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United Progressive Alliance
IAST: Sānyūkt Prāgatisheél Gaṭhabaṃdhana
AbbreviationUPA
ChairmanSonia Gandhi
Lok Sabha LeaderAdhir Ranjan Chowdhury
Rajya Sabha LeaderMallikarjun Kharge (Leader of the Opposition)
FounderSonia Gandhi
Founded2004
IdeologyBig tent
Political positionCentre-left
ECI StatusRecognised
Alliance20 parties
Seats in Lok Sabha
91 / 543
Seats in Rajya Sabha
51 / 245
Seats in State Legislative Assemblies
964 / 4,036
Number of states and union territories in government
4 / 31

United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election.[1] The largest party in UPA is Indian National Congress (INC). It formed a government with support from other left-aligned parties in 2004 after no single party could get the majority.

History

2004–2008

UPA was formed soon after the 2004 general elections when no party had won a majority. The then ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won 181 seats[2] 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.[3][4] 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.[5] 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.[6]

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.[7] The Congress party and its leaders along with then SP 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.[8][9][10] During UPA I the economy saw steady economic growth and many people escaped poverty.

2009–2014

In the Indian General Election in 2009, the UPA won 262 seats, of which the INC accounted for 206. During UPA II, the alliance was broiled in scams. This ranged from 2G spectrum to 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 2019 Lok Sabha elections as it won only 60 seats. In addition UPA won only one state election and got wiped out from Andhra Pradesh 0 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 Indian general election when UPA won only 91 seats in the general election and failed to secure the 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 sub 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 UPA in 2019.[11]

2020–present

Since 2020, more parties joined the alliance. The alliance lost the Bihar election that everyone expected it to win. 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.

Membership

Main article: List of United Progressive Alliance members
Party MPs in Lok Sabha MPs in Rajya Sabha MLA in state legislature Base state
INC 53 31 688 National Party
DMK 24 10 139 Tamil Nadu

Puducherry

NCP 5 4 59 National Party
3 RJD - 6 78 Bihar
IUML 3 1 15 Kerala
JKNC 3 0 0 Jammu and Kashmir
7 JMM 1 1 30 Jharkhand
8 MDMK 0 1 0 Tamil Nadu
9 RSP 1 0 0 Kerala
10 VCK 1 0 4 Tamil Nadu
11 GFP 0 0 1 Goa
14 KC 0 0 2 Kerala
15 RMPI 0 0 1 Kerala
16 KC(J) 0 0 1 Kerala
17 NCK 0 0 1 Kerala
20 IND 0 1 26 None
Total 91 50 964 India

Governments

  INC (2)
  Coalition with INC (2)
  Other Parties (AAP (2), AITC, BJD, TRS, YSRCP, CPI(M)) (7)
  President's Rule (2)
  Without Legislature (5)

As of May 2021, the UPA has chief ministers in five states.

List of state governments

S.No State/UT Government Chief minister Party/alliance partner Seats in assembly Last election
Name Party Seats Since 1 2 3 Others IND
1 Chhattisgarh 17 December 2018 Bhupesh Baghel INC 71 17 December 2018 None 71/90 11 December 2018
2 Rajasthan 17 December 2018 Ashok Gehlot INC 108 17 December 2018 None 13 121/200 11 December 2018
3 Jharkhand 28 December 2019 Hemant Soren JMM 30 28 December 2019 INC (18) RJD (1) NCP (1) CPI(M-L) (1) None 51/81 23 December 2019
4 Tamil Nadu 7 May 2021 M.K Stalin DMK 133 7 May 2021 INC (18) VCK (4) CPI (2) CPI (M) (2) None 159/234 6 April 2021

After the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh in 2014, UPA could not regain its power in those two states anymore.

