1996 general election
The 11th Lok Sabha. Polled in 3 phases, counted 8 May 1996.
Seats declared
543
272 needed for a majority
Largest party
BJP
161 seats · short of a majority
Candidates
13,952
606 women, 42 elected
Turnout
56.61%
33.5 cr of 59.2 cr
The house
543 seats, each dot one constituency
- BJP161
- INC140
- JD46
- CPM32
- TMCM20
- SP17
- DMK17
- TDP16
- SHS15
- CPI12
- BSP11
- IND9
- SAP8
- SAD8
- AGP5
- RSP5
- Others21
Biggest movements
Seat change against the previous general election
INC
-104
BJP
+41
SP
+17
DMK
+17
JD
-13
SHS
+11
BSP
+8
IND
+8
JMM
-5
JP
-5
Parties
Ordered by seats won
| Party | Won | +/− | Contested | Strike rate | Votes | Share | Share +/− | Deposits lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BJPBharatiya Janata Party | 161 | +41 | 471 | 23.4% | 6,79,50,851 | 20.29% | +0.22 | 180 |
| INCIndian National Congress | 140 | -104 | 529 | 29.7% | 9,64,55,493 | 28.80% | -7.60 | 127 |
| JDJanata Dal | 46 | -13 | 196 | 23.4% | 2,70,70,340 | 8.08% | -3.64 | 85 |
| CPMCommunist Party of India (Marxist) | 32 | -3 | 75 | 37.1% | 2,04,96,810 | 6.12% | -0.02 | 22 |
| TMCMTMCM | 20 | — | 20 | 54.6% | 73,39,982 | 2.19% | — | 0 |
| SPSamajwadi Party | 17 | +17 | 111 | 17.7% | 1,09,89,241 | 3.28% | +3.28 | 50 |
| DMKDravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 17 | +17 | 18 | 56.2% | 71,51,381 | 2.14% | +0.07 | 0 |
| TDPTelugu Desam Party | 16 | +3 | 36 | 38.2% | 99,31,826 | 2.97% | +0.01 | 2 |
| SHSShiv Sena | 15 | +11 | 132 | 6.3% | 49,89,994 | 1.49% | +0.70 | 112 |
| CPICommunist Party of India | 12 | -2 | 43 | 24.9% | 65,82,263 | 1.97% | -0.51 | 22 |
| BSPBahujan Samaj Party | 11 | +8 | 210 | 11.2% | 1,34,53,235 | 4.02% | +2.21 | 138 |
| INDIndependent | 9 | +8 | 10636 | 0.3% | 2,10,41,557 | 6.28% | +2.13 | 10604 |
| SAPSAP | 8 | — | 81 | 14.1% | 72,56,086 | 2.17% | — | 51 |
| SADShiromani Akali Dal | 8 | — | 9 | 40.5% | 25,34,979 | 0.76% | — | 0 |
| AGPAsom Gana Parishad | 5 | +4 | 11 | 32.6% | 25,60,506 | 0.77% | +0.23 | 0 |
| RSPRevolutionary Socialist Party | 5 | +1 | 5 | 49.7% | 21,05,469 | 0.63% | 0.00 | 0 |
| AIICTAIICT | 4 | — | 321 | 2.6% | 49,03,070 | 1.46% | — | 310 |
| FBLAll India Forward Bloc | 3 | 0 | 16 | 11.0% | 12,79,492 | 0.38% | -0.03 | 13 |
| HVPHaryana Vikas Party | 3 | +2 | 4 | 39.1% | 11,56,322 | 0.34% | +0.23 | 0 |
| MULIndian Union Muslim League | 2 | 0 | 12 | 7.3% | 7,57,316 | 0.23% | -0.08 | 10 |
| JMMJharkhand Mukti Morcha | 1 | -5 | 29 | 6.8% | 12,87,072 | 0.38% | -0.15 | 24 |
| KCPKCP | 1 | — | 11 | 8.4% | 5,81,868 | 0.17% | — | 10 |
