The 1990s were tumultuous. Beginning with the assassination of Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, the succeeding Narasimha Rao government had to deal with a debt crisis that sent India into the economic overhaul. The Babri Masjid demolition triggered bloody communal riots. Corruption scams sent the Congress into its largest electoral defeat at the time.
A Vajpayee-led BJP government took power in 1996 and kept it for a grand total of 13 days. But they failed to prove a majority and were replaced by a Janata Dal coalition. What followed was a set of coalition governments that didn’t last very long. This was alleviated by presidents who swore Prime Ministers into power based on whether they represented the largest party in the Lok Sabha.
President K.R. Narayanan broke this trend in 1997. He demanded that would-be Prime Ministers prove their majority in Parliament as well as produce letters of support from their alliance partners. Following a crisis within the Gujral government in 1997, Narayanan advised the dissolution of Lok Sabha for fresh elections.
Vajpayee won again, but only held on for a year before AIADMK leader Jayalalitha withdrew her support, triggering yet another electoral crisis. President Narayanan asked Vajpayee to take out a Vote of Confidence in the house, which he lost. This led to both Vajpayee and Sonia Gandhi staking their claims to the throne.
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