Contents –
Preface and Acknowledgements –
THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM AND VOTING BEHAVIOUR IN KEY ELECTIONS –
1. The Origins of the Electoral System: Rules, Representation, and Power-sharing in India's Democracy –
2. Understanding Voting Patterns by Clas in the 2019 Indian Election –
3. Class Voting in the 2014 Lok Sabha Elections: The Growing Size and Importance of the Middle Classes –
4. Electoral Coalitions in the 2004 General Elections: Theory and Evidence –
POLITICAL PARTIES AND COALITION POLITICS IN INDIA'S FEDERAL POLITY –
5. Can Umbrella Parties Survive? The Decline of the Indian National Congress (with Adnan Farooqui) -6. Incumbency, Internal Processes, and Renomination in Indian Parties (with Adnan Farooqui) -
7. Coalition Strategies and the BJP's Expansion, 1989-2004 -
8. Coalition Congruence in India's Federal System –
9. Why are Multi-party Minority Governments Vable in India? Theory and Comparison –
10. Political Finance in a Developing Democracy: The Case of India (with Milan Vaishnav) –
Index.

This book on India’s recent experience with elections, parties, and coalitions consists of ten papers that cover two broad areas – elections and voting behaviour, and political parties and coalition politics. It presents the evolution of key elections and shifts in voting patterns in the post-Congress-dominance period since 1989, showing how these have led to the rise or decline of parties; to a reshaped party system; and to particular patterns of coalition politics and types of coalition and/or minority governments.

The book also shows how coalition politics has enabled the rise of the Bharatiya Janata Party and regional parties, enabled a revival of the Congress from 2004 to 2014, and affected elections and the party system in reverse.

All the papers in this book undertake empirical analysis of elections and the party system – including origins, key elections, party behaviour, coalition patterns, and political finance – and are situated within the relevant theoretical and comparative literature.

This collection makes interconnected historical, conceptual, theoretical, and empirical arguments in relation to Indian politics. It helps us make sense of the evolution of the post-1989 party system and is indispensable for scholars and students of Indian politics.