United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a coalition of predominantly centre-left political parties in India formed after the 2004 general election. The largest member party of the UPA is the INC, whose President Sonia Gandhi is chairperson of the UPA. It formed a government with support from some other left-aligned parties in 2004, after no single party could get the majority on its own.
History
The UPA was formed soon after the 2004 general elections when it had become clear that no party had won an absolute majority. The hitherto ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 181 seats in the 543-member 14th Lok Sabha, as opposed to the UPA’s tally of 218 seats.
The Left Front with 59 MPs (excluding the speaker of the Lok Sabha), the Samajwadi Party with 39 MPs and the Bahujan Samaj Party with 19 MPs were other significant blocks that opted to support UPA at various phases of its rule. The UPA did not enjoy a simple majority on its own in the parliament, rather it has relied on the external support to ensure that it enjoys the confidence of the Indian parliament similar to the formula adopted by the previous minority governments of the United Front, the NDA, the Congress government of P. V. Narasimha Rao, and earlier governments of V. P. Singh and Chandra Shekhar.
An informal alliance had existed prior to the elections as several of the current constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states. However, it was only after the election that the results of negotiations between parties were announced. The UPA government’s policies were initially guided by a common minimum programme that the alliance hammered out with fruitful consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59-member Left Front. Hence, government policies were generally perceived as centre-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC.
During the tenure of Jharkhand Chief Minister Madhu Koda, the constituents of the UPA were, by mutual consent, supporting his government.
On 22 July 2008, the UPA narrowly survived a vote of confidence in the parliament brought on by the Left Front withdrawing their support in protest at the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement. The Congress party and its leaders along with then SP leader Amar Singh were accused for cash for vote scam (see: Cash-for-votes scandal) in which they were accused for buying votes in Lok Sabha to save the government. In the Indian General Election in 2009, the UPA won 262 seats, of which the INC accounted for 206.
Current membership
Currently, the parties in and supporting the UPA are:
| Party | MPs in Lok Sabha | MPs in Rajya Sabha | Base State | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | INC | 52 | 35 | National Party |
| 2 | DMK | 24 | 7 | Tamil Nadu |
| 3 | NCP | 5 | 4 | National Party |
| 4 | RJD | – | 5 | Bihar |
| 5 | IUML | 3 | 1 | Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
| 6 | JKNC | 3 | – | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 7 | JMM | 1 | 1 | Jharkhand |
| 8 | MDMK | – | 1 | Tamil Nadu |
| 9 | RSP | 1 | – | Kerala |
| 10 | VCK | 2 | – | Tamil Nadu |
| 11 | AIUDF | 1 | – | Assam |
| 12 | Ind. | 1 | 1 | None |
| Total | 93 | 55 | India | |
Current governments
As of May 2021, the UPA has Chief Ministers in 6 states
List of current state governments
| S.No | State/UT | UPA Govt Since | Chief Minister | Party/alliance partner | Seats in Assembly | Last election | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Party | Seats | Since | 1 | 2 | 3 | Others | IND | ||||||||||
| 1 | Punjab | 16 March 2017 | Amarinder Singh | INC | 80 | 16 March 2017 | None | 80/117 | 4 February 2017 | |||||||||
| 2 | Chhattisgarh | 17 December 2018 | Bhupesh Baghel | INC | 70 | 17 December 2018 | None | 70/90 | 11 December 2018 | |||||||||
| 3 | Rajasthan | 17 December 2018 | Ashok Gehlot | INC | 104 | 17 December 2018 | RLD (1) | None | 12 | 117/200 | 11 December 2018 | |||||||
| 4 | Maharashtra | 28 November 2019 | Uddhav Thackeray | SS | 57 | 28 November 2019 | NCP (53) | INC (44) | BVA (3) | SP (2), PJP (2), SWP (1), PWPI (1) | 6 | 169/288 | 21 October 2019 | |||||
| 5 | Jharkhand | 28 December 2019 | Hemant Soren | JMM | 29 | 28 December 2019 | INC (18) | RJD (1) | NCP (1) | CPI(ML)L (1) | None | 50/81 | 23 December 2019 | |||||
| 6 | Tamil Nadu | May 7 2021 | M.K Stalin | DMK | 133 | May 7 2021 | INC (18) | VCK (4) | CPI (2) | CPI (M) (2) | None | 159/234 | 6 April 2021 | |||||
As of May 2021 the UPA has power in 6 states –
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The UPA had never had power in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (It had power in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana before the division, however after there division in 2014 it never had power in them)
Note : The UPA govt since shows since when did UPA govt had power and the Since column in Chief Minister shows since when did that CM take the office.