Strength in legislative assemblies

State/UT MLA seats INC UPA Overall seats Chief minister party Ref(s)
Andhra Pradesh 175 0 None
0 / 175
 YSRCP [12]
Arunachal Pradesh 60 4 None
4 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [13]
Assam 126 27 CPI(M)(1)
28 / 126
 BJP (NDA) [14]
Bihar 243 19 None
19 / 243
 JD(U) (NDA) [15]
Chhattisgarh 90 71 None
71 / 90
 INC (UPA) [16]
Goa 40 11 GFP(1)
12 / 40
 BJP (NDA) [17]
Gujarat 182 64 IND(1)
65 / 182
 BJP (NDA) [18]
Haryana 90 31 None
31 / 90
 BJP (NDA) [19]
Himachal Pradesh 68 22 None
22 / 68
 BJP (NDA) [20]
Jharkhand 81 17 JMM(30)
50 / 81
 JMM(UPA) [21]
RJD(1)
NCP(1)
CPI(M-L)(1)
Karnataka 224 69 IND(1)
70 / 224
 BJP (NDA) [22]
Kerala 140 20 IUML(15)
40 / 140
 CPI(M) (LDF) [23]
KC (2)
KC(J)(1)
RMPI(1)
IND(1)
Madhya Pradesh 230 96 None
96 / 230
 BJP (NDA) [24]
Maharashtra 288 44 NCP(53)
97 / 288
 BJP (NDA) [25]
Manipur 60 5 IND (1)
6 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [26]
Meghalaya 60 5 None
0 / 60
 NPP (NDA) [27]
Mizoram 40 5 None
5 / 40
 MNF (NDA) [28]
Nagaland 60 0 None
0 / 60
 NDPP (NDA) [29]
Odisha 147 9 CPI(M) (1)
10 / 147
 BJD [30]
Punjab 117 18 IND (1)
19 / 117
 AAP [31]
Rajasthan 200 108 IND (13)
121 / 200
 INC (UPA) [32]
Sikkim 32 0 None
0 / 32
 SKM (NDA) [33]
Tamil Nadu 234 18 DMK(133)
159 / 234
 DMK(UPA) [34]
VCK(4)
CPI(M)(2)
CPI(2)
Telangana 119 6 None
6 / 119
 TRS [35]
Tripura 60 0 None
0 / 60
 BJP (NDA) [36]
Uttar Pradesh 403 2 None
2 / 403
 BJP (NDA) [37]
Uttarakhand 70 19 None
19 / 70
 BJP (NDA) [38]
West Bengal 294 0 None
0 / 294
 AITC [39]
Delhi 70 0 None
0 / 70
 AAP [40]
Jammu and Kashmir 90 NA [41]
Puducherry 33 2 DMK(6)
8 / 33
 AINRC (NDA) [42]
Total 4126 692 345
1,037 / 4,036
 UPA (5) 31

Strength in legislative Council

State/UT MLA seats INC UPA Overall seats Chief minister party Vacant (If Any) Ref(s)
Andhra Pradesh 58 0 None
0 / 58
 YSR Congress Party 1 [12]
Bihar 75 3
4 / 75
 Janata Dal (United)
CPI (2)
Karnataka 75 26 None
26 / 75
 Bharatiya Janata Party None
Maharashtra 78 9 SS (15)
39 / 78
 Shiv Sena 13
NCP (11)
PWPI (2)
IND (2)
Telangana 40 1 None
1 / 40
 Telangana Rashtra Samithi 6
Uttar Pradesh 100 1 None
1 / 100
 Bharatiya Janata Party 1
Total MLA seats 40 37 77/426 UPA (1) 45 Ref(s)

Sub-Alliance

UPA runs a few Sub-Alliance in an effort to connect to more parties. The goal of the sub-alliance is to get parties which do not want to be in the UPA national level but only in state level :-

