1991 Indian general election

1991 Indian general election

← 1989 20 May, 12 June and 15 June 1991[1] 19 February 1992 (Punjab) 1996 →
← outgoing members elected members →
534 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha 268 seats needed for a majority
Registered	498,363,801
Turnout	56.73% ( 5.22pp)
First party Second party   Leader P. V. Narasimha Rao L. K. Advani Party INC(I) BJP Last election 39.53%, 197 seats 11.36%, 85 seats Seats won 244 120 Seat change 47 35 Popular vote 101,285,692 55,843,074 Percentage 36.26% 20.11% Swing 3.27pp 8.75pp   Third party Fourth party   Leader V. P. Singh E. M. S. Namboodiripad Party JD CPI(M) Alliance NF NF Last election 17.79%, 143 seats 6.55%, 33 seats Seats won 59 35 Seat change 84 2 Popular vote 32,628,400 16,954,797 Percentage 11.84% 6.16% Swing 5.95pp 0.39 pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election Chandra Shekhar SJP Prime Minister after election P. V. Narasimha Rao INC(I)

General elections were held in India on 20 May, 12 June and 15 June 1991 to elect the members of the 10th Lok Sabha, although they were delayed until 19 February 1992 in Punjab.

No party could muster a majority in the Lok Sabha, resulting in the Indian National Congress (Indira) forming a minority government under new Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao with the support of other parties. The government survived 28 July 1993 no confidence vote in controversial circumstances by bribing MPs from the Janata Dal and the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.^[2][3]

Elections were not held for the six seats allocated to Jammu and Kashmir, nor for two seats in Bihar and one in Uttar Pradesh. Voter turnout was 57%, the lowest to date in an Indian general election.^[4]