< Previous | Contents | Next >
Election Petitions
Any elector or candidate can file an election petition if he or she thinks there has been malpractice during the election. An election petition is not an ordinary civil suit, but treated as a contest in which the whole constituency is involved. Election petitions are tried by the High Court of the state involved, and if upheld can even lead to the restaging of the election in that constituency.
Table 71.1 Results of Lok Sabha Elections
General Elections (Year) | Elective Seats | Seats won by Parties (Major) |
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 | 520 | Congress 283, Swatantra 44, |
(1967) | 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 (Secular) 41, Janata 31, CPM 36, CPI 11, DMK 16. |
Eight (1984) | 542 | Congress 415, TDP 28, CPM 22, CPI 6, Janata 10, AIADMK |
12, BJP 2. | ||
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 | 543 | BJP 161, Congress 140, Janata |
(1996) | Dal 46, CPM 32, TMCM 20, | |
DMK 17, SP 17, TDP 16, SS | ||
15, CPI 12, BSP 11. | ||
Twelfth | 543 | BJP 182, Congress 141, CPM |
(1998) | 32, AIADMK 18, TDP 12, SP | |
20, Samata 12, RJD 17. | ||
Thirteenth | 543 | BJP 182, Congress 114, CPM |
(1999) | 33, TDP 29, SP 26, JD (U) 20, | |
SS 15, BSP 14, DMK 12, BJD | ||
10, AIADMK 10. | ||
Fourteenth | 543 | Congress 145, BJP 138, CPM |
(2004) | 43, SP 36, RJD 24, BSP 19, | |
DMK 16, Shiv Sena 12, BJD 11, | ||
CPI 10. | ||
Fifteenth | 543 | Congress 206, BJP 116, SP 23, |
(2009) | 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 | 543 | BJP 282, Congress 44, |
(2014) | 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 | 543 | BJP 303, Congress 52, DMK |
(2019) 23, Trinamool 22, YSR
Congress 22, Shiv Sena 18, JD
(U) 16, BJD 12, BSP 10, TRS 9, LJP 6, NCP 5, SP 5.
Table 71.2 Prime Ministers after each Lok Sabha General Election
General National Parties Elections (Year) | Prime Minister |
First (1952*) BJS, BPI, CPI, FBL Jawaharlal Nehru (15th (MG), FBL (RG), HMS, August, 1947 to 27, May, INC, KLP, KMPP, RCPI, 1964) RRP, RSP, SCF, SP | |
Second BJS, CPI, INC, PSP (1957) | -do- |
Third (1962) CPI, INC, BJS, PSP, SSP, SWA | -do- |
Gulzari Lal Nanda (27th May 1964 to 9th June, 1964) | |
Lal Bahadur Shastri (9th June, 1964 to 11th January 1966) | |
Gulzari Lal Nanda (11th January 1966 to 24th January, 1966) | |
Fourth BJS, CPI, CPM, INC, (1967) PSP, SSP, SWA | Mrs. Indira Gandhi (24th January 1966 to 24th March 1977) |
Fifth (1971) BJS, CPI, CPM, INC, NCO, PSP, SSP, SWA | -do- |
Sixth (1977) BLD, CPI, CPM, INC, NCO | Morarji Desai (24th March, 1977 to 28th July, |
1979) | ||
Charan Singh (28th July | ||
1979 to 14th January | ||
1980) | ||
Seventh | CPI, CPM, INC (I), INC | Mrs. Indira Gandhi (14th |
(1980) | (U), JNP, JNP (S) | January 1980 to 31st |
October, 1984) | ||
Eighth | BJP, CPI, CPM, ICS, | Rajiv Gandhi (31st |
(1984) | INC, JNP, LKD | October, 1984 to 2nd |
December, 1989) | ||
Ninth (1989) | BJP, CPI, CPM, ICS | Vishwanath Pratap Singh |