Disbanded alliances

Past members

Party State Date Reason for withdrawal
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam Tamil Nadu 2004 Alliance with BJP.
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.
Rashtriya Lok Dal Uttar Pradesh 2014 Decided to leave after 2014 election performance.
Janata Dal (Secular) Karnataka 2019 After JD(S)-INC alliance govt fell in Karnataka, two parties decided to end alliance.
Telugu Desam Party Andhra Pradesh 2019 Decided to leave after 2019 election performance.
Rashtriya Lok Samta Party Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with BSP+ on 29 September 2020.
Vikassheel Insaan Party Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with NDA
Hindustani Awam Morcha Bihar 2020 Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with NDA
Kerala Congress (M) Kerala 2020 Decided to join LDF
Bodoland People's Front Assam 2021 Withdrew due to performance in 2021 Assam election.
All India United Democratic Front Assam 2021 Party was expelled from the alliance.
Rashtriya Janata Dal Bihar 2021 The RJD-Congress alliance ended after seat sharing talks for by-elections failed.[43][44][45]

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[46]
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)[47] 		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

List of chief ministers

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. Chhattisgarh Bhupesh Baghel Baghel I
2. Jharkhand Hemant Soren Soren II
3. Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot Gehlot III
4. Tamil Nadu M. K. Stalin Stalin I

List of deputy chief ministers

Deputy Chief Minister from the United Progressive Alliance
S.No State Name Portrait Cabinet
1. Maharashtra Ajit Pawar Thackeray I

List of party candidates by election

Timeline

2014

2015

  • UPA lost elections in Delhi
  • UPA won elections in Bihar

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.

2021

2022

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.[48]

Karunanidhi had said he felt "let down" by the "lukewarm" response of the Centre and had demanded amendments in the resolution on Sri Lanka.[citation needed]

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.[49]

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.[50]

See also

References

  1. ^ "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.
  2. ^ Small parties, independents in great demand Archived 19 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ Lok Sabha members Archived 31 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ "Congress pins hopes on Jyoti Basu". The Times of India.[dead link‍]
  6. ^ Madhu Koda to be next Jharkhand CM Archived 3 January 2008 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 26 March 2007.
  7. ^ "Indian government survives vote". BBC News. 22 July 2008. Archived from the original on 7 October 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2014.
  8. ^ "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.
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "Cash-for-vote scam 2008: Court orders further probe". indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 9 January 2016. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
  11. ^ ""Wasted 25 Years In Alliance With BJP...," Says Uddhav Thackeray". NDTV.com. 23 January 2022. Retrieved 24 January 2022.
  12. ^ a b Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  13. ^ Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  14. ^ Assam Legislative Assembly
  15. ^ Bihar Legislative Assembly
  16. ^ Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly
  17. ^ Goa Legislative Assembly
  18. ^ Gujarat Legislative Assembly
  19. ^ Haryana Legislative Assembly
  20. ^ Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  21. ^ Jharkhand Legislative Assembly
  22. ^ Karnataka Legislative Assembly
  23. ^ Kerala Legislature
  24. ^ Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  25. ^ Maharashtra Legislative Assembly
  26. ^ Manipur Legislative Assembly
  27. ^ Meghalaya Legislative Assembly
  28. ^ Mizoram Legislative Assembly
  29. ^ Nagaland Legislative Assembly
  30. ^ Odisha Legislative Assembly
  31. ^ Punjab Legislative Assembly
  32. ^ Rajasthan Legislative Assembly
  33. ^ Sikkim Legislative Assembly
  34. ^ Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly
  35. ^ Telangana Legislative Assembly
  36. ^ Tripura Legislative Assembly
  37. ^ Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly
  38. ^ Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly
  39. ^ West Bengal Legislative Assembly
  40. ^ Delhi Legislative Assembly
  41. ^ Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly
  42. ^ Puducherry Legislative Assembly
  43. ^ "Congress to contest all 40 Bihar Lok Sabha seats in 2024 as party snaps ties with RJD". India Today. 22 October 2021. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  44. ^ "Bihar: Congress and RJD end alliance after two decades ahead of bypolls". Free Press Journal. 22 October 2021. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  45. ^ Rishabh Sharma (27 October 2021). "Sonia Gandhi dials Lalu Yadav to patch up strained RJD-Congress alliance in Bihar - India News". Indiatoday.in. Archived from the original on 29 October 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  46. ^ "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.
  47. ^ "Former Vice Presidents". Vice President of India. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  48. ^ 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.
  49. ^ "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.
  50. ^ "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.
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