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List of Indian general elections

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Lok Sabha Elections
General Elections in India
New Parliament Building, New Delhi
The Parliament House in New Delhi,
where the Lok Sabha convenes.
Country India
Elected bodyLok Sabha (House of the People)
TypeNational general election
Electoral systemFirst-past-the-post (FPTP)
FrequencyEvery 5 years (or sooner if dissolved)
Constitutional basisArticle 81 of the Constitution
Electoral authorityElection Commission of India (ECI)
Total constituencies543 (current)
Voter eligibilityUniversal adult franchise (18 years and older)
Voting methodElectronic Voting Machines (EVMs) with VVPAT
First election1951–1952
Latest election2024
Next election2029

Lok Sabha elections, formally known as the General Elections in India, are the national democratic elections held to elect members to the Lok Sabha (House of the People), the lower house of the Parliament of India. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by being voted upon by all adult citizens of India, from a set of candidates who stand in their respective constituencies. Every adult citizen of India can vote only in their registered constituency. Candidates who win the Lok Sabha elections are called 'Member of Parliament' (MP) and hold their seats for five years, or until the body is dissolved by the President of India on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

The elections are administered and conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI), an autonomous constitutional authority. The Lok Sabha currently has 543 parliamentary constituencies distributed across all states and union territories. To form a majority government, a political party or coalition must secure at least 272 seats. India follows a first-past-the-post electoral system.

The first elections to the Lok Sabha took place during 1951–52, following the adoption of the Constitution of India.[1][2][3] Over the decades, these elections have grown into the largest democratic exercises in human history. The voting process relies extensively on Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) equipped with Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail systems to ensure transparency.

Electoral system

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Article 83 of the Constitution of India mandates that elections to the Lok Sabha be held at least once every five years.[4] The country is currently divided into 543 single-member parliamentary constituencies.

Certain constituencies are reserved for historically disadvantaged communities: as of the 2024 election, 84 seats are reserved for Scheduled Castes (SC) and 47 seats are reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST). Following the passing of the 106th Amendment Act (Women's Reservation Bill) and future delimitation exercises scheduled post-2026, 33% of the total seats will be reserved for women. The two seats formerly reserved for the Anglo-Indian community were abolished by the 104th constitutional amendment in 2020.[5]

List of Lok Sabha general elections in India

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Election year Lok Sabha Total Seats Turnout Party in government Seats won by the ruling party Margin of majority Vote Percentage of majority Seats controlled by coalition Prime Minister
1951–52 First 489 45.67%[6] Indian National Congress 364 120 74.48% — Jawaharlal Nehru
1957 Second 494 45.44%[7] 371 123 75.10% —
1962 Third 55.42%[8] 361 113 73.08% —
Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964–1966)
1967 Fourth 520 61.04%[9] 283 22 54.42% — Indira Gandhi
1971 Fifth 518 55.27%[10] Indian National Congress 352 92 67.95% —
1977 Sixth 542 60.49%[11] Janata Party 295 23 54.98% 345 Morarji Desai
Janata Party (Secular) — — — 248 Charan Singh
1980 Seventh 529 56.92%[12] Indian National Congress 353 88 64.76% — Indira Gandhi
1984 Eighth 541 64.01%[13] 414 143 76.52% — Rajiv Gandhi
1989 Ninth 529 61.95%[14] Janata Dal 143 –112 27.03% — V. P. Singh
Samajwadi Janata Party 64 –201 12.10% — Chandra Shekhar
1991 Tenth 534 56.73%[15] Indian National Congress 244 –24 45.69% 263 P. V. Narasimha Rao
1996 Eleventh 543 57.94%[16] Bharatiya Janata Party 161 –111 29.65% 187 Atal Bihari Vajpayee (16 May 1996 – 1 June 1996)
Janata Dal 46 –226 8.47% 192 H. D. Deve Gowda (1 June 1996 – 21 April 1997)
I. K. Gujral (21 April 1997 – 19 March 1998)
1998 Twelfth 61.97%[17] Bharatiya Janata Party 182 –90 33.39% 276 Atal Bihari Vajpayee
1999 Thirteenth 59.99%[18] 182 –90 33.39% 304
2004 Fourteenth 58.07%[19] Indian National Congress 145 –127 26.70% 218 Manmohan Singh
2009 Fifteenth 58.21%[20] 206 –66 37.80% 262
2014 Sixteenth 66.44%[21] Bharatiya Janata Party 282 10 51.74% 336 Narendra Modi
2019 Seventeenth 67.40%[22] 303 31 55.80% 353
2024 Eighteenth 66.33%[23] 240 –32 44.19% 293

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Lok Sabha Results 1951-52". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  2. ↑ "Statistical Report on Lok Sabha Elections 1951-52" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  3. ↑ "Lok Sabha Elections Stats Summary 1951-52" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
  4. ↑ "Constitution of India". Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  5. ↑ "Anglo Indian Representation To Lok Sabha, State Assemblies Done Away; SC-ST Reservation Extended For 10 Years". Live Law. 25 January 2020. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  6. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1951 to the First Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1957 to the Second Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1962 to the Third Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  9. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1967 to the Fourth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1971 to the Fifth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1977 to the Sixth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1980 to the Seventh Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1984 to the Eighth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1989 to the Ninth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  15. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1991 to the Tenth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  16. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1996 to the Eleventh Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  17. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1998 to the Twelfth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  18. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 1999 to the Thirteenth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  19. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2004 to the Fourteenth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  20. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2009 to the Fifteenth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  21. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2014 to the Sixteenth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  22. ↑ "Statistical Report on General Elections, 2019 to the Seventeenth Lok Sabha". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
  23. ↑ "General Election to Parliamentary Constituencies: Trends & Results June 2024". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 9 July 2026.
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