term coalition has been derived from the Latin word 'Coalitio' which means to grow up together.

The demise of the one party dominance system has given birth to an eraof coalitions. With the decline of the Congress and in the absence of a national alternative having a counttywide spread, it was logical for the people to repose faith in different parties and groups, some confined to region. The transformative process has however been fraught with un-precedented instability and weak governance. The tentative experiment in coali-tion government, specifically at the centre, has evoked mixed responses ranging from extreme scepticism to post facto admiration and acceptance. The term 'coalition' is derived from the Latin word 'coalitio" which is the veral substantive of coalescere which means to grow together. However, as actually used, it somewhatbelies it nominal meaning, 'for theunits or the elements brought into combinationby a coalition very seldom grow together in any leteral sense In India, the - study of coalitions is of recent origin though the developments of the las two to three decades have witnessed ap upsurge in the writings on coalition politics

A coalition can take place in two phases: pre election alliance or adjustments between the parties and post election union to share political power and run the government. The former type of coalition has two additional advantages than the later. A pre poll understanding provides a common platform to the parties in order to attract the electrorate on the basis of the joint manifesto. Moreover, the radicalism of such parties is softened to a great extent in the process of mutual concessions without causing the slightest damage to the image of either of them. There are generally three types of situations, which inevitably give rise to a coalition government in a spte. \ a) Inability of any single party, in a multi-party system, to form ministry by commanding a working majority,in the Lower House of ~a'rliament a bi- in cameral legislature. Owing to the fractured mandate at the polls, India has in recent years increasingly been confronted with such a situation.

b) Existence of a dead lock between the two parties in abi-party system that is an even balance between (he two parties, leading on of the two to ally itself with any minor go& such as a neutral oi defectors. c) A national crisis necessitating the suspension af party strife and the concentration of all forces in a 'common direction for the common safety