United Progressive Alliance

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) (IAST: Saṃyukt Pragatishīl Gaṭhabandhan) is a centre-left political alliance in India led by the Indian National Congress (INC). It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party got the majority.[6] The UPA subsequently governed India from 2004 until 2014 before losing power to their main rivals, the BJP-led NDA. The UPA currently rules seven states of India.

Not to be confused with United Progressive Alliance (Kenya) or United Progressive Alliance (Sri Lanka).

United Progressive Alliance
Saṃyukt Pragatishīl Gaṭhabandhan
AbbreviationUPA
ChairpersonSonia Gandhi
Lok Sabha LeaderAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Rajya Sabha LeaderMallikarjun Kharge
(Leader of the Opposition)
Founded2004 (18 years ago)
Ideology
Political positionCentre-left[5]
ECI StatusRecognised
Alliance19 parties
Seats in Lok Sabha
109 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
64 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies
1,210 / 4,036
Seats in State Legislative Councilies
113 / 423
Number of states and union territories in government
7 / 31

History

2004–2008

UPA was formed soon after the 2004 Lok Sabha election when no party had won a majority. The then ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 181 seats[7] of 544, 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 supported UPA at various times.[8][9] UPA did not achieve a majority, rather it relied on external support, 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 constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states. After the election 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 consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59-member Left Front.[10] 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.[11]

On 22 July 2008, the UPA 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.[12] The Congress party and its leaders along with then Samajwadi Party leader Amar Singh were accused of a "cash for vote" scam as part of the cash-for-votes scandal, in which they were accused of buying votes in Lok Sabha to save the government.[13][14][15] During UPA I, the economy saw steady economic growth and many people (100 million+) escaped poverty.

2009–2014

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the UPA won 262 seats, of which the INC accounted for 206. During UPA II, the alliance was broiled in scams. This ranged from the 2G spectrum case to the Coalgate scam. These scams impacted UPA's image nationwide and the approval rating for the govt fell. In addition, many members left for YSRCP. This started a domino effect with members leaving to form their own parties and parties such as DMK leaving the alliance altogether. During this time UPA struggled with state election and leadership stability. The alliance suffered a defeat in 2014 Lok Sabha election as it won only 60 seats. In addition, UPA won only one state election and got wiped out from Andhra Pradesh where they previously had 150+ MLA.

2015–2019

From 2014 to 2017, UPA won only 3 state elections. This was blamed on the alliance's failed leadership and weakness compared to the NDA. In addition the party lost power in states where they had once won state elections as in Bihar. In 2017 the alliance lost again. In 2018 UPA had a phenomenal comeback in the state elections as the party won important in Karnataka, Rajasthan and others. More parties joined the alliance and it was stronger than ever.

In 2019 Lok Sabha election the UPA won only 91 seats in the general election and INC won 52 seats, thus failed to secure 10% seats required for the leader of opposition post. The alliance lost another state to BJP with the party winning by-polls and pushing the UPA into the minority.

Towards the end of 2019, the alliance made huge gains in Haryana, won in Jharkhand and formed a state-level alliance called Maha Vikas Aghadi to form the government in Maharashtra with Uddhav Thackeray of Shiv Sena leading the ministry. Shiv Sena had been a member of NDA for twenty five years. It left NDA and joined MVA in 2019.[16]

2020–present

Since 2020, more parties joined the alliance. The alliance lost the Bihar election that everyone expected it to win but in 2022, ruling party JD(U) left National Democratic Alliance and rejoined Mahagathbandhan to form government in Bihar.

In addition UPA only won 1 out of the 5 state elections in 2021. However the alliance made significant gain in a number of MLA races. MVA lost control of Maharashtra due to crisis and split in Shiv Sena. Moreover, UPA lost in Gujarat assembly elections however, it won the state election in Himachal Pradesh.

In 2023, UPA again failed in winning elections in the North-East but won the assembly in very important state of Karnataka.