UPA strength in legislative assemblies
| State/UT | Assembly | INC | UPA | Chief Minister from | Ref(s) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andhra Pradesh | 175 | 0 | None | YSRCP | ||
| Arunachal Pradesh | 60 | 4 | None | BJP | ||
| Assam | 126 | 29 | AIUDF (16) | BJP | ||
| BPF (4) | ||||||
| CPI(M) (1) | ||||||
| Bihar | 243 | 19 | RJD (75) | JD(U) | ||
| CPI(ML)L (12) | ||||||
| CPI(M) (2) | ||||||
| CPI (2) | ||||||
| Chhattisgarh | 90 | 70 | None | INC | ||
| Goa | 40 | 5 | NCP (1) | BJP | ||
| IND (2) | ||||||
| Gujarat | 182 | 65 | IND (1) | BJP | ||
| Haryana | 90 | 31 | None | BJP | ||
| Himachal Pradesh | 68 | 20 | None | BJP | ||
| Jharkhand | 81 | 18 | JMM (30) | JMM | ||
| RJD (1) | ||||||
| NCP (1) | ||||||
| CPI(ML)L (1) | ||||||
| Karnataka | 224 | 68 | IND (1) | BJP | ||
| Kerala | 140 | 21 | IUML (15) | LDF | ||
| KC (2) | ||||||
| KC(J) (1) | ||||||
| RMPI (1) | ||||||
| IND (1) | ||||||
| Madhya Pradesh | 230 | 96 | None | BJP | ||
| Maharashtra | 288 | 43 | SHS (57) | SHS | ||
| NCP (53) | ||||||
| BVA (3) | ||||||
| PJP (2) | ||||||
| SP (2) | ||||||
| SWP (1) | ||||||
| PWPI (1) | ||||||
| IND (6) | ||||||
| Manipur | 60 | 17 | None | BJP | ||
| Meghalaya | 60 | 17 | NCP (1) | NDA | ||
| Mizoram | 40 | 5 | None | MNF | ||
| Nagaland | 60 | 0 | None | NDA | ||
| Odisha | 147 | 9 | CPI(M) (1) | BJD | ||
| Punjab | 117 | 80 | None | INC | ||
| Rajasthan | 200 | 106 | RLD (1) | INC | ||
| IND (12) | ||||||
| Sikkim | 32 | 0 | None | NDA | ||
| Tamil Nadu | 234 | 18 | DMK (133) | DMK | ||
| VCK (4) | ||||||
| CPI (2) | ||||||
| CPI (M) (2) | ||||||
| Telangana | 119 | 6 | None | TRS | ||
| Tripura | 60 | 0 | None | BJP | ||
| Uttar Pradesh | 403 | 7 | None | BJP | ||
| Uttarakhand | 70 | 11 | None | BJP | ||
| West Bengal | 294 | 0 | None | AITC | ||
| Delhi | 70 | 0 | None | AAP | ||
| Jammu and Kashmir | TBD | NA | ||||
| Puducherry | 33 | 2 | DMK (6) | NDA | ||
| Total | 4036 | 767 | 454 | UPA (6) | 31 | |
Past members
| Party | Base State | Withdrawal Date | Reason for Withdrawal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Telangana Rashtra Samithi | Telangana | 2006 | Differences over proposed statehood for Telangana | |
| Bahujan Samaj Party | National Party | 2008 | Congress opposed the UP government where the BSP was the ruling party | |
| Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party | Jammu and Kashmir | 2009 | Congress decided to support National Conference Government in Jammu and Kashmir | |
| Pattali Makkal Katchi | Tamil Nadu | 2009 | PMK declared that it would join the AIADMK led front | |
| All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen | Telangana | 2012 | Accused Congress led State Government of Communalism | |
| All India Trinamool Congress | National Party | 2012 | TMC’s demands on rollbacks and reforms not met, including the governments decision to allow FDI in retail | |
| Socialist Janata (Democratic) | Kerala | 2014 | It merged with Janata Dal (United) on 29 December 2014. | |
| Janata Dal (Secular) | Karnataka | 2019 | After JD(S)-INC alliance govt fell in Karnataka, two parties decided to end alliance. | |
| Rashtriya Lok Samta Party | Bihar | 2020 | Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with BSP+ on 29 September 2020. | |
List of prime ministers
| No. | Prime ministers | Portrait | Term in office | Lok Sabha | Cabinet | Constituency | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Start | End | Tenure | ||||||
| 1 | Manmohan Singh |  |
22 May 2004 | 22 May 2009 | 10 years, 4 days | 14th | Manmohan Singh I | Rajya Sabha MP From Assam |
| 22 May 2009 | 26 May 2014 | 15th | Manmohan Singh II | |||||
List of current chief ministers
| S.No | State | Name | Portrait | Cabinet | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chhattisgarh | Bhupesh Baghel |  |
Baghel I | |
| 2. | Jharkhand | Hemant Soren |  |
Soren II | |
| 3. | Maharashtra | Uddhav Thackeray |  |
Thackeray I | |
| 4. | Punjab | Amarinder Singh |  |
Amarinder II | |
| 5. | Rajasthan | Ashok Gehlot |  |
Gehlot III | |
| 6. | Tamil Nadu | M. K. Stalin |  |
Stalin I | |
List of deputy chief ministers
| S.No | State | Name | Portrait | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Maharashtra | Ajit Pawar |  |
