UKPSC Prelims 2024 Q37: Which of the following Lok Sabhas did not complete its full

Q: What is the answer to UKPSC Prelims 2024 Q37?

B. Correct — B, Thirteenth Lok Sabha. The **Thirteenth Lok Sabha** was elected in the September–October 1999 general election and first met on 20 October 1999, so its five-year term would have run to October 2004. On the Union Cabinet's recommendation the President dissolved it on 6 February 2004, about eight months early, and the general election was advanced to April–May 2004. The idea to carry away: under Article 83(2) five years is the **ceiling on a Lok Sabha's life, not a guarantee**. The House ends sooner whenever the President dissolves it on the Cabinet's advice, and here a government with a secure majority chose an early poll rather than wait for the term to run out.

UKPSC Prelims 2024 General Studies Paper-I · Question 37 of 147

Verified against the official question booklet. Answer as per UKPSC's provisional answer key.

Answers from UKPSC's provisional answer key. The Commission publishes a provisional key for UKPSC Prelims 2024 and invites objections before issuing a final key. Every answer shown here is the Commission's own provisional answer (key PDF), not our derivation. If the final key changes an answer, this page is updated to match.

Which of the following Lok Sabhas did not complete its full five-year term?

(a)Eighth Lok Sabha
(b)Thirteenth Lok Sabha
(c)Second Lok Sabha
(d)Sixteenth Lok Sabha

Answer

Why

Correct — B, Thirteenth Lok Sabha.

The Thirteenth Lok Sabha was elected in the September–October 1999 general election and first met on 20 October 1999, so its five-year term would have run to October 2004.

On the Union Cabinet's recommendation the President dissolved it on 6 February 2004, about eight months early, and the general election was advanced to April–May 2004.

The idea to carry away: under Article 83(2) five years is the ceiling on a Lok Sabha's life, not a guarantee.

The House ends sooner whenever the President dissolves it on the Cabinet's advice, and here a government with a secure majority chose an early poll rather than wait for the term to run out.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Eighth Lok Sabha — The Eighth Lok Sabha came from the December 1984 election, first met on 15 January 1985 and was dissolved on 27 November 1989, once the scheduled 1989 general election had been held.
It served its term; dissolving a House a few weeks before the five-year date, once its successor is elected, is the normal handover.
It is the right answer to a question on the Lok Sabha elected after Indira Gandhi's assassination, in which Rajiv Gandhi's Congress held more than 400 seats.
(c)
Second Lok Sabha — The Second Lok Sabha followed the 1957 general election, first met on 10 May 1957 and was dissolved on 31 March 1962, after the February 1962 election had returned its successor. It ran its full course with Jawaharlal Nehru as Prime Minister.
It is the right answer to a question on the Lok Sabha whose Speaker was M. Ananthasayanam Ayyangar, who had taken the chair after G.V. Mavalankar's death in 1956 and presided over the whole of the Second House.
(d)
Sixteenth Lok Sabha — The Sixteenth Lok Sabha came from the April–May 2014 election, first met on 4 June 2014 and was dissolved in late May 2019, after the 2019 general election had been held. It served the whole term, with Narendra Modi as Prime Minister and Sumitra Mahajan as Speaker.
It is the right answer to a question on the Lok Sabha that passed the GST constitutional amendment, the 101st Amendment of 2016.

Concept

Article 83(2) gives the Lok Sabha a life of five years from the date appointed for its first meeting, 'unless sooner dissolved'. When the five years run out the House stands dissolved automatically. Before that, the President can dissolve it under Article 85(2)(b), acting on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

So five years is a ceiling. A House lives less when a government falls and no alternative can be formed, or when a majority government chooses an early election.

It can outlive five years during a Proclamation of Emergency, when Parliament may extend the term by law, one year at a time, and not beyond six months after the Emergency ends.

India has had eighteen Lok Sabhas since 1952.

Those cut short fall into two kinds: Houses whose governments fell and which were dissolved when no stable alternative emerged (the Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh and Twelfth), and Houses dissolved by a government that wanted an early mandate (the Fourth in 1970, the Thirteenth in 2004).

The Thirteenth is the odd one out among the four options because it belongs to the second kind. Its dissolution brought the 2004 election forward from the autumn to April–May, on the back of the 'India Shining' campaign, and the NDA lost that election to the Congress-led alliance.

Key facts

Article 83(2): the Lok Sabha continues for five years from the date appointed for its first meeting, unless sooner dissolved; expiry of that period operates as dissolution.
During a Proclamation of Emergency, Parliament may extend the Lok Sabha's term by law for one year at a time, but not beyond six months after the Proclamation ceases.
The Thirteenth Lok Sabha first met on 20 October 1999 and was dissolved on 6 February 2004, roughly eight months before its five-year term would have expired.
The 2004 general election was held in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004; the Fourteenth Lok Sabha followed, with Manmohan Singh as Prime Minister.
The Second (May 1957–March 1962), Eighth (January 1985–November 1989) and Sixteenth (June 2014–May 2019) Lok Sabhas each served until their scheduled general election.
The Fifth Lok Sabha (1971–77) is the case of a term stretched beyond five years: it was extended by law during the 1975 Emergency and dissolved in January 1977.
The Fourth Lok Sabha was dissolved on 27 December 1970, more than a year early, when Indira Gandhi sought a fresh mandate in the 1971 election.
The Twelfth Lok Sabha lasted about thirteen months (March 1998–April 1999); it was dissolved after the Vajpayee government lost a confidence vote by one vote on 17 April 1999.
The 42nd Amendment (1976) raised the Lok Sabha's term to six years; the 44th Amendment (1978) restored it to five years.

