General election in India 2004
The parliamentary elections in India in 2004 took place over a total of five days between April 20, 2004 and May 10, 2004. The 543 members of the Indian lower house, the Lok Sabha, were elected . The election ended with significant gains in parliamentary seats for the Congress party and a coalition of parties led by it. The main loser in the election was the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the coalition of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) led by it. As a result of the election there was a change of government and the previous BJP-led government was replaced by a government led by the Congress Party.
prehistory
The previous parliamentary election in September / October 1999 had won the BJP with the NDA under the leadership of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee . Two circumstances had favored the election victory at the time. For one, Vajpayee had gained significantly in popularity due to his leadership in the Kargil conflict with Pakistan in May 1999 shortly before the election. On the other hand, the Congress Party was weakened by internal leadership conflicts. In 1998, after long hesitation , Sonia Gandhi decided to take over the leadership of the Congress Party that was proposed to her. This had led to clashes within the Congress party. A parliamentary group under Sharad Pawar did not want to accept that a native Italian and Catholic should become the leader of the largest Indian party and thus possibly later Indian Prime Minister and split off from the Congress Party under the name Nationalist Congress Party . The foreign origin of Sonia Gandhi was also widely discussed by the BJP and the media in the following years. During the election campaign, they tried to portray their political opponents as foreigners.
After the 1999 election, Vajpayee formed a new cabinet and, thanks to the relatively stable majority in parliament, was able to govern until the end of the five-year legislative period. This brought the country a phase of political stability after it had previously held three nationwide elections between 1996 and 1999. In terms of foreign policy, Vajpayee sought détente with Pakistan, but only partially succeeded, as no agreement could be reached on the Kashmir issue . Relations with the People's Republic of China relaxed, however. In terms of economic policy, Vajpayee continued the course of economic liberalization begun by his predecessor PV Narasimha Rao , which led to significantly higher economic growth rates of 5 to 6 percent annually towards the end of his term of office. Domestically, he was under pressure from the radical ideological think tank of the BJP, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), but was unable to implement the Hindutva agenda due to the BJP's lack of an absolute majority . He was accused by the opposition of failing to address the 2002 Gujarat violence , which killed more than a thousand people.
During the legislative period, the government-supporting coalition of parties, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), gradually began to break up at the margins. In 2001 the Trinamool Congress (AITC) left the NDA, in 2002 the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), in 2003 the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) and in 2003 and 2004 the three Tamil parties Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) ) and Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK). All these parties switched to the opposing camp of the Congress Party. In return, the BJP was able to conclude an election campaign agreement with All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK).
Election campaign and electoral alliances
When the 13th Lok Sabha was dissolved by President APJ Abdul Kalam on February 6, 2004 and new elections were proclaimed, most election observers expected another election victory for the BJP-led coalition. The BJP ran its election campaign under the motto India shining ("India shines"), with which the successes in the field of economic policy should be pointed out and a new Indian self-confidence should be demonstrated. In contrast, the Congress Party put the slogan What did the common man get? (“What did the ordinary person get?”) And accused the BJP that the underprivileged or needy classes (poor farmers, women, the youth) had not experienced any improvement in their situation.
Several large party coalitions faced each other in the election. The Congress Party made voting arrangements with the following parties:
- Rashtriya Janata Dal (in Bihar and Jharkhand )
- Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in Tamil Nadu )
- Nationalist Congress Party (mainly in Maharashtra )
- Lok Janshakti Party (in Bihar)
- Telangana Rashtra Samithi (in Andhra Pradesh )
- Pattali Makkal Katchi (in Tamil Nadu )
- Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (in Jharkhand )
- Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in Tamil Nadu )
- Indian Union Muslim League (in Kerala )
- Republican Party of India (Athvale) (in Maharashtra )
- Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party (in Jammu and Kashmir )
The allies of the BJP had come together in the National Democratic Alliance :
- Janata Dal (United) (mainly in Bihar)
- All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (in Tamil Nadu)
- Shiv Sena (in Maharashtra)
- Shiromani Akali Dal (in Punjab )
- Biju Janata Dal (in Orissa )
- Nagaland People's Front (in Nagaland )
- Mizo National Front (in Mizoram )
The communist and left-wing socialist parties ( Communist Party of India (Marxist) , Communist Party of India , Revolutionary Socialist Party , All India Forward Bloc ) formed electoral alliances, especially in their two strongholds, West Bengal and Kerala.
