POWER SHIFTS AND COALITION POLITICS IN WEST BENGAL: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.53555/ephijer.v1i3.124Keywords:
West Bengal, power shifts, coalition politics, left front, Trinamool CongressAbstract
West Bengal has witnessed major political changes and power shifts in recent decades. After over three decades of uninterrupted rule, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) led Left Front government was voted out of power in 2011. The Trinamool Congress under Mamata Banerjee formed the government in alliance with the Indian National Congress. This paper analyzes the factors behind the major power shift, the nature of coalition politics in West Bengal, and provides a comparative analysis of the Left Front rule versus the contemporary Trinamool Congress regime. Using electoral data, policy documents, media reports, and secondary academic literature, it assesses issues like political stability, governance delivery, economic development, center-state relations, law and order, and more during these regimes. The paper finds that while the long-term Left rule led to stagnation, the contemporary coalition has more legitimacy although stability remains an issue. Regionalism, federal bargaining ties, ideological compromises, and reliance on charismatic leadership emerge as key drivers of coalition politics in West Bengal. The analysis provides fresh scholarly perspectives on the dynamics of power shifts, coalitions, and governance issues in West Bengal, which has wider relevance for understanding state politics in India's regionalized multi-party system.
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