Why PMs have a tendency to centralise?
Issues:
- The first president of the Congress party post-Independence, J.B. Kripalani, believed that, as the party head, he was entitled to a seat at the power table within the government. The question of where power resides was only settled by Nehru’s decision to combine the functions of Prime Minister and party president in himself.
- To avoid turf war with the party president. Eg. Indira Gandhi had to do away with the Syndicate to strengthen her own position.
- To avoid Corruption scandals.
Issues:
- While decentralisation causes havoc, political centralisation, too, comes at a cost. Indira’s centralisation unified the opposition and denigrated the Congress party’s institutions, leading to its weakening over time.
- Congress party’s high command culture even today keeps its central leadership disconnected from the various local organisations.
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