In Lok Sabha, a party or a pre-poll coalition needs 272 seats to form a government. But what happens when either of them are not able to win the required number of seats and thereby fall short of a majority in the house? In this episode of Sadda Haq, The Quint explains the process that follows a hung parliament.
When it becomes clear that no single party or a pre-poll coalition has the numbers to form a government, the President of India steps in with the following options.
- He or she can invite the leader of the largest pre-poll coalition and ask him/her to form a government.
- He or she can invite the leader of the largest single-party and ask him/her to form a government.
- He or she can invite the leader of the largest post-poll coalition and ask him/her to form the government.
- If the president feels that the leader of the largest-single party won’t be able to secure the numbers required to from a majority, her/she can invite other parties who he feels can form a stable majority government.
In exercising all these options, the president usually makes a decision based on who he thinks has the capacity to show the numbers to form a stable government.
However, if the president exhausts all his options, then he/she can impose President’s rule and place the house under suspended animation. A president’s rule can last up to six months, during which parties and coalitions get another chance to form a stable government.
If six months pass and no one is able to form the government, then the president has to dissolve the Lok Sabha and order fresh elections.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)