Indian general election, 2009
Encyclopedia
India held general elections
to the 15th
Lok Sabha
in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. With an electorate of 714 million (larger than the electorate of the European Union
and United States
combined), it was the largest democratic
election
in the world to date.
By constitutional requirement, elections
to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament of India
) must be held every five years, or whenever Parliament is dissolved by the President of India
. The previous election to the 14th Lok Sabha
was conducted in May 2004 and its term would have naturally expired on 1 June 2009. Elections are organized by the Election Commission of India
(ECI) and are normally held in multiple phases to better handle the large electoral base and its security concerns. The 2009 elections were held in five phases. In February 2009, Rs.
1,120 Crores (€
176 million) was budgeted for election expenses by the Indian Parliament.
The average election turnout over all 5 phases was around 59.7%. The results of the election were announced within three days of phase five, on 16 May 2009, following the first past the post system.
The United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) led by the Indian National Congress
formed the government after obtaining the majority of seats based on strong results in Andhra Pradesh
, Kerala
, Maharashtra
, Rajasthan
, Tamil Nadu
, Uttar Pradesh
and West Bengal
. Manmohan Singh
became the first prime minister
since Jawaharlal Nehru
in 1962
to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term. The UPA was able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 members out of 543 members of the House. Though this is less than the 335 members who supported the UPA in the last parliament, UPA alone had a plurality of over 260 seats as opposed to 218 seats in the 14th Lok Sabha. Hence the government appears to be more stable than the previous one. External support came from the Bahujan Samaj Party
(BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP)
, Janata Dal (Secular)
(JD(S)), Rashtriya Janata Dal
(RJD) and other minor parties.
On 22 May 2009, Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan
. As per convention, on 18 May, he had already submitted his resignation as the Prime Minister to President Pratibha Patil
with a recommendation to dissolve the Council of Ministers.
withdrew support of the Indo-US nuclear deal forcing a vote of confidence (which the government won).
, whose recommendations were approved in February 2008.
In the 2009 general elections, 499 out of the total 543 Parliamentary constituencies were newly delimited constituencies. This affected the National Capital Region of Delhi, the Union Territory
of Pondicherry and all the states except Arunachal Pradesh
, Assam
, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand
, Manipur
and Nagaland
.
While comparing election results, it must be borne in mind that in many instances a constituency with the same name may reflect a significantly different population demographic as well as a slightly altered geographical region.
(EVMs), with 1,368,430 voting machines deployed across the country.
around the country - a 20% increase over the number from the 2004 election. This was done mainly to avoid vulnerability to threat and intimidation, to overcome geographical barriers and to reduce the distance travelled by voters.
The CEC announced that the polling station in Banej village in the Una
segment of Junagadh
, Gujarat had the unique claim to being the only polling station in the country that catered to a single elector – Guru Shree Bharatdasji Bapu, a priest of a Shiva temple in the middle of the Gir Forest.
that took effect from February 2008. The process of updating the electoral rolls continued until the last date of filing nominations. 714 million people were eligible to vote in 2009, up 6.4% (43 million) from 2004.
This election also saw the entire country except the states of Assam
, Nagaland
and Jammu & Kashmir use photo electoral rolls. This meant that the photo of each elector was printed on the electoral rolls and this was intended to facilitate easy identification and prevent impersonations.
In addition to the photo electoral rolls, the electors also needed to provide separate photo identification. Those electors who had already been issued Electoral Photo Identification Cards (EPIC) were only permitted to use the EPIC for identification at the polling station. According to the EC, 82% of the country's electors (except those in Assam) have been issued EPIC before the 2009 election was announced.
(CEC), N. Gopalaswami
, had stated on 28 December 2008, that the elections were likely to be held between April and May 2009. He attributed this schedule to the examination period from February to March, making polling places unavailable.
On 31 January 2009, fractures within the Election Commission came to the fore when Gopalaswami recommended to President Pratibha Patil that Election Commissioner Navin Chawla
be sacked for behaving in a partisan manner. This recommendation in itself was controversial, as it was unclear if a CEC had the legal and constitutional right to provide such a unilateral recommendation. Chawla refused to resign as he was expected to take over the post of Chief Election Commissioner a few months later.
This controversy also resulted in speculation that the Election Commission was unable to agree on the actual polling dates, with the incumbent CEC Gopalaswami preferring that at least one phase of elections be held before his retirement on 20 April 2009. Navin Chawla, on the other hand, wanted the election to only start after Gopalaswami retired.
Eventually, on 1 March 2009, President Patil rejected Gopalaswami's recommendation to remove Chawla after the Government advised her to do so. Soon after the above announcement by President Patil, the Election Commissioners got together to announce the details of the general election.
The polling schedule for the 2009 General Elections was announced by the Chief Election Commissioner on 2 March 2009.
Subsequently, the President's House announced on 4 March 2009 that CEC Gopalaswami would retire as scheduled on 20 April 2009 and Navin Chawla would take over as CEC starting 21 April 2009. It was the first time in the history of Indian politics that two different people oversaw different phases of the same election.
(Indian National Congress
(INC))
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed after the 2004 general election
to bring together parties that either allied with the Congress in various states, or were willing to support a Congress-led national government. Though the UPA never enjoyed a clear majority on its own in the 14th Lok Sabha
, it managed to complete its five-year term from 2004 to 2009 by securing outside support from the Left Front
, Samajwadi Party
and Bahujan Samaj Party
at different times during this tenure.
Following the August 2008 confidence vote victory for the current government, a statement by Congress President Sonia Gandhi
caused speculation that the UPA would project Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections. While Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
(DMK) leader M. Karunanidhi
supported Manmohan Singh as the PM candidate, Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) chief Sharad Pawar
tried to project himself as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate as well. On 24 January 2009, Manmohan Singh underwent a cardiac bypass surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
, New Delhi
. Following the surgery, speculation of alternate PM candidates arose both within the Congress and amongst coalition partners. In an attempt to quell such speculations, Sonia Gandhi on 6 February 2009, confirmed that Manmohan Singh would be the UPA's PM candidate by writing so in the Congress party magazine Sandesh. This was the first time in the history of Indian elections that the Congress party had declared its Prime Ministerial candidate prior to the elections.
(Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP))
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was the first large national coalition formed by a national party supported by various regional parties. It was formed after the 1998 general election
and the NDA formed the Government led by BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee
. The government collapsed a few months later, but the NDA returned to power after the 1999 general election
and this time the Vajpayee-led Government completed its full term from 1999 to 2004. Due to the volatile nature of coalitions, NDA won 181 seats after the 2004 election, but due to parties changing alliances, before the 2009 election they had 142 seats.
The main opposition
party, BJP, and its NDA coalition partners announced on 11 December 2007 (more than a year before the election) that their candidate for prime minister would be BJP party leader Advani who was the Leader of the Opposition
at the time. On 23 January 2008, leaders from BJP and other NDA parties convened in the capital to officially elect him as their candidate for the election.
The Left Front
led the formation of the Third Front for the 2009 election. This front was basically a collection of regional political parties who were neither in UPA nor in the NDA. Most of the constituents of this Third Front were those who were part of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA).
The Samajwadi Party
, Rashtriya Janata Dal
and the Lok Janshakti Party
failed to reach seat sharing agreements with the Congress and decided to form a new front, hoping to be kingmakers after the election. Despite announcing this front, the constituent parties continued to declare their support for the UPA.
winning soundtrack "Jai Ho
" from the movie Slumdog Millionaire
, which was used as the official campaign tune by the party. The song title "Jai Ho" translates to 'Let there be victory', and the Congress hoped that the popular song would galvanise the masses during the almost one month long election season.
On 24 March 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi released the party's manifesto for the 2009 election. The party's slogan for the election was Aam Admi Ke Badthe Kadam, Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland which roughly translates to The common man moves forward, And with his every step India prospers. The manifesto highlighted all the achievements of the UPA Government over the last five years in power and identified improving various policies to favour more rural & under-privileged sections of the Indian society.
The Congress campaign ran into trouble when the Election Commission took exception to a full page advertisement on the 2010 Commonwealth Games
taken out in major Delhi newspapers. The EC served notice to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
, the Cabinet Secretary and the Chief Secretary
of Delhi, stating that the advertisement was a clear violation of the model code of conduct since it enumerated the achievements of the UPA Government. The EC has also asked the violators to pay from their own pockets.
On 3 April 2009, BJP released its election manifesto in New Delhi
. The party was taking on the incumbent UPA Government on the three fronts of Good Governance, Development and Security. The manifesto highlighted all the different NDA policies that the UPA reversed over the last five years. The manifesto laid a lot of importance on requiring strong, POTA
-like anti-terrorism laws and vowed to make India a safer place if the BJP is elected. The full text of the manifesto is available at the BJP website.
