| Speaking at the CII National Conference and Annual Session on "Reforms and Coalitions: Striking a Balance", Mukherjee said coalition politics would be the norm, not for its inherent virtues, but for arithmetical reasons. |
| Mukherjee endorsed the Prime Minister's view that an expanded consensus, especially on economic issues, was required in order to run a coalition. Like the Prime Minister, he also conceded that it was important to narrow the differences on economic issues. |
| Mukherjee said his vision was informed by the fact that even when the Congress got 400 seats in the Lok Sabha, it never got more than 48 per cent of the votes. |
| He warned against political complacency after winning elections. He said decisions should be taken in larger national interest, and not to defend sectarian political positions. |
| Mukherjee gave the examples of the Patents Bill and the Special Economic Zone Bill, which could be passed in the Parliament after meaningful discussions with the constituents of the UPA. |
| He reiterated that with consensus, there could also be unanimity in matters relating to national interests like economy. |
| Responding to a suggestion regarding criminalisation of politics made by the session moderator Rahul Bajaj, Mukherjee, while taking responsibility, said political parties had collectively failed to address the issue of criminalisation of politics. |
| Rahul Bajaj suggested that elections to the Centre and states should be held simultaneously, and not every five years. This, he said, would ensure stability and continuity of policies. |
| He also stressed on the importance of State funding of elections to eliminate corruption, and remarked that political parties should refrain from giving tickets to people with criminal background. |
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