Results of Lok Sabha Elections

General Elections (Year)	Elective Seats	Seats Won by Major Parties
First (1952)	489	Congress 364, Communist 16, Socialist 12, KMPP 9, Jana Sangh 3
Second (1957)	494	Congress 371, Communist 27, Praja Socialist 19, Jana Sangh 4
Third (1962)	494	Congress 361, Communist 29, Swatantra 18, Jana Sangh 14, Praja Socialist 12, Socialists 6
Fourth (1967)	520	Congress 283, Swatantra 44, Jana Sangh 35, CPI 23, CPM 19, Sanyukta Socialist 23, Praja Socialist 13
Fifth (1971)	518	Congress 352, CPM 25, CPI 24, DMK 23, Jana Sangh 21, Swatantra 7, Socialist 5
Sixth (1977)	542	Janata 298, Congress 154, CPM 22, CPI 7, AIADMK 18
Seventh (1980)	542	Congress 353, Janata Dal 41, BJP 2, CPM 37, CPI 11, AIADMK 2
Eighth (1984)	543	Congress 404, BJP 2, CPM 22, CPI 6, TDP 30
Ninth (1989)	543	Congress 197, Janata Dal 141, BJP 86, CPM 32, CPI 12, AIADMK 11, TDP 2
Tenth (1991)	543	Congress 232, BJP 119, Janata Dal 59, CPM 35, CPI 13, TDP 13, AIADMK 11
Eleventh (1996)	543	BJP 161, Congress 140, Janata Dal 46, CPM 32, TMC 20, DMK 17, SP 17, TDP 16, SS 15, CPI 12, BSP 11
Twelfth (1998)	543	BJP 182, Congress 141, CPM 32, AIADMK 18, TDP 12, SP 20, Samata 12, RJD 17
Thirteenth (1999)	543	BJP 182, Congress 114, CPM 33, TDP 29, SP 26, JD(U) 20, SS 15, BSP 14, DMK 12, BJD 10, AIADMK 10
Fourteenth (2004)	543	Congress 145, BJP 138, CPM 43, SP 36, RJD 24, BSP 19, DMK 16, Shiv Sena 12, BJD 11, CPI 10
Fifteenth (2009)	543	Congress 206, BJP 116, SP 23, BSP 21, JD(U) 20, Trinamool 19, DMK 18, CPM 16, BJD 14, Shiv Sena 11, NCP 9, AIADMK 9, TDP 6, RLD 5, CPI 4, RJD 4, SAD 4
Sixteenth (2014)	543	BJP 282, Congress 44, AIADMK 37, Trinamool 34, BJD 20, Shiv Sena 18, TDP 16, TRS 11, CPM 9, YSR Congress 9, NCP 6, LJP 6, SP 5, AAP 4, RJD 4, SAD 4
Seventeenth (2019)	543	BJP 303, Congress 52, DMK 23, Trinamool 22, YSR Congress 22, Shiv Sena 18, JD(U) 16, BJD 12, BSP 10, TRS 9, LJP 6, NCP 5, SP 5
Eighteenth (2024)	543	BJP 240, Congress 99, SP 37, Trinamool 29, DMK 22, TDP 16, JD(U) 12, Shiv Sena (UBT) 9, NCP (SP) 8, Shiv Sena 7, LJP (RV) 5, YSRCP 4, RJD 4, CPI(M) 4, IUML 3, AAP 3, JMM 3, Janasena 2, CPI(ML)(L) 2, JD(S) 2 |

🧭 Analytical Explanation of Lok Sabha Election Trends

Now let’s analyse the evolution of Indian electoral politics through these 17 Lok Sabha elections — following a logical, era-wise explanation.

🕰️ Era of Congress Dominance (1952–1967)

Elections: 1952, 1957, 1962
Key Pattern: Absolute majority for Congress.

🔹 Features:

• Congress won more than 70% of seats in every election till 1962.
• Opposition parties like the Communists, Socialists, and Jana Sangh were marginal.
• This was the “One-Party Dominant System” that political scientist Rajni Kothari famously described as the “Congress System.”

🔹 Reasons:

1. Legacy of the freedom movement → Emotional legitimacy of Congress.
2. Weak organisational structure of opposition parties.
3. Popular leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru commanding national appeal.
4. National unity, social reform, and early development programmes.

⚖️ Beginning of Political Competition (1967–1977)

Elections: 1967, 1971, 1977

🔹 1967 – Turning Point:

• Congress dropped to 283 seats (bare majority).
• Regional and opposition parties gained ground → Swatantra Party, Jana Sangh, and CPM rose.
• Coalition governments emerged in many states for the first time.
  👉 Marked the end of Congress monopoly.