The BJP campaign faced its biggest controversy when the EC directed the District Magistrate of Pilibhit
to lodge a criminal case against the BJP's candidate Varun Gandhi
for his allegedly inflammatory speech against minority communities made on 7 March 2009. This decision was taken after the EC had earlier issued a notice to Varun Gandhi and the BJP. After reviewing the incident, the EC found Varun Gandhi guilty of violating the model code of conduct by creating feeling of enmity and hatred between different communities and issued a recommendation the BJP to drop him from their list of candidates. The BJP however came out in support of Varun and refused to drop him as a candidate.
(CPI(M)) and the parties associated with the Left Front formed a Third Front. The Third Front tried to contest the election, hoping to create a non-BJP, non-Congress government, by attracting many local and regional parties, that were once with the other two alliances. The Third Front came into the alliance with 83 MPs, and various polling conducted before the election projected the alliance of getting over 100 seats. The CPI(M) created a campaign website hosting its campaign information to attract sympathisers among the netizen
public to vote for the party.
s starting 48 hours before Phase 1 of the election until the end of Phase 5. This was intended to prevent exit polls from earlier phases affecting voter decisions in later phases. The ban ended with the close of Phase 5 voting at 5:00 pm IST on 13 May.
, Orissa
, Bihar
, Jharkhand
and Maharashtra
and between 17 to 19 people were killed in Naxal
attacks. The dead included five poll officials and 10 security personnel, whose families received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh
. Naxals set fire to voting machines, attacked voters, security personnel and polling workers, and destroyed vehicles. According to one news source, "It was apparent that the Naxals had clearly planned to disrupt the polls."
Despite these incidents, the ECI expressed satisfaction about the conduct of the polls due to peaceful polling in many other parts of the country. Initial reports from the ECI place the voter turnout for this phase at approximately 60 percent. This phase of the election was held in 1.85 lakh (185,000) polling stations, serving an electorate of over 14.31 crore (143,100,000) deciding the fate of 1,715 candidates.
The ECI ordered repoll in 46 polling booths across 7 of the states where polling took place in the first phase. These include 29 polling booths in Andhra Pradesh
, 5 each in Assam
and Arunachal Pradesh
, 3 in Nagaland
, 2 in Kerala
and 1 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh
. The repoll in all these polling booths were held on 18 April 2009.
One of the positive stories emerging from this phase of election was from Kandhamal district, where refugees of the 2008 Kandhamal riots came out in huge numbers to exercise their franchise. It is estimated that there was a turnout of 90% amongst Kandhamal refugees and 50% across the entire district. The administration had earlier identified large parts of the area as naxal affected and vulnerable. Hence, the administration had deployed extra security in the area and the ECI has arranged for special transport to shuttle the refugees from the refugee camps to the polling booths. Both of these actions helped achieve the high turnout.
as it was a state holiday on 23 April.
According to the EC, the election in Manipur in Phase 2A was peaceful and witnessed a voter turnout of about 62%. Following the election, though, the Communist Party of India
(CPI) and Manipur People's Party (MPP) have alleged vote rigging by Congress workers during the polls in Phase 2A.The MPP claimed that the Congress workers captured 11 booths in the Andro Assembly segment of Imphal East.
Phase 2B saw polling in 12 states for 140 constituencies – the most in any phase of this election. This phase was largely peaceful and saw about 55% turnout. There were stray incidents of violence in areas with active Naxalite groups in Jharkhand
and Bihar
. The poor turnout in this phase was blamed on a heat wave sweeping the country that took the noon-time temperature on election day up to between 42 and 46 degrees Celsius in various parts of the country. Two polling officials even died due to sun stroke in Orissa
with two also falling ill.
, BJP's Prime Minister candidate L.K. Advani
and former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular)
President Deve Gowda. This phase included voting in Mumbai where the turnout was relatively low. The voter turnout around the country was moderate and this was primarily blamed on the extreme heat on election day. Voting was largely peaceful all across the country. However, Maoist guerrillas exploded a landmine in West Bengal's Purulia district
, injuring a paramilitary trooper.
and former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav
, Rajnath Singh
, Lalu Prasad Yadav
and Farooq Abdullah
. Apart from bomb attacks in West Bengal's Asansol
and Murshidabad
districts that killed one person each and some violence in Rajasthan, this phase was relatively peaceful. This phase saw voting in the nation's capital Delhi where the voter turnout was around 53%, much higher than the previous 2 elections in Delhi.
(UPA) took early lead and maintained it to emerge victorious. Bharatiya Janata Party
(BJP) leader Rajnath Singh
said that the BJP's performance in the election was very unexpected and the success of the NDA that had been hoped for had not materialised. The CPI (M) led third front later said that it was ready to sit in the opposition.
Some opposition parties voiced concerns on the integrity of the electronic voting machines used during the election.
Source: Election Commission of India
United Democratic Front
|-
|align=left|Left Democratic Front
|align=center|4
|
|align=left|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Indian Union Muslim League
|align=center|2
|
|align=left|United Progressive Alliance
United Democratic Front
|-
|align=left|Kerala Congress (Mani)
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.53%
|align=left|United Progressive Alliance
United Democratic Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Madhya Pradesh
(29)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|16
|align=center|43.45%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|12
|align=center|40.14%
|align=left|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bahujan Samaj Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|5.85%
|align=left|Third Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=7 valign=middle|Maharashtra
(48)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|17
|align=center|19.61%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Shiv Sena
|align=center|11
|align=center|17.00%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|9
|align=center|18.17%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Nationalist Congress Party
|align=center|8
|align=center|19.28%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=left|Swabhimani Paksha
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=left|Independent
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Manipur
(2)
|Indian National Congress
|align=center|2
|align=center|42.96%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=2 valign=middle|Meghalaya
(2)
|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|44.84%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|Nationalist Congress Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|18.78%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Mizoram
(1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|65.58%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Nagaland
(1)
|align=left|Nagaland People's Front
|align=center|1
|align=center|69.96%
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Orissa
(21)
|align=left|Biju Janata Dal
|align=center|14
|align=center|37.23%
|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|6
|align=center|32.75%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Communist Party of India
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.57%
|Third Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Punjab
(13)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|8
|align=center|45.23%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Shiromani Akali Dal
|align=center|4
|align=center|33.85%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|10.06%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Rajasthan
(25)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|20
|align=center|47.19%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|4
|align=center|36.57%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Independent
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Sikkim
(1)
|align=left|Sikkim Democratic Front
|align=center|1
|align=center|63.30%
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=7 valign=middle|Tamil Nadu
(39)
|align=left|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|align=center|18
|align=center|25.09%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|align=center|9
|align=center|22.88%
|Third Front
|-
|Indian National Congress
|align=center|8
|align=center|15.03%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|Communist Party of India
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.85%
|Third Front
|-
|Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.20%
|Third Front
|-
|Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|align=center|1
|align=center|3.66%
|Third Front
|-
|Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.42%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Tripura
(2)
|Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|align=center|2
|align=center|61.69%
|Third Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=6 valign=middle|Uttar Pradesh
(80)
|align=left|Samajwadi Party
|align=center|23
|align=center|23.26%
|Fourth Front
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|21
|align=center|18.25%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bahujan Samaj Party
|align=center|20
|align=center|27.42%
|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|10
|align=center|17.50%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Rashtriya Lok Dal
|align=center|5
|
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Independent
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Uttarakhand
(5)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|5
|align=center|43.13%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=5 valign=middle|West Bengal
(42)
|align=left|All India Trinamool Congress
|align=center|19
|align=center|31.17%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Left Front
|align=center|15
|
|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|6
|align=center|13.45%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|6.14%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Socialist Unity Centre of India
|align=center|1
|
|None
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=center valign=middle|Territory
(# of seats)
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=center valign=middle|Party
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=right|Seats won
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=right|% of votes
!style="background-color:#ccccff" align=right|Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Andaman & Nicobar Islands
(1)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|44.21%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Chandigarh
(1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|46.87%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Dadra & Nagar Haveli
(1)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|46.43%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Daman & Diu
(1)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|65.49%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Delhi
(7)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|7
|align=center|57.11%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Lakshadweep
(1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|51.88%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Pondicherry (1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|49.41%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|}
General elections in India
The general elections in India are the elections by which the Indian electorate chooses the various members of the Lok Sabha in the Parliament for the next term of five years...
to the 15th
15th Lok Sabha
Members of the 15th Lok Sabha were elected in 2009 during the General Elections in India.- Important members :* Speaker: Meira Kumar, Indian National Congress, Sasaram, Bihar...
Lok Sabha
Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha or House of the People is the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by direct election under universal adult suffrage. As of 2009, there have been fifteen Lok Sabhas elected by the people of India...
in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009. With an electorate of 714 million (larger than the electorate of the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
and United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
combined), it was the largest democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
election
Election
An election is a formal decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy operates since the 17th century. Elections may fill offices in the legislature, sometimes in the...
in the world to date.
