| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Sansad / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Lok Sabha / House of the People |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Rajya Sabha / Council of States
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) (from/to) | 16 April 2009
13 May 2009 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for 543 elective seats of the Lok Sabha upon the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 2 March 2009, the Election Commission announced that elections to the House of the People (Lok Sabha) would be held in April and May 2009. As before, they were held over a five week period - between 16 April and 13 May - in order to ensure a smooth electoral process involving 714 million registered voters. At stake were 543 directly elected seats, two other seats being nominated by the President.
In the previous elections held in April and May 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), led by the Indian National Congress (INC), won 214 seats while the then ruling coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), took 187 seats. INC leader and widow of slain former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, Ms. Sonia Gandhi declined to take up the prime ministerial post due to a controversy over her Italian origin. In May, Mr. Manmohan Singh, a member of the Council of States (upper chamber), was inaugurated as the country's first Sikh Prime Minister. He subsequently led a coalition government comprising nearly 20 centre-left parties.
Mr. Singh, who served as Finance Minister in 1990s, promoted free market policies that boosted the country's economy. He signed a nuclear cooperation agreement with the United States under which India, which has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, would gain access to US civilian nuclear technology and fuel. Four parties, including the Communist Party of India (Marxist), argued that the agreement would increase US influence on India's foreign and nuclear policy. They subsequently left the coalition government, triggering a vote of no-confidence in July 2008. Mr. Singh's government survived by a one-vote majority thanks to the support of other parties in his coalition and the opposition Socialist Party. In November, terrorists went on a hostage-taking and killing rampage in Mumbai that left 166 people dead. The government was criticized for being unprepared for a terrorist attack. In January 2009, the 78-year old Prime Minister underwent heart surgery. It was widely expected that Mr. Rahul Gandhi, son of INC leader Sonia Gandhi, would become the INC's candidate for the premiership.
The 2009 elections once again saw a duel between the UPA, led by Ms. Gandhi's INC, and the NDA, led by Mr. Lal Krishna Advani's BJP. Neither of the coalitions was expected to win an outright majority in the new legislature.
In March, several leftist and regional parties formed another electoral alliance, the Third Front. It included the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Communist Party of India (CPI), the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham, the Forward Bloc, the Janata Dal (Secular), the Telangana Rashtra Samithi, and the Telugu Desam Party.
The Majority Society Party (Bahujan Samaj Party, BSP), which had won 18 seats in the 2004 elections, initially announced that it would stay out of the Third Front but subsequently joined it. The BSP is led by Ms. Mayawati Kumari, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh state. As a member of the Dalit caste, she draws her support from Dalits in the various states.
In all, 8,070 candidates, including 490 women, representing 1,000 parties, stood for election.
The 2009 elections were held against the backdrop of an economic downturn, triggered by the recent global financial crisis. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth dropped to 5.3 per cent in the final quarter of 2008, compared to 9 per cent a year earlier.
Both the UPA and the NDA underscored the need for economic stimulus plans and proposed various tax reductions and a plan to provide the poor with food supplies.
The INC promised to abolish taxes on goods and services in order to reduce the tax burden of entrepreneurs and consumers. It also promised to enact a "Right to Food" law that would entitle families living below the poverty line to 25 kg of rice or wheat per month at 3 rupees per kilogramme. The party vowed to provide a comprehensive social security plan for the disabled, the elderly, the homeless as well as members of tribal groups and Dalit communities. It also pledged to reserve 33 per cent of the seats in Parliament and state legislatures for women, a bill the INC had failed to pass in the outgoing legislature.
The BJP accused Mr. Singh's government of mismanaging the economy. BJP leader Advani promised to abolish income tax for persons earning less than 300,000 rupees (about US$ 6,000) a year. He also promised to lower interest rates on housing loans and exempt all citizens over the age of 60 from paying taxes of any kind. The BJP criticized Mr. Singh for not taking adequate counter-terrorism measures. It pledged to introduce a tougher law to counter terrorism and enhance the security of the sub-continent's coastline.
The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which led the Third Front, pledged to increase taxes for the "super rich", to introduce an inheritance tax and to reinstate a long-term capital gains tax to combat speculation. The party continued to criticize the government for concluding the nuclear agreement with the US, arguing that ordinary citizens could not afford the planned electricity prices. Regional parties and other small parties promised to provide cheaper electricity.
Overall turnout was recorded at 63.16 per cent of the 714 million registered voters.
