India's Regional Parties May Be 'Overstated': U.S. Think Tank

On another myth that regional parties rule the region, Vaishnav said currently, chief ministers from the Congress or the BJP call the shots in two-thirds of the largest states - 14 of 22 to be exact, while regional parties control a third.

In the late 1990s, the numbers were completely reversed.

Regional parties' control over states peaked in 1997 and has been on the downswing ever since.

It also commented on the generally accepted view that regional parties are transforming governance and listed the success of several chief ministers from the Congress and BJP.

"For instance, two long-serving BJP chief ministers - Raman Singh of Chhattisgarh (in office for nine years) and Shivraj Singh Chouhan of Madhya Pradesh (seven years) - are tipped to win reelection once again this December. Voters have repeatedly rewarded both national party leaders for engineering economic turnarounds in two chronically poor states," it said.

"Sheila Dikshit, the Congress chief minister of Delhi, has been in office for 14 years. Although Dikshit is locked in a tough reelection fight (in large part due to persistent inflation and high cost of food), she has won three consecutive elections thanks to a track record of improving governance and developing Delhi's infrastructure," it said.

It also noted that increasing the role of regional parties in foreign policy is exaggerated.

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