Coalition governments in India have helped in achieving some consensus. Explain.

(i) New economic policies : Most of the political parties support the new economic policies.The parties believe that these policies would lead the country to prosperity and a status of economic power in the world.

(ii) Acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes : All the political parties support the political and social claims of the backward castes. They support the reservation of seats for these classes in education and employment. Political parties are willing to ensure that the OBCs get adequate share of power.

(iii) Role of State level parties in the governance of the country : State level parties are sharing power at the national level and have played a central role in the country's poltics of last twenty years or so no. 

(iv) Emphasis on pragmatic considerations : The political parties now put more emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions. The coalition politics has shifted the focus of political parties from ideological differences to power sharing arrangements. For example, 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.