Election mode and election procedure
As in the previous elections, the election was based on relative majority voting in 543 individual constituencies. The constituency boundaries had been set by the Delimitation Commission of India in the 1970s based on the 1971 census so that each constituency had approximately the same population at the time it was established. Since then, however, there had been considerable shifts due to the different population growth, which is why the constituency boundaries were redefined in 2002 on the basis of the 2001 census. The corresponding law for the implementation of the new constituency boundaries was not yet in force in 2004, so that the election was still based on the old constituencies. Since the states of Chhattisgarh, Uttaranchal and Jharkhand had been newly formed since the last election in 1999, the constituency boundaries there had to be redrawn to ensure that they coincided with the borders of the new states.
For the first time, no paper ballots were used for the election, but electronic voting machines (EVMs, Electronic Voting Machines ). The use of these devices was not only expected to save around 8,000 tons of paper ballot papers, but also to provide more accurate, faster and more forgery-proof vote counting. In total, around 1 million of these EVMs were used.
For organizational reasons, the election did not take place on a single day, but spread over several appointments. The election dates in the states were in detail:
- April 20, 2004: Elections in Andhra Pradesh , Assam , Bihar , Chhattisgarh , Gujarat , Jammu and Kashmir , Jharkhand , Karnataka , Maharashtra , Manipur , Meghalaya , Mizoram , Orissa
- April 22, 2004: Tripura
- April 26, 2004: Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur , Orissa, Uttar Pradesh
- May 5, 2004: Arunachal Pradesh , Bihar, Jammu and Kashmir, Madhya Pradesh , Nagaland , Rajasthan , Uttar Pradesh
- May 10, 2004: Haryana , Himachal Pradesh , Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala , Madhya Pradesh, Punjab , Sikkim , Tamil Nadu , Uttar Pradesh, Uttaranchal , West Bengal
In the Union Territories , the elections took place on the following days:
- April 22, 2004: Dadra and Nagar Haveli , Daman and Diu , Andamans and Nicobar Islands
- May 10, 2004: Chandigarh , Delhi , Lakshadweep , Pondicherry
State or Union Territory |
electoral legitimate |
Voters | electoral participation |
---|---|---|---|
Andhra Pradesh | 51.146.342 | 35.776.275 | 69.95% |
Arunachal Pradesh | 684.034 | 385,446 | 56.35% |
Assam | 15,014,874 | 10,377,354 | 69.11% |
Bihar | 50,559,672 | 29.332.306 | 58.02% |
Chhattisgarh | 13,719,442 | 7,146,189 | 52.09% |
Goa | 941.167 | 553.105 | 58.77% |
Gujarat | 33,675,062 | 15.213.501 | 45.18% |
Haryana | 12,320,557 | 8.097.064 | 65.72% |
Himachal Pradesh | 4,181,995 | 2,497,149 | 59.71% |
Jammu and Kashmir | 6,368,115 | 2,241,729 | 35.20% |
Jharkhand | 16,812,339 | 9,363,363 | 55.69% |
Karnataka | 38,592,095 | 25.139.122 | 65.14% |
Kerala | 21.125.473 | 15.093.960 | 71.45% |
Madhya Pradesh | 38.390.101 | 18,463,451 | 48.09% |
Maharashtra | 63.012.208 | 34.263.317 | 54.38% |
Manipur | 1,536,510 | 1,035,696 | 67.41% |
Meghalaya | 1,289,374 | 679.321 | 52.69% |
Mizoram | 549,959 | 349,799 | 63.60% |
Nagaland | 1,041,433 | 955.690 | 91.77% |
Orissa | 25,651,989 | 16,945,092 | 66.06% |
Punjab | 16,615,399 | 10.233.165 | 61.59% |
Rajasthan | 34,712,385 | 17,346,549 | 49.97% |
Sikkim | 281.937 | 219,769 | 77.95% |
Tamil Nadu | 47.252.271 | 28,732,954 | 60.81% |
Tripura | 1,978,222 | 1,327,000 | 67.08% |
Uttar Pradesh | 110.624.490 | 53.278.071 | 48.16% |
Uttaranchal | 5,562,637 | 2,673,832 | 48.07% |
West Bengal | 47,437,431 | 37,021,478 | 78.04% |
Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 241,645 | 153.841 | 63.66% |
Chandigarh | 527.684 | 269,849 | 51.14% |
Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 122,681 | 84,703 | 69.04% |
Daman and Diu | 79,232 | 55,591 | 70.16% |
Delhi | 8,763,475 | 4,126,443 | 47.09% |
Lakshadweep | 39,033 | 31,820 | 81.52% |
Pondicherry | 636.667 | 484,336 | 76.07% |
total | 671.487.930 | 389.948.330 | 58.07% |
Overall, the elections were remarkably calm and orderly. In connection with the election, 19 violent deaths (including officials, police, paramilitaries and journalists) and numerous injuries occurred due to riots or attacks. However, these numbers were well below those of previous elections.
