuity in governance across changes of government at the center.

Step 2: Issue 1 --- Consensus on New Economic Policies (LPG Model):
While political parties may use populist rhetoric during election campaigns, there is a strong consensus regarding India's economic direction:
• National and regional parties, including the Congress and the BJP, support the policies of Liberalisation, Privatisation, and Globalisation (LPG) initiated in 1991.
• Even left-of-center and regional parties, when in power in various states, actively seek private investment, promote digital infrastructure, and support ease of doing business. The debate has shifted from whether to implement reforms to how to manage their socio-economic distribution.

Step 3: Issue 2 --- Acceptance of Political and Social Claims of Backward Classes:
The social justice agenda has been universally accepted across the political spectrum:
• There is a broad political consensus on the necessity of reservations for the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in education and public employment, as recommended by the Mandal Commission.
• No major political party opposes reservation policies. Instead, parties compete to expand reservations to other marginalized groups (such as the recent consensus on the $10\%$ reservation for Economically Weaker Sections or EWS). This reflects a shared commitment to social engineering in Indian democracy.

Step 4: Issue 3 --- Recognition of the Role of Regional Parties in National Governance:
The old model of one-party centralization has been replaced by a consensus on federal accommodation:
• National parties accept that regional parties represent legitimate local aspirations and are essential partners in national coalition governments.
• This consensus is reflected in the institutionalized structures of coalitions (like the UPA, NDA, and the INDIA bloc). Power-sharing between national and regional leaders is now seen as a standard feature of Indian federalism, rather than a sign of political weakness.

Step 5: Issue 4 --- Focus on Pragmatism and Governance Over Pure Ideology:
Modern electoral politics in India has transitioned toward a pragmatic, governance-centric model:
• Political parties readily form alliances across traditional ideological lines to secure stable governance (for example, the BJP forming a coalition with the PDP in Jammu and Kashmir, or the Shiv Sena aligning with the Congress and NCP in Maharashtra).
• The national political discourse increasingly focuses on developmental outcomes, including digital delivery of public services (such as DBT, UPI), physical infrastructure expansion (highways, railways), and robust national security, sidelining rigid ideological manifestos.