Consider the following statements and identify the correct answer from the codes given below : (a) The Congress won 145 Lok Sabha seats in 2004 election. (b) The BJP won 133 Lok Sabha seats in 2004 election. (c) The CPI(M) won 48 Lok Sabha seats in 2004 election. Codes :
- (1)Only (a) is correct.
- (2)Only (a) and (b) are correct.
- (3)Only (b) and (c) are correct.
- (4)Only (a) and (c) are correct.
Answer
Why
Correct — option (1), Only (a) is correct.
The 2004 Lok Sabha election was held in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Counting began on 13 May, and the result formed the 14th Lok Sabha.
Statement (a) is correct. The Congress won 145 seats, the most of any party.
Statement (b) is wrong. The BJP won 138 seats, not 133.
Statement (c) is wrong. The CPI(M) won 43 seats, not 48.
Only statement (a) holds, so the code is Only (a) is correct.
Each wrong statement is exactly five seats away from the real tally — 133 for 138, and 48 for 43. A figure that looks roughly right is not enough; the statement must match the result.
With 145 seats the Congress was the largest party but well short of the 272 needed for a majority. It formed the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, and Manmohan Singh was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22 May 2004.
Why the others are wrong
- (2)Only (a) and (b) are correct. — This code accepts statement (b), which puts the BJP at 133 seats. In fact the BJP won 138 seats in 2004, so statement (b) is false.
The code would be right only if the BJP figure were correct. Statement (a) is true, but a code must get every statement right, and this one does not.
- (3)Only (b) and (c) are correct. — This code gets all three statements wrong. It rejects statement (a), yet the Congress did win 145 seats.
It also accepts statement (b), though the BJP won 138 seats, not 133, and statement (c), though the CPI(M) won 43 seats, not 48.
- (4)Only (a) and (c) are correct. — This code keeps the true statement (a) but also accepts statement (c). In fact the CPI(M) won 43 seats in 2004, not 48.
It correctly rejects statement (b). Because it accepts one false statement, it does not match the result.
Concept
Members of the Lok Sabha are elected from single-member constituencies by the first-past-the-post system: the candidate with the most votes wins, even without a majority of the votes cast.
A party's seat tally is the number of constituencies its candidates won. A majority of the 543 elected seats needs 272.
When no party reaches that mark, the President invites the leader who can command the confidence of the House. That is usually the head of a coalition, formed before or after the poll.
In 2004 the Congress, with 145 seats, led the United Progressive Alliance. The Left parties supported that government from outside rather than joining it.
The syllabus head Indian Constitution, Political System & Governance lists "Democratic Politics in India" and "Coalition Governments". Election results are the evidence for both.
The 2004 election came in the coalition phase of Indian politics that followed 1989, the election seen as ending what political scientists call the "Congress system".
Seat figures matter because they explain government formation: which party led, who needed allies, and who supported from outside.
For Rajasthan, the same election filled the State's 25 Lok Sabha seats.
Key facts
- In the 2004 Lok Sabha election the Congress won 145 seats, the BJP 138 and the CPI(M) 43.
- Polling was held in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004; counting began on 13 May.
- The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance formed the government, and Manmohan Singh was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22 May 2004.
- The Left parties supported the UPA government from outside rather than joining it.
- A majority of the Lok Sabha's 543 elected seats requires 272 seats.
Only statement (a) matches the result, so the code is option (1).
Study next
Common traps
- Accepting a number that is close. Both false statements are five seats away from the real figures of 138 and 43.
- Mixing a party's own seats with its alliance's strength. The Congress's 145 is its own tally; the UPA as a whole had more.
- Assuming the largest party had a majority. The Congress led in 2004 with 145 seats, far short of 272, and governed through a coalition.
An election question can give seat counts, vote shares or turnout for named parties in a named year and ask which statements are correct.
It can also ask which party emerged largest, who formed the government, or what an election marked in the history of the party system.
Related PYQs
UnlockIAS will link similar questions from RAS Pre 2023 here once that paper is published on this site.
Practice
- practice — not a real PYQ
Who was sworn in as Prime Minister of India after the 2004 Lok Sabha election?
- (a)Atal Bihari Vajpayee
- (b)Manmohan Singh
- (c)Sonia Gandhi
- (d)Pranab Mukherjee
Answer(2) — Manmohan Singh was sworn in on 22 May 2004 as head of the UPA government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1) led the outgoing NDA government. Sonia Gandhi (3) was the Congress president but did not become Prime Minister. Pranab Mukherjee (4) became a minister in the UPA government, not Prime Minister. - practice — not a real PYQ
Which party won the largest number of seats in the 2004 Lok Sabha election?
- (a)Bharatiya Janata Party
- (b)Indian National Congress
- (c)Communist Party of India (Marxist)
- (d)Samajwadi Party
Answer(2) — the Congress won 145 seats. The BJP (1) came second with 138. The CPI(M) (3) won 43 and the Samajwadi Party (4) won 36.