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The United Progressive Alliance (UPA;
Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...
: Saṁyukta Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a
political alliance A parliamentary group, parliamentary caucus or political group is a group consisting of members of different political parties or independent politicians with similar ideologies. Some parliamentary systems allow smaller political parties, who a ...
in
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
led by the
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party got the majority. The UPA subsequently governed India from 2004 until 2014 for two terms before losing power to their main rivals, the
BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...
-led
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
. The UPA used to rule seven
States and union territories of India India is a federalism, federal union comprising 28 federated state, states and 8 union territory, union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 List of districts ...
before it was dissolved to form the
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance of several List of political parties in India, political parties in India led by the country's largest opposition party ...
on 18 July 2023 ahead of the
2024 general election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. * 2024 United Nations Security Council election * 2024 national electoral calendar * 2024 local electo ...
.


History


2004–2008

UPA was formed soon after the
2004 Indian general election General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governmen ...
when no party had won a majority. The then ruling
Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
-led
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
(NDA) won 181 seats 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 Speaker of the Lok Sabha ( IAST: ) is the presiding officer and the highest authority of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of the Parliament of India. The speaker is elected generally in the first meeting of the Lok Sabha following a general ...
), the
Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
with 39 MPs and the
Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party ( BSP) is a political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), along with Religious ...
with 19 MPs were other significant blocks that supported UPA at various times. 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 A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political and/ ...
, the NDA, the Congress government of
P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...
, and earlier governments of
V. P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the Raja Bahadur of Manda. He was educated at Allahabad University and Fergusson College in ...
and
Chandra Shekhar Chandra Shekhar (17 April 1927 – 8 July 2007), also known as Jananayak, was an Indian politician and the prime minister of India, between 10 November 1990 and 21 June 1991. He headed a minority government of a breakaway faction of the Janata ...
. 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 The common minimum programme (CMP) is a document outlining the shared agenda, policy, and priorities of a coalition government in India and Nepal. It provides a framework for government operations, ensuring that all participating parties share a ...
that the alliance hammered out with consultations with
Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu (born Jyotirindra Basu; 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010) was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest ...
and
Harkishan Singh Surjeet Harkishan Singh Surjeet (23 March 1916 – 1 August 2008) was an Indian Communist politician from Punjab, who served as the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 1992 to 2005 and was a member of the party's Polit Bu ...
of the 59-member Left Front. Hence, government policies were generally perceived as centre-left, reflecting the
centrist Centrism is the range of political ideologies that exist between left-wing politics and right-wing politics on the left–right political spectrum. It is associated with moderate politics, including people who strongly support moderate policie ...
policies of the INC. During the tenure of
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
Chief Minister
Madhu Koda Madhu Koda (born 6 January 1971) is an Indian politician who had served as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008 (UPA alliance). He was sworn in as the fifth Chief Minister of Jharkhand on 18 September 2006, and remained in offic ...
, the constituents of the UPA were, by mutual consent, supporting his government. On 22 July 2008, the UPA survived a
vote of confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fit ...
in the parliament brought on by the Left Front withdrawing their support in protest at the
India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement The 123 Agreement signed between the United States of America and India is known as the U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement or Indo-US nuclear deal. The framework for this agreement was a July 18, 2005, joint statement by then Indian Prime Mi ...
. The Congress party and its leaders along with then
Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; ) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India. It was founded on 4 October 1992 by former Janata Dal politician Mulayam Singh Yadav and is headquartered in New Delhi. It is the third-largest political party in ...
leader Amar Singh were accused of a "cash for vote" scam as part of the
cash-for-votes scandal The cash-for-votes scandal was an Indian political scandal allegedly masterminded by then Bharatiya Janata Party politician Sudheendra Kulkarni in which the United Progressive Alliance, the majority-holding parliamentary-party alliance of Ind ...
, in which they were accused of buying votes in Lok Sabha to save the government. 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 won election in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh. However, there were several allegations of scams during its tenure that impacted UPA's image nationwide and the approval rating for the government fell. In addition, many members left for
YSRCP The Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (, YSRCP or YCP), often shortened to simply the YSR Congress Party, is an Indian regional political party based in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The party was initially registered with Election Commissi ...
. 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 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
as it won only 60 seats. In addition, UPA won only one state election and got wiped out from
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
where they previously had 150+ MLAs.


