5 min readJun 12, 2026 06:32 AM IST
First published on: Jun 12, 2026 at 06:24 AM IST
In the Nehruvian phase of Indian democracy, the country had just emerged from colonial rule and was grappling with challenges of an unprecedented scale. Alongside the joy of Independence came Partition and the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. Millions were displaced, communities were torn apart, and the very idea of a united India appeared fragile.
Despite these immense challenges, India did not descend into chaos. Instead, there emerged a remarkable collective resolve to build a democratic nation-state. This does not mean that the Nehru years were free from tensions. Political churnings were already visible in different parts of the country. The demand for linguistic states, for instance, reflected a powerful assertion of cultural identities. Yet Nehru’s political stature and his emphasis on federalism, democratic institutions and national integration created a sense that all regions had a stake in the Indian project. While India’s democratic institutions survived and matured, the broad national consensus that had characterised the early years gradually weakened.
The Congress system began to lose its capacity to represent the full spectrum of regional aspirations. It was in this changing political landscape that regional parties emerged as major actors. It was a sign of democratic deepening. These parties gave political expression to voices and concerns that often remained underrepresented in national politics. They emerged from specific historical, linguistic, cultural and economic contexts and sought to articulate aspirations that were rooted in local realities.
In Tamil Nadu, the Dravidian movement challenged the perceived cultural and political dominance of the Hindi-speaking North. What began as a social and cultural movement eventually transformed into a powerful political force. In Punjab, regional politics reflected concerns relating to language, religion and federal autonomy. In Assam and other northeastern states, regional parties emerged from movements seeking recognition of local identities and greater control over resources. In Jammu and Kashmir, regional political formations sought to navigate the complex relationship between local aspirations and national integration. In Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and West Bengal, regional parties became vehicles for expressing distinctive political and developmental concerns. Perhaps the most important contribution of regional parties has been their role in strengthening Indian federalism. They demonstrated that unity could be built through accommodation and negotiation.
The coalition era that emerged in the late 1980s and continued for much of the next three decades marked the high point of regional political influence. Governments at the Centre depended on the support of regional parties. States acquired greater bargaining power, regional concerns gained national visibility and the federal principle became more meaningful. This compulsion eased once the BJP secured single-party majorities in 2014 and 2019, even as governance continued to run through alliances.
The growing centralisation of political authority, the increasing dominance of national narratives and the expansion of national parties into traditional regional strongholds have raised questions about the future of regional formations. The clearest expressions of this centralisation are fiscal: The GST regime folding much of state taxation into a shared council, and the rising use of cesses and surcharges that sit outside the pool shared with states.
Some observers predict gradual decline of regional formations. Such predictions may be premature. India’s linguistic, cultural, historical and economic differences cannot be wished away. As long as these diversities exist, political formations that articulate regional aspirations will continue to find relevance. It’s true that in places, regionalism has hardened into parochial or nativist politics; yet the broader historical record suggests that regional parties have broadened representation, challenged entrenched elites and brought historically marginalised communities into the political mainstream.
The contemporary political landscape presents new challenges. The sharpest current test is the delimitation exercise. With Lok Sabha seats long frozen on 1971 figures, southern states fear that reapportionment by population would shift weight to the north and erode their influence.
India is not a nation-state in the conventional European sense. It is also a civilisational compact among multiple identities, languages, cultures and histories. Regional parties remind us of this reality. They ensure that the conversation between the Centre and the states remains alive. The challenge today is not to choose between national and regional parties, nor to view them through an adversarial binary. In a country as vast and diverse as India, the vitality of democracy will always depend on the capacity of the national imagination to accommodate regional aspirations. In that sense, the future of regional parties is inseparable from the future of the Idea of India itself.
The writer is a Rajya Sabha MP from Rashtriya Janata Dal
India’s linguistic, cultural, historical and economic differences cannot be wished away. (Illustration: C R Sasikumar) 
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