Indian women await their turn to vote in 1937. Mandated by the Government of India Act, 1935, provincial elections were held under the British Raj in 11 provinces—Assam, the Bombay Presidency, Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces, Madras, the North-West Frontier Province, Orissa, Punjab, Sindh and the United Provinces. The Indian National Congress emerged victorious in eight states, barring Bengal, Punjab and Sindh, which had Muslim majorities. In the subsequent provincial elections, in 1946, the All India Muslim League won a majority of the Muslim seats across the provinces. Citing these victories, the AIML claimed to be the sole representative of Indian Muslims during the run-up to Partition. However, it is worth keeping in mind that although the Government of India Act expanded the electorate by around thirty million people, 87 percent of adult Indians still did not have the right to vote. GETTY IMAGES
Indian women await their turn to vote in 1937. Mandated by the Government of India Act, 1935, provincial elections were held under the British Raj in 11 provinces—Assam, the Bombay Presidency, Bengal, Bihar, the Central Provinces, Madras, the North-West Frontier Province, Orissa, Punjab, Sindh and the United Provinces. The Indian National Congress emerged victorious in eight states, barring Bengal, Punjab and Sindh, which had Muslim majorities. In the subsequent provincial elections, in 1946, the All India Muslim League won a majority of the Muslim seats across the provinces. Citing these victories, the AIML claimed to be the sole representative of Indian Muslims during the run-up to Partition. However, it is worth keeping in mind that although the Government of India Act expanded the electorate by around thirty million people, 87 percent of adult Indians still did not have the right to vote. GETTY IMAGES
01 April, 2019
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"text": "People look at electoral posters on a street in Calcutta, during the lead-up to the 1962 general election. The elections that year took place while India’s diplomatic relationship with China was becoming increasingly tense—the Dalai Lama sought asylum in India, in 1959, and border disputes with China began developing soon after. The campaign was a departure from earlier elections: while the INC had fought these on the legacy of India’s freedom struggle, it now sought to highlight its achievements after Independence. The strategy worked, and the Congress won 361 out of 494 seats, leading to a fourth term for Jawaharlal Nehru as prime minister. The CPI won 29 seats and the Swatantra Party won 18. Shortly after the elections, war broke out with China, and ended in a debacle for India.",
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"text": "Sanjay Singh and VP Singh canvass for votes at an election rally, during the Janata Dal’s 1989 electoral campaign in Uttar Pradesh. In the ninth general election, the National Front—formed by a number of disparate regional parties, with NT Rama Rao as president and VP Singh as convenor—defeated the INC. The popularity of the Congress dipped for a number of reasons, including the Bofors Scandal and India’s failed intervention in the Sri Lankan civil war. The CPI(M)-led Left Front and the BJP supported the National Front from the outside. The Janata Dal had won 143 seats and the BJP won 85 seats. VP Singh became the prime minister, but 16 months after forming the government, the BJP withdrew its support for the National Front. The Lok Sabha was dissolved and the general elections were held once again, in 1991.",
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"text": "A cutout of Rajiv Gandhi marks the probable site of the bomb explosion that killed him. He was assassinated in Tamil Nadu, a day after the start of the first round of polling during the 1991 general election, in May. Turmoil ensued after his assassination. The Congress formed a government, headed by PV Narasimha Rao, with the help of the Left parties. The BJP won 120 seats. However, the decline of the Congress was exacerbated by the Ram Janmabhoomi movement and the fallout of the Mandal Commission. These issues defined the two poles that have come to dominate Indian politics since—a majoritarian appeal based on the consolidations of communal identity, and an appeal that was based on the primacy of caste mobilisation.",
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"text": "HD Deve Gowda, who was sworn in as prime minister in June, at the Red Fort on Independence Day. The eleventh general election resulted in a hung parliament, with neither the Congress nor the BJP secured a large enough mandate. A series of scandals involving PV Narasimha Rao’s government weakened public support for the Congress. After being sworn in as the prime minister in May 1996, Atal Bihari Vajpayee could not cobble together a majority within the required two weeks. His 13-day government resigned before facing a confidence vote. The INC was asked to form the government, but the party declined the offer, and offered support to HD Deve Gowda to become the prime minister. The Janata Dal and a group of other smaller blocs formed the United Front coalition, headed by Gowda, which ruled for the next 18 months. After that arrangement fell apart, IK Gujral was made the new prime minister with the Congress’ support. After three prime ministers in power within two years of the eleventh general election, the country held another general election in 1998.",
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"text": "Atal Bihari Vajpayee, KR Narayanan and members of the cabinet after Vajpayee’s swearing-in ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, on 17 March. In the 1998 elections, Vajpayee became the prime minister again, garnering support from 286 members. The government collapsed, in April 1999, after the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, which had 18 seats, withdrew its support. The government lost the ensuing confidence motion by one vote. This paved the way for another round of elections in 1999, which saw the BJP come to power again. This marked the emergence of the Hindu Right as the direct national challenge, rather than being just one of the many constituents of the opposition, to the Congress.",
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"text": "An Indian worker carries a cutout of India’s opposition leader and Congress president Sonia Gandhi at a billboard artist’s studio in Bangalore. In the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, the INC-led United Progressive Alliance secured a total of 335 out of 543 seats. This was a major surprise, with most analysts having predicted the return of the ruling National Democratic Alliance spearheaded by the BJP. Sonia Gandhi declined the offer to become the prime minister, but suggested Manmohan Singh for the post. The UPA government retained power in the 2009 elections, with Manmohan Singh continuing as the prime minister. The UPA won 262 seats, and, with external support, it secured a majority with 322 out of 543 seats.",
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"text": "|2014| ",
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"text": "A three-dimensional hologram of the BJP’s prime-ministerial candidate Narendra Modi pictured during a live telecast in Mumbai, in April. With 814.5 million eligible voters, it was the largest election to have taken place in the world. The BJP went into the elections under the leadership of Modi, after the RSS intervened to ensure that BJP veterans such as LK Advani and Murli Manohar Joshi were sidelined. The campaign used a mixture of development promises and Hindutva, while dog-whistling the perceived threat from the Muslim minority. This marked a clear departure from the comparatively moderate Hindutva politics of the BJP under Vajpayee. The NDA recorded a phenomenal victory, in which it secured 336 seats. Plagued by a series of corruption scandals such as the 2G spectrum scam, the coal scam and the Commonwealth Games scam, the INC was reduced to only 44 seats. It did not even meet the minimum 10-percent requirement to become the official opposition party.",
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