Results
Overall result
The result of the election came as a surprise to many observers and a shock to some. Despite Prime Minister Vajpayee's relative popularity, which was higher than that of Sonia Gandhi, the BJP lost almost a quarter of its parliamentary seats and only came second behind the Congress party, which was able to gain significantly. The effects of the relative majority suffrage, which favors large parties, were clearly noticeable. In terms of their percentage of the vote, both the Congress Party and the BJP lost marginally. In election analyzes, it was speculated that the BJP's feel-good campaign had actually passed the majority of voters by because they had not noticed any significant improvement in their living conditions, even though the government's performance was judged not to be bad overall in opinion polls. Vajpayee, who is considered to be relatively moderate, was also more popular with voters than his party, the BJP, or his possible internal party successor, the Lauh-Purush (“iron man”) Lal Krishna Advani , who is viewed as a “Hindu ideologist” .
Overall, the party coalition led by the Congress Party won 221 (40.7%) of the 543 constituencies. Shortly after the election, the allies formed an official alliance called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). The NDA had a total of 181 seats (33.3%). After the election, representatives of the moderate left parties and the communists declared that they would at least partially and selectively support a government led by the Congress Party in order to prevent a new BJP government.
Political party | Abbreviation | be right | Seats | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
number | % | +/- | number | +/- | % | ||
Indian National Congress | INC | 103,408,949 | 26.53% | 1.77% | 145 | 31 | 26.7% |
Bharatiya Janata Party | BJP | 86,371,561 | 22.16% | 1.59% | 138 | 44 | 25.4% |
Communist Party of India (Marxist) | CPM | 22,070,614 | 5.66% | 0.26% | 43 | 10 | 7.9% |
Bahujan Samaj Party | E.G | 20.765.229 | 5.33% | 1.17% | 19th | 5 | 3.5% |
Samajwadi party | SP | 16,824,072 | 4.32% | 0.56% | 36 | 10 | 6.6% |
Telugu Desam Party | TDP | 11,844,811 | 3.04% | 0.61% | 5 | 24 | 0.9% |
Rashtriya Janata Dal | RJD | 9,384,147 | 2.41% | 0.38% | 24 | 17 | 4.4% |
Janata Dal (United) | JD (U) | 9,144,963 | 2.35% | 0.75% | 8th | 13 | 1.5% |
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | AIADMK | 8,547,014 | 2.19% | 0.26% | 0 | 10 | 0.0% |
Nationalist Trinamool Congress | NTC | 8,071,867 | 2.07% | 0.50% | 2 | 6 | 0.4% |
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | DMK | 7,064,393 | 1.81% | 0.08% | 16 | 4 | 2.9% |
Shiv Sena | SHS | 7.056.255 | 1.81% | 0.25% | 12 | 3 | 2.2% |
Nationalist Congress Party | NCP | 7,023,175 | 1.80% | 0.47% | 9 | 1 | 1.7% |
Janata Dal (Secular) | JD (S) | 5,732,296 | 1.47% | 0.56% | 3 | 2 | 0.6% |
Communist Party of India | CPI | 5,484,111 | 1.41% | 0.07% | 10 | 6 | 1.8% |
Biju Janata Dal | BJD | 5,082,849 | 1.30% | 0.10% | 11 | 1 | 2.0% |