Membership
Party MPs in Lok Sabha MPs in Rajya Sabha MLA in state legislature Base state
1 INC 50 31 737 National Party
2 DMK 24 10 139 Tamil Nadu
Puducherry
3 JD(U) 16 5 52 Bihar
Arunachal Pradesh
Manipur
4 SHS(UBT) 6 3 17 Maharashtra
Dadra and Nagar Haveli
5 NCP 5 4 59 Maharashtra
6 RJD 0 6 80 Bihar
Jharkhand
Kerala
7 IUML 3 1 15 Kerala
8 JKNC 3 0 0 Jammu and Kashmir
9 JMM 1 2 30 Jharkhand
10 MDMK 0 1 0 Tamil Nadu
11 RSP(I) 1 0 0 Kerala
12 VCK 1 0 4 Tamil Nadu
13 HAM 0 0 4 Bihar
14 GFP 0 0 1 Goa
15 KEC 0 0 2 Kerala
16 RMPI 0 0 1 Kerala
17 AGM 0 1 0 Assam
18 KEC(J) 0 0 1 Kerala
19 NCK 0 0 1 Kerala
20 Independent 0 0 26 None
Total 114 64 1123 India

Governments
Current ruling parties in India
  BJP (10)
  BJP Alliance (5)
  INC (4)
  INC Alliance (3)
  Other parties - AAP, AITC, BJD, CPI(M), MNF, TRS, YSRCP (8)
  President's rule (1)
  No legislature (5)

The Indian National Congress previously held power in Bihar, Gujarat, Nagaland, Odisha and Sikkim without the UPA upto 1990.

List of chief ministers from UPA
Main article: List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress
Incumbent chief ministers from the United Progressive Alliance
S.No State Name Portrait Cabinet
1. Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot Gehlot III
2. Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel Baghel I
3. Himachal Pradesh Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu Sukhu I
4. Karnataka Siddaramaiah Siddaramaiah II
5. Jharkhand Hemant Soren Soren II
6. Bihar Nitish Kumar
Nitish VIII
7. Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin Stalin I

List of deputy chief ministers from UPA
Incumbent deputy chief ministers from the United Progressive Alliance
S.No State Name Portrait Cabinet
1. Bihar Tejashwi Yadav Nitish VIII
2. Himachal Pradesh Mukesh Agnihotri Sukhu I
3. Karnataka D. K. Shivakumar Siddaramaiah II

List of UPA state governments
S.No State/UT UPA Govt since Chief Minister Alliance Partners Seats

Last election

Name Party Seats Since
1 Bihar 10 August 2022 Nitish Kumar JD(U) 45 10 August 2022 RJD (79) 165/243 28 October – 7 November 2020
INC (19)
CPI(M-L) (12)
HAM (4)
CPI(M) (2)
CPI (2)
IND (1)
2 Chhattisgarh 17 December 2018 Bhupesh Baghel INC 71 17 December 2018 None 71/90 11 December 2018
3 Himachal Pradesh 11 December 2022 Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu INC 40 11 December 2022 IND (3) 43/68 9 November 2022
4 Jharkhand 28 December 2019 Hemant Soren JMM 30 28 December 2019 INC (17) 50/81 23 December 2019
RJD (1)
NCP (1)
CPI(M-L) (1)
5 Rajasthan 17 December 2018 Ashok Gehlot INC 109 17 December 2018 RLD (1) 123/200 11 December 2018
IND (13)
6 Tamil Nadu 7 May 2021 M. K. Stalin DMK 125 7 May 2021 INC (18) 166/243 6 April 2021
VCK (4)
MDMK (4)
MMK (2)
CPI(M) (2)
CPI (2)
KMDK (1)
TVK (1)
7 Karnataka 20 May 2023 Siddaramaiah INC 135 13 May 2023 SKP (1) 137/224 13 May 2023
IND (1)

