Question

When did we have a hung parliament for the first time in India?
(A) 1988
(B) 1989
(C) 1990
(D) 1991

Answer 1

Hint: A situation when no party has a working majority in the Parliament is referred to as a Hung Parliament. A Hung Parliament occurs when neither of the parties has gained an outright majority and the Parliament is equally balanced.

Complete answer:
The government has 3 choices left when this situation occurs, form a minority government, or form a coalition government, or conduct re-elections. It is not a time-specific phenomenon. Even when a pre-electoral alliance or a party has gained the majority and formed the government, a reduction in the membership of this alliance can cause a Hung Parliament.
The 1st Hung Parliament in India happened in 1989 at the time of the ninth Lok Sabha in the general election since no party had a majority of seats in the Lok Sabha. The single largest party formed the government with the help of outside support. In the Hung Parliamentary system, the seats are divided amongst national parties and regional parties, such that a hung parliament cannot occur in the next elections since the parties are forming smaller units resulting in the distribution of votes. There are various impacts and reasons for Hung Parliament but the Indian Constitution is silent on this matter.
The Congress lost 207 seats, winning only 197 seats since it was struggling with several controversies, while the Janata Dal won 143 seats. While the BJP won 85 out of 529 seats. With Vishwanath Pratap Singh becoming the prime minister, the Janata Dal formed the National Front government with support from the BJP and the Left parties.

Thus, option (B) is correct.

Note: However, Chandra Shekhar, the then Prime Minister VP Singh’s rival in the Janata Dal, broke away in 1990 and formed the Samajwadi Janata Party, forcing VP Singh to step down. With the support of the Congress under Rajiv Gandhi Chandra Shekhar then became the next prime minister in 1990. However, he was prime minister only from 10 November 1990 till 21 June 1991, before fresh elections were held for the 10th Lok Sabha.