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 Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
and others. More parties joined the alliance and it was stronger than ever. In
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...
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 Haryana () is a States and union territories of India, state located in the northern part of India. It was carved out after the linguistic reorganisation of Punjab, India, Punjab on 1 November 1966. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with les ...
, won in
Jharkhand Jharkhand (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in East India, eastern India. The state shares its border with the states of West Bengal to the east, Chhattisgarh to the west, Uttar Pradesh to the northwest, Bihar to the north ...
and formed a state-level alliance called
Maha Vikas Aghadi The Maha Vikas Aghadi (; abbreviated as MVA), is a state-level political alliance of Centrism, centre to Centre-left politics, centre-left political parties in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is one of the two major political alliances in M ...
to form the government in Maharashtra with
Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Bal Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022 and the Leader of the House, Maharashtra Legislative Ass ...
of
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...
leading the ministry. Shiv Sena had been a member of NDA for twenty five years. It left NDA and joined MVA in 2019.


2020–2023

Since 2020, more parties joined the alliance. The alliance lost the
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
election that everyone expected it to win but in 2022, ruling party
JD(U) Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a social-democratic and secular Indian political party, rooted mainly in eastern and north-eastern India, whose stated goals are promoting social justice and lifting ...
left
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
and rejoined Mahagathbandhan to form government in
Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
. 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 A crisis (: crises; : critical) is any event or period that will lead to an unstable and dangerous situation affecting an individual, group, or all of society. Crises are negative changes in the human or environmental affairs, especially when ...
and split in
Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...
. Moreover, UPA lost in Gujarat assembly elections however, it won the state election in
Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...
. In 2023, UPA again failed in winning elections in the
North-East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, Radius, radially arrayed compass directions (or Azimuth#In navigation, azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, ...
but won the assembly in the very important state of
Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...
. The alliance was rebranded as the
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance of several List of political parties in India, political parties in India led by the country's largest opposition party ...
on 18 July 2023, with many parties joining the newly-formed alliance. The alliance will contest the
2024 Indian general election General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...
, being the primary opposition to the ruling
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
.


Former Members

Current Members at the time of dissolution. Members left before dissolution.


Poll performances


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


Vice presidents


List of prime ministers


Candidates in elections


Lok Sabha general elections

*
2009 Indian general election General elections were held in India in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009 to elect the members of the fifteenth Lok Sabha. With a registered electorate of 716 million and a turnout of 417 million voters, it was the l ...
*
2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...
*
2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...


