The parliamentary election in India, April–May 2009

Abstract

The end of the term of Manmohan Singh’s government necessitated the parliamentary election, which was held in five phases between 16 April and 13 May 2009. Singh (Congress Party) had led a coalition – the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) – for five years. The UPA was formed after the 2004 election, when the Congress Party emerged as the largest party but more than 100 seats short of a majority. Many smaller parties had joined the Congress alliance, such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhakam (DMK). The Communists, the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and later the Samajwadi Party (SP) supported the Congress-led government but without joining the alliance. The support of smaller and regional parties, each representing a group – a caste, a region, or a state – had become crucial to forming a national government since 1996. Every government since then had been put together with the support of regional parties. In this context, one thing was certain even before the election was held: the post-election government would be a coalition. When the election was called, the effects of the global economic slowdown had come to bear on India’s economy. Singh’s government was criticized for not reining in prices of essential food items and job losses; and economic growth had also slowed slightly in late 2008. Singh’s government, however, had notable accomplishments. It oversaw unprecedented annual economic growth of over 8% GDP in its first four years; launched a programme that guaranteed 100 day’s employment to the rural poor; wrote off some $17 billion of farmers’ debts; and concluded a nuclear agreement with the US to meet India’s growing energy needs. The employment programme and debt waivers were popular, although the opposition accused the UPA of corrupt implementation. But Singh also showed the electorate that the Congress Party could shepherd a fractious coalition to offer a stable government for a full term. Every pre-election opinion poll gave the Congress Party the