Elections of 1991

The first phase of the General Elections took place in May. Then, on the night of May 21, tragedy struck: Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated while campaigning in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The next phase of elections were held in June. In the first phase, voting took place for 211 constituencies while the rest of constituencies voted in June. The results showed a marked variation between the two

phases: the Congress did not do well in the constituencies that voted before Rajiv Gandhi’s assassination, whereas in the constituencies that went to the poll after the tragedy the Congress did remarkably well. The results reflected the sympathy and horror felt by the people over the young leader’s assassination. Incidentally, that act by the LTTE led to the total loss of support for it in India. In the end, the Congress was the largest party with 244 seats, which, however, did not reach the level of a simple majority in the House. The BJP improved upon its earlier tally creditably.