(SCS), INC, JD, JNP | (2nd December, 1989 to | |
(JP), LKD (B) | 10th November, 1990) | |
Chandra Shekhar (10th | ||
November, 1990 to 21st | ||
June, 1991) | ||
Tenth (1991) | BJP, CPI, CPM, ICS | P.V. Narasimha Rao |
(SCS), INC, JD, JD(S), | (21st June 1991 to 16th | |
JP, LKD | May 1996) | |
Eleventh | AIIC (T), BJP, CPI, CPM, | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
(1996) | INC, JD, JP, SAP | (16th May 1996 to 1st |
June, 1996) | ||
H.D. Deve Gowda (1st | ||
June, 1996 to 21st April | ||
1997) | ||
Inder Kumar Gujral (21st | ||
April, 1997 to 19th | ||
March, 1998) | ||
Twelfth | BJP, BSP, CPI, CPM, | Atal Bihari Vajpayee |
(1998) | INC, JD, SAP | (19th March, 1998 to |
22nd May, 2004) | ||
Thirteenth | BJP, BSP, CPI, CPM, | -do- |
(1999) | INC, JD(S), JD(U) | |
Fourteenth | BJP, BSP, CPI, CPM, | Dr. Man Mohan Singh |
(2004) | INC, NCP | (22nd May 2004 to 22nd May 2009) |
Fifteenth (2009) | BJP, BSP, CPI, CPM, INC, NCP, RJD | Dr. Man Mohan Singh (22nd May 2009 to 26th May 2014) |
Sixteenth (2014) | BJP, BSP, CPI, CPM, INC, NCP | Narendra Modi (26th May 2014 to 30th May 2019) |
Seventeenth BSP, BJP, CPI, CPM, (2019) INC, NCP, AITC | Narendra Modi (30th May 2019 to till date) | |
* There were 14 recognised parties on all-India basis during 1952 elections. After the first general election, 4 parties were recognized as national parties (Indian National Congress, Praja Socialist Party, Communist Party of India and All India Bhartiya Jan Sangh) in 1953.
Source: Electoral Statistics - Pocket Book (2015), Election Commission of India, pp. 118-120.
Table 71.3 Participation in Lok Sabha Elections
General Elections (Year) | Number of Candidates | Electorate (Million) | Voter Turn- out (Percentage) | Number of Polling Stations |
First (1952) | 1,874 | 173.21 | 45.7 | 1,96,084 |
Second (1957) | 1,519 | 193.65 | 45.74 | 2,20,478 |
Third (1962) | 1,985 | 217.68 | 55.42 | 2,38,244 |
Fourth (1967) | 2,369 | 274.60 | 61.33 | 2,67,255 |
Fifth (1971) | 2,784 | 274.09 | 55.29 | 3,42,944 |
Sixth (1977) | 2,439 | 321.17 | 60.49 | 3,58,208 |
Seventh (1980) | 4,462 | 363.94 | 56.92 | 4,34,442 |
Eighth | 5,493 | 400.10 | 64.1 | 5,05,751 |
(1984) | ||||
Ninth (1989) | 6,160 | 499.00 | 62.0 | 5,89,449 |
Tenth (1991) | 8,699 | 514.00 | 61.0 | 5,94,797 |
Eleventh (1996) | 13,952 | 592.57 | 57.94 | 7,66,462 |
Twelfth (1998) | 4,750 | 605.58 | 61.97 | 7,73,494 |
Thirteenth (1999) | 4,648 | 605.88 | 59.99 | 7,75,000 |
Fourteenth (2004) | 5,435 | 671.00 | 57.86 | 6,87,402 |
Fifteenth (2009) | 8,070 | 713.77 | 58.4 | 8,34,944 |
Sixteenth (2014) | 8,251 | 834.08 | 66.44 | 9,27,553 |
Seventeenth (2019) | 8,026 | 910.51 | 67.4 | 10,36,295 |
Table 71.4 Women in Lok Sabha Elections
General Elections (Year) | Contested | Elected |
First (1952) | - | 22 |
Second (1957) | 45 | 27 |
Third (1962) | 70 | 34 |
Fourth (1967) | 67 | 31 |
Fifth (1971) | 86 | 22 |
Sixth (1977) | 70 | 19 |
Seventh (1980) | 142 | 28 |
