Atal Bihari Vajpayee

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Lore & Background

General elections were held in India on 16, 22 and 28 February 1998 to elect the members of the twelfth Lok Sabha. The elections were held three years ahead of schedule after the government led by Inder Kumar Gujral collapsed when the Indian National Congress withdrew its support in November 1997. The result was another hung parliament, with no party or alliance able to muster a majority. However, Atal Bihari Vajpayee of the Bharatiya Janata Party was able to form a coalition government led by the National Democratic Alliance with the outside support of the Telugu Desam Party and several other parties with just an MP or two, like the parties from North-Eastern states like Arunachal Congress, Manipur Congress, Sikkim Democratic Front. Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister with support from 272 of 543 MPs. His government collapsed on 17 April 1999 when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrew its support, after Vajpayee refused to meet the demands of its leader J. Jayalalithaa, namely halting the corruption cases against her and the sacking of the Tamil Nadu government led by her bete-noire M. Karunanidhi. This led to fresh elections in 1999.

Reader's Guide

The 1998 general elections were the second consecutive general elections in which the party that received the most votes did not win the most seats. Vajpayee's government was a coalition led by the National Democratic Alliance, with outside support from the Telugu Desam Party and several other small parties. The government lasted from 1998 until 17 April 1999, when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrew its support. Vajpayee refused to meet the demands of its leader J. Jayalalithaa, specifically halting the corruption cases against her and sacking the Tamil Nadu government led by M. Karunanidhi. This collapse triggered fresh elections in 1999.

Did You Know?

• Vajpayee was sworn in as Prime Minister with support from exactly 272 of 543 MPs.
• His government collapsed on 17 April 1999 when the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrew its support.
• The 1998 elections were the second consecutive general elections where the party with the most votes did not win the most seats.
• Vajpayee's coalition government included outside support from the Telugu Desam Party and several parties with just one or two MPs.
• The elections were held three years ahead of schedule after the Indian National Congress withdrew support from the Gujral government in November 1997.