1999 Indian general election

General elections were held in India between 5 September and 3 October 1999, a few months after the Kargil War. Results were announced on 6 October 1999.[1][2]

1999 Indian general election

5 September–3 October 1999

543 of the 545 seats in the Lok Sabha
272 seats needed for a majority
Registered619,536,847
Turnout59.99% (Decrease1.98 pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee Sonia Gandhi Harkishan Singh Surjeet
Party BJP INC CPI(M)
Last election 25.59%, 182 seats 25.82%, 141 seats 5.16%, 32 seats
Seats won 182 114 33
Seat change Steady Decrease 27 Increase1
Popular vote 86,562,209 103,120,330 19,695,767
Percentage 23.75% 28.30% 5.40%
Swing Decrease 1.84 pp Increase 2.48 pp Increase 0.24 pp

Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
BJP

Prime Minister after election

Atal Bihari Vajpayee
BJP

The elections saw the National Democratic Alliance led by the Bharatiya Janata Party win a majority in the Lok Sabha, the first time since 1984 that a party or alliance had won an outright majority and the second since the 1977 elections that a non-Congress coalition had done so. The elections gave Atal Bihari Vajpayee the record of being the first non-Congress Prime Minister to serve a full five-year term. The decisive result also ended the political instability the country had seen since 1996. The Indian National Congress' 114 seat tally was its worst-ever performance in a general election until it surpassed by the 2014 and 2019 general elections.

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 general secretary of the AIADMK J. Jayalalithaa, 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 Jayalalithaa 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.[3]

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.[4]

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 centrist 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.[5]

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.[6][7]

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.[8][9]

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.[10][11]

Results

The results in terms of seats 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".[6]

The seat 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."[12]