|
List of UPA candidates by election
- 2019 Indian General Election
- 2014 Indian General Election
- 2009 Indian General Election
Timeline
2014
- UPA had its worst performance to date in the 2014 general election and ended up losing the power
- The Socialist Janata (Democratic) had left the alliance after it had merged with Janata Dal (United)
- UPA lost state election in Telangana, Odisha, Sikkim, J&K, Jharkhand, AP, Maharashtra, Haryana
- UPA managed to win 1 state election and that was in Arunachal Pradesh
2015
- UPA lost elections in Delhi
- UPA won elections in Bihar
2016
- UPA won state elections in Puducherry
- UPA lost state elections in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam, Kerala
2017
- Janata Dal (United) quit the Mahagathbandhan alliance formed by UPA for Bihar and joined NDA giving BIhar power from UPA to NDA
- UPA won in state election of Punjab
- UPA lost in state election of Utter Pradesh, Manipur, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Gujarat
- In addition UPA lost the presidential election to NDA’s Ram Nath Kovind
- MDMK (state party in TN) left NDA and joined UPA
- VCK (State party in TN) joined UPA after leaving in 2014
2018
- In 2018 Janata Dal (Secular) joined UPA to help form Karnataka govt
- UPA lost election in state election of Telangana, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura
- UPA won in the state elections of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka
- RJD ( state party in Bihar) joined UPA
2019
- UPA lost in the 2019 Indian general election to NDA
- UPA lost state elections in AP, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Sikkim, Haryana
- UPA won in state election in Jharkhand, Maharashtra
- In 2019 UPA lost power in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka after the by-polls gave majority to opposition and pushed UPA to minority.
- Janata Dal (Secular) left the alliance after the fall of Karnataka govt.
- AIUDF and BPF (left NDA) joined UPA after UPA invited these parties as they were against the implementation of CAA-NRC
2020
- UPA lost state election in Delhi, Bihar
2021
- 3 MLA have resigned from UPA in Puducherry causing the government to go from majority to minority, and during the no trust confidence UPA fail to prove majority causing the govt to fall.
- UPA lost state election in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry and West Bengal
- UPA won state election in Tamil Nadu
- GFP or Goa Forward Party had joined UPA
Controversies
The winter session of parliament in October 2008 came under intense criticism from the Left parties and the BJP to demand a full-fledged winter session instead of what was seen as the UPA to having “scuttled the voice of Parliament” by bringing down the sittings to a record low of 30 days in the year. The tensions between the UPA and the opposition parties became evident at an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha speaker Somnath Chatterjee when the leader of opposition, LK Advani questioned the status, timing and schedule of the current session of parliament.
Karunanidhi had said he felt “let down” by the “lukewarm” response of the Centre and had demanded amendments in the resolution on Sri Lanka.
One of the amendments was to “declare that genocide and war crimes had been committed and inflicted on the Eelam Tamils by the Sri Lankan Army and the administrators”.
The second one was “establishment of a credible and independent international commission of investigation in a time-bound manner into the allegations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, violations of international human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law and crime of genocide against the Tamils”. Karunanidhi said Parliament should adopt the resolution incorporating these two amendments.
The UPA has also been criticised for its alleged involvement in a number of scams such as the Commonwealth Games Scam of 2010, the 2G spectrum case, and the Coalgate scam. Apart from the above-mentioned scams, the UPA has been under intense fire for the alleged doles handed out to the son-in-law of the Gandhi family, Robert Vadra, by different state governments run by the UPA.