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In Indian politics, the Third Front refers to temporary alliances which began in 1989 among smaller parties to offer a third option to Indian voters. These alliances arose to challenge the Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). [1]
The National Front (NF) was a coalition of political parties, led by the Janata Dal, which formed India's government between 1989 and 1990. N. T. Rama Rao was its president, and V. P. Singh was its convener. The coalition's first prime minister was Singh, who was succeeded by Chandra Shekhar. Nationally, it was represented by the Janata Dal and the Indian Congress (Socialist). The NF was represented regionally by the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu and the Asom Gana Parishad in Assam, supported by the non-member Left Front. Leader of the Opposition P. Upendra was a general secretary of the front when it was formed.
In 1991, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha became part of the NF. The Telugu Desam Party split in 1995, with a minority siding with N. T. Rama Rao and the majority siding with Chandrababu Naidu. The NF collapsed before the Lok Sabha elections of 1996, when it tried to include the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the DMK walked out. After Rama Rao's death in January 1996, the Janata Dal stood by his widow Lakshmi Parvathi and the left parties allied with Chandrababu Naidu.
After the 1996 elections, Janata Dal, Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Telugu Desam Party, Asom Gana Parishad, All India Indira Congress (Tiwari), the Left Front (four parties), Tamil Maanila Congress, the Jammu & Kashmir National Conference and the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party formed a 13-party United Front (UF). The coalition formed two governments between 1996 and 1998; the first prime minister was H. D. Deve Gowda from Janata Dal, who was succeeded by I. K. Gujral after Jyoti Basu and V. P. Singh declined the office. Both governments had outside support from the Indian National Congress under Sitaram Kesri. N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party was the UF's convener.
The Indian general election of 1996 returned a fractured verdict. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as the largest party with 161 of 543 seats, it was invited first to form a government. It accepted the offer, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as prime minister. He could not muster a majority on the house floor, however, and the government fell 13 days later. At a meeting of the other parties, the Indian National Congress (with 140 seats) declined to head the government; with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)), however, the INC agreed to extend outside support to a United Front coalition with the Janata Dal at its head. Other members of the UF included the Samajwadi Party, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Asom Gana Parishad, Tamil Maanila Congress, Communist Party of India, and Telugu Desam Party.
With approval from the INC and the CPI(M), Chief Minister of Karnataka H. D. Deve Gowda was asked to head the coalition as prime minister after V. P. Singh, Jyoti Basu, Lalu Prasad Yadav, Mulayam Singh Yadav, G. K. Moopanar, and M. Karunanidhi declined. Deve Gowda's term was from June 1, 1996, to April 21, 1997. The INC revoked its support for him amidst discontent over communication between the coalition and the party. It compromised and supported a new government under I. K. Gujral, who was prime minister from April 21, 1997, to March 19, 1998. After the collapse of his government, new elections were called and the United Front lost power.
The CPI(M) led the formation of the Third Front for the 2009 election. [2] This front was a collection of regional political parties which were not part of the UPA or the NDA. Parties including the CPI(M), CPI, AIFB, RSP, CPI(ML)L, BSP, AIADMK, MDMK, PMK, BJD, JD(S), HJC, TDP, PWPI, and other small parties were members of the front. The new alliance held 109 seats before the 2009 election, but won only 82 seats in that election.
The Federal Front was an alliance of regional parties which was proposed by K. Chandrashekar Rao, but never bore fruit. [3]
Nara Chandrababu Naidu, also known as Chandrababu Naidu or CBN, is an Indian politician and the current Leader of Opposition in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He also served as Chief Minister from 1995 to 2004 and as Opposition Leader from 2004 to 2014 of Andhra Pradesh. He is the National President of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). He suffered a major political set back in the 2019 Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly Elections where he won only 23 seats out of the total 175 seats.
Haradanahalli Doddegowda Deve Gowda is an Indian politician who served as the 11th prime minister of India from 1 June 1996 to 21 April 1997. He was previously the 14th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. He presently is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha representing Karnataka. He is the national president of the Janata Dal (Secular) party. Born in a farming family, he joined the Indian National Congress party in 1953, and remained a member until 1962. He was imprisoned during the Emergency. He became President of the state unit of Janata Dal in 1994, and was considered to be a driving force in the party's victory in Karnataka. He served as the 8th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1994 to 1996. In the 1996 general elections, no party won enough seats to form a government. When the United Front, a coalition of regional parties, formed the central government with the support of the Congress, Deve Gowda was unexpectedly chosen to head the government and was elected Prime Minister. During his tenure as prime minister, he also served as Home Minister for some time. His prime ministerial tenure lasted for less than a year. After his prime ministerial tenure, he was elected to the 12th (1998), 14th (2004), 15th, and 16th Lok Sabha, as Member of Parliament for the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency. He lost Lok Sabha elections in 2019 from Tumkuru but has been elected to Rajya Sabha since.
Inder Kumar Gujral was an Indian diplomat, politician and freedom activist who served as the 12th prime minister of India from April 1997 to March 1998.
The Telugu Desam Party is an Indian regional political party with great influence in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. It was founded by the former chief minister of Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao (N.T.R.) on 29 March 1982 and has focused on supporting Telugu speakers. The party has won a five-time majority in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly and has emerged as the most successful political outfit in the state's history. It is currently the main opposition party in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly.
