ISAS Insights

The results to the 15th general elections for the Lower House (Lok Sabha) of India’s parliament were announced on 16 and 17 May 2009. Subsequently, the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA), under the leadership of Dr Manmohan Singh, formed the government for its second successive tenure. This paper analyses the outcomes of India’s general elections by examining the performances of the different political parties in terms of seats won and votes obtained. It tries to identify the reasons behind the Congress winning far more seats than the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) by comparing their regional performances. It also analyses, in the same vein, the poor performance of the Left parties and the failure of the Third Front to make an impact in the elections.