A Look Back At Prime Ministers Ousted by No-Confidence Motions

The Opposition alliance, Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA), has taken the decision to introduce a no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha, according to Trinamool Congress (TMC) functionaries. The move came in response to the ongoing deadlock in the Parliament, with the first three days of the monsoon session being washed out due to INDIA grouping lawmakers insisting on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement regarding the ethnic violence in Manipur.

This will be the first no-confidence motion to be moved in the Lok Sabha over the last 20 years. Here's a look at three other developments of the kind that resulted in the dismissal of political regimes over the years.

VP Singh (1990):

VP Singh, a Janata Dal politician, held the prime minister's post from 1989 to 1990. His National Front coalition government relied on support from Left parties and the right-wing BJP to keep the Congress out of power. However, the government's survival was short-lived as the BJP withdrew its support over the Ram temple issue, leading to the government's defeat in a no-confidence motion on November 10, 1990. VP Singh promptly resigned as the prime minister, losing the confidence motion by a vote of 142 to 346 in the Lok Sabha, with eight abstentions. His government required 261 votes to stay in power.

Deve Gowda (1997):

After the 1996 general elections, the Janata Dal leader Deve Gowda became the prime minister when no party secured enough seats to form a government. On June 1, 1996, he was chosen to lead the United Front coalition government with Congress support, becoming the 11th prime minister of India. However, just 10 months later, the Congress, led by Sitaram Kesri, withdrew its support, leading to Gowda's fall. On April 11, 1997, a no-confidence motion was put forth, and Gowda's 13-party coalition managed to secure only 158 out of the 545 seats in the Lok Sabha.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999):

The veteran BJP leader, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, faced two no-confidence motions during his tenure as prime minister. The first motion resulted in his government's defeat by a single vote on April 17, 1999, after the AIADMK, led by Jayalalithaa, withdrew its support. Other factors contributing to his defeat included the Bahujan Samaj Party's unexpected decision to vote against the government and the rebellion of National Conference MP Saifuddin Soz. Nonetheless, Vajpayee's political journey was not over. A few months later, he led the BJP back to power.

In 2003, when the Opposition brought another no-confidence motion against his government, it won by a decisive majority of 312 to 186 votes. During the no-confidence motion, the NDA secured a total of 312 votes, while the Opposition managed to gather 186 votes. Notably, J Jayalalithaa's AIADMK from Tamil Nadu and Farooq Abdullah's National Conference from Jammu and Kashmir abstained from voting. On the other hand, Mayawati's Bahujan Samaj Party voted in favor of the government.

In 2018, the no-confidence motion moved by YRSCP against the Narendra Modi-led government couldn't be taken due to disruptions.