India - 12th Lok Sabha 1998

12th Lok Sabha 1998

The 11th Lok Sabha had a short life, lasting barely one-and-a-half years. The minority Inder Kumar Gujral government, the second by the United Front in 18 months since the May 1996 general elections, collapsed on November 28, 1997 when the Congress, headed by Sitaram Kesri, withdrew support over controversy surrounding involvement in the 1991 assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Fresh elections were announced

The 12th Lok Sabha was constituted on March 10, 1998, and a coalition led by veteran BJP leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in nine days later. The 12th Lok Sabha had a life-span of 413 days, the shortest to date.

The dissolution came in the absence of a viable alternative after the 13-month-old Bharatiya Janata Party-led government was ousted by one vote on April 17. This was the fifth time the Lok Sabha was dissolved before completing its full tenure.

Elections were held for all the seats of the Lok Sabha following the premature dissolution of the Lok Sabha on December 4, 1997. General elections had previously been held in April/May 1996.

Post-poll alliance strategy gave the BJP-led alliance a working majority of some 265 seats. In this context, on March 15, Vajpayee was invited by President Narayanan to form the next Government. On March 19, Vajpayee took the oath as Prime Minister.

Dates: 10/03/1998-26/04/1999

Speaker Balayogi Shri Ganti Mohanachandra 24/3/1998 -20/10/1999 Deputy Speaker Shri P.M.Sayeed 17/12/1998 -26/4/1999 Secretary-General Shri S. Gopalan 10/03/1998-26/04/1999