By constitutional requirement, elections
Elections in India
India has a quasi federal government, with elected officials at the federal , state and local levels. On a national level, the head of government, the Prime Minister, is elected directly by the people, through a general election. All members of the federal legislature, the Parliament, are directly...
to the Lok Sabha (lower house of the parliament of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
) must be held every five years, or whenever Parliament is dissolved by the President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
. The previous election to the 14th Lok Sabha
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha was convened after the Indian general election, 2004 held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of First Manmohan Singh Cabinet...
was conducted in May 2004 and its term would have naturally expired on 1 June 2009. Elections are organized by the Election Commission of India
Election Commission of India
The Election Commission of India is an autonomous, quasi-judiciary constitutional body of India. Its mission is to conduct free and fair elections in India...
(ECI) and are normally held in multiple phases to better handle the large electoral base and its security concerns. The 2009 elections were held in five phases. In February 2009, Rs.
Indian rupee
The Indian rupee is the official currency of the Republic of India. The issuance of the currency is controlled by the Reserve Bank of India....
1,120 Crores (€
Euro
The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
176 million) was budgeted for election expenses by the Indian Parliament.
The average election turnout over all 5 phases was around 59.7%. The results of the election were announced within three days of phase five, on 16 May 2009, following the first past the post system.
The United Progressive Alliance
United Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
(UPA) led by the Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
formed the government after obtaining the majority of seats based on strong results in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
, Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
, Rajasthan
Rajasthan
Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with...
, Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
and West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
. Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
became the first prime minister
Prime Minister of India
The Prime Minister of India , as addressed to in the Constitution of India — Prime Minister for the Union, is the chief of government, head of the Council of Ministers and the leader of the majority party in parliament...
since Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru
Jawaharlal Nehru , often referred to with the epithet of Panditji, was an Indian statesman who became the first Prime Minister of independent India and became noted for his “neutralist” policies in foreign affairs. He was also one of the principal leaders of India’s independence movement in the...
in 1962
Indian general election, 1962
India held general elections to the 3rd Lok Sabha. Jawaharlal Nehru had led the Congress to a resounding victory in the 1962 elections with a majority win. During his tenure the Congress leader had also envisaged a new look for the country in the areas of development and growth...
to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term. The UPA was able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 members out of 543 members of the House. Though this is less than the 335 members who supported the UPA in the last parliament, UPA alone had a plurality of over 260 seats as opposed to 218 seats in the 14th Lok Sabha. Hence the government appears to be more stable than the previous one. External support came from the Bahujan Samaj Party
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the...
(BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP)
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...
, Janata Dal (Secular)
Janata Dal (Secular)
The Janata Dal is a Centre-left ಕನ್ನಡ: ಜನತಾ ದಳIndian political party led by former Prime Minister of India H.D. Deve Gowda.The party recognized as state party in the states of Karnataka and Kerala . It was formed in July 1999 by the split of Janata Dal party. It has political presence mainly in...
(JD(S)), Rashtriya Janata Dal
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a political party in India, based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ...
(RJD) and other minor parties.
On 22 May 2009, Manmohan Singh was sworn in as the Prime Minister at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan
Rashtrapati Bhavan
The Rashtrapati Bhavan or The Official Residence of the Head of the State is the official residence of the President of India, located at Raisina hill in New Delhi, India. Until 1950 it was known as "Viceroy's House" and served as the residence of the Viceroy and Governor-General of India...
. As per convention, on 18 May, he had already submitted his resignation as the Prime Minister to President Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...
with a recommendation to dissolve the Council of Ministers.
Background
The election, while following the normal five year cycle, comes after a break in the old UPA alliance after the Left FrontLeft Front
The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...
withdrew support of the Indo-US nuclear deal forcing a vote of confidence (which the government won).
Delimitation
The 2009 elections adopted re-drawn electoral constituencies based on the census, following the 2002 Delimitation Commission of IndiaDelimitation Commission of India
Delimitation commission or Boundary commission of India is a Commission established by Government of India under the provisions of the Delimitation Commission Act. The main task of the commission is to redraw the boundaries of the various assembly and Lok Sabha constituencies based on a recent...
, whose recommendations were approved in February 2008.
In the 2009 general elections, 499 out of the total 543 Parliamentary constituencies were newly delimited constituencies. This affected the National Capital Region of Delhi, the Union Territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of Pondicherry and all the states except Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
, Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
, Manipur
Manipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
and Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
.
While comparing election results, it must be borne in mind that in many instances a constituency with the same name may reflect a significantly different population demographic as well as a slightly altered geographical region.
Electronic voting machines
As in the 2004 election, this election was also conducted completely using electronic voting machinesIndian voting machines
Electronic Voting Machines are beingused in Indian General and State Elections to implement electronic voting in part from 1999 elections and in total since 2002 elections...
(EVMs), with 1,368,430 voting machines deployed across the country.
Polling stations
There were 828,804 polling stationsPolling station
A polling place or polling station is where voters cast their ballots in elections.Since elections generally take place over a one- or two-day span on a periodic basis, often annual or longer, polling places are often located in facilities used for other purposes, such as schools, churches, sports...
around the country - a 20% increase over the number from the 2004 election. This was done mainly to avoid vulnerability to threat and intimidation, to overcome geographical barriers and to reduce the distance travelled by voters.
The CEC announced that the polling station in Banej village in the Una
Una, Gujarat
there is few main village like Sanakhada,Girgadhada,Delwada,Una is a town and a municipality in Junagadh district in Gujarat state of India. - Geography :...
segment of Junagadh
Junagadh (Lok Sabha constituency)
Junagadh Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 26 Lok Sabha constituencies in Gujarat state in western India.-Assembly segments:Presently, Junagadh Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven Vidhan Sabha segments...
, Gujarat had the unique claim to being the only polling station in the country that catered to a single elector – Guru Shree Bharatdasji Bapu, a priest of a Shiva temple in the middle of the Gir Forest.
Electoral rolls
The electoral rolls had to be completely updated because of the delimitationBoundary delimitation
Boundary delimitation, or simply delimitation, is the term used to describe the drawing of boundaries, but is most often used to describe the drawing of electoral boundaries, specifically those of precincts, states, counties or other municipalities...
that took effect from February 2008. The process of updating the electoral rolls continued until the last date of filing nominations. 714 million people were eligible to vote in 2009, up 6.4% (43 million) from 2004.
This election also saw the entire country except the states of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
and Jammu & Kashmir use photo electoral rolls. This meant that the photo of each elector was printed on the electoral rolls and this was intended to facilitate easy identification and prevent impersonations.
In addition to the photo electoral rolls, the electors also needed to provide separate photo identification. Those electors who had already been issued Electoral Photo Identification Cards (EPIC) were only permitted to use the EPIC for identification at the polling station. According to the EC, 82% of the country's electors (except those in Assam) have been issued EPIC before the 2009 election was announced.
Background
The Chief Election Commissioner of IndiaChief Election Commissioner of India
The Chief Election Commissioner heads the Election Commission of India, a body constitutionally empowered to conduct free and fair elections to the national and state legislatures...
(CEC), N. Gopalaswami
N. Gopalaswami
N. Gopalaswami, is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India. He is a 1966 batch Indian Administrative Services officer belonging to Gujarat cadre.He took over the charge of CEC on June 30, 2006 and has retired in April 2009.-Early Life and Education:...
, had stated on 28 December 2008, that the elections were likely to be held between April and May 2009. He attributed this schedule to the examination period from February to March, making polling places unavailable.
On 31 January 2009, fractures within the Election Commission came to the fore when Gopalaswami recommended to President Pratibha Patil that Election Commissioner Navin Chawla
Navin Chawla
Naveen , a controversial Indian bureaucrat , is a retired chief election commissioner of India. As Chief Election Commissioner, Navin Chawla oversaw the last 4 phases of Indian general election to Loksabha in April–May 2009...
be sacked for behaving in a partisan manner. This recommendation in itself was controversial, as it was unclear if a CEC had the legal and constitutional right to provide such a unilateral recommendation. Chawla refused to resign as he was expected to take over the post of Chief Election Commissioner a few months later.
This controversy also resulted in speculation that the Election Commission was unable to agree on the actual polling dates, with the incumbent CEC Gopalaswami preferring that at least one phase of elections be held before his retirement on 20 April 2009. Navin Chawla, on the other hand, wanted the election to only start after Gopalaswami retired.
Eventually, on 1 March 2009, President Patil rejected Gopalaswami's recommendation to remove Chawla after the Government advised her to do so. Soon after the above announcement by President Patil, the Election Commissioners got together to announce the details of the general election.
The polling schedule for the 2009 General Elections was announced by the Chief Election Commissioner on 2 March 2009.