| KECMKerala Congress (M) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 54.4% | 3,82,319 | 0.11% | -0.02 | 0 |
| AIMIMAll India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen | 1 | — | 2 | 19.0% | 3,40,070 | 0.10% | — | 1 |
| MPVCMPVC | 1 | — | 1 | 66.3% | 3,37,539 | 0.10% | — | 0 |
| ASDCASDC | 1 | — | 1 | 52.7% | 1,80,112 | 0.05% | — | 0 |
| MAGMAG | 1 | +1 | 2 | 26.8% | 1,29,220 | 0.04% | +0.02 | 1 |
| SDFSikkim Democratic Front | 1 | — | 1 | 72.1% | 1,24,218 | 0.04% | — | 0 |
| UGDPUGDP | 1 | — | 1 | 40.5% | 1,09,346 | 0.03% | — | 0 |
| NTRTDPLPNTRTDPLP | 0 | — | 42 | 10.7% | 32,49,267 | 0.97% | — | 36 |
| ADMKAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 0 | — | 10 | 29.4% | 21,30,286 | 0.64% | — | 0 |
| RPIRPI | 0 | 0 | 56 | 4.4% | 14,54,363 | 0.43% | +0.42 | 48 |
| MDMKMarumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 0 | — | 25 | 7.2% | 12,35,812 | 0.37% | — | 24 |
| CPI(ML)(L)CPI(ML)(L) | 0 | — | 42 | 3.0% | 8,08,065 | 0.24% | — | 40 |
| JPJP | 0 | -5 | 101 | 1.0% | 6,31,021 | 0.19% | -3.15 | 100 |
| PMKPattali Makkal Katchi | 0 | 0 | 16 | 5.2% | 5,71,910 | 0.17% | -0.29 | 15 |
| PWPIPWPI | 0 | — | 4 | 19.2% | 4,37,805 | 0.13% | — | 2 |
| ICSIndian Congress (Socialist) | 0 | — | 26 | 2.8% | 4,04,261 | 0.12% | — | 25 |
| SADMSADM | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7.3% | 3,39,520 | 0.10% | +0.04 | 6 |
| BBMBBM | 0 | — | 4 | 14.4% | 3,29,695 | 0.10% | — | 3 |
Showing the 40 largest parties. The full list is at /api/elections/lok-sabha-1996/parties?limit=500.
States & union territories
Seats and the parties that won them
| State / UT | Seats | Turnout | Won by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | 85 | 45.6% | BJP52SP16BSP6INC5 |
| Bihar | 54 | 58.6% | JD22BJP18SAP6CPI3 |
| Maharashtra | 48 | 51.3% | BJP18SHS15INC15 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 42 | 61.6% | INC22TDP16CPI2AIMIM1 |
| West Bengal | 42 | 80.5% | CPM23INC9RSP4FBL3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 40 | 52.2% | BJP27INC8BSP2MPVC1 |
| Tamil Nadu | 39 | 64.0% | TMCM20DMK17CPI2 |
| Karnataka | 28 | 58.8% | JD16BJP6INC5KCP1 |
| Gujarat | 26 | 36.3% | BJP16INC10 |
| Rajasthan | 25 | 42.7% | BJP12INC12AIICT1 |
| Odisha | 21 | 58.1% | INC16JD4SAP1 |
| Kerala | 20 | 69.6% | INC7CPM5MUL2CPI2 |
| Assam | 14 | 74.9% | INC5AGP5BJP1ASDC1 |
| Punjab | 13 | 60.9% | SAD8BSP3INC2 |
| Haryana | 10 | 68.3% | BJP4HVP3INC2IND1 |
