If Narendra Modi led BJP returns to power with a full majority on May 23,2019, it will be
for the first time in 48 years that an incumbent prime minister and his
party return to power with a full majority.
The last time this happened was in 1971, when Indira Gandhi led the Congress (R) to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967 (for the united Congress)
Since Independence, we have had 16 Lok Sabha elections.
The ongoing one is for electing the 17th Lok Sabha.
The first election was held in 1951-52.
The legacy of the freedom movement and Jawaharlal Nehru’s stature helped the Congress get a clear majority for three consecutive terms (1952, 1957, 1962).
Following Jawaharlal Nehru’s death, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the prime minister till his sudden demise in January 1966.
Subsequently, Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi also managed to get a clear majority for two consecutive terms in 1967 and 1971, and then in 1980.
In 1984, the Congress party repeated its success of 1980, but with a different prime minister — Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was voted out in 1989.
There have been two more instances of a prime minister being returned to power in successive elections — Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and Manmohan Singh in 2009. However, in both cases, the BJP and Congress had to rely on the support of allies to cross the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha.
The last time this happened was in 1971, when Indira Gandhi led the Congress (R) to victory with a full majority after having done the same in 1967 (for the united Congress)
Since Independence, we have had 16 Lok Sabha elections.
The ongoing one is for electing the 17th Lok Sabha.
The first election was held in 1951-52.
The legacy of the freedom movement and Jawaharlal Nehru’s stature helped the Congress get a clear majority for three consecutive terms (1952, 1957, 1962).
Following Jawaharlal Nehru’s death, Lal Bahadur Shastri was the prime minister till his sudden demise in January 1966.
Subsequently, Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter Indira Gandhi also managed to get a clear majority for two consecutive terms in 1967 and 1971, and then in 1980.
In 1984, the Congress party repeated its success of 1980, but with a different prime minister — Rajiv Gandhi. Rajiv Gandhi was voted out in 1989.
There have been two more instances of a prime minister being returned to power in successive elections — Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1999 and Manmohan Singh in 2009. However, in both cases, the BJP and Congress had to rely on the support of allies to cross the halfway mark in the Lok Sabha.
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