Shiromani Akali Dal | SAD | 3,506,681 | 0.90% | 0.21% | 8th | 6 | 1.5% |
Lok Janshakti Party | LJP | 2,771,427 | 0.71% | (New) | 4th | (New) | 0.7% |
Rashtriya Lok Dal | RLD | 2,463,607 | 0.63% | 0.26% | 3 | 1 | 0.6% |
Telangana Rashtra Samithi | TRS | 2,441,405 | 0.63% | (New) | 5 | (New) | 0.9% |
Pattali Makkal Katchi | PMK | 2,169,020 | 0.56% | 0.09% | 6th | 1 | 1.1% |
Asom Gana Parishad | AGP | 2,069,600 | 0.53% | 0.21% | 2 | 2 | 0.4% |
Indian National Lok Dal | INLD | 1,936,703 | 0.5% | 0.05% | 0 | 5 | 0.0% |
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha | JMM | 1,846,843 | 0.47% | 0.20% | 5 | 5 | 0.9% |
Revolutionary Socialist Party | RSP | 1,689,794 | 0.43% | 0.02% | 3 | 0.6% | |
Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | MDMK | 1,679,870 | 0.43% | 0.01% | 4th | 0.7% | |
All India Forward Bloc | AIFB | 1,365,055 | 0.35% | 3 | 1 | 0.6% | |
Communist Party (ML) Liberation | CPI (ML) (L) | 1,281,688 | 0.33% | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | |
Apna Dal | AD | 844.053 | 0.22% | 0.01% | 0 | 0.0% | |
Indian Union Muslim League | MUL | 770.098 | 0.20% | 0.03% | 1 | 1 | 0.2% |
Nagaland People's Front | NPF | 715.366 | 0.18% | (New) | 1 | (New) | 0.2% |
Janata party | JP | 517.683 | 0.13% | 0.08% | 0 | 0.0% | |
Haryana Vika's party | HVP | 506.122 | 0.13% | 0.08% | 0 | 0.0% | |
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference | JKNC | 493,067 | 0.13% | 0.01% | 2 | 2 | 0.4% |
All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslims | AIMIM | 417.248 | 0.11% | 0.01% | 1 | 0.2% | |
Republican Party of India (Athvale) | RPI (A) | 367.510 | 0.09% | 0.09% | 1 | 1 | 0.2% |
National Loktantrik Party | NLP | 367.049 | 0.09% | 0.05% | 1 | 1 | 0.2% |
Kerala Congress | KEC | 353.905 | 0.09% | 0.01% | 1 | 0.2% | |
Samajwadi Janata Party (Rashtriya) | SJP (R) | 337.386 | 0.09% | 0.01% | 1 | 0.2% | |
Jammu and Kashmir People's Democratic Party | JKPDP | 267.457 | 0.07% | (New) | 1 | (New) | 0.2% |
Indian Federal Democratic Party † | IFDP | 256.411 | 0.07% | (New) | 1 † | (New) | 0.2% |
Mizo National Front | MNF | 182,864 | 0.05% | (New) | 1 | (New) | 0.2% |
Bharatiya Navshakti Party | BNP | 171.080 | 0.04% | (New) | 1 | (New) | 0.2% |
Sikkim Democratic Front | SDF | 153,409 | 0.04% | 0.01% | 1 | 0.2% | |
Independent | Independent | 16,549,900 | 4.25% | 1.51% | 5 | 1 | 0.9% |
Other parties | 7,411,177 | 1.90% | 1.34% | 0 | 9 | 0.0% | |
Valid votes | 389.779.784 | 100.00% | 543 | 100.00% | |||
Registered voters / turnout | 671.487.930 | 58.07% | |||||
Source: Election Commission of India ( 2004 elections and 1999 elections ) |
† On October 31, 2006, the Kerala High Court declared the election of PC Thomas (IFDP) in the constituency of Muvattupuzha to be invalid because he had used illicit means. The constituency was awarded to its rival PM Ismail (CPM).
Results by state and union territories
The following table lists the electoral districts won by state / union territory.