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) is a centre-right to right-wing conservative Indian political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was founded in 1998 and currently controls the government of India as well as the government of 17 Indian states and one Union territory.
Events in the year 1997 in the Republic of India.
Janata Dal was an Indian political party which was formed through the merger of Janata Party factions, the Lok Dal, Indian National Congress (Jagjivan), and the Jan Morcha united on 11 October 1988 on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan under the leadership of V. P. Singh.
The United Front was a coalition government of 13 political parties formed in India after the 1996 general elections. The coalition formed two governments in India between 1996 and 1998. The government was headed by two Prime Ministers from Janata Dal – H. D. Deve Gowda, and I. K. Gujral. N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party served as the convener of United Front. Headquartered at the Andhra Pradesh Bhavan at New Delhi.
General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governments. They were the first elections fully carried out with electronic voting machines.
Makkal Tamil Desam Katchi, generally just called Makkal Tamil Desam (MTD) is a political party in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. MTD was founded on 22 August 2000. MTD has its base amongst the Yadava(Konar)(ietaiyar)ietaiyan) caste in the north and southern parts of the state. The Tamil Nadu Yadava Mahasabai supported the formation of the party. The party leader is S. Kannappan, a former All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) minister. Kannappan had been expelled from AIADMK before the foundation of MTD.
The Janata Dal (Secular) (transl. People Party (Secular); abbr.JD(S)) is an Indian regional political party recognised as a state party in the state of Karnataka, Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh. It was founded by the former prime minister of India H. D. Deve Gowda in July 1999 as a breakaway faction from the Janata Dal.
The Politics of Andhra Pradesh take place in the context of a bicameral parliamentary system within the Constitutional framework of India. The main parties in the state are the YSR Congress Party, Telugu Desam Party and Jana Sena Party. Other parties that have small presence in the state include the Indian National Congress, Bharatiya Janata Party and Left parties.
Politics in South India is typically dominated by regional parties than by the larger national political parties such as the Indian National Congress (INC), Communist Party of India (Marxist) or Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). However, both the BJP, INC and CPI(M) have had some success in forging alliances with regional parties. Unlike in North India, where religion plays an important role in driving local politics, South India's political issues of contention are mainly language and ethnicity.
General elections were held in India on 16, 22 and 28 February 1998 to elect the members of the twelfth Lok Sabha. The elections were held three years ahead of schedule after the government led by Inder Kumar Gujral collapsed when the Indian National Congress (INC) withdrew its support in November 1997.
General elections were held in India on 27 April, 2 May and 7 May 1996 to elect the members of the eleventh Lok Sabha. The elections resulted in a hung parliament with no single party having a clear majority. The Bharatiya Janata Party, which had won the most seats, formed a short-lived government under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. However, two weeks later the United Front coalition was able to secure a parliamentary majority and H. D. Deve Gowda of Janata Dal became Prime Minister. In 1997 Inder Kumar Gujral, also from the United Front, succeeded Gowda as Prime Minister. Due to the instability, early elections were held in 1998. The elections were the first since 1980 in which every states' seats were elected in a single election period.
The eleventh legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 2 May 1996. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led front won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the chief minister. This was his fourth term in office. S. Balakrishnan, also known as So. Balakrishnan, of Tamil Maanila Congress, became the Leader of the Opposition. The incumbent All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) government was defeated in a landslide with its general secretary and outgoing chief minister J. Jayalalithaa losing the election from the Bargur constituency. She became the first Incumbent Chief Minister since M. Bakthavatsalam in 1967 to lose her own constituency.
The ninth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 21 January 1989. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the Chief Minister. It was his third term in office. The DMK was in power only for a short term, as it was dismissed on 31 January 1991 by the Indian Prime minister Chandra Shekhar using Article 356 (Otherwise) of the Indian Constitution.
The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 10 June 1977. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the election defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). M. G. Ramachandran, the AIADMK founder and a leading Tamil film actor, was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time. The election was a four-cornered contest between the AIADMK, DMK, the Indian National Congress (INC) and the Janata Party. Earlier in 1972, M.G.R had founded the AIADMK following his expulsion from the DMK after differences arose between him and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. On 31 January 1976, Karunanidhi's government was dismissed by the central government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi citing non-co-operation for MISA and President's rule was imposed on the state. Karunanidhi had been at odds with Indira Gandhi over his opposition to Emergency and allied with Janata Party founded by Jayaprakash Narayan. M.G.R remained as Chief Minister until he died in 1987, winning the next two elections held in 1980 and 1984. Due to this feat, M.G.R inadvertently became an example for entry of famous actors to enter politics, with a hope that they too may become Chief minister one day. then Telugu superstar N.T.R followed M.G.R's suit in 1983 and won the Andhra Pradesh general Elections to become the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh. Since then, no other actor has been able to recreate M.G.R's achievements in electoral Politics.
The 1996 Indian general election polls in United Andhra Pradesh were held for 42 seats in the state. The result was a victory for the Indian National Congress which won 22 out of 42 seats. This was the first election contested by the TDP since its leader Chandrababu Naidu ousted the party founder N. T. Rama Rao in a palace coup in August 1995 and the latter's untimely death a few months later.
Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal in 1996. The election took place simultaneously with the 1996 Indian general election. This was the last election Jyoti Basu contested, as he retired from politics in 2000.