Indian general elections, 2004

Legislative elections were held in India, the world's largest democracy, in four phases between April 20 and May 10, 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha (the House of the People, the lower house of the Indian legislature). On May 13, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party conceded defeat after a unexpectedly strong showing by the Indian National Congress, which while not winning a majority outright was able to put together a majority under the direction of Gandhi family matriarch, Sonia Gandhi. (Gandhi is the Italian-born widow of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.) However, Gandhi surprised almost all observers by declining to become the new prime minister, citing the division that her rule would bring. Instead, she asked former Finance Minister Manmohan Singh, a Western-educated and well-respected economist, to take control of the new government. Singh had previously served under Congress Prime Minister Narasimha Rao in the early-1990s, where he was seen as the architect of India's first economic liberalization plan that staved off an impending national monetary crisis.

Related Topics:
India - Democracy - April 20 - May 10 - 2004 - Lok Sabha - May 13 - Bharatiya Janata Party - Indian National Congress - Sonia Gandhi - Rajiv Gandhi - Manmohan Singh - Narasimha Rao

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Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governments along with the parliamentary elections.

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