Strength in legislative assemblies and counciles
State/UT MLA seats INC INC+ Overall seats Chief minister party Ref(s)
Andhra Pradesh 175 0 None
0 / 175
 YSRCP [17]
Arunachal Pradesh 60 4 None
4 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [18]
Assam 126 27 CPI(M) (1)
29 / 126
 BJP (NDA) [19]
Bihar 243 19 RJD (79)
165 / 243
 JD(U) (MGB) [20]
JD(U) (45)
CPI(M-L) (12)
HAM (4)
CPI(M) (2)
CPI (2)
IND (1)
Chhattisgarh 90 71 None
71 / 90
 INC (UPA) [21]
Goa 40 3 GFP (1)
4 / 40
 BJP (NDA) [22]
Gujarat 182 17 None
17 / 182
 BJP (NDA) [23]
Haryana 90 30 None
30 / 90
 BJP (NDA) [24]
Himachal Pradesh 68 40 IND (3)
43 / 68
 INC (UPA) [25]
Jharkhand 81 17 JMM (30)
50 / 81
 JMM (UPA) [26]
RJD (1)
NCP (1)
CPI(M-L) (1)
Karnataka 224 135 SKP (1) IND (2)
138 / 224
 INC (UPA) [27]
Kerala 140 21 IUML (15)
41 / 140
 CPI(M) (LDF) [28]
KC (2)
KC(J) (1)
RMPI (1)
IND (1)
Madhya Pradesh 230 96 None
96 / 230
 BJP (NDA) [29]
Maharashtra 288 45 NCP (53)
116 / 288
 SHS [30]
SS(UBT) (17)
CPI(M) (1)
SWP (1)
IND (1)
Manipur 60 5 JD(U)(1)
6 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [31]
Meghalaya 60 5 None
5 / 60
 NPP (NDA) [32]
Mizoram 40 5 None
11 / 40
 MNF (NDA) [33]
Nagaland 60 0 None
0 / 60
 NDPP (NDA) [34]
Odisha 147 9 CPI(M) (1)
10 / 147
 BJD [35]
Punjab 117 18 IND (1)
19 / 117
 AAP [36]
Rajasthan 200 109 RLD (1)
123 / 200
 INC (UPA) [37]
IND (13)
Sikkim 32 0 None
0 / 32
 SKM (NDA) [38]
Tamil Nadu 234 18 DMK (133)
159 / 234
 DMK (SPA) [39]
VCK (4)
CPI(M) (2)
CPI (2)
Telangana 119 5 None
5 / 119
 BRS [40]
Tripura 60 3 CPI(M) (11)
14 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [41]
Uttar Pradesh 403 2 None
2 / 403
 BJP (NDA) [42]
Uttarakhand 70 19 None
19 / 70
 BJP (NDA) [43]
West Bengal 294 1 ISF (1)
2 / 294
 AITC [44]
Delhi 70 0 None
0 / 70
 AAP [45]
Jammu and Kashmir 90 NA [46]
Puducherry 33 2 DMK (6)
8 / 33
 AINRC (NDA) [47]
Total 4126 651 441
1,119 / 4,036
 UPA (6) 31
State/UT Total Independent Vacant
BJP NDA INC UPA Others
Andhra Pradesh 58 2 None None YSRCP (33) 3
TDP (15)
PDF (4)
UTF (1)
Bihar 75 23 RLJP (1) 4 RJD (14) 5
JD(U) (25)
CPI (2)
HAM-Se (1)
Karnataka 75 37 IND (1) 25 JD(S) (11) 1
Maharashtra 78 30 RSPS (1) 10 SHS (15) None 6
NCP (12)
PWPI (2)
IND (2)
Telangana 40 None 1 None BRS (33) 3 1
AIMIM (2)
Uttar Pradesh 100 81 AD(S) (1) None SP (9) 9
NISHAD (1) BSP (1)
IND (6) Jansatta Dal (L) (1)
Total 426 154 41 40 30 124 11 26

Former members
Political Party State Date Reason for withdrawal
AIADMK Tamil Nadu 2004 Allied with the BJP.
BRS Telangana 2006 Differences over proposed statehood for Telangana
BSP National Party 2008 Congress opposed the UP government where the BSP was the ruling party
JKPDP Jammu and Kashmir 2009 Congress decided to support National Conference Government in Jammu and Kashmir
PMK Tamil Nadu 2009 PMK declared that it would join the AIADMK led front
AIMIM Telangana 2012 Accused Congress led State Government of Communalism
AITC West Bengal 2012 AITC's demands on rollbacks and reforms not met, including the governments decision to allow FDI in retail and hike in the prices of railway tickets.
SJ(D) Kerala 2014 It merged with Janata Dal (United) on 29 December 2014.
RLD Uttar Pradesh 2014 Decided to leave after 2014 election performance.
JD(S) Karnataka 2019 After JD(S)-INC alliance govt fell in Karnataka, two parties decided to end alliance.
RLSP Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with BSP+ on 29 September 2020.
VIP Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with NDA
KC(M) Kerala 2020 Decided to join LDF
BPF Assam 2021 Withdrew due to performance in 2021 Assam election.
AIUDF Assam 2021 Party was expelled from the alliance.

Poll performances
2004 Lok Sabha Election
Sr.no Party Seats Won Seat Change Vote%
1. Indian National Congress 145 Increase 32 26.7%
2. Rashtriya Janata Dal 21 Increase 12 2.2%
3. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 16 Increase 4 1.8%
4. Nationalist Congress Party 9 Increase 1 1.8%
5. Lok Janshakti Party 4 Steady 0.6%
6. Telangana Rashtra Samithi 2 Steady 0.6%
7. Pattali Makkal Katchi 6 Increase 1 0.5%
8. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha 5 Steady 0.5%
9. Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 4 Steady 0.4%
10. Indian Union Muslim League 1 Increase 1 0.2%
11. Republican Party of India (Athawale) 1 Steady 0.1%
12. Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party 1 Steady 0.1%
Total 218 Increase 83 35.4%
2009 Lok Sabha Election
Sr.no Party Seats Won Seat Change
1. Indian National Congress 206 Increase 61
2. Rashtriya Janata Dal 4 Decrease 17
3. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 18 Increase 2
4. Nationalist Congress Party 9 Decrease 1
5. All India Trinamool Congress 19 Increase 18
6. Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 3 Increase 3
7. Bodoland People's Front 1 Increase 1
8. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Decrease 3
9. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1 Increase 1
10. Indian Union Muslim League 2 Increase 1
11. Kerala Congress (Mani) 1 Increase 1
Total 262 Increase 44

List of presidents and vice presidents

Note that it refers to nomination by alliance, as the offices of President and Vice President are apolitical.

Presidents
No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)		 Term of office

Electoral mandates

Time in office

 Previous post Vice president Party[48]
12 Pratibha Patil
(b.1934)		 25 July 2007 25 July 2012 Governor of Rajasthan Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2007)

Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2007–12)

 Indian National Congress  
2007
5 years, 0 days
13 Pranab Mukherjee
(1935–2020)		 25 July 2012 25 July 2017 Union Minister of Finance Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2012–17)
2012
5 years, 0 days

Vice presidents
No. Portrait Name
(birth–death)[49]		 Elected
(% votes)		 Took office Left office Term President(s) Party
12 Mohammad Hamid Ansari
(b.1937)		 2007
(67.21)		 11 August 2007 10 August 2012 10 years, 0 days Pratibha Patil Indian National Congress  
2012
(67.31)		 11 August 2012 10 August 2017 Pranab Mukherjee

List of prime ministers
Further information: List of prime ministers of India
List of prime ministers of India
No. Prime ministers Portrait Term in office Lok Sabha Government Cabinet Constituency
Start End Tenure
14 Manmohan Singh 22 May 2004 22 May 2009 10 years, 4 days 14th UPA I Manmohan Singh I Rajya Sabha MP From Assam
22 May 2009 26 May 2014 15th UPA II Manmohan Singh II

Timeline of the UPA and other regional alliances formed by the Congress Party

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020
  • UPA lost state election in Delhi, Bihar.
  • The KC(M) was expelled by INC from the alliance due to the factions forming in the party.
  • In 2020 UPA lost power in Madhya Pradesh due to crisis and the by-polls gave majority to NDA and pushed UPA to minority.

2021

2022

2023

Candidates in elections

Lok Sabha general elections

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.[50]

M. 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.[51]

The UPA was criticised for its alleged involvement 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 UPA-run state governments.[52]

See also

References
  1. "UPA and secularism".
  2. Agrawal, S. P.; Aggarwal, J. C., eds. (1989). Nehru on Social Issues. New Delhi: Concept Publishing. ISBN 978-817022207-1.
  3. Lowell Barrington (2009). Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices. Cengage Learning. p. 379. ISBN 978-0-618-49319-7.
  4. Meyer, Karl Ernest; Brysac, Shareen Blair (2012). Pax Ethnica: Where and How Diversity Succeeds. PublicAffairs. p. 50. ISBN 978-1-61039-048-4. Retrieved 7 April 2016.
  5. "United Progressive Alliance".
  6. "United Progressive Alliance, UPA, UPA Performance General Election 2009, UPA Tally, UPA in Lok Sabha Elections 2009, India Elections 2009, General Elections, Election Manifesto, India Election News, India Elections Results, Indian Election Schedule, 15th Lok Sabha Elections, General Elections 2009, State Assembly Elections, State Assembly Elections Schedule, State Assembly Election Results". electionaffairs.com. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012.
  7. Small parties, independents in great demand Archived 19 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Originally the SP had 39 MPs Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine. 6 MPs defied party whip and have been expelled from the party.
  9. Lok Sabha members Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  10. "Congress pins hopes on Jyoti Basu". The Times of India.
  11. Madhu Koda to be next Jharkhand CM Archived 3 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  12. "Indian government survives vote". BBC News. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  13. "Cash-for-votes scam: The deadly secrets of sting Singh : Cover Story - India Today". intoday.in. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  14. "Cash For Vote Scam - Amar Singh - Supreme Court - Sudheendra Kulkarni - Swamajwadi Party - BJP". oneindia.com. Archived from the original on 7 July 2014. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  15. "Cash-for-vote scam 2008: Court orders further probe". indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  16. ""Wasted 25 Years In Alliance With BJP...," Says Uddhav Thackeray". NDTV.com. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  17. Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  18. Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  19. Assam Legislative Assembly
  20. Bihar Legislative Assembly
  21. Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
  22. Goa Legislative Assembly
  23. Gujarat Legislative Assembly
  24. Haryana Legislative Assembly
  25. Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  26. Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
  27. Karnataka Legislative Assembly
  28. Kerala Legislature
  29. Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  30. Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
  31. Manipur Legislative Assembly
  32. Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
  33. Mizoram Legislative Assembly
  34. Nagaland Legislative Assembly
  35. Odisha Legislative Assembly
  36. Punjab Legislative Assembly
  37. Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
  38. Sikkim Legislative Assembly
  39. Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
  40. Telangana Legislative Assembly
  41. Tripura Legislative Assembly
  42. Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  43. Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
  44. West Bengal Legislative Assembly
  45. Delhi Legislative Assembly
  46. Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
  47. Puducherry Legislative Assembly
  48. "List of Presidents of India since India became republic | My India". www.mapsofindia.com. Archived from the original on 28 August 2017. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
  49. "Former Vice Presidents". Vice President of India. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  50. Political Bureau. "Left joins BJP to sing chorus against UPA". The Financial Express. Archived from the original on 15 June 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2008.
  51. "DMK pulls out of UPA govt over Sri Lanka Tamils issue – The Times of India". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 29 May 2013. Retrieved 1 July 2013.
  52. "CAG raps Haryana govt. for showing undue favours to Robert vadra". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 30 August 2015.

Notes
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