Electoral performance


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 Somnath Chatterjee (25 July 1929 – 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was t ...
when the leader of opposition,
L. K. Advani Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927) is an Indian politician who served as the Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004. He is one of the co-founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sa ...
questioned the status, timing and schedule of the current session of parliament. 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 Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...
and
war crime A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hostage ...
s had been committed and inflicted on the
Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province, form the pluralit ...
by the
Sri Lanka Army The Sri Lanka Army (; ) is the oldest and largest of the Sri Lanka Armed Forces. The army was officially established as the Ceylon Army in 1949, though the army traces its roots back in 1881 when Ceylon Light Infantry Volunteers was created; ...
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 Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...
, violations of international
International human rights law International human rights law (IHRL) is the body of international law designed to promote human rights on social, regional, and domestic levels. As a form of international law, international human rights law is primarily made up of treaties, ag ...
, violations of
international humanitarian law International humanitarian law (IHL), also referred to as the laws of armed conflict or the laws of war, is the law that regulates the conduct of war (''wikt:jus in bello, jus in bello''). It is a branch of international law that seeks to limit ...
and crime of genocide against the Tamils". Karunanidhi said Parliament should adopt the resolution incorporating these two amendments. The years 2006 to 2008 and 2010 to 2013 were a darkest part of the UPA, due to the failure to prevent several terrorist attacks nationwide. The UPA had repealed the
Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 The Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 (POTA) was an Act of Parliament, Act passed by the Parliament of India by Atal Bihari Bajpayee government in 2002, with the objective of strengthening anti-terrorism operations. The Act was enacted due to ...
in 2004, which softened the stand on acts of terrorism and reduced powers for the law enforcement while dealing with acts of terrorism. The weakened legislation, along with intelligence failures, compromised law enforcement, and political interference, resulted in bombings in 2008 across cities like
Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
,
Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...
,
Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...
and
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
, led by the
Indian Mujahideen Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamist Jihadist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...
under support from Pakistan-based ISI, as well as
2006 Mumbai train bombings The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital. The ...
and
2006 Varanasi bombings In March 2006, the Indian city of Varanasi witnessed a series of bombings in which at least 28 people were reportedly killed and 101 injured. Varanasi is considered holy by Hindus and is one of the oldest living cities in the world. In June ...
. During the November 2008 terror attacks in Mumbai, when 10 Pakistani terrorists from the banned terror outfit
Lashkar-e-Taiba Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) is a Pakistani Islamism, Islamist militant organization driven by a Salafi jihadism, Salafi jihadist ideology. The organisation's primary stated objective is to merge the whole of Kashmir with Pakistan. It was founded in 19 ...
under the support from
Pakistan Army The Pakistan Army (, ), commonly known as the Pak Army (), is the Land warfare, land service branch and the largest component of the Pakistan Armed Forces. The president of Pakistan is the Commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the army. The ...
and ISI, came from the sea route and seized the city from 26 to 29 November 2008, the UPA Government faced immense criticism from citizens and leaders of opposition for intelligence failures as well as not being able to provide quick transportation for NSG commandos, who neutralized 8 of the 10 terrorists at the
Taj Mahal Palace Hotel The Taj Mahal Palace is a heritage, five-star, luxury hotel in the Colaba area of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, situated next to the Gateway of India. Built in the Indo-Saracenic style, it opened in 1903 as the Taj Mahal Hotel and has historically ...
, the
Oberoi Trident The Oberoi Group is a luxury hotel group with its head office in New Delhi, India. Founded in 1934, the company owns and operates 32 luxury hotels and two river cruise ships in 7 countries, primarily under its Oberoi Hotels & Resorts and Triden ...
hotel, and the Chabad House. Furthermore,
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
leader
Digvijaya Singh Digvijaya Singh (born 28 February 1947) is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 2014. He is a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and Ex-General Secretary of the Indian National Congress party's ...
, faced denunciation for launching a book which mentioned that the
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
was somehow linked to the attack, despite credible evidence and confessions from
Ajmal Kasab Muhammad Ajmal Amir Kasab (13 July 1987 – 21 November 2012) was a Pakistani terrorist and a member of the Islamism, Islamist militant organization Lashkar-e-Taiba through which he took part in the 2008 Mumbai attacks, 2008 Mumbai terr ...
, the only gunman who was captured by