Subsequently, the President's House announced on 4 March 2009 that CEC Gopalaswami would retire as scheduled on 20 April 2009 and Navin Chawla would take over as CEC starting 21 April 2009. It was the first time in the history of Indian politics that two different people oversaw different phases of the same election.
Polling schedule
| States/UTs | Constituencies | Phases | Phase 1 | Phase 2 | Phase 3 | Phase 4 | Phase 5 | Avg Turnout | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16April | Turnout | 22/23April | Turnout | 30April | Turnout | 7May | Turnout | 13May | Turnout | ||||
| Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 1 | 1 | 1 | 64.15% | - | - | - | - | 64.15% | ||||
| Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third... |
42 | 2 | 22 | 69.75% | 20 | 75.50% | - | - | - | 72.40% | |||
| Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by... |
2 | 1 | 2 | 65.00% | - | - | - | - | 65.00% | ||||
| Assam Assam Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country... |
14 | 2 | 3 | 67.61% | 11 | 70.06%Campaigningvarun | - | - | - | 69.68% | |||
| Bihar Bihar Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India.... |
40 | 4 | 13 | 43.21% | 13 | 45.83% | 11 | 100% | 3 | 37.00% | - | 44.27% | |
| Chandigarh Chandigarh Chandigarh is a union territory of India that serves as the capital of two states, Haryana and Punjab. The name Chandigarh translates as "The Fort of Chandi". The name is from an ancient temple called Chandi Mandir, devoted to the Hindu goddess Chandi, in the city... |
1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 65.51% | 65.51% | ||||
| Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000.... |
11 | 1 | 11 | 58.19% | - | - | - | - | 58.19% | ||||
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 73.22% | - | - | 73.22% | ||||
| Daman & Diu | 1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 71.85% | - | - | 71.85% | ||||
| Delhi | 7 | 1 | - | - | - | 7 | 51.79% | - | 51.79% | ||||
| Goa Goa Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its... |
2 | 1 | - | 2 | 55.42% | - | - | - | 55.42% | ||||
| Gujarat | 26 | 1 | - | - | 26 | 47.92% | - | - | 47.92% | ||||
| Haryana Haryana Haryana is a state in India. Historically, it has been a part of the Kuru region in North India. The name Haryana is found mentioned in the 12th century AD by the apabhramsha writer Vibudh Shridhar . It is bordered by Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the north, and by Rajasthan to the west and south... |
10 | 1 | - | - | - | 10 | 67.67% | - | 67.67% | ||||
| Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east... |
4 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 4 | 58.35% | 58.35% | ||||
| Jammu & Kashmir | 6 | 5 | 1 | 49.68% | 1 | 44.73% | 1 | 26.43% | 1 | 25.38% | 2 | 45.63% | 39.66% |
| Jharkhand Jharkhand Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east... |
14 | 2 | 6 | 51.16% | 8 | 48.86% | - | - | - | 49.77% | |||
| Karnataka Karnataka Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava... |
28 | 2 | - | 17 | 60.00% | 11 | 58.48% | - | - | 59.44% | |||
| Kerala Kerala or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions.... |
20 | 1 | 20 | 73.33% | - | - | - | - | 73.33% | ||||
| Lakshadweep Lakshadweep Lakshadweep , formerly known as the Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands, is a group of islands in the Laccadive Sea, 200 to 440 km off the coast of the South West Indian state of Kerala... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 86.10% | - | - | - | - | 86.10% | ||||
| Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city.... |
29 | 2 | - | 13 | 51.39% | 16 | 51.22% | - | - | 51.30% | |||
| Maharashtra Maharashtra Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India... |
48 | 3 | 13 | 55.74% | 25 | 49.18% | 10 | 41.24% | - | - | 49.17% | ||
| Manipur Manipur Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of... |
2 | 2 | 1 | 83.70% | 1 | 75.50% | - | - | - | 79.80% | |||
| Meghalaya Meghalaya Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The... |
2 | 1 | 2 | 64.40% | - | - | - | - | 64.40% | ||||
| Mizoram Mizoram Mizoram is one of the Seven Sister States in North Eastern India, sharing borders with the states of Tripura, Assam, Manipur and with the neighbouring countries of Bangladesh and Burma. Mizoram became the 23rd state of India on 20 February 1987. Its capital is Aizawl. Mizoram is located in the... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 50.93% | - | - | - | - | 50.93% | ||||
| Nagaland Nagaland Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur... |
1 | 1 | 1 | 90.21% | - | - | - | - | 90.21% | ||||
| Orissa Orissa Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April... |
21 | 2 | 10 | 64.90% | 11 | 62.00% | - | - | - | 63.35% | |||
| Pondicherry | 1 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 1 | 79.70% | 79.70% | ||||
| Punjab Punjab (India) Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the... |
13 | 2 | - | - | - | 4 | 72.78% | 9 | 68.13% | 69.58% | |||
| Rajasthan Rajasthan Rājasthān the land of Rajasthanis, , is the largest state of the Republic of India by area. It is located in the northwest of India. It encompasses most of the area of the large, inhospitable Great Indian Desert , which has an edge paralleling the Sutlej-Indus river valley along its border with... |
25 | 1 | - | - | - | 25 | 48.50% | - | 48.50% | ||||
| Sikkim Sikkim Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains... |
1 | 1 | - | - | 1 | 82.00% | - | - | 82.00% | ||||
| Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh... |
39 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 39 | 72.46% | 72.46% | ||||
| Tripura Tripura Tripura is a state in North-East India, with an area of . It is the third smallest state of India, according to area. Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on the north, south, and west. The Indian states of Assam and Mizoram lie to the east. The capital is Agartala and the main languages spoken are... |
2 | 1 | - | 2 | 83.91% | - | - | - | 83.91% | ||||
| Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity... |
80 | 5 | 16 | 45.37% | 17 | 45.48% | 15 | 46.12% | 18 | 48.00% | 14 | 47.55% | 46.45% |
| Uttarakhand Uttarakhand Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship... |
5 | 1 | - | - | - | - | 5 | 53.67% | 53.67% | ||||
| West Bengal West Bengal West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP... |
42 | 3 | - | - | 14 | 80.71% | 17 | 82.60% | 11 | 76.30% | 78.93% | ||
| Total constituencies | 543 | 124 | 59.07% | 141 | 56.66% | 107 | 52.12% | 85 | 52.32% | 86 | 65.74% | 56.97% | |
| Total states/UTs polling on this day | 17 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 9 | ||||||||
| States/UTs | Constituencies | ||||||||||||
| Number of states and UTs polling in single phase | 22 | 164 | |||||||||||
| Number of states and UTs polling in two phases | 8 | 163 | |||||||||||
| Number of states and UTs polling in three phases | 2 | 90 | |||||||||||
| Number of states and UTs polling in four phases | 1 | 40 | |||||||||||
| Number of states and UTs polling in five phases | 2 | 86 | |||||||||||
| Total | 35 | 543 | |||||||||||
| Source: Election Commission of India | |||||||||||||
Coalitions
The 2009 general election saw three main national pre-poll alliances. Given the volatile nature of coalition politics in India, many parties changed alliances before, during and after the elections. The two larger coalitions, UPA and NDA, had clearly indicated their prime ministerial candidates during campaigning for the election. The Third Front announced repeatedly through the campaigning period that their prime ministerial candidate would only be decided after the election results came out. In Indian parliamentary system, the announcement of Prime Ministerial candidates prior to elections is not required.United Progressive Alliance
Prime Minister candidate: Manmohan SinghManmohan Singh
Manmohan Singh is the 13th and current Prime Minister of India. He is the only Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru to return to power after completing a full five-year term. A Sikh, he is the first non-Hindu to occupy the office. Singh is also the 7th Prime Minister belonging to the Indian...
(Indian National Congress
Indian National Congress
The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
(INC))
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was formed after the 2004 general election
Indian general election, 2004
Legislative elections were held in India in four phases between April 20 and May 10, 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha...
to bring together parties that either allied with the Congress in various states, or were willing to support a Congress-led national government. Though the UPA never enjoyed a clear majority on its own in the 14th Lok Sabha
14th Lok Sabha
The 14th Lok Sabha was convened after the Indian general election, 2004 held in four phases during 20 April – 10 May 2004, which led to the formation of First Manmohan Singh Cabinet...
, it managed to complete its five-year term from 2004 to 2009 by securing outside support from the Left Front
Left Front
The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...
, Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...
and Bahujan Samaj Party
Bahujan Samaj Party
The Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the...
at different times during this tenure.
Following the August 2008 confidence vote victory for the current government, a statement by Congress President Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
caused speculation that the UPA would project Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as the Prime Ministerial candidate in the next elections. While Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
(DMK) leader M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
supported Manmohan Singh as the PM candidate, Nationalist Congress Party
Nationalist Congress Party
The Nationalist Congress Party is a centre to centre left political party primarily based in the state of Maharashtra, India.-Background:...
