United Progressive Alliance (India)
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United Progressive Alliance
संयुक्त प्रगतिशील गठबंधन |
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|---|---|
| Chairperson | Sonia Gandhi |
| Lok Sabha leader | Mallikarjun Kharge |
| Rajya Sabha leader | Ghulam Nabi Azad |
| Former Prime Minister(s) | Manmohan Singh |
| Founder | Indian National Congress |
| Founded | 2004 |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| No. of members | 10 Parties |
| Seats in Lok Sabha |
48 / 545
Present Members 541 + 1 Speaker
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| Seats in Rajya Sabha |
65 / 245
Present Members 243
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The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a coalition of centre-left political parties in India formed after the 2004 general election. One of the members of UPA is Indian National Congress, whose National President Sonia Gandhi is also the chairperson of the UPA.
The UPA was formed soon after the 2004 general elections when it had become clear that no party had won an absolute majority. The hitherto ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) had won 169 seats in the 543-member 14th Lok Sabha, as opposed the UPA's tally of 222 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 opted to support UPA at various phases of its rule. The UPA did not enjoy a simple majority on its own in the parliament, rather it has relied on the external support to ensure that it enjoys the confidence of the Indian parliament 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 current constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states. However, it was only after the election that 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 fruitful consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59-member Left Front. Hence, government policies were generally perceived as centre-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC.
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