Which party was the principal opposition party in Lok Sabha in 2004?
Answers
General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. The Lok Sabha, or "House of the People," is the directly elected lower house of the Parliament of India.
2004 Indian general election
← 1999 20 April, 26 April, 5 and 10 May 2004 2009 →
← outgoing members
All 543 seats in the Lok Sabha
272 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout
58.07% (Decrease1.92%)[1]
Sonia Gandhi (cropped).jpg The Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee delivering his speech at the 12th SAARC Summit in Islamabad, Pakistan on January 4, 2004 (1) (cropped).jpg
Leader Sonia Gandhi Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Party INC BJP
Alliance UPA NDA
Leader since 19 March 1998 16 May 1996
Leader's seat Rae Bareli Lucknow
Last election 114 seats, 28.3% 182 seats, 23.75%
Seats won 145 138
Seat change Increase31 Decrease44
Popular vote 138,312,337 128,931,001
Percentage 26.70% 22.16%
Swing Decrease1.6% Decrease1.59%
Surjith-3.JPG Mulayam Singh Yadav (28993165375).jpg
Leader Harkishan Singh Surjeet Mulayam Singh Yadav
Party CPI (M) SP
Leader since 1992 1992
Leader's seat None Uttar Pradesh
Last election 32 seats, 5.40% 26 seats, 3.76%
Seats won 59 36
Seat change Increase27 Increase10
Popular vote 30,578,698 16,645,356
Percentage 7.7% 4.3
Swing Decrease0.9% Increase0.54%
Wahlergebnisse Indien 2004.svg
The 14th Lok Sabha
Prime Minister before election
Atal Bihari Vajpayee
BJP
Subsequent Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh
INC
On 13 May, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its alliance National Democratic Alliance conceded defeat. The Indian National Congress, which had governed India for all but five years from independence until 1996, returned to power after a record eight years out of office. It was able to put together a comfortable majority of more than 335 members out of 543 with the help of its allies. The 335 members included both the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, the governing coalition formed after the election, as well as external support from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Kerala Congress (KC) and the Left Front. (External support is support from parties that are not part of the governing coalition).
Answer:
Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP)