1989 general election
Also called: Ninth general election · Topic: Recent Developments in Indian Politics: Coalitions, Mandal and a New Consensus · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 8 "Recent Developments in Indian Politics"
Meaning
The 1989 general election was the ninth Lok Sabha poll. The Congress fell from 415 seats (1984) to 197. No party won a majority, so the result was a hung Lok Sabha: a House where no single party has more than half the seats. This ended the "Congress system", in which the Congress had been the central party, and began an era of coalition and minority governments.
Example
The Congress chose to sit in opposition. The Janata Dal (143 seats) led the National Front, which formed a government under V.P. Singh in December 1989. The BJP (85 seats) and the Left (about 45 seats) supported it from outside.
Don't confuse with
- 1984 general election: in that election, the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi won 415 seats after Indira Gandhi's assassination. 1989 was the fall from that peak.
- 1977 general election: the Congress also lost power in 1977, but the Janata Party then won a majority on its own. In 1989 no party did.