PartyVotes%Seats
Indian National Congress103,120,33028.30114
Bharatiya Janata Party86,562,20923.75182
Communist Party of India (Marxist)19,695,7675.4033
Bahujan Samaj Party15,175,8454.1614
Samajwadi Party13,717,0213.7626
Telugu Desam Party13,297,3703.6529
Janata Dal (United)11,282,0843.1021
Rashtriya Janata Dal10,150,4922.797
All India Trinamool Congress9,363,7852.578
Nationalist Congress Party8,260,3112.278
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam7,046,9531.9310
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam6,298,8321.7312
Shiv Sena5,672,4121.5615
Communist Party of India5,395,1191.484
Biju Janata Dal4,378,5361.2010
Janata Dal (Secular)3,332,7020.911
Pattali Makkal Katchi2,377,7410.655
Shiromani Akali Dal2,502,9490.692
Tamil Maanila Congress2,058,6360.560
Indian National Lok Dal2,002,7000.555
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam1,620,5270.444
Revolutionary Socialist Party1,500,8170.413
Rashtriya Lok Dal1,364,0300.372
All India Forward Bloc1,288,0600.352
Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) Liberation1,220,6980.331
Asom Gana Parishad1,182,0610.320
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha974,6090.270
Muslim League Kerala State Committee833,5620.232
Akhil Bharatiya Loktantrik Congress818,7130.222
Bharipa Bahujan Mahasangh692,5590.191
Apna Dal848,6620.230
Bihar People's Party607,8100.170
Puthiya Tamilagam568,1960.160
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference454,4810.124
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen448,1650.121
MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam396,2160.111
Kerala Congress365,3130.101
Kerala Congress (M)357,4020.101
Shiromani Akali Dal (Simranjit Singh Mann)298,8460.081
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya)297,3370.081
Peasants and Workers Party of India282,5830.081
Himachal Vikas Congress264,0020.071
Manipur State Congress Party222,4170.061
Republican Party of India505,6640.140
Ajeya Bharat Party430,2750.120
Sarb Hind Shiromani Akali Dal406,4210.110
Marxist Co-ordination Committee351,8390.100
Tamizhaga Rajiv Congress338,2780.090
United Reservation Movement Council of Assam246,9420.070
Anna Telugu Desam Party244,0450.070
Democratic Bahujan Samaj Morcha236,9620.070
Haryana Vikas Party188,7310.050
Sikkim Democratic Front107,8280.031
Gondwana Ganatantra Party180,8040.050
People's Democratic Front172,4340.050
Janata Party167,6490.050
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (Ulgulan)154,4330.040
Mahabharat People's Party145,1920.040
National Loktantrik Party136,3850.040
Marxist Communist Party of India (S.S. Srivastava)120,2200.030
United Democratic Party107,1970.030
Jharkhand Party (Naren)101,4410.030
Sikkim Sangram Parishad86,4660.020
Kannada Chalavali Vatal Paksha73,0120.020
Sadbhavana Party71,2790.020
Arunachal Congress70,7600.020
NTR Telugu Desam Party (Lakshmi Parvathi)61,6350.020
Jharkhand Party57,6760.020
Champaran Vikas Party56,5610.020
Akhil Bharatiya Sena56,2490.020
United Minorities Front, Assam53,6610.010
Lok Shakti40,9970.010
Bharatiya Republican Paksha40,6360.010
Hill State People's Democratic Party40,3010.010
Bahujan Samaj Party (Ambedkar)39,4940.010
Pragatisheel Manav Samaj Party36,9200.010
Bharatiya Jan Congress34,5520.010
People's Democratic Movement33,1640.010
Bhartiya Jana Congress (Rashtriya)32,8710.010
Pyramid Party of India31,6990.010
Socialist Republican Party30,7790.010
Federal Party of Manipur30,0390.010