(NCP) chief Sharad Pawar
Sharad Pawar
Sharadchandra Govindrao Pawar , popularly known as SAHEB , is the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress...
tried to project himself as a possible Prime Ministerial candidate as well. On 24 January 2009, Manmohan Singh underwent a cardiac bypass surgery at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
All India Institute of Medical Sciences is a premier medical college and teaching hospital based in New Delhi, India. The Institute operates autonomously under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare ....
, New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. Following the surgery, speculation of alternate PM candidates arose both within the Congress and amongst coalition partners. In an attempt to quell such speculations, Sonia Gandhi on 6 February 2009, confirmed that Manmohan Singh would be the UPA's PM candidate by writing so in the Congress party magazine Sandesh. This was the first time in the history of Indian elections that the Congress party had declared its Prime Ministerial candidate prior to the elections.
National Democratic Alliance
Prime Minister candidate: Lal Krishna AdvaniLal Krishna Advani
Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
(Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP))
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) was the first large national coalition formed by a national party supported by various regional parties. It was formed after the 1998 general election
Indian general election, 1998
General elections were held in India in 1998, after the government elected in 1996 collapsed and the 12th Lok Sabha was convened. New elections were called when Indian National Congress left the United Front government led by I.K...
and the NDA formed the Government led by BJP's Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Atal Bihari Vajpayee is an Indian statesman who served as the tenth Prime Minister of India three times – first for a brief term of 13 days in 1996, and then for two terms from 1998 to 2004. After his first brief period as Prime Minister in 1996, Vajpayee headed a coalition government from...
. The government collapsed a few months later, but the NDA returned to power after the 1999 general election
Indian general election, 1999
General Elections were held in India from September 5 to October 3, 1999, a few months after the Kargil War. The 13th Lok Sabha election is of historical importance as it was the first time a united front of parties managed to attain a majority and form a government that lasted a full term of five...
and this time the Vajpayee-led Government completed its full term from 1999 to 2004. Due to the volatile nature of coalitions, NDA won 181 seats after the 2004 election, but due to parties changing alliances, before the 2009 election they had 142 seats.
The main opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
party, BJP, and its NDA coalition partners announced on 11 December 2007 (more than a year before the election) that their candidate for prime minister would be BJP party leader Advani who was the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (India)
Each House of the Parliament of India has a Leader of the Opposition. While the position also existed in the former Central Legislative Assembly of British India, and holders of it there included Motilal Nehru, it got statutory recognition through the Salary and Allowances of Leaders of Opposition...
at the time. On 23 January 2008, leaders from BJP and other NDA parties convened in the capital to officially elect him as their candidate for the election.
Third Front
Seats: The newly formed alliance carried with them 109 seats before the 2009 election.The Left Front
Left Front
The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...
led the formation of the Third Front for the 2009 election. This front was basically a collection of regional political parties who were neither in UPA nor in the NDA. Most of the constituents of this Third Front were those who were part of the United National Progressive Alliance (UNPA).
Fourth Front
Seats: The newly formed alliance carried with them 64 seats before the 2009 election.The Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party
Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party...
, Rashtriya Janata Dal
Rashtriya Janata Dal
The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a political party in India, based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ...
and the Lok Janshakti Party
Lok Janshakti Party
The Lok Jan Shakti Party is a state political party in the state Bihar , India. It is led by Ram Vilas Paswan. The party was formed in 2000 when Paswan split from Janata Dal . The party has considerable following amongst Dalits in Bihar. The 2004 Lok Sabha elections marked a major break-through for...
failed to reach seat sharing agreements with the Congress and decided to form a new front, hoping to be kingmakers after the election. Despite announcing this front, the constituent parties continued to declare their support for the UPA.
United Progressive Alliance
The Congress party bought the rights for the Oscar81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...
winning soundtrack "Jai Ho
Jai Ho
"Jai Ho" is a Hindi song composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Gulzar, for the 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. It accompanies a choreographed dance sequence at the end credits of the film. The song also features vocals by Mahalakshmi Iyer, Tanvi Shah, Vijay Prakash, and Sukhwinder Singh, who is...
" from the movie Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...
, which was used as the official campaign tune by the party. The song title "Jai Ho" translates to 'Let there be victory', and the Congress hoped that the popular song would galvanise the masses during the almost one month long election season.
On 24 March 2009, Congress President Sonia Gandhi released the party's manifesto for the 2009 election. The party's slogan for the election was Aam Admi Ke Badthe Kadam, Har Kadam Par Bharat Buland which roughly translates to The common man moves forward, And with his every step India prospers. The manifesto highlighted all the achievements of the UPA Government over the last five years in power and identified improving various policies to favour more rural & under-privileged sections of the Indian society.
The Congress campaign ran into trouble when the Election Commission took exception to a full page advertisement on the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010 Commonwealth Games
The 2010 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games, were held in Delhi, India, from 3 to 14 October 2010. A total of 6,081 athletes from 71 Commonwealth nations and dependencies competed in 21 sports and 272 events, making it the largest Commonwealth Games till date...
taken out in major Delhi newspapers. The EC served notice to the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
The Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, a branch of the Government of India, which administers Department of youth affairs and Department of Sports in India. The ministry also overlooks the organisation of Commonwealth 2010 games. As of September 2009, head of the ministry is the Minister of...
, the Cabinet Secretary and the Chief Secretary
Chief Secretary
The Chief Secretary is the title of a senior civil servant in members of the Commonwealth of Nations, and, historically, in the British Empire. Prior to the dissolution of the colonies, the Chief Secretary was the second most important official in a colony of the British Empire after the...
of Delhi, stating that the advertisement was a clear violation of the model code of conduct since it enumerated the achievements of the UPA Government. The EC has also asked the violators to pay from their own pockets.
National Democratic Alliance
To counter the Congress' selection of "Jai Ho" as their official anthem, the BJP coined the phrase Kushal Neta, Nirnayak Sarkaar which translates to "Able leader, decisive government". The BJP hoped to benefit from the fact that they had been consistently projecting one single leader, Advani, as the party's Prime Ministerial candidate for more than one year, while the Congress appeared to have dual power centres (party President Sonia Gandhi and incumbent Prime Minister Manmohan Singh). The BJP intended to use Advani's name & image as the main focus in these elections.On 3 April 2009, BJP released its election manifesto in New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
. The party was taking on the incumbent UPA Government on the three fronts of Good Governance, Development and Security. The manifesto highlighted all the different NDA policies that the UPA reversed over the last five years. The manifesto laid a lot of importance on requiring strong, POTA
Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act
The Prevention of Terrorist Activities Act was an anti-terrorism legislation enacted by the Parliament of India in 2002. The act replaced the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance of 2001 and the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Act , and was supported by the governing National Democratic Alliance...
-like anti-terrorism laws and vowed to make India a safer place if the BJP is elected. The full text of the manifesto is available at the BJP website.
The BJP campaign faced its biggest controversy when the EC directed the District Magistrate of Pilibhit
Pilibhit (Lok Sabha constituency)
Pilibhit Lok Sabha constituency is one of the 80 Lok Sabha constituencies in Uttar Pradesh state in northern India.-History:In the first parliamentary election, the Praja Socialist Party won this seat thrice. Later, in the following elections, Indian National Congress and its participatory...
to lodge a criminal case against the BJP's candidate Varun Gandhi
Varun Gandhi
Feroze Varun Gandhi is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament , a member of the 15th Lok Sabha. He is the son of the late Sanjay Gandhi and Maneka Gandhi and belongs to the Gandhi-Nehru family. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party National Executive and the youngest National...
for his allegedly inflammatory speech against minority communities made on 7 March 2009. This decision was taken after the EC had earlier issued a notice to Varun Gandhi and the BJP. After reviewing the incident, the EC found Varun Gandhi guilty of violating the model code of conduct by creating feeling of enmity and hatred between different communities and issued a recommendation the BJP to drop him from their list of candidates. The BJP however came out in support of Varun and refused to drop him as a candidate.
Third Front
The Communist Party of India (Marxist)Communist Party of India (Marxist)
The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
(CPI(M)) and the parties associated with the Left Front formed a Third Front. The Third Front tried to contest the election, hoping to create a non-BJP, non-Congress government, by attracting many local and regional parties, that were once with the other two alliances. The Third Front came into the alliance with 83 MPs, and various polling conducted before the election projected the alliance of getting over 100 seats. The CPI(M) created a campaign website hosting its campaign information to attract sympathisers among the netizen
Netizen
The term Netizen is a portmanteau of the English words internet and citizen. It is defined as an entity or person actively involved in online communities and a user of the internet, especially an avid one. The term can also imply an interest in improving the internet, especially in regard to open...
public to vote for the party.
