Publication

The election to India's lower house of parliament (Lok Sabha), which took place in five phases between April 20 and May 20, 2004, resulted in three major surprises. First, contrary to all forecasts, the opposition Congress Party and its United Progressive Alliance (UPA) defeated the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Second, Manmohan Singh became India's first Sikh prime minister. And third, against all expectations, the country's communist parties polled their best results ever.