Jammu and Kashmir Awami League28,8890.010
Amra Bangali25,4080.010
Tamil Desiyak Katchi25,2090.010
Loktantrik Samajwadi Party23,6300.010
Indian Union Muslim League (IUML)20,5230.010
Bharatiya Jana Sangh19,5960.010
National Minorities Party19,3440.010
Shoshit Samaj Dal19,3300.010
Jammu and Kashmir National Panthers Party15,8880.000
Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha15,5260.000
Uttarakhand Kranti Dal14,3020.000
Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha14,1570.000
Republican Party of India (Athawale)14,0980.000
Majlis Bachao Tahreek13,4610.000
Sirpanch Samaj Party13,4370.000
Chhattisgarhi Samaj Party13,0970.000
Parivartan Samaj Party12,8200.000
United Goans Democratic Party11,1530.000
Jan Satta Party11,0240.000
Savarn Samaj Party10,9060.000
All India Muslim Forum10,0100.000
Maraland Democratic Front8,4440.000
United Tribal Nationalists Liberation Front8,4290.000
United Bodo Nationalist Liberation Front7,6110.000
Bharatiya Samaj Dal7,6070.000
Ambedkar Samaj Party7,2600.000
Akhil Bharatiya Berozgaar Party7,1340.000
Akhil Bartiya Manav Seva Dal6,7610.000
Rajasthan Vikash Party6,2580.000
Awami Party5,0500.000
All India Gareeb Congress4,8610.000
Gareebjan Samaj Party4,7250.000
Garo National Council4,5610.000
Humanist Party of India4,1920.000
Rashtriya Unnatsheel Das4,1040.000
Shoshit Samaj Party4,0800.000
Bharatiya Naujawan Dal3,8950.000
Dhiravida Thelgar Munnetra Kalagam3,7480.000
Maharashtra Rashtravadi Congress3,5790.000
Maharashtra Pradesh Krantikari Party3,5710.000
Bira Oriya Party3,1200.000
Bahujan Kranti Dal (JAI)3,0900.000
All India Rajiv Krantikari Congress2,9930.000
Sanatan Samaj Party2,9320.000
Bhartiya Lok Kalyan Dal2,8960.000
Bharatiya Berozgar Mazdoor Kisan Dal2,7060.000
Tharasu Makkal Mandram2,6750.000
Gujarat Yuva Vikas Party2,2170.000
Bharatiya Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh2,1510.000
Akhil Bhartiya Janata Vikas Party1,9810.000
Bharat Dal1,8320.000
Hind Vikas Party1,6410.000
Tamil Nadu Peasants and Workers Party1,6310.000
Ephraim Union1,5780.000
National Organisation Congress1,5660.000
Manav Kalyan Sangh Dal1,5170.000
Revolutionary Communist Party of India (Rasik Bhatt)1,5160.000
All J & K Peoples Patriotic Front1,5000.000
Kamjor Varg Sangh, Bihar1,4810.000
United Citizens Party1,4140.000
Rashtriya Sawarn Dal1,4070.000
Goa Vikas Party1,4070.000
Akhil Bharatiya Manav Adhikar Dal1,3330.000
Akhil Bhartiya Loktantra Party1,2650.000
Labour and Job Seeker's Party of India1,2270.000
Bahujan Kranti Dal1,2180.000
Secular Party of India1,1800.000
Rashtriya Aikta Manch1,1690.000
Gandhiwadi Rashtriya Congress1,1630.000
Pragati Sheel Party8580.000
Bharat Nav Jyoti Sangh8060.000
All India Minorities Front8050.000
Bahujan Ekta Party (R)7830.000
Bharatiya Momin Front7370.000
Indian National Green Party5940.000
Bharatiya Jan Vikas Party5710.000
Ambedkarbadi Party5430.000
Bharatiya Parivartan Morcha5080.000
Rashtriya Mazdoor Ekta Party4370.000
Christian Mannetra Kazhagam3850.000
Bharatha Makkal Congress3840.000
Rashtriya Dharmanirpeksha Nava Bharat Party3840.000
Kranti Dal3440.000
Bharatiya Muhabbat Party (All India)3380.000
Akhil Bharatiya Shivsena Rashtrawadi2440.000
National Congress Of Youth1790.000
Desh Bhakt Party1730.000
Independents9,996,3862.746
Nominated Anglo-Indians2
Total364,437,294100.00545
Valid votes364,437,29498.05
Invalid/blank votes7,231,8101.95
Total votes371,669,104100.00
Registered voters/turnout619,536,84759.99
Source: ECI