Innovative Technology Usage During Campaigning
During this election, political parties used technology in innovative ways to reach out to the voters. Although SMS had been used during prior elections, political parties had realized that the rural and illiterate voters which form a majority couldn't read. Young and technology savvy politicians quickly realized that voice was the way to reach out to the rural community as they could their language. This turned out to be very interesting as two voice companies from India, TringMe and VoiceHawk played the pivotal role in reaching out to the billion people of India.Opinion polling
Most opinion polls conducted by major agencies gave the UPA an edge over the NDA, but none were predicted to get absolute majority. The UPA including the Fourth front was, however, predicted by a few to get seats close to majority. The opinion polls reckoned that other regional parties would play an important role by winning a substantial number of seats. In results where the "Fourth Front" is indicated, the SP, RJD and LJP are not being counted in the UPA figure.Pre-poll surveys
| Agency | Dates | Results |
|---|---|---|
| CNN-IBN–CSDS Centre for the Study of Developing Societies The Centre for the Study of Developing Societies is an Indian social sciences and humanities research institute. It was founded in 1963 by Rajni Kothari and is largely founded by the Indian Council of Social Science Research... |
8 Jan to 15/09 | UPA 215–235, NDA 165–185, Others 125–155 |
| Star STAR TV (Asia) Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels.... –Nielsen ACNielsen ACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, Illinois. As of May 2010, it is part of The Nielsen Company.-History:... |
5 Mar to 17 Mar 2009 | UPA 257 (Congress 144), NDA 184 (BJP 137), Others 96 |
| Star STAR TV (Asia) Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels.... –Nielsen ACNielsen ACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, Illinois. As of May 2010, it is part of The Nielsen Company.-History:... |
26 Mar – 3 Apr 2009 | UPA 203 (Congress 155), NDA 191 (BJP 147), Third Front 104, Fourth Front 39 |
| Outlook India–The Week The Week (Indian magazine) THE WEEK is an Indian weekly newsmagazine published by The Malayala Manorama Co. Ltd. The magazine is published from Kochi and is currently printed in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kottayam. According to the Audit Bureau of Circulations, it is the largest selling English newsmagazine in India... |
March – April 2009 | UPA 234 (Congress 144), NDA 186 (BJP 140), Third Front 112 |
| Times of India The Times of India The Times of India is an Indian English-language daily newspaper. TOI has the largest circulation among all English-language newspaper in the world, across all formats . It is owned and managed by Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd... |
March 2009 | UPA 201 (Congress 146), NDA 195 (BJP 138), Others 147 |
Exit polls
In February 2009, the ECI banned the publishing of all exit pollExit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. Unlike an opinion poll, which asks whom the voter plans to vote for or some similar formulation, an exit poll asks whom the voter actually voted for. A similar poll conducted before actual...
s starting 48 hours before Phase 1 of the election until the end of Phase 5. This was intended to prevent exit polls from earlier phases affecting voter decisions in later phases. The ban ended with the close of Phase 5 voting at 5:00 pm IST on 13 May.
| Agency | Publish Date | Predictions |
|---|---|---|
| CNN-IBN – Dainik Bhaskar Dainik Bhaskar Dainik Bhaskar is an Indian Hindi-language daily newspaper published by D B Corp Ltd.. It was started in year 1958 from Bhopal, the capital city of Madhya Pradesh... |
13 May 2009 | UPA 185–205, NDA 165–185, Third Front 110–130, Fourth Front 25–35 |
| Star STAR TV (Asia) Satellite Television Asian Region is an Asian TV service owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.In 2009, News Corporation restructured STAR Asia into four units – STAR India, STAR Greater China, STAR Select and Fox International Channels.... -Nielsen ACNielsen ACNielsen is a global marketing research firm, with worldwide headquarters in New York City. Regional headquarters for North America are located in Schaumburg, Illinois. As of May 2010, it is part of The Nielsen Company.-History:... |
13 May 2009 | UPA 199, NDA 196, Third Front 100, Fourth Front 36 |
| India TV India TV India TV is a Hindi news channel based in Film City, Noida, India. It is a news channel that has appealed to the Indian masses for its unique style of presentation that is targeted at the common man and not at the elite unlike most news channels... – CVOTER |
13 May 2009 | UPA 189–201, NDA 183–195, Third Front 105–121 |
Phase 1 – 16 April 2009
The first phase of the 2009 election took place on Thursday, 16 April with elections in 124 constituencies across 15 states and 2 union territories. There were incidents of violence in a few places in ChhattisgarhChhattisgarh
Chhattisgarh is a state in Central India, formed when the 16 Chhattisgarhi-speaking South-Eastern districts of Madhya Pradesh gained separate statehood on 1 November 2000....
, Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
, Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
and Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
and between 17 to 19 people were killed in Naxal
Naxalite
The word Naxal, Naxalite or Naksalvadi is a generic term used to refer to various militant Communist groups operating in different parts of India under different organizational envelopes...
attacks. The dead included five poll officials and 10 security personnel, whose families received a compensation of Rs 10 lakh
Lakh
A lakh is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand . It is widely used both in official and other contexts in Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and is often used in Indian English.-Usage:...
. Naxals set fire to voting machines, attacked voters, security personnel and polling workers, and destroyed vehicles. According to one news source, "It was apparent that the Naxals had clearly planned to disrupt the polls."
Despite these incidents, the ECI expressed satisfaction about the conduct of the polls due to peaceful polling in many other parts of the country. Initial reports from the ECI place the voter turnout for this phase at approximately 60 percent. This phase of the election was held in 1.85 lakh (185,000) polling stations, serving an electorate of over 14.31 crore (143,100,000) deciding the fate of 1,715 candidates.
The ECI ordered repoll in 46 polling booths across 7 of the states where polling took place in the first phase. These include 29 polling booths in Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh
Andhra Pradesh , is one of the 28 states of India, situated on the southeastern coast of India. It is India's fourth largest state by area and fifth largest by population. Its capital and largest city by population is Hyderabad.The total GDP of Andhra Pradesh is $100 billion and is ranked third...
, 5 each in Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
and Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
, 3 in Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
, 2 in Kerala
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
and 1 each in Jammu & Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. The repoll in all these polling booths were held on 18 April 2009.
One of the positive stories emerging from this phase of election was from Kandhamal district, where refugees of the 2008 Kandhamal riots came out in huge numbers to exercise their franchise. It is estimated that there was a turnout of 90% amongst Kandhamal refugees and 50% across the entire district. The administration had earlier identified large parts of the area as naxal affected and vulnerable. Hence, the administration had deployed extra security in the area and the ECI has arranged for special transport to shuttle the refugees from the refugee camps to the polling booths. Both of these actions helped achieve the high turnout.
Phase 2 – 22 April 2009 & 23 April 2009
The second phase of the 2009 election was spread across Wednesday, 22 April (Phase 2A) and Thursday, 23 April (Phase 2B). Phase 2A saw election in a single constituency in ManipurManipur
Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...
as it was a state holiday on 23 April.
According to the EC, the election in Manipur in Phase 2A was peaceful and witnessed a voter turnout of about 62%. Following the election, though, the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
(CPI) and Manipur People's Party (MPP) have alleged vote rigging by Congress workers during the polls in Phase 2A.The MPP claimed that the Congress workers captured 11 booths in the Andro Assembly segment of Imphal East.
Phase 2B saw polling in 12 states for 140 constituencies – the most in any phase of this election. This phase was largely peaceful and saw about 55% turnout. There were stray incidents of violence in areas with active Naxalite groups in Jharkhand
Jharkhand
Jharkhand is a state in eastern India. It was carved out of the southern part of Bihar on 15 November 2000. Jharkhand shares its border with the states of Bihar to the north, Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to the west, Orissa to the south, and West Bengal to the east...
and Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. The poor turnout in this phase was blamed on a heat wave sweeping the country that took the noon-time temperature on election day up to between 42 and 46 degrees Celsius in various parts of the country. Two polling officials even died due to sun stroke in Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
with two also falling ill.
Phase 3 – 30 April 2009
The third phase of the 2009 election was held on Thursday, 30 April with elections in 107 constituencies spread across nine states and two union territories. The fate of 1,567 candidates was decided in this phase including those of Congress President Sonia GandhiSonia Gandhi
Sonia Gandhi is an Italian-born Indian politician and the President of the Indian National Congress, one of the major political parties of India. She is the widow of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi...
, BJP's Prime Minister candidate L.K. Advani
Lal Krishna Advani
Lal Kishanchand Advani known as Lal Krishna Advani is a Veteran Indian politician. A former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which is currently the major opposition party in the Indian Parliament. He also served as a Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004...
and former Prime Minister and Janata Dal (Secular)
Janata Dal (Secular)
The Janata Dal is a Centre-left ಕನ್ನಡ: ಜನತಾ ದಳIndian political party led by former Prime Minister of India H.D. Deve Gowda.The party recognized as state party in the states of Karnataka and Kerala . It was formed in July 1999 by the split of Janata Dal party. It has political presence mainly in...