🔹 1971 – “Garibi Hatao” Election:

• Indira Gandhi’s populist image revived Congress → 352 seats.
• She split the old Congress (O) and led a new faction — Congress (R) — to a landslide victory.

🔹 1977 – Post-Emergency Backlash:

• Janata Party formed by merging opposition groups (Jana Sangh, Congress (O), Socialists, etc.).
• Congress reduced to 154 seats, Janata won 298 → first non-Congress government at the Centre.

👉 Significance: The first peaceful transfer of power — democracy matured.

⚙️ Phase of Instability and Fragmentation (1977–1999)

Elections: 1980 to 1999

This era saw the decline of Congress dominance and the rise of coalition politics and regional forces.

🔹 1980 – Indira’s Comeback:

• Janata government collapsed due to internal splits.
• Congress returned with 353 seats — public preferred stability over chaos.

🔹 1984 – Sympathy Wave:

• After Indira Gandhi’s assassination, Rajiv Gandhi led Congress to a record 404 seats — highest ever.
• Opposition disunited; BJP won just 2 seats.

🔹 1989 – Rise of Coalition Politics:

• Bofors scandal and rising corruption eroded Congress support.
• Janata Dal (V.P. Singh) formed government with BJP and Left support.
• This marked the true beginning of coalition era in national politics.

🔹 1991 – Economic Liberalisation Context:

• Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination created sympathy, giving Congress 232 seats.
• P.V. Narasimha Rao formed a minority government and initiated economic reforms.

🔹 1996–1999 – Era of Political Instability:

• 1996: Hung Parliament → short-lived United Front governments.
• 1998: BJP emerged largest party (182 seats) but couldn’t last long.
• 1999: BJP again won 182 seats and formed a stable coalition (NDA) under Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

👉 Significance: End of single-party rule; rise of multi-party, coalition-based federal democracy.

🌿 Coalition Consolidation and the UPA-NDA Phase (2004–2014)

Elections: 2004, 2009, 2014

🔹 2004 – UPA-I (Congress comeback):

• BJP-led NDA lost despite “India Shining” campaign.
• Congress formed United Progressive Alliance (UPA) with Left support.
• Rise of regional allies like DMK, NCP, RJD, Trinamool Congress.

🔹 2009 – UPA-II Strengthened:

• Congress improved to 206 seats, forming government again under Dr. Manmohan Singh.
• Regional allies remained strong, but corruption issues later weakened the government.

🔹 2014 – BJP’s Landslide:

• Narendra Modi’s leadership + anti-incumbency against UPA.
• BJP alone won 282 seats, achieving single-party majority after 30 years (since 1984).
• Congress collapsed to 44 seats → lowest ever.

👉 Significance: Return of single-party dominance, but now under BJP, not Congress.

🧱 Era of BJP Dominance (2014–Present)

Election: 2019, 2024

🔹 2019 – BJP’s Consolidation (NDA Dominance Deepens):

• BJP improved its tally to 303 seats.
• Congress marginally up to 52, but still weak.
• Regional parties (DMK, Trinamool, YSR Congress, BJD) retained strength at state level.
• NDA emerged as a stable and ideologically cohesive coalition.

• BJP became pan-India party, expanding beyond North and West India to the East and Northeast.
• Shift from coalition compulsion to coalition convenience — smaller allies revolve around a dominant core.

🔹 2024 – Competitive Realignment (Return of Coalition Politics):

• BJP dropped to 240 seats, losing its solo majority but remained the largest party.
• Congress climbed to 99 seats, its best performance since 2009.
• INDIA bloc emerged as a formidable coalition, with SP, DMK, TMC, and others boosting its tally.
• NDA retained power with support from allies like TDP, JD(U), and LJP, crossing the majority mark.
• Signals a shift back to coalition governance, with regional parties playing kingmaker roles.

🧠 Analytical Trends Over Time

Phase	Nature of Party System	Dominant Party/Alliance	Key Feature
1952–1967	One-Party Dominance	Congress	National consensus around Nehruvian model
1967–1977	End of Monopoly	Congress challenged	Regional & opposition rise
1977–1989	Instability & Realignments	Janata, Congress	Coalition attempts begin
1989–1999	Coalition Era Begins	Janata Dal, BJP-led NDA	Multi-party federal politics
2004–2014	Coalition Consolidation	Congress-led UPA	Stable alliances, regional role
2014–Present	New Dominant Party System	BJP-led NDA	Centralised governance under BJP

🏁 Concluding Insight

The Lok Sabha election results reveal the dynamic nature of India’s democracy — its capacity to reinvent itself.
“Indian democracy keeps changing faces, but its soul remains — the supremacy of the people.”

So, from Congress dominance (1952–67) to coalition politics (1989–2014) and finally to BJP dominance (2014–present), India’s electoral journey reflects the maturity, inclusiveness, and resilience of its democratic system.