1999 Indian general election
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General Elections were held in India from 5 September to 3 October 1999, a few months after the Kargil War. The 13th Lok Sabha election is of historical importance as it was the first time a united front of parties managed to attain a majority and form a government that lasted a full term of five years, thus ending a period of political instability at the national level that had been characterised by three general elections held in as many years.
Background
1999 Lok Sabha Vote of Confidence
On 17 April 1999, the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) coalition government led by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee failed to win a confidence vote in the Lok Sabha (India's lower house)by a single vote due to the withdrawal of one of the government's coalition partners – the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK). The leader of the AIADMK, J. Jayalalitha, had consistently threatened to withdraw support from the ruling coalition if certain demands were not met, in particular the sacking of the Tamil Nadu government, control of which she had lost three years prior. The BJP accused Jayalalitha of making the demands in order to avoid standing trial for a series of corruption charges, and no agreement between the parties could be reached leading to the government's defeat.[1]
Sonia Gandhi, as leader of the opposition and largest opposition party (Indian National Congress) was unable to form a coalition of parties large enough to secure a working majority in the Lok Sabha. Thus shortly after the no confidence motion, President K. R. Narayanan dissolved the Parliament and called fresh elections. Atal Bihari Vajpayee remained caretaker prime minister till the elections were held later that year.[2]
Campaign
The incumbent Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) went into the election as the head of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), a coalition of over 20 parties. Several other parties in the election not part of the NDA also committed themselves to supporting a BJP led government on matters of confidence. The main opposition league was led by Sonia Gandhi's Indian National Congress, the long-traditional center-left dominant party in India. The opposition coalition comprised far fewer parties, and its alliances were generally weaker than those of the NDA. A so-called "third front" of left-wing, socialist and communist parties was also present, although this was not a strong electoral alliance so much as a loose grouping of parties that shared similar ideological viewpoints and had some inter-party co-operation. There were also nearly one thousand candidates of unaffiliated parties, independent candidates and parties who were unwilling to take part in coalitions that stood in the election.[3]
The campaign coalesced around a few key issues. Sonia Gandhi was a relative newcomer to the INC (having been elected to the presidency in 1998) and her leadership had recently been challenged by Maharastrian INC leader Sharad Pawar, on the grounds of her Italian birth. This led to an underlying crisis within the INC that persisted during the election and was capitalised upon by the BJP, which contrasted the "videsi" (foreign) Gandhi versus the "swadesi" (home-grown) Vajpayee. Another issue running in the BJP's favour was the generally positive view of Vajpayee's handling of the Kargil War, which had ended a few months earlier and had affirmed and strengthened the Indian position in Kashmir. During the past two years India had posted strong economic growth on the back of economic liberalisation and financial reforms, as well as a low rate of inflation and higher rate of industrial expansion. The BJP campaigned strongly on the back of these achievements, as well as cultivating some sympathy for the predicament which had led to the government's downfall.[4][5]
Perhaps most decisive though in the BJP's campaign was the solid alliance it had cultivated and the relatively strong performance it was able to deliver on regional and local issues. The 1991, 1996, and 1998 elections saw a period of consistent growth for the BJP and its allies, based primarily on political expansions in terms of cultivating stronger and broader alliances with other previously unaffiliated parties; and regional expansion which had seen the NDA become competitive and even the largest vote takers in previously Congress dominated areas such as Orissa, Andhra Pradesh and Assam. These final factors were to prove decisive in the election outcome of 1999.[6][7]
The voting was conducted over five days. Elections were conducted in 146 seats on the Eastern coast of the country on 5 September, in 123 Central and Southern seats on 11 September, in 76 Northern and Upper-Central seats on 18 September, in 74 North Western seats on 25 September, and in the 121 Western seats on 3 October. Despite some fears of voter fatigue, electoral turnout was comparable with previous elections at 59.99%. Over 5 million election officials conducted the election over 800,000 polling stations, with vote counting commencing on 6 October.[8][9]
Results
The results were decisively in favour of the BJP and the NDA, with the formal NDA picking up 269 seats, and a further 29 seats taken by the Telugu Desam Party, which gave support to the BJP-led government but was not strictly part of its alliance. The Congress party lost 23 seats, and its two key regional allies performed worse than expected, however it did regain ground in some states such as Uttar Pradesh (where it had been wiped out in 1998, not winning a single seat in the state). The leftist parties’ fortunes continued to decline, with the Communist Party of India dropping to just four seats and losing its official status as a "national party".[10]