Mumbai Police The Greater Mumbai Police (Marathi language, Marathi: बृहन्मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Brihanmumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay City Police'') is the Police, police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a cit ...
; Singh was also publicly criticized for coining the terms Hindu Terror and Saffron Terror. The 2008 attacks in Mumbai subsequently led to resignation of several leaders like
Vilasrao Deshmukh Vilasrao Dagadojirao Deshmukh (26 May 1945 – 14 August 2012) was an Indian politician who served as the 14th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, first term from 18 October 1999 to 16 January 2003 and second term, from 1 November 2004 to 5 De ...
, R. R. Patil and
Shivraj Patil Shivraj Patil (born 12 October 1935) is an Indian politician was the Minister of Home Affairs of India, from 2004 to 2008 and 10th Speaker of the Lok Sabha from 1991 to 1996. He was Governor of the state of Punjab and Administrator of the U ...
, on the grounds of moral responsibility as well as for making insensitive statements in the aftermath. The UPA subsequently faced widespread reprobation for being soft against Pakistan following the attack by avoiding military action against terrorist hideouts, as well as in the aftermath of Pakistan Army beheading soldiers of the Indian Army in 2013. Following the
2011 Mumbai bombings The 2011 Mumbai bombings, also known as 13/7, were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations in Mumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST. The blasts occurred at the Royal Opera House (Mumbai), Opera ...
, which claimed 26 lives and injured 130+, UPA leader and INC General Secretary
Rahul Gandhi Rahul Rajiv Gandhi (; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician. A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he is currently serving as the 12th leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and as the member of the Lok Sabha for Rae Bareli Lok ...
remarked that it was impossible to stop every terror attack, adding that "We work towards defeating it, but it is very difficult to stop all the attacks. Even the United States, they are being attacked in Afghanistan.". His comments were slammed from some quarters of the Indian political spectrum, who criticised him for equating the Mumbai attacks with those in Afghanistan and called it an insult to those killed in the blasts. The ineptness towards national security, the insensitive statements made by Congress leadership following the terror attack, and the inaction against Pakistan sponsored terrorist groups was one of the few factors that led to the UPA suffering a major defeat in the 2014 General elections. The UPA was criticised for its alleged involvement scams such as the Commonwealth Games Scam of 2010, the
2G spectrum case The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) coalition government India were allegedly involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditi ...
, and the
Indian coal allocation scam The coal allocation scam, dubbed in the media as Coalgate, is a major political scandal concerning the Indian government's allocation of the nation's coal deposits to public sector enterprise (PSEs) and private companies. In a draft report issu ...
. 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 Robert Vadra (born 18 April 1969) is an Indian entrepreneur, and the husband of Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi. Early life and family Robert Vadra was born in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, to Rajendra Vadra and Maureen on 18 April 1969. His father's ...
, by UPA-run state governments. The UPA was also rebuked for shielding and not prosecuting RJD leader and Railway Minister during UPA 1
Lalu Prasad Yadav Lalu Prasad (born 11 June 1948) is an Indian politician who served as the chief minister of Bihar from 1990 to 1997 with a brief interruption in 1995 and as the union minister for Railways from 2004 to 2009. He is the founder and president o ...
, for his involvement in several corruption cases, including the fodder scam case as well as creating Jungle Raj in Bihar between 1990 and 2005, which affected economic and social standing of the state. Additionally, the UPA faced serious criticism on mishandling the national carrier
Air India Air India is the flag carrier of India with its main hub at Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi, and secondary hubs at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, alo ...
, which led to its financial crisis in 2006–07, before being sold to the Tata group in 2022. The UPA Government has been severely condemned for mishandling the aftermath of the
2012 Delhi gang rape The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, involved the gang rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbourhood in South Delhi. The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 22-ye ...
case. As per several media houses, the Government had failed to act positively or give credible assurances to the protesters and instead used police force and lathi-charging against protesters, while pushing the media out of the scene, and shutting down metro rail stations. In the aftermath of the incident, while the Government passed an
amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...
of the laws against rape and sexual assault, which ensured stricter punishments for rape convicts, the amendment was criticized and labeled as an eyewash, as the changes in the laws failed to serve as a deterrent to rising incidents of rape. Furthermore, several key suggestions were ignored, including the criminalisation of marital rape and trying military personnel accused of sexual offences under criminal law, which was severely condemned by several women's safety activists. The UPA was also slammed for inaction against political leaders such as
