Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Short-Lived Tenure as India's 13th Prime Minister

New Delhi: Today is May 16. This is the date when Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as the 13th Prime Minister of India in 1996. Vajpayee's government lasted only 13 days. Vajpayee could not prove his majority and had to resign from the post of Prime Minister. In 1996, no party got a majority. In the Lok Sabha elections held in April-May 1996, no party got a majority. The BJP emerged as the largest party and for the first time won 161 seats more than the Congress. The Congress had to be satisfied with 140 seats. In this election, regional parties dominated. The BJP emerged as the largest party. In the 1996 general elections, the people did not give a majority to anyone. The BJP emerged as the largest party but did not have the magic figure of majority. It was also not possible to collect the majority figure. In the 1996 Lok Sabha elections, many big leaders separated from the Congress. Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi formed the All India Congress Party.