People first, parties later

A lot of the political parties that compete for our attention have existed for decades. Therefore, we don’t think much about why they were formed. But it’s useful to think about founding moments, because they set the tone for a lot of things that follow immediately after a party is created. And just as importantly, they set the tone for things that don’t or can’t follow. Once you pick a side, you have to bat for that side.

The reason is simple. The date of incorporation of a political party can seem like ancient history now, but at the time it was founded, it was the culmination of forces that had existed up to that point and gained strength. If enough people want to shape government in a particular way, they come together to form a political party to advance their agenda. Congress, BJP, AAP, Telugu Desam, DMK...most origin stories have a history, too.

Read | Political parties: Gatekeepers of democracy

The important thing to note is that the people and the agenda both exist before the party is created. They came first, not the party. When we go the polling station on election day, however, we tend to think about this in reverse. It seems as though we’re going to the booth to support the party’s agenda, not as though the parties are competing at the booth for one of our agendas to prevail.

It’s a struggle to keep remembering this, because there is a steady drumbeat from the parties with the opposite message. They tell us what they’ve done, are doing, and are planning to do. But we are the principals, and they are our agents.

The best reason to support a party, therefore, is if that party supports something that we already care about even before we heard of that party or its agenda. That is, if we care about gender equality, and along comes a party promising to support that -- this would be truly new in India! -- then we might say, “hello, I can support this”.

For instance, I support decentralisation and federalism. I support competent administration. And I oppose corruption in public office. Any political organisation that seeks my vote has to support these things first. It’s only after the agent signs up to the principal that he can begin to act as the agent. Anyone who has ever appointed a representative knows that.

What happens if no political party supports the things that we do? Millions of people say this is the case, and they have turned away from politics altogether because they don’t believe anyone cares about what matters to them. But that would only leave the field open to the agendas of others. Spectators don’t win battles. The grudging response of most voters, therefore, has been to vote for the party that supports -- or seems to support -- at least some of what they care about.

Which brings us to coalitions. India has just been introduced to INDIA. The coalition partners believe that this is an important tactical step for the Lok Sabha elections of 2024. Will it work? More generally, when do coalitions work, and when do they not?

Let’s go back to the basics of the principal-agent arrangement. Since parties are vehicles of people’s agendas, in any coalition the partners should first ensure that their supporters are already together in some way. Without that, the leaders may align with each other, but their voters may not. From the perspective of a voter, coalitions work when first-preference parties join forces with second or third-preference ones.

Even that has risks. If a party that I support in turn decides to support some other party, then I may as well consider supporting the other one myself. Why appoint a sub-agent when I can appoint the agent instead?

My reading of recent developments is that the INDI Alliance will run into a wall of questions quickly -- in state elections in a few months, for instance, or in local elections in a dozen states, where the partners are likely to find themselves in opposition to each other long before the Lok Sabha polls. The principals in this are the voters, and as principals they get to change their preferred parties at any time.

Social technologist and entrepreneur, founder of Mapunity and co-founder, Lithium, wakes up with hope for the city and society, goes to bed with a sigh, repeats cycle @ashwinmahesh