The Congress had an impressive victory in the 2009 elections, but in the following years it unravelled and paved the way for the ascendancy of the BJP
In 2009, Manmohan Singh was re-elected as the Prime Minister of India after what was the biggest election victory for the Congress since 1991
Image: Pallava Bagla/ Corbis VIA Getty Images
The general election of May 2009 was momentous for the Indian National Congress (INC). In its biggest victory since 1991, it won 206 (of 543) seats in the Lok Sabha, against 116 notched up by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was also the first time in 25-odd years that the incumbent government had been re-elected after completing one full term.
Manmohan Singh, the architect of the economic reforms of 1991, would return as Prime Minister for the second time after 2004, when the Congress had formed the government with a coalition of parties called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
In 2009, Singh became the first PM since Jawaharlal Nehru to be reinstated after completing one full term. He would also go on to become the first PM since Indira Gandhi to complete two full terms.
The Congress had won the mandate of the people in 2009 largely on the back of the welfare-led policies they had implemented in their first term. This included the landmark Right to Information Act, and the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act. The Indo-US Civil Nuclear Deal, which solidified India’s position as a nuclear power, was also signed during this term.
(This story appears in the 31 May, 2024 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)