11th Lok Sabha 1996
Prime Minister P V Narasimha's Rao Congress (I) government had implemented a series of reforms which opened up the country's economy to foreign investors. Rao's supporter credited him for saving the country's economy and energizing its foreign policy but his government was weak and unsure before elections in April-May.
In May 1995, senior leaders Arjun Singh and Narayan Dutt Tiwari quit the Congress and formed their own party. The Harshad Mehta scandal, the Vohra report on criminalisation of politics, the Jain hawala scandal and the 'Tandoor murder' case had damaged the Rao government's credibility.
The BJP and its allies and the United Front, a coalition comprising the Left Front and the Janata Dal, were the Congress' main rivals in elections.
During the three-week campaign, Rao wooed voters with the economic reforms he had implemented and the BJP with Hindutva and national security.
Voters didn't seem impressed with either party. The BJP won 161 seats and the Congress 140-the halfway-mark in Parliament was 271.
The President invited BJP leader A B Vajpayee to form the government, as he was the chief of the single largest party in Parliament.
Vajpayee took over as Prime Minister on May 16 and tried to get support from regional parties in Parliament. He failed and resigned 13 days later.
Janata Dal leader Deve Gowda formed a United Front coalition government on June 1. His government lasted 18 months.
I K Gujral, Gowda's Foreign Minister, took over as Prime Minister in April 1997 after the Congress agreed to support a new United Front government from the outside. But Gujral was a stopgap arrangement. The country would go to elections again in 1998.
| Dates: 15/05/1996-04/12/1997 |
|
No comments:
Post a Comment