Eighth (1984) | 164 | 44 |
Ninth (1989) | 198 | 27 |
Tenth (1991) | 325 | 39 |
Eleventh (1996) | 599 | 40 |
Twelfth (1998) | 274 | 43 |
Thirteenth (1999) | 284 | 49 |
Fourteenth (2004) | 355 | 45 |
Fifteenth (2009) | 556 | 59 |
Sixteenth (2014) | 668 | 62 |
Seventeenth (2019) | 724 | 78 |
Table 71.5 Cost of Lok Sabha Elections
General Elections (Year) | Cost Borne by Election Commission (₹ In Crores) |
First (1952) | 10.45 |
Second (1957) | 5.90 |
Third (1962) | 7.81 |
Fourth (1967) | 10.95 |
Fifth (1971) | 14.43 |
Sixth (1977) | 29.81 |
Seventh (1980) | 37.07 |
Eighth (1984) | 85.51 |
Ninth (1989) | 154.22 |
Tenth (1991) | 359.10 |
Eleventh (1996) | 597.34 |
Twelfth (1998) | 626.40 |
Thirteenth (1999) | 900.00 |
Fourteenth (2004) | 1100.00 |
Fifteenth (2009) | 1483.00 |
Sixteenth (2014) | 3426.00 |
Seventeenth (2019) | N.A. |
Table 71.6 Largest and Smallest (Area-wise) Lok Sabha Constituencies in Fourteenth General Elections (2004)
Sl. Constituency No. | State/UT | Area (sq. km) |
I. Largest Constituencies | ||
1. Ladakh | Jammu & Kashmir | 173266.37 |
2. Barmer | Rajasthan | 71601.24 |
3. Kutch | Gujarat | 41644.55 |
4. Arunachal West | Arunachal Pradesh | 40572.29 |
5. Arunachal East | Arunachal Pradesh | 39749.64 |
II. Smallest Constituencies | ||
1. Chandni Chowk | NCT of Delhi | 10.59 |
2. Kolkata North West | West Bengal | 13.23 |
3. Mumbai South | Maharashtra | 13.73 |
4. Mumbai South Central | Maharashtra | 18.31 |
5. Delhi Sadar | NCT of Delhi | 28.09 |
Table 71.7 Largest and Smallest (Electors-wise) Lok Sabha Constituencies in Sixteenth General Elections (2014)
Sl. Constituency No. | State / UT | Total No. of Electors |
I. Largest Constituencies | ||
1. Malkajgiri | Telangana | 29,53,915 |
2. Ghaziabad | Uttar Pradesh | 22,63,961 |
3. Bangalore North | Karnataka | 22,29,063 |
4. Unnao | Uttar Pradesh | 21,10,388 |
5. North West Delhi | NCT of Delhi | 20,93,922 |
II. Smallest Constituencies | ||
1. Lakshadweep | Lakshadweep | 47,972 |
2. Daman & Diu | Daman & Diu | 1,02,260 |
3. Ladakh | Jammu & Kashmir | 1,59,949 |
4. Dadra & Nagar Haveli | Dadra & Nagar Haveli | 1,88,783 |
5. Andaman & Nicobar Islands Andaman & Nicobar Islands | 2,57,856 | |
Table 71.8 Articles Related to Elections at a Glance
Article No. Subject-matter |
324. Superintendence, direction and control of elections to be vested in an Election Commission |
325. No person to be ineligible for inclusion in, or to claim to be included in a special, electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex |
326. Elections to the House of the People and to the Legislative Assemblies of states to be on the basis of adult suffrage |
327. Power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures |
328. Power of Legislature of a state to make provision with respect to elections to such Legislature |
329. Bar to interference by courts in electoral matters |
329A. Special provision as to elections to Parliament in the case of Prime Minister and Speaker (Repealed) |