The result for the Indian National Congress was the worst in nearly half a century, with party leader Sonia Gandhi calling upon the party to take a frank assessment of itself – "the result calls for introspection, frank assessment and determined action. We will attend to this in the coming days. In the meantime, we accept unhesitatingly the verdict of the people". For the BJP, this marked the first occasion where a non-INC party had secured a stable government coalition. Previous non-INC governing coalitions had been formed in 1977, 1989 and 1996; however none of these administrations had been able to maintain a stable coagulation for more than a couple of years. One Senior BJP figure commented in the aftermath "It will certainly be a government of stability...I expect that Mr Vajpayee, with all his experience, will be able to handle our coalition partners."[11]
Results by state
States
Results by alliance
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| Parties and Alliances | Votes | % | Change | Seats | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National Democratic Alliance (NDA) | 135,103,344 | 37.06 | −0.15 | 270 | +16 | |
| • Bharatiya Janata Party | 86,562,209 | 23.75 | −1.84 | 182 | — | |
| • Janata Dal (United) | 11,282,084 | 3.10 | * | 21 | * | |
| • Shiv Sena | 5,672,412 | 1.56 | −0.21 | 15 | +9 | |
| • Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 6,298,832 | 1.73 | +0.29 | 12 | +6 | |
| • Biju Janata Dal | 4,378,536 | 1.20 | +0.20 | 10 | +1 | |
| • Nationalist Trinamool Congress | 9,363,785 | 2.57 | +0.15 | 8 | +1 | |
| • Pattali Makkal Katchi | 2,377,741 | 0.65 | +0.23 | 5 | — | |
| • Indian National Lok Dal | 2,002,700 | 0.55 | * | 5 | * | |
| • Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 1,620,527 | 0.44 | — | 4 | +1 | |
| • Jammu and Kashmir National Conference | 454,481 | 0.12 | −0.09 | 4 | +1 | |
| • Shiromani Akali Dal | 2,502,949 | 0.69 | −0.12 | 2 | −6 | |
| • Rashtriya Lok Dal | 1,364,030 | 0.37 | * | 2 | * | |
| • Lok Shakti | 40,997 | 0.01 | −0.68 | 0 | −3 | |
| • Asom Gana Parishad | 1,182,061 | 0.32 | −0.03 | 0 | — | |
| Other BJP Affiliated Parties | ||||||
| • Telugu Desam Party | 13,297,370 | 3.65 | +0.88 | 29 | +12 | |
| Indian National Congress | 103,120,330 | 28.30 | +2.48 | 114 | −27 | |
| Other INC Affiliated Parties | 18,753,722 | 5.15 | +4.83 | 21 | +18 | |
| • All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 7,046,953 | 1.93 | +0.10 | 10 | −8 | |
| • Rashtriya Janata Dal | 10,150,492 | 2.79 | +0.01 | 7 | −7 | |
| • United Democratic Front | — | — | — | — | — | |
| • Kerala Congress | 365,313 | 0.10 | +0.01 | 1 | +1 | |
| • Kerala Congress (Mani) | 357,402 | 0.10 | — | 1 | — | |
| • Muslim League Kerala State Committee | 833,562 | 0.23 | +0.01 | 2 | — | |
| Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 19,695,767 | 5.40 | +0.24 | 33 | +1 | |
| Samajwadi Party (Socialist Party) | 13,717,021 | 3.76 | −1.17 | 26 | +6 | |
| Bahujan Samaj Party (Majority Society Party) | 15,175,845 | 4.16 | −0.51 | 14 | +9 | |
| Other Seated Parties | 24,826,373 | 6.79 | * | 30 | * | |
| • Nationalist Congress Party | 8,260,311 | 2.27 | * | 8 | * | |
| • Communist Party of India | 5,395,119 | 1.48 | −0.27 | 4 | −5 | |
| • Revolutionary Socialist Party | 1,500,817 | 0.41 | −0.14 | 3 | −2 | |
| • All India Forward Bloc | 1,288,060 | 0.35 | +0.02 | 2 | — | |
| • Akhil Bharatiya Lok Tantrik Congress | 818,713 | 0.22 | * | 2 | * | |
| • Janata Dal (Secular) | 3,332,702 | 0.91 | * | 1 | * | |
| • Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation | 1,220,698 | 0.33 | +0.08 | 1 | +1 | |
| • Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangha | 692,559 | 0.19 | * | 1 | * | |
| • All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimen | 448,165 | 0.12 | −0.01 | 1 | — | |
| • MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 396,216 | 0.11 | +0.03 | 1 | +1 | |
| • Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann) | 298,846 | 0.08 | >+0.01 | 1 | +1 | |
| • Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | 297,337 | 0.08 | −0.24 | 1 | — | |
| • Peasants and Workers Party of India | 282,583 | 0.08 | +0.01 | 1 | — | |
| • Himachal Vikas Congress | 264,002 | 0.07 | +0.05 | 1 | +1 | |
| • Manipur State Congress Party | 222,417 | 0.06 | +0.01 | 1 | — | |
| • Sikkim Democratic Front | 107,828 | 0.03 | — | 1 | — | |
| Unseated Parties | 10,751,176 | 2.99 | — | 0 | — | |
| Independents | 9,996,386 | 2.74 | +0.37 | 6 | — | |
| Nominated Anglo-Indians | — | — | — | 2 | — | |
| Total | 364,437,294 | 100% | 545 | |||
Source: Electoral Commission of India, Statistical Report on General Elections, 1999 to the 13th Lok Sabha
See also
References
- ^ BBC World Service (19 April 1999). "Jayalalitha: Actress-turned-politician". BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ^ Oldenburg, Philip (September 1999). "The Thirteenth Election of India's Lok Sabha". The Asia Society. Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Oldenburg, Philip (September 1999). "Appendix 2 : Major Electoral Parties". The Asia Society. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Hardgrave, Bob (1999). "The 1999 Indian Parliamentary Elections and the New BJP-led Coalition Government". Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ^ CSIS (1999). "Election-Watcher's Guide – 1 September 1999". South Asia Program. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Heath, Oliver (2006). "Anatomy of the BJP's Rise to Power: Social, Regional and Political Expansion in 1990s". In Zoya Hasan (ed.). Parties and Party Politics in India. Oxford India Paperbacks. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-566833-9.
- ^ Wallace, Paul; Ramashray Roy (2003). India's 1999 Elections and 20th Century Politics. Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-9598-2.
- ^ Electoral Commission of India. "Elections India". Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ BBC (1999). "Indian Elections 1999". BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ^ Hardgrave, Bob (1999). "The 1999 Indian Parliamentary Elections and the New BJP-led Coalition Government". Retrieved 11 December 2008.
- ^ BBC (8 October 1999). "Indian election: What they said". BBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