Four Lok Sabhas, one cut short

Second · first met May 1957→dissolved March 1962, after the 1962 election

Eighth · first met January 1985→dissolved November 1989, after the 1989 election

Thirteenth · first met October 1999→dissolved February 2004, about eight months early

Sixteenth · first met June 2014→dissolved May 2019, after the 2019 election

Three of the four served until their scheduled election; the Thirteenth was dissolved in February 2004 to bring the 2004 poll forward.

Study next

Article 83: duration of the two Houses of Parliament and the Emergency extension provisoArticle 85: summoning, prorogation and dissolution of the Lok SabhaEffect of dissolution on pending Bills (Article 107(5)) and the permanence of the Rajya SabhaConfidence and no-confidence motions and the fall of the 1979, 1990, 1997 and 1999 governmentsThe 42nd and 44th Amendments on the term of the Lok Sabha and state legislative assemblies

Common traps

Treating the routine dissolution a few weeks before the five-year date (the Eighth in November 1989, the Sixteenth in May 2019) as a curtailed term; a House that lasts to its scheduled election has served its term.
Assuming a Lok Sabha is cut short just when a government collapses; the Thirteenth had a stable majority and ended early because the government chose an early poll.
Confusing the Thirteenth (1999–2004, dissolved early by choice) with the Twelfth (1998–99), which fell after a confidence-vote defeat, or with the Fourteenth (2004–09), which served a full term.
Counting the five years from polling day or the results; Article 83(2) counts from the date appointed for the first meeting, so the Thirteenth's term would have run to October 2004.

The term of the Lok Sabha is asked from two ends. One is the constitutional rule: five years from the first meeting, dissolution by efflux of time, the President's power to dissolve sooner, and the Emergency extension by one year at a time.

The other is the historical record: which House was dissolved early, which one had its term extended, which government recommended a premature dissolution. This question is of the second kind, and it is answered by knowing the dates of a few Houses rather than by reasoning from the Constitution.

Related PYQs

UPSC_2004_GS1_Q82004

Statement 2 of that question states the rule this question applies: the Lok Sabha dissolves automatically by efflux of time at the end of five years unless sooner dissolved. UPSC tested the constitutional mechanism alongside adjournment and summoning; UKPSC asks for a historical instance of a House 'sooner dissolved', the Thirteenth in 2004.

UPSC_2002_GS1_Q1142002

Same article, opposite direction. UPSC asked how the Lok Sabha's term can be stretched beyond five years — by one year at a time during an Emergency, as happened to the Fifth Lok Sabha. UKPSC asks about a term cut short. Together they mark the two ways a House departs from the five-year norm.

Practice

practice — not a real PYQ
Under Article 83(2) of the Constitution, the five-year term of the Lok Sabha is counted from:
- (a)the date on which the results of the general election are declared
- (b)the date appointed for its first meeting
- (c)the date on which the Speaker is elected
- (d)the date on which the Council of Ministers is sworn in
Answerb — Article 83(2) fixes the term at five years 'from the date appointed for its first meeting', unless sooner dissolved.
Results (a) come before the House exists; the Speaker (c) is elected after the House has met; the swearing-in of ministers (d) is a separate event that does not start the clock.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which one of the following Lok Sabhas had its term extended beyond five years?
- (a)Fourth Lok Sabha
- (b)Fifth Lok Sabha
- (c)Sixth Lok Sabha
- (d)Seventh Lok Sabha
Answerb — The Fifth Lok Sabha (1971–77) was extended by law during the 1975 Emergency and sat until January 1977, close to six years.
The Fourth (a) was dissolved early in December 1970, the Sixth (c) early in August 1979, and the Seventh (d) served 1980–84 and ended at its scheduled election.
practice — not a real PYQ
Consider the following statements about the Thirteenth Lok Sabha (1999–2004): 1. It was the first Lok Sabha to be dissolved before completing its five-year term. 2. It was dissolved on the recommendation of the Union Cabinet in order to advance the general election. 3. Its dissolution followed the Government's defeat in a vote of confidence in the House. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a)1 and 2 only
- (b)2 only
- (c)2 and 3 only
- (d)1, 2 and 3
Answerb — Statement 2 is correct: the Cabinet recommended dissolution and the President dissolved the House on 6 February 2004 so that the election could be held in April–May rather than the autumn.
Statement 1 is wrong because the Fourth Lok Sabha had already been dissolved early in December 1970, with the Sixth, Ninth, Eleventh and Twelfth following. Statement 3 describes the Twelfth Lok Sabha, whose government lost a confidence vote in April 1999; the Thirteenth's government held its majority to the end.
practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following Lok Sabhas was dissolved after the Government lost a motion of confidence in the House by a single vote?
- (a)Ninth Lok Sabha
- (b)Eleventh Lok Sabha
- (c)Twelfth Lok Sabha
- (d)Thirteenth Lok Sabha
Answerc — On 17 April 1999 the Vajpayee government lost the confidence motion 269 to 270 and, with no alternative government possible, the Twelfth Lok Sabha was dissolved on 26 April 1999.
The Ninth (a) ended in March 1991 after Chandra Shekhar resigned; the Eleventh (b) in December 1997 after I.K. Gujral resigned when Congress withdrew support; the Thirteenth (d) was dissolved by choice in February 2004, not after a defeat in the House.