In what was probably his last formal address to MPs before his term runs out, President A P J Abdul Kalam today reinforced his reputation as an unconventional head of state when he sowed the seed for a political debate on India’s multi-party system by calling for a “a stable two-party system”.

Evidently referring to the establishment of coalition governments which have become the norm, Kalam said, “Many challenges need to be responded to — the emergence of multi-party coalitions as a regular form of government, that need to rapidly evolve as a stable, two-party system.”

The remarks, made in the closing minutes of his address during a function to commemorate the 1857 war of independence, were perhaps intended to capture the essence of emerging political developments: that coalition governments at the Centre come either from the BJP-led NDA or the Congress-led UPA, and are stable.