Further development
After the election victory of the Congress Party and its allies, the general expectation was that Sonia Gandhi would carry on the tradition of the Nehru Gandhi family and assume the post of Prime Minister of a Congress Party-led government. So it came as a big surprise when Sonia Gandhi publicly refused this post and instead spoke out in favor of Manmohan Singh , who is not a member of the Nehru Gandhi family, as prime minister. The economist Singh had been finance minister in the government of PV Narasimha Rao in the 1990s and during this time he pursued the economic liberalization and fiscal consolidation of India. Much has been speculated about Sonia Gandhi's reasons. Perhaps she had the fate of her mother-in-law Indira Gandhi and that of her husband Rajiv Gandhi , both of whom had been assassinated, in mind. In addition, the hostility would certainly have continued due to their foreign origin. On May 22, 2004, the new cabinet was sworn in.
Web links
- Election Commission of India - General Elections 2004, information from the Indian Election Commission
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Election Results - Full Statistical Reports. Indian Election Commission, accessed on December 22, 2018 (English, election results of all Indian elections to the Lok Sabha and the parliaments of the states since independence).
- ^ Sonia Gandhi as Prime Minister: re-examining the issue. The Hindu, September 24, 2002, accessed June 22, 2014 .
- ↑ Ram Puniyani: Foreigner versus National debate: Is Sonia Gandhi Eligible to become the Prime Minister? Plural India, May 30, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ^ Gary Kitchener: How will history remember Vajpayee? BBC News, December 30, 2005, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ^ KV Prasad: Left to readjust campaign in Bengal. The Hindu, March 28, 2001, accessed September 11, 2014 .
- ↑ For Paswan and son, Gujarat 2002 is history for 2014. The Indian Express, February 27, 2014, accessed September 11, 2014 .
- ^ Luv Puri: National Conference pulls out of NDA. The Hindu, July 13, 2003, accessed September 11, 2014 .
- ^ DMK pulls out from Vajpayee government. rediff.com, December 20, 2003, accessed September 13, 2014 .
- ^ Tamil Nadu's PMK quits NDA. rediff.com, January 12, 2004, accessed September 11, 2014 .
- ^ BJP-AIADMK join hands in Tamil Nadu. rediff.com, January 28, 2004, accessed September 11, 2014 .
- ↑ NDA will bag 287-300 seats: Opinion poll. rediff.com, March 27, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Sir Mark Tully: India's ruling party may rue poll slogan. February 25, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Manifesto 2004. Retrieved June 22, 2014 (English, Congress party's election manifesto in the party journal Congress Sandesh).
- ^ Vikas Pandey: India's colorful election slogans. BBC News, 2004, accessed June 22, 2014 .
- ^ Meet the United Progressive Alliance. rediff.com, February 25, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ^ State Reorganization Division (SR Division). (No longer available online.) Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, archived from the original on July 3, 2014 ; Retrieved June 22, 2014 (English, Bihar Reorganization Act, 2000; Madhya Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2000; Uttar Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2000). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ a b India election 2004 statistics, facts and figures. (No longer available online.) Neoncarrot.com, archived from the original on February 24, 2015 ; accessed on June 21, 2014 (English). Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ India elections timetable. BBC News, April 20, 2004, accessed June 22, 2014 .
- ↑ General Elections 2004. Election Commission of India, accessed June 22, 2014 .
- ↑ In quotes - India's election results. BBC News, May 13, 2004, accessed June 22, 2014 .
- ↑ a b c Vajpayee’s popularity alone was not enough. The Hindu, May 20, 2004, accessed June 22, 2014 .
- ↑ Safe choice for Vajpayee. Deutsche Welle, April 20, 2004, accessed on August 16, 2014 .
- ^ CPI-M OK with Manmohan as PM. rediff.com, May 18, 2004, accessed June 28, 2014 .
- ↑ Kerala MP PC Thomas disqualified. rediff.com, October 31, 2006, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Statistical Report on General Elections, 2004 to the 14th Lok Sabha, Volume I. (PDF) Election Commission of India, accessed on June 22, 2014 (English).
- ^ Sonia Gandhi is PM-in-waiting. CNN.com, May 14, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ^ Return of the Reformer. rediff.com, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Sanjoy Majumder: Why did Sonia change her mind? BBC News, May 18, 2004, accessed June 21, 2014 .
- ↑ Manmohan Singh, 67 ministers sworn in. Rediff.com, 2004, accessed on June 21, 2014 (English).