| Delhi | 7 | 49.9% | BJP5INC2 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 6 | 46.6% | INC4JD1BJP1 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 4 | 57.1% | INC4 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2 | 53.9% | IND2 |
| Goa | 2 | 55.5% | MAG1UGDP1 |
| Manipur | 2 | 74.3% | INC2 |
| Meghalaya | 2 | 60.3% | IND1INC1 |
| Tripura | 2 | 78.1% | CPM2 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 1 | 60.7% | INC1 |
| Chandigarh | 1 | 57.5% | BJP1 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 1 | 74.6% | INC1 |
| Daman and Diu | 1 | 69.1% | INC1 |
| Lakshadweep | 1 | 88.5% | INC1 |
| Mizoram | 1 | 72.8% | INC1 |
| Nagaland | 1 | 86.6% | INC1 |
| Puducherry | 1 | 72.7% | INC1 |
| Sikkim | 1 | 75.1% | SDF1 |
Largest victories of 1996
| Constituency | State | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TURA | Meghalaya | INCPURNO AGITOK SANGMA | BJPENILA SHIRA | 1,84,79065.78% |
| MADRAS CENTRAL | Tamil Nadu | DMKMURASOLI MARAN | INCG.K.J.BHARATHI | 2,80,46747.93% |
| SIKKIM | Sikkim | SDFBHIM PRASAD DAHAL | SSPNAR BAHADUR BHANDARI | 82,04347.65% |
| PURNEA | Bihar | SPRAJESH RANJAN | BJPRAJENDRA PD. GUPTA | 3,16,15547.08% |
| MADRAS NORTH | Tamil Nadu | DMKSOMU N.V.N | INCPANDIAN.D | 3,89,61746.07% |
| GWALIOR | Madhya Pradesh | MPVCMADHAVRAO SCINDHIYA | BSPPHOOL SINGH BARAIYA | 2,23,99444.02% |
| JHARGRAM | West Bengal | CPMRUPCHAND MURMU | INCSUBODH HANSDA | 3,47,26443.12% |
| PILIBHIT | Uttar Pradesh | JDMANEKA GANDHI | BJPPARASHU RAM | 2,83,31042.82% |
| MADRAS SOUTH | Tamil Nadu | DMKBAALU T.R | ADMKGANESHAM.H | 3,39,18139.02% |
| GANDHINAGAR | Gujarat | BJPATALBIHARI VAJAPAYEE | INCPOPATLAL V. PATEL | 1,88,87238.74% |
Closest results of 1996
| Constituency | State | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BARODA | Gujarat | INCGAEKWAD SATYAJITSINH DILIPSINH | BJPJITENDRA RATILAL SUKHADIA (JITUBHAI) | 170.00% |
| PONDICHERRY | Puducherry | INCM.O.H. FAROOK | DMKS. ARUMUGHAM | 2840.06% |
| BULSAR | Gujarat | BJPMANIBHAI RAMJIBHAI CHAUDHARI | INCUTTAMBHAI HARJIBHAI PATEL | 3680.09% |
| KOTA | Rajasthan | BJPDAU DAYAL JOSHI | INCRAM NARAYAN MEENA | 6850.13% |
| TRICHUR | Kerala | CPIV.V.RAGHAVAN | INCK.KARUNAKARAN | 1,4800.21% |
| ELURU | Andhra Pradesh | TDPBOLLA BULI RAMAIAH | INCMAGANTI VENKATESWARA RAO(BABU) | 1,6350.21% |
| KALIABOR | Assam | AGPKESHAB MAHANTA | INCTARUN GOGOI | 1,6160.22% |
| BALAGHAT | Madhya Pradesh | INCVISHVESHWAR BHAGAT | BJPGAURISHANKAR CHATURBHUJ BISEN | 1,2570.23% |
| MORADABAD | Uttar Pradesh | SPSHAFIQUR RAHMAN WARQ | BJPSANDEEP | 1,8850.30% |
| SAHARANPUR | Uttar Pradesh | BJPNAKLI SINGH | SPRASHID MASOOD | 2,4990.35% |