Shillong: Former Lok Sabha Speaker Purno A Sangma has said that coalition politics has come to stay in the country with people rejecting the single party rule, which gives little importance to regional aspiration.

"The main focus of the single party rule was on national and international issues sidelining regional problems," Sangma told a seminar on "Coalition politics in India" in Shillong yesterday (Nov 27, 2004).

Sangma who represents Tura Lok Sabha seat of Meghalaya said, "After reading the proceedings of Parliament and observing very closely Indian politics, I have now come to the conclusion that coalition politics is going to stay in the country despite its merits and demerits because of its accomodative nature."

"In a single party rule, if anything happens in the country, the Chief Ministers will have to rush to New Delhi, which is unlike coalition politics, where Central leaders rush to the States for anything that happens" Sangma said.

In the coalition politics where there is decentralisation of power, regional parties have become more pronounced, dominant and the regional problems are being attended to besides providing ample scope for checks and balances of power, he explained.

Sangma cited an example of the present Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government at the Centre, where the Government could not hike the price of petroleum without getting "an okay from the Left Parties".