President Deve Gowda. This phase included voting in Mumbai where the turnout was relatively low. The voter turnout around the country was moderate and this was primarily blamed on the extreme heat on election day. Voting was largely peaceful all across the country. However, Maoist guerrillas exploded a landmine in West Bengal's Purulia district
Purulia District
Purulia district is one of the nineteen districts of West Bengal state in eastern India. The town of Purulia is the administrative headquarters of the district.-History:...
, injuring a paramilitary trooper.
Phase 4 – 7 May 2009
The fourth phase of the election was held on Thursday, 7 May with elections for 85 seats across eight states involving 1,315 candidates. The phase's high-profile candidates included External Affairs Minister Pranab MukherjeePranab Mukherjee
Pranab Kumar Mukherjee is the current Finance Minister of India and leader of the current Lok Sabha.Mukherjee is a senior member of the Cabinet Committees on Economic Affairs, Infrastructure, Parliamentary Affairs, Political Affairs, Prices, Security, Unique Identification Authority of India,...
and former chief ministers Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav
Mulayam Singh Yadav in Hindi मुलायम सिंह यादव is an Indian politician and has influence mainly in Uttar Pradesh state of India...
, Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh is a prominent Indian politician and who has served the country in many capacities. He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a Cabinet Minister in the NDA regime and became the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the single largest Opposition party in India...
, Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav
Lalu Prasad Yadav is an Indian politician from Bihar. He was the Minister of Railways from 2004 to 2009 in the ruling United Progressive Alliance government, and the President of the Rashtriya Janata Dal political party...
and Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah
Farooq Abdullah , born 21 October 1937 in Soura, Jammu & Kashmir, India), is the son of Sheikh Abdullah, is a doctor of medicine and has served as chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir on several occasions since 1982. He is married to Molly, a nurse of British origin...
. Apart from bomb attacks in West Bengal's Asansol
Asansol
Asansol is a coal mining and industrial metropolis and one of the busiest commercial centres in India. It is the second largest city and urban agglomeration in West Bengal after Kolkata and the 19th largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is located in the western part of the Burdwan...
and Murshidabad
Murshidabad district
Murshidabad district is a district of West Bengal in eastern India. Situated on the left bank of the river Ganges, the district is very fertile. Covering an area of 5,341 km² and having a population 5.863m it is a densely populated district and the ninth most populous in India...
districts that killed one person each and some violence in Rajasthan, this phase was relatively peaceful. This phase saw voting in the nation's capital Delhi where the voter turnout was around 53%, much higher than the previous 2 elections in Delhi.
Phase 5 – 13 May 2009
The fifth and final phase of the 2009 election was held on Wednesday, 13 May with voting across seven states and two union territories for 86 constituencies. Overall the turnout was 62%. Numerous cases of voter omissions were reported in Tamil Nadu which had 39 seats up for grab. In Jammu & Kashmir, two polling stations could not be reached by the polling officials due to extreme snow which prevented their helicopters from landing at the site. The polling officials were forced to trek through deep snow to reach the polling stations and polls took place 2 days later on 15 May in these two stations. A few cases of violence were also reported in this phase. One DMK official was stabbed to death in Tamil Nadu in a clash between the political parties and another person was killed in West Bengal in clashes between Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) party workers.Result
Vote counting took place on 16 May and the result were declared the same day. The EVMs were localized to 1,080 centers across the country and counting started at 08:00 hrs. The United Progressive AllianceUnited Progressive Alliance
The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...
(UPA) took early lead and maintained it to emerge victorious. Bharatiya Janata Party
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party ,; translation: Indian People's Party) is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Indian National Congress. Established in 1980, it is India's second largest political party in terms of representation in the parliament...
(BJP) leader Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh
Rajnath Singh is a prominent Indian politician and who has served the country in many capacities. He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, a Cabinet Minister in the NDA regime and became the National President of the Bharatiya Janata Party, which is the single largest Opposition party in India...
said that the BJP's performance in the election was very unexpected and the success of the NDA that had been hoped for had not materialised. The CPI (M) led third front later said that it was ready to sit in the opposition.
Some opposition parties voiced concerns on the integrity of the electronic voting machines used during the election.
Result by states and territories
The UPA carried 18 states, while the NDA and the Third Front carried 8 and 2 respectively.Source: Election Commission of India
United Democratic Front
United Democratic Front (India)
United Democratic Front is an alliance of political parties of Kerala state in India. This alliance is led by the Indian National Congress....
|-
|align=left|Left Democratic Front
|align=center|4
|
|align=left|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Indian Union Muslim League
|align=center|2
|
|align=left|United Progressive Alliance
United Democratic Front
|-
|align=left|Kerala Congress (Mani)
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.53%
|align=left|United Progressive Alliance
United Democratic Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Madhya Pradesh
Indian general election in Madhya Pradesh, 2009
In the Indian general election, 2009 for Madhya Pradesh polls were held for 29 seats in the state. The major two contenders in the state were Bharatiya Janta Party and the Indian National Congress...
(29)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|16
|align=center|43.45%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|12
|align=center|40.14%
|align=left|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bahujan Samaj Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|5.85%
|align=left|Third Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=7 valign=middle|Maharashtra
Indian general election in Maharashtra, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Maharashtra were held for 48 seats with the state going to polls in the first three phases of the general elections. The major contenders in the state were the United Progressive Alliance and National Democratic Alliance...
(48)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|17
|align=center|19.61%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Shiv Sena
|align=center|11
|align=center|17.00%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|9
|align=center|18.17%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Nationalist Congress Party
|align=center|8
|align=center|19.28%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=left|Swabhimani Paksha
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=left|Independent
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Manipur
Indian general election in Manipur, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Manipur, occurred for 2 seats in the state.Candidates of the Indian National Congress triumphed in the election to both the Parliamentary constituencies with Dr Thokchom Meinya Singh retaining the Inner seat and Thangso Baite wresting the Outer Parliamentary...
(2)
|Indian National Congress
|align=center|2
|align=center|42.96%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=2 valign=middle|Meghalaya
Indian general election in Meghalaya, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Meghalaya, occurred for 2 seats in the state....
(2)
|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|44.84%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|Nationalist Congress Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|18.78%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Mizoram
Indian general election in Mizoram, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Mizoram, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|65.58%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Nagaland
Indian general election in Nagaland, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Nagaland, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Nagaland People's Front
|align=center|1
|align=center|69.96%
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Orissa
Indian general election in Orissa, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Orissa were held for 21 seats with the state going to polls in the first two phases of the general elections. The major contenders in the state were the Third Front, Indian National Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party...
(21)
|align=left|Biju Janata Dal
|align=center|14
|align=center|37.23%
|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|6
|align=center|32.75%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Communist Party of India
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.57%
|Third Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Punjab
Indian general election in Punjab, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Punjab, occurred for 13 seats in the state. Punjab went for the Lok sabha elections in two phases-7 may and 13may. There were 13 parliament seats from Punjab and the elections were held for 4 seats on the 7th of may and remaining 9 on the 13 of may.It was the...
(13)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|8
|align=center|45.23%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Shiromani Akali Dal
|align=center|4
|align=center|33.85%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|10.06%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=3 valign=middle|Rajasthan
Indian general election in Rajasthan, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Rajasthan, occurred for 25 seats in the state....
(25)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|20
|align=center|47.19%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|4
|align=center|36.57%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Independent
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Sikkim
Indian general election in Sikkim, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Sikkim, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Sikkim Democratic Front
|align=center|1
|align=center|63.30%
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=7 valign=middle|Tamil Nadu
Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 polls in Tamil Nadu was held for 39 seats in the state. There was a radical change in the alliances in this election compared to the last election, reminiscent of the 1999 election in Tamil Nadu...
(39)
|align=left|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|align=center|18
|align=center|25.09%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|align=center|9
|align=center|22.88%
|Third Front
|-
|Indian National Congress
|align=center|8
|align=center|15.03%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|Communist Party of India
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.85%
|Third Front
|-
|Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.20%
|Third Front
|-
|Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
|align=center|1
|align=center|3.66%
|Third Front
|-
|Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi
|align=center|1
|align=center|2.42%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Tripura
Indian general election in Tripura, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Tripura, occurred for 2 seats in the state....
(2)
|Communist Party of India (Marxist)
|align=center|2
|align=center|61.69%
|Third Front
|-
|align=center rowspan=6 valign=middle|Uttar Pradesh
Indian general election in Uttar Pradesh, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Uttar Pradesh were held for 80 seats with the state going to polls across all the five phases of the general elections. The major contenders in the state were the National Democratic Alliance , Indian National Congress, Bahujan Samaj Party and the Fourth Front...
(80)
|align=left|Samajwadi Party
|align=center|23
|align=center|23.26%
|Fourth Front
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|21
|align=center|18.25%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bahujan Samaj Party
|align=center|20
|align=center|27.42%
|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|10
|align=center|17.50%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Rashtriya Lok Dal
|align=center|5
|
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Independent
|align=center|1
|
|None
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Uttarakhand
Indian general election in Uttarakhand, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Uttarakhand, occurred for 5 seats in the state....
