Performance of Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP Governments in Punjab, 2007-2017: An Analysis

During the period of 2007-17, SAD-BJP government was a coalition government in Punjab. In democratic set up, where no single political party secures majority of seats, some parties come together to form their government which is known as coalition government. Coalition politics in Indian states is the logical and inherent outcome of the political fragmentation and social diversities in our country. It is an expression of the divergent views held by the people as well as political parties and the desire of different groups to come into power. As the coalition politics is an ongoing process at present, a practical and lively manifestation of power politics is much needed.

At the time of election, before approaching the electorate, every political party issues their election manifesto. A manifesto contains the aims and objective of the party. The manifesto is an opportunity for a political party to present its agenda for the future aspirations of the people. The manifesto is an opportunity for a political a party to articulate its policies and programmes with a vision to clarify its purpose and a sense of determination. The manifesto is a charter and a contract with the people. They give a new aspiration and expectation to the people for their better lives and to improve their standard of living. With the development of coalition government and alliance politics, the party’s manifestoes have attained an important position so that the clash of ideologies can be minimised and the consent on basic issues can be included in the manifestoes.

Since reorganisation of Punjab on linguistic basis in November 1966, seven coalition ministries have been formed in the state by Shiromani Akali Dal.

SAD-BJP government for the period 2007-2017 made impressive performance in some fields like power, infrastructure, social services and electricity etc. But in other fields like drugs, illegal mining, unemployment, corruption, suicides of farming communities, SYL River and Chandigarh issue government took some bold steps but failed to tackle all these issues properly. A comparative study is done to know the real performance of government. The criteria for the people to judge any government is through the performance of the government. The performance of government was an exciting topic of study. It is true in case of Punjab. A good government can solve these difficulties. It was really exciting to study and analysis the performance of SAD-BJP governments.

The present research is a modest attempt to analyse the performance of Shiromani Akal Dal-BJP Governments in Punjab, 2007-2017. The work has been divided into six chapters.

1. Introduction: First chapter deals with the meaning of democracy, role of political parties, meaning of Coalition, definition, historical background of Akali-BJP alliance governments in Punjab. This chapter also mentions the review of the literature, research gap, objectives, research questions, significance of study, limitations of study and research methodology.

2. The Punjab Vidhan Sabha Elections since 1967 and Performance of Political Parties: Second chapter is devoted to the study of historical experiences of Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections since 1967. This chapter also analyses the bases of performance of political parties. It gives an overview about performance of various political parties in Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections.

3. Performance of Akali-BJP Governments in Punjab 2007-2017: Third chapter deals with the performance of SAD-BJP government for the period of 2007-2012 in different sectors like agriculture, industry and education etc. It tells us about the various achievements of Akali-BJP government 2012-2017 in different fields. It also deals with policy and programme of Akali Dal.

4. Manifestoes of Akali BJP coalition governments during 2007-2017: Respodents Response towards various Issues and Promises: Fourth chapter deals with the study of various issues and promises of Akali-BJP governments in Punjab 2007-2017. An empirical and comparative study has been done in three regions Sardulgarh block Malwa, Verka block Majha and Banga block Doaba of Punjab to understand the performance of alliance government. 

5. Akali-BJP Governments in Punjab 2007-2017: A Critical Analysis: The aim of this chapter is to identify the various challenges and issues like maintaining peace, controlling drug and employment generation etc on which Akali-BJP governments in Punjab from 2007-2017 faced lot of criticism.

6.  Conclusion: Research Findings and Suggestions:  The concluding part of this study deals with conclusion, research findings and suggestions.

Keywords: Elections, political parties, public, democracy, manifestoes, performance, alliance and coalition.