Digvijaya Singh Digvijaya Singh (born 28 February 1947) is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 2014. He is a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and Ex-General Secretary of the Indian National Congress party's ...
and
Mulayam Singh Yadav Mulayam Singh Yadav (22 November 1939 – 10 October 2022) was an Indian politician, a socialism, socialist figure and founder of the Samajwadi Party. Over the course of his political career spanning more than six decades, he served for three t ...
for their comments which promoted misogyny and anti-women views, as well as insensitivity towards rape victims; Yadav was previously condemned for opposing the
Women's Reservation Bill The Constitution (One Hundred and Sixth Amendment) Act, popularly known as the Women's Reservation Bill, 2023 (ISO 15919: ''Nārī Śakti Vandan Adhiniyam''), was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 September 2023 during the special session of Par ...
in March 2010 and warning to withdraw from the alliance, making a sexist comment that "if the bill is passed it will fill Parliament with the kind of women who invite catcalls and whistles". During its tenure between 2004 and 2014, as well as before, the UPA faced widespread condemnation for indulging in appeasement politics for vote-bank of the Muslim community across India. Following the introduction of
Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019 is an Act of the Parliament of India criminalising triple talaq. In August 2017, the Supreme Court of India declared triple talaq, which enables Muslim men to instantly divorce thei ...
, which criminalized
triple talaq Divorce according to Islamic law can occur in a variety of forms, some initiated by a husband and some by a wife. The main categories of Islamic customary law are ''talaq'' ( repudiation), ''khulʿ'' (mutual divorce) and ''faskh'' (dissolution o ...
or instant divorce and replaced the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, several leaders from the UPA opposed the law. In addition, the UPA faced immense criticism for the formation of the WAQF Board to appease the Muslim community, which has been responsible for land grabbing and forcible acquisition of properties nationwide, while evicting the original owners who possessed legal documents of ownership. The UPA, in its opposition, faced immense criticism by the NDA Government for banking frauds, mostly by giving unsecured loans to fugitive businessmen
Vijay Mallya Vijay Vittal Mallya (born 18 December 1955) is an Indian businessman and a former politician. He is the subject of an extradition effort by the Indian Government to return him from the UK to face charges of financial crimes in India. His last ...
,
Nirav Modi Nirav Deepak Modi (born 27 February 1971) is an Indian-born Belgian fugitive who was charged by Interpol and the Government of India for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property, corr ...
and
Mehul Choksi Mehul Chinubhai Choksi (born 5 May 1959) is an Indian-born fugitive and businessman living in Antigua and Barbuda, who is wanted by the Indian judicial authorities for alleged criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishon ...
during the tenure of then Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (26 September 1932 – 26 December 2024) was an Indian economist, bureaucrat, academician, and statesman, who served as the prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He was the fourth longest-serving prime minister after Jaw ...
. Mallya owes money to a consortium of 17 banks, from whom he took loan to fund his now closed
Kingfisher Airlines Kingfisher Airlines Limited was an airline group based in India. It was established in 2003 and started its commercial operations in 2005. Through its parent company United Breweries Group, it had a 50% stake in low-cost carrier Kingfisher Red. ...
, and Modi owes money to the
Punjab National Bank Punjab National Bank alias PNB is an Public sector banks in India, Indian government bank based in New Delhi. It was founded in May 1894 and is the List of banks in India, second-largest public sector bank in India in terms of its business volum ...
. While Mallya and Modi have been apprehended in the Great Britain and awaiting extradition, Choksi acquired citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, with a warrant against him to extradite to India for the bank fraud.


See also

*
Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...
*
Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) is a big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance of several List of political parties in India, political parties in India led by the country's largest opposition party ...
*
Coalition government A coalition government, or coalition cabinet, is a government by political parties that enter into a power-sharing arrangement of the executive. Coalition governments usually occur when no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an ...
*
National Advisory Council The National Advisory Council (NAC) was an advisory body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004 to advise the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson for much of the tenur ...
*
National Democratic Alliance The National Democratic Alliance (NDA; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Rāṣṭrīya Lokatāntrik Gaṭhabandhan'') is an Indian big tent Political group, multi-party political alliance, led by the country's biggest political party, the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...
* Third Front


References


Notes


External links


Common Minimum Programme of the UPA
(PDF; archived 18 April 2013) *Arora, Balveer and Tawa Lama Rewal, Stéphanie
''"Introduction: Contextualizing and Interpreting the 15th Lok Sabha Elections"''
''South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal'', 3, 2009 {{Authority control 2004 establishments in India Manmohan Singh administration Political parties established in 2004 Political parties disestablished in 2023