By state

States Party Seats won % of Votes Alliance
Andhra Pradesh Telugu Desam 29 39.85 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 7 9.90 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 5 42.79 Indian National Congress
Independent 0 1.41 None
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen 1 6.05 None
Arunachal Pradesh Indian National Congress 2 56.92 Indian National Congress
Arunachal Congress 0 16.62 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 16.30 National Democratic Alliance
Nationalist Congress Party 0 7.77 None
Others 0 2.39 None
Assam Indian National Congress 10 38.42 Indian National Congress
Bharatiya Janata Party 2 29.84 National Democratic Alliance
Asom Gana Parishad 0 11.92 National Democratic Alliance
Independent 1 9.36 None
Others 1 10.46 None
Bihar Bharatiya Janata Party 23 23.01 National Democratic Alliance
Janata Dal (United) 18 20.77 National Democratic Alliance
Rashtriya Janata Dal 7 28.29 None
Indian National Congress 4 8.81 None
Others 2 19.12 None
Goa Bharatiya Janata Party 2 51.49 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 0 39.01 None
Nationalist Congress Party 0 3.79 None
Gujarat Bharatiya Janata Party 20 52.48 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 6 45.44 None
Independent 0 0.67 None
Nationalist Congress Party 0 0.52 None
Haryana Bharatiya Janata Party 5 29.21 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Lok Dal 5 28.72 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 0 34.93 None
Haryana Vikas Party 0 2.71 None
Others 0 4.43 None
Himachal Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party 3 46.27 National Democratic Alliance
Himachal Vikas Party 1 12.37 None
Indian National Congress 0 39.52 None
Independent 0 0.48 None
Others 0 1.36 None
Jammu & Kashmir Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 4 28.94 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 2 31.56 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 0 17.83 None
Independent 0 9.63 None
Others 0 12.04 None
Karnataka Indian National Congress 18 45.41 Indian National Congress
Bharatiya Janata Party 7 27.19 National Democratic Alliance
Janata Dal (United) 3 13.28 National Democratic Alliance
Janata Dal (Secular) 0 10.85 None
Others 0 3.27 None
Kerala Indian National Congress 8 39.25 Indian National Congress
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 8 27.90 None
Communist Party of India 0 7.57 None
Bharatiya Janata Party 0 6.56 None
Others 4 18.62 None
Madhya Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party 29 46.58 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 11 43.91 None
Bahujan Samaj Party 0 5.23 None
Samajwadi Party 0 1.37 None
Others 0 2.91 None
Maharashtra Shiv Sena 15 16.86 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 13 21.18 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 10 29.71 None
Nationalist Congress Party 6 21.58 None
Others 4 10.67 None
Manipur Manipur State Congress Party 1 24.89 National Democratic Alliance
Nationalist Congress Party 1 13.49
Manipur Peoples Party 0 16.25
Orissa Biju Janata Dal 10 33.00 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 9 24.63 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 2 36.94 None
Punjab
Shiromani Akali Dal 2 25.58 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 1 n/a National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 8 23.13 None
Others 2 n/a None
Rajasthan Bharatiya Janata Party 16 23.01 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 9 17.83 None
Tamil Nadu
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 12 23.1 National Democratic Alliance
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 10 25.7 INC affiliated parties
Pattali Makkal Katchi 5 8.2 National Democratic Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 4 7.1 National Democratic Alliance
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 4 6.0 National Democratic Alliance
Indian National Congress 2 11.1 Indian National Congress
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 1 2.4 None
MGR Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 1 1.5 National Democratic Alliance
Uttar Pradesh
Bharatiya Janata Party 29 27.64 National Democratic Alliance
Bahujan Samaj Party 14 22.08 None
Samajwadi Party 26 24.06 None
Indian National Congress 10 14.72 Indian National Congress
Akhil Bharatiya Lok Tantrik Congress 2 1.51 None
Rashtriya Lok Dal 2 2.49 None
Independent 1 3.62 None
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) 1 0.46 None
West Bengal
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 21 35.57 None
Nationalist Trinamool Congress 8 26.04 National Democratic Alliance
Communist Party of India 3 3.47 None
Indian National Congress 3 13.29 Indian National Congress
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India) 3 4.25 None
All India Forward Bloc 2 3.45 None
Bharatiya Janata Party 2 11.13 National Democratic Alliance

Support for the New Government

Political Party Seats Alliance
Bharatiya Janata Party 182 National Democratic Alliance
Janata Dal (United) 21
Shiv Sena 15
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 12
Biju Janata Dal 10
All India Trinamool Congress 8
Pattali Makkal Katchi 5
Indian National Lok Dal 5
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 4
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 4
Shiromani Akali Dal 2
Rashtriya Lok Dal 2
Telugu Desam Party (Outside Support) 29
Total 299

See also

References

  1. "tribuneindia... Nation". www.tribuneindia.com. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  2. "The 1999 Indian Parliamentary Elections and the New BJP-led Coalition Government". 11 October 2008. Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. BBC World Service (19 April 1999). "Jayalalitha: Actress-turned-politician". BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  4. 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.
  5. Oldenburg, Philip (September 1999). "Appendix 2 : Major Electoral Parties". The Asia Society. Archived from the original on 1 October 2006. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  6. Hardgrave, Bob (1999). "The 1999 Indian Parliamentary Elections and the New BJP-led Coalition Government". Archived from the original on 11 October 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  7. CSIS (1999). "Election-Watcher's Guide – 1 September 1999". South Asia Program. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  8. 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.
  9. Wallace, Paul; Ramashray Roy (2003). India's 1999 Elections and 20th Century Politics. Sage. ISBN 978-0-7619-9598-2.
  10. Electoral Commission of India. "Elections India". Archived from the original on 7 December 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  11. BBC (1999). "Indian Elections 1999". BBC News. Retrieved 11 December 2008.
  12. BBC (8 October 1999). "Indian election: What they said". BBC News. Retrieved 12 December 2008.
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