1991 Indian general election

1991 Indian general election

← 1989 20 May, 12 June and 15 June 1991[1] 19 February 1992 (Punjab) 1996 →
534 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha 268 seats needed for a majority
Registered	498,363,801
Turnout	56.73% ( 5.22pp)
First party Second party   Leader P. V. Narasimha Rao L.K. Advani Party INC(I) BJP Leader's seat Nandyal New Delhi Last election 39.53%, 197 seats 11.36%, 85 seats Seats won 244 120 Seat change 47 35 Popular vote 101,285,692 55,843,074 Percentage 36.40% 20.07% Swing 3.13 pp 8.71 pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader V.P. Singh E. M. S. Namboodiripad Party JD CPI(M) Leader's seat Fatehpur Not running Last election 17.79%, 143 seats 6.55%, 33 seats Seats won 59 35 Seat change 84 2 Popular vote 32,628,400 16,954,797 Percentage 11.73% 6.16% Swing 6.06 pp 0.39 pp
Prime Minister before election Chandra Shekhar SJP Prime Minister after election P. V. Narasimha Rao INC(I)

General elections were held in India on 20 May, 12 June and 15 June 1991 to elect the members of the 10th Lok Sabha, although they were delayed until 19 February 1992 in Punjab.

No party could muster a majority in the Lok Sabha, resulting in the

Elections were not held for the six seats allocated to Jammu and Kashmir, nor for two seats in Bihar and one in Uttar Pradesh. Voter turnout was 57%, the lowest to date in an Indian general election.^[4]

Background

The 1991 elections were held as the previous Lok Sabha, with Chandra Sekhar at its helm had been dissolved just 16 months after government formation. Over 500 million eligible voters were once again given the chance to elect their government.

Mandal-Mandir Issue

While the Mandal Commission report implemented by the VP Singh government gave 27 per cent reservation to the Other Backward Castes (OBCs) in government jobs, it led to widespread violence and protests across the country with many students in and around Delhi even setting themselves on fire. Mandir represented the hallmark of this election, where there was a debate over the disputed Babri Masjid structure at Ayodhya, which the Bharatiya Janata Party was using as its major election manifesto.

The

A day after the first round of polling took place on 20 May, former prime minister

Since the assassination took place after first phase of polling in 211 of 534 constituencies and the balance constituencies went to polls after the assassination, the 1991 results varied greatly between phases.

Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab

76 to 126 people were shot dead during campaign on 17 June 1991 in two attacks by gunmen in Punjab, an area racked by separatist violence. Police reports said the killings, on separate trains, were carried out by Sikh militants.

Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, a total of 19 Lok Sabha seats.^[9] Elections were held in Punjab on 19 February 1992,^[10] where INC won 12 out of 13 seats,^[11] thereby taking their tally in the Lok Sabha up from 232 to 244.

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Results

Anglo-Indians							2
Total		275,206,990	100.00	523
Valid votes		275,206,990	97.35
Invalid/blank votes		7,493,952	2.65
Total votes		282,700,942	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		498,363,801	56.73
Source: ECI

Delayed elections in Punjab

Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Indian National Congress (Indira)	1,486,289	49.27	12
	Bahujan Samaj Party	594,628	19.71	1
	Bharatiya Janata Party	497,999	16.51	0
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	119,902	3.98	0
	Shiromani Akali Dal (Simaranjit Singh Mann)	77,970	2.58	0
	Communist Party of India	47,226	1.57	0
	Janata Dal	39,220	1.30	0
	Janata Party	27,966	0.93	0
	Lokdal	2,839	0.09	0
	Bharatiya Krishi Udyog Sangh	1,349	0.04	0
	Independents	121,009	4.01	0
Total		3,016,397	100.00	13
Valid votes		3,016,397	95.59
Invalid/blank votes		139,126	4.41
Total votes		3,155,523	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		13,169,797	23.96
Source: ECI

Aftermath

Congress(I) was in a position to form government. The persons, mentioned in media, as probable Prime Minister, were:^[12]

• Former Home, and Foreign minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.^[12]
• Chief Minister of Maharashtra Sharad Pawar.^[12]
• Former
  Arjun Singh.^[12]
• Former Finance, and Foreign minister N. D. Tiwari.^[13]

The Congress(I) eventually formed the government under the Prime Ministership of

Nehru-Gandhi family and the first Congress Prime Minister to head a minority government that completed full 5-year term.^[14]

See also

• List of members of the 10th Lok Sabha
• Election Commission of India
• 1989 Indian general election

References

1. ^ "1991 India General (10th Lok Sabha) Elections Results". www.elections.in. Archived from the original on 23 April 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
2. ^ "Narashima Rao becomes butt of 'suitcase' and 'crore' jokes among Congressmen, Opposition". India Today. 15 August 1993. Archived from the original on 16 October 2022. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
3. ^ "JMM MP turns approver in bribery case against Rao". www.rediff.com. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
4. ^ "India: parliamentary elections Lok Sabha, 1991". archive.ipu.org. Archived from the original on 13 June 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
5. ^ ^{a b} "INKredible India: The story of 1991 Lok Sabha election - All you need to know". Zee News. 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
6. ^ "History Revisited: How political parties fared in 1991 Lok Sabha election". Zee News. 6 April 2019. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
7. ^ The congress party did poorly in the pre-assassination constituencies and swept the post-assassination constituencies
8. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
   from the original on 22 September 2021. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
9. ^ "Once Upon a Poll: Tenth Lok Sabha Elections (1991)". The Indian Express. 21 March 2014. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018. Retrieved 7 April 2018.
10. ^ Vinayak, Ramesh (3 September 2013) [February 29, 1992]. "With militant scare and Akali boycott, Punjab elections may be a damp squib". India Today. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
11. ^ "1992 India General Elections Results". www.elections.in. Archived from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 6 September 2020.
12. ^ ^{a b c d} "Rao, Pawar in race for CPP-I leadership". The Indian Express. Madras. 18 June 1991. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
13. ^ "A meeting of hearts". The Indian Express. Madras. 15 June 1991. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
14. ^ "How Shukla saved Rao govt in 1992". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 20 April 2018. Retrieved 19 April 2018.