In the first phase of voting, Maoist rebels disrupted the elections by attacking polling stations. The clash between the rebels and the police claimed at least 17 lives. The other phases took place in relative peace, although a heatwave reportedly kept voters at home in the fourth phase of the elections.
The final results gave 261 seats to the UPA and 159 to the NDA. The parties in the Third Front won a total of 78 seats.
On 20 May, President Pratibha Devisingh Patil appointed Mr. Singh as Prime Minister for a second term. Mr. Singh's new cabinet was supported by the UPA, the Samajwadi Party, three members of the Janata Dal (United), several independent members as well as the BSP which was a part of the Third Front.
On 2 June, the newly elected House of the People (Lok Sabha) held its first session. The following day, Ms. Meira Kumar (INC), who had previously been appointed as Minister of Water Resources, was unanimously elected as its new Speaker, becoming the first woman to assume the post. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 (from/to) | 16 April 2009
13 May 2009 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
713'776'525
450'850'568 (63.16%)
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Indian National Congress (INC) |
206
|
|
|
|
|
| Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) |
116
|
|
|
|
|
| Samajwadi Party |
22
|
|
|
|
|
| Majority Society Party (BSP) |
21
|
|
|
|
|
| Janata Dal (United) |
20
|
|
|
|
|
| Congrès des "racines" de tous les Indiens |
19
|
|
|
|
|
| Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) |
18
|
|
|
|
|
| Communist Party of India (Marxist) |
16
|
|
|
|
|
| Biju Janata Dal |
14
|
|
|
|
|
| Shivsena |
11
|
|
|
|
|
| Nationalist Congress Party |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
9
|
|
|
|
|
| Telugu Desam Party (TDP) |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Rashtriya Lok Dal |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Rashtriya Janata Dal |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Communist Party of India (CPI) |
4
|
|
|
|
|
| Janata Dal (Secular) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (J&KNC) |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Muslim League Kerala State Committee |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Revolutionary Socialist Party |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| All India Forward Bloc |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Telangana Rashtra Samithi |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Jharkhand Mukti Morcha |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Bahujan Samaj Party |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Asom Gana Parishad (Assam People's Federation) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Assam United Democratic Front |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Bahujan Vikas Aaghadi |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Bodoland People's Front |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Haryana Janhit Congress (BL) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Jharkhand Vikas Morcha (Prajatantrik) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Nagaland People's Front |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Sikkim Democratic Front |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Swabhimani Paksha |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katch |
1
|
|
|
|
|
| Kerala Congress (M) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
486
59
10.83%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
21 to 30 years
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
Unknown
|
5
57
130
192
113
46
2
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Social worker |
261 |
| Agriculture/farming |
251 |
| Entrepreneur |
109 |
| Legal profession |
75 |
| Education profession |
53 |
| Others |
34 |
| Writer, literary, artist |
27 |
| Physician, dentist |
21 |
| Economist |
20 |
| Trade union official |
11 |
| Journalism, broadcasting, media |
10 |
| Civil service and local authority administration |
8 |
| Research/sciences |
3 |
| Armed services/Police |
2 |
| International civil servant |
1 |
| IT/technology |
1 |
| Architect, surveyor, engineer |
1 |
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- House of the People (05.06.2009, 18.02.2010, 13.01.2012, 01.01.2014)
- http://eci.nic.in/Analysis/
Note on the "Distribution of seats according to sex":
Fifty-eight women were directly elected while one woman was appointed, bringing the total number of women to 59 out of a full membership of 545.
Note on the "Distribution of seats according to profession":
Some members have listed more than one primary occupation.
Note:
The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) comprised the following parties.
Indian National Congress (INC): 206 seats
All India Trinamool Congress: 19 seats
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam: 18 seats
Nationalist Congress Party: nine seats
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference: three seats
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha: two seats
Muslim League Kerala State Committee: two seats
Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katch: one seat
Kerala Congress (M): one seat
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) alliance comprised the following parties.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): 116 seats
Janata Dal (United): 20 seats
Shivsena: 11 seats
Rashtriya Lok Dal: five seats
Shiromani Akali Dal: four seats
Telangana Rashtra Samithi: two seats
Asom Gana Parishad (Assam People's Federation): one seat
The Third Front comprised the following parties.
Majority Society Party (BSP): 21 seats
Communist Party of India (Marxist): 16 seats
Biju Janata Dal 14 seats
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam: nine seats
Telugu Desam: six seats
Communist Party of India: four seats
Janata Dal (Secular): three seats
Revolutionary Socialist Party: two seats
All India Forward Bloc: two seats
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam: one seat |
|
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