(5)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|5
|align=center|43.13%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=5 valign=middle|West Bengal
Indian general election in West Bengal, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in West Bengal were held for 42 seats with the state going to polls in the last three phases of the general elections. There was pre-poll alliance in the state between the Indian National Congress and the Trinamool Congress against the Left Front...
(42)
|align=left|All India Trinamool Congress
|align=center|19
|align=center|31.17%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Left Front
|align=center|15
|
|Third Front
|-
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|6
|align=center|13.45%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|6.14%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=left|Socialist Unity Centre of India
|align=center|1
|
|None
|- bgcolor="#ccccff"
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=center valign=middle|Territory
(# of seats)
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=center valign=middle|Party
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=right|Seats won
! style="background-color:#ccccff" align=right|% of votes
!style="background-color:#ccccff" align=right|Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Andaman & Nicobar Islands
Indian general election in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|44.21%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Chandigarh
Indian general election in Chandigarh, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Chandigarh, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|46.87%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Indian general election in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|46.43%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Daman & Diu
Indian general election in Daman & Diu, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Daman and Diu, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Bharatiya Janata Party
|align=center|1
|align=center|65.49%
|National Democratic Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Delhi
Indian general election in National Capital Territory of Delhi, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Delhi, occurred for 7 seats in the state.-List of Elected MPs:...
(7)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|7
|align=center|57.11%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Lakshadweep
Indian general election in Lakshadweep, 2009
The Indian general election, 2009 in Lakshadweep, occurred for 1 seat in the state....
(1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|51.88%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|align=center rowspan=1 valign=middle|Pondicherry (1)
|align=left|Indian National Congress
|align=center|1
|align=center|49.41%
|United Progressive Alliance
|-
|}
MPs with pending criminal charges
The 15th Lok Sabha saw many MPs with pending criminal charges. At least 150 MPs have criminal cases against them, with 73 serious cases ranging from rape to murder. While BJP has 42 MPs with criminal charges, Congress has 41. From UP, out of 80 seats, 31 have criminal cases. The previous Lok Sabha had 128 MPs with criminal cases.Analysis
This election defied the predictions made by pre-poll predictions and exit polls and gave a clear mandate to the incumbent Congress government. According to many analysts after the election, many factors can be attributed for a landslide. According to the National Election Study 2009, published in the The Hindu newspaper after the election, the victory to the UPA government is attributed to saturation of caste-basedCaste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
identity politics, the focus on good governance and BJP's limitations, gave Congress the edge. Another factor is the vote-splitting by the Third Front, especially the BSP and MNS in Maharastra, which resulted in the Indian National Congress gaining many of its seats without getting a majority in the corresponding consituency. Many also attributed the victory to the campaigning of Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi
Rahul Gandhi is an Indian politician and member of the parliament of India, representing the Amethi constituency. His political party is the Indian National Congress.-Early life and career:...
which many feel has contributed significantly of energizing the base, especially the younger voters. Overall, the high rural turnout, and satisfaction of the incumbent Congress government, attributed to the mandate given to the UPA government to be in power for another 5 years.
Formation of the new government
| Party/Alliance | Seats won | Seat % |
|---|---|---|
| United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha... |
262 | 48.25% |
| Outside support | ||
| Samajwadi Party Samajwadi Party Samajwadi Party is a political party in India. It is based in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It describes itself as a democratic socialist party... |
23 | 4.20% |
| Bahujan Samaj Party Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party is a centrist national political party in India with socialist leanings. It was formed to chiefly represent Bahujans , referring to people from the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other Backward Castes as well as Buddhists. The party claims to be inspired by the... |
21 | 3.86% |
| Rashtriya Janata Dal Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal is a political party in India, based in the state of Bihar. The party was founded in 1997 by Laloo Prasad Yadav. The party came about as a result of Lalu Prasad Yadav, ex-president of Janata Dal, being evicted by Sharad Yadav, the then president, on corruption charges ... |
4 | 0.7% |
| Janata Dal (Secular) Janata Dal (Secular) The Janata Dal is a Centre-left ಕನ್ನಡ: ಜನತಾ ದಳIndian political party led by former Prime Minister of India H.D. Deve Gowda.The party recognized as state party in the states of Karnataka and Kerala . It was formed in July 1999 by the split of Janata Dal party. It has political presence mainly in... |
3 | 0.55% |
| Independents Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... and other parties |
3 | 0.55% |
| Total | 322 | 59.4% |
The President
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
, Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Patil
Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th President of the Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. She was sworn in as President of India on 25 July 2007, succeeding Dr. A.P.J...
dissolved the 14th Lok Sabha with immediate effect on 18 May. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh submitted the resignation of his Council of Ministers to the President, for him to be re-elected as the Prime Minister as well as for a new Council of Ministers to be elected. On 19 May, Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi were re-elected as Party leader and Chairperson respectively of the Congress Parliamentary Party. This effectively makes him the Prime Minister-elect of the new government. Finally, the President invited Dr. Singh to form the new government on 20 May. The new government was sworn in on 22 May 2009.
Support for formation of UPA government
Due to the fact that UPA was able to get 262 seats — just short of 10 seats for a majority — all the external support came from parties who gave unconditional support to Manmohan Singh and the UPA. The Janata Dal (Secular)Janata Dal (Secular)
The Janata Dal is a Centre-left ಕನ್ನಡ: ಜನತಾ ದಳIndian political party led by former Prime Minister of India H.D. Deve Gowda.The party recognized as state party in the states of Karnataka and Kerala . It was formed in July 1999 by the split of Janata Dal party. It has political presence mainly in...
, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Samajwadi Party all decided to do so to keep out any possibility of a BJP government in the next 5 years. Nagaland Peoples Front, Sikkim Democratic Front
Sikkim Democratic Front
Sikkim Democratic Front is a political party in the Indian state of Sikkim. The party was founded by Pawan Kumar Chamling in 1993. It has ruled the state since 1994 with Pawan Kumar Chamling as the chief minister. The party consolidated its position sweeping the 1999 and 2004 state elections. It...
, and Bodaland Peoples Front, each with an MP, decided to join and support the UPA government. The three independent candidates to extend support for UPA were all from Maharastra, and they were Sadashiv Mandlik, from Kolhapur constituency, Raju Shetty, from the political party Swabhimani Paksha, who won from Hatkandagle and Baliram Jadhav from Bahujan Vikas Aghadi
Bahujan Vikas Aghadi
Bahujan Vikas Aghadi is a political party in Maharashtra, India. BVA is based amongst the Kunbi community. The party leader is Hitendra Thakur, a former Independent member of the Maharashtra legislative assembly, Baliram Sukur Jadhav of the BVA, backed by Hitendra Thakur, was elected to the 15th...
party who won the Palghar
Palghar
Palghar is a town and a Municipal Council in Thane district in Maharashtra. Situated about 87 kilometres from Mumbai, it is a part of the Mumbai Suburban Rail network which extends up to Dahanu and lies on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail route...
constituency.
On 21 May, it was announced that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is a state political party in the states of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry, India. It is a Dravidian party founded by C. N. Annadurai as a breakaway faction from the Dravidar Kazhagam headed by Periyar...
(DMK) had decided to leave and give outside support to the UPA government, due to failed talks between the Congress and the DMK on cabinet positions. After many deliberations between DMK and Congress, the DMK agreed to 3 cabinet ministers and 4 ministers of state. Kanimozhi
Kanimozhi
Kanimozhi Karunanidhi , a politician, poet and journalist. She is a Member of Parliament, representing Tamil Nadu in the Rajya Sabha...
, daughter of the DMK leader M. Karunanidhi
M. Karunanidhi
Muthuvel Karunanidhi is an Indian politician and a former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. He is the head of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , a Dravidian political party in the state of Tamil Nadu. He has been the leader of the DMK since the death of its founder, C. N...
, decided not to join the new government cabinet, instead she wanted to focus on improving the parties image. The two incumbent cabinet ministers from DMK, Dayanidhi Maran
Dayanidhi Maran
Dayanidhi Maran is a member of parliament in India’s 15th Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency and Additional Deputy Leader of DMK. He was also the Minister for Textiles in the Union Cabinet, and has also served as the as the Minister for Communications and Information Technology before that...
and A. Raja
A. Raja
Andimuthu Raja is an Indian politician from the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam political party. He was a member of the 15th Lok Sabha representing the Nilgiris constituency of Tamil Nadu....
joined the cabinet, but due to concerns raised by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on T.R. Baalu, he was dropped from the cabinet, and Karunanidhi's son M.K. Azhagiri, replaced him as part of a compromise. On 25 May 2009, DMK decided to join the UPA government, reversing the decision made in prior days to extend outside support.
External links
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