1998 general election
The 12th Lok Sabha. Polled in 3 phases, counted 2 March 1998.
Seats declared
543
272 needed for a majority
Largest party
BJP
182 seats · short of a majority
Candidates
4,750
279 women, 45 elected
Turnout
60.80%
36.8 cr of 60.6 cr
The house
543 seats, each dot one constituency
- BJP182
- INC141
- CPM32
- SP20
- ADMK18
- RJD17
- TDP12
- SAP12
- CPI9
- BJD9
- SAD8
- WBTC7
- JD6
- IND6
- SHS6
- DMK6
- BSP5
- RSP5
- Others42
Biggest movements
Seat change against the previous general election
JD
-40
BJP
+21
ADMK
+18
TMCM
-17
DMK
-11
SHS
-9
BSP
-6
Parties
Ordered by seats won
| Party | Won | +/− | Contested | Strike rate | Votes | Share | Share +/− | Deposits lost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BJPBharatiya Janata Party | 182 | +21 | 388 | 36.2% | 9,42,66,188 | 25.59% | +5.30 | 57 |
| INCIndian National Congress | 141 | +1 | 477 | 29.6% | 9,51,11,131 | 25.82% | -2.99 | 153 |
| CPMCommunist Party of India (Marxist) | 32 | 0 | 71 | 34.2% | 1,89,91,867 | 5.16% | -0.97 | 20 |
| SPSamajwadi Party | 20 | +3 | 166 | 16.1% | 1,81,67,640 | 4.93% | +1.65 | 88 |
| ADMKAll India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 18 | +18 | 23 | 46.9% | 67,31,550 | 1.83% | +1.19 | 0 |
| RJDRashtriya Janata Dal | 17 | — | 116 | 13.0% | 1,02,29,971 | 2.78% | — | 80 |
| TDPTelugu Desam Party | 12 | -4 | 35 | 38.6% | 1,01,99,463 | 2.77% | -0.20 | 1 |
| SAPSAP | 12 | +4 | 57 | 16.1% | 64,91,639 | 1.76% | -0.41 | 35 |
| CPICommunist Party of India | 9 | -3 | 58 | 16.5% | 64,29,569 | 1.75% | -0.22 | 40 |
| BJDBiju Janata Dal | 9 | — | 12 | 47.7% | 36,69,825 | 1.00% | — | 0 |
| SADShiromani Akali Dal | 8 | 0 | 8 | 51.1% | 30,01,769 | 0.81% | +0.06 | 0 |
| WBTCWBTC | 7 | — | 29 | 35.6% | 89,20,583 | 2.42% | — | 3 |
| JDJanata Dal | 6 | -40 | 191 | 9.3% | 1,19,30,209 | 3.24% | -4.85 | 156 |
| INDIndependent | 6 | -3 | 1915 | 0.7% | 87,19,952 | 2.37% | -3.92 | 1898 |
| SHSShiv Sena | 6 | -9 | 79 | 12.0% | 65,28,566 | 1.77% | +0.28 | 55 |
| DMKDravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 6 | -11 | 18 | 43.6% | 53,08,388 | 1.44% | -0.70 | 0 |
| BSPBahujan Samaj Party | 5 | -6 | 251 | 9.8% | 1,71,86,779 | 4.67% | +0.65 | 176 |
| RSPRevolutionary Socialist Party | 5 | 0 | 5 | 49.0% | 20,32,585 | 0.55% | -0.08 | 0 |
| HLDRHLDR | 4 | — | 7 | 38.2% | 19,56,087 | 0.53% | — | 0 |
| PMKPattali Makkal Katchi | 4 | +4 | 5 | 47.9% | 15,48,976 | 0.42% | +0.25 | 0 |
| RPIRPI | 4 | +4 | 20 | 9.6% | 13,51,019 | 0.37% | -0.07 | 16 |
| TMCMTMCM | 3 | -17 | 20 | 41.6% | 51,69,183 | 1.40% | -0.79 | 0 |
| LSLS | 3 | — | 33 | 11.7% | 25,48,725 | 0.69% | — | 24 |
| MDMKMarumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 3 | +3 | 5 | 45.8% | 16,02,504 | 0.43% | +0.07 | 0 |
| JKNJammu & Kashmir National Conference | 3 | — | 6 | 36.4% | 7,84,669 | 0.21% | — | 0 |
| FBLAll India Forward Bloc | 2 | -1 | 4 | 35.9% | 12,13,965 | 0.33% | -0.05 | 1 |
| MULIndian Union Muslim League | 2 | 0 | 7 | 14.6% | 8,00,765 | 0.22% | -0.01 | 5 |
| ACAC | 2 | — | 2 | 52.5% | 1,72,496 | 0.05% | — | 0 |
| AIRJPAIRJP | 1 | — | 38 | 8.0% | 20,71,643 | 0.56% | — | 30 |
| SJPRSJPR | 1 | — | 20 | 7.6% | 11,81,083 | 0.32% | — | 15 |
| HVPHaryana Vikas Party | 1 | -2 | 4 | 29.9% | 8,75,803 | 0.24% | -0.11 | 0 |
| AIMIMAll India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen | 1 | 0 | 1 | 44.6% | 4,85,785 | 0.13% | +0.03 | 0 |
| AIICSAIICS | 1 | — | 9 | 8.6% | 4,57,510 | 0.12% | — | 7 |
| JPJP | 1 | +1 | 16 | 3.8% | 4,44,305 | 0.12% | -0.07 | 15 |
| UMFAUMFA | 1 | +1 | 1 | 58.6% | 3,57,759 | 0.10% | +0.02 | 0 |
| KECMKerala Congress (M) | 1 | 0 | 1 | 54.3% | 3,56,168 | 0.10% | -0.02 | 0 |
| PWPIPWPI | 1 | +1 | 2 | 19.9% | 2,69,609 | 0.07% | -0.06 | 1 |
| MSCPMSCP | 1 | — | 2 | 25.4% | 1,90,358 | 0.05% | — | 0 |
| ASDCASDC | 1 | 0 | 1 | 47.1% | 1,84,241 | 0.05% | 0.00 | 0 |
| SDFSikkim Democratic Front | 1 | 0 | 1 | 65.7% | 1,02,440 | 0.03% | -0.01 | 0 |
Showing the 40 largest parties. The full list is at /api/elections/lok-sabha-1998/parties?limit=500.
States & union territories
Seats and the parties that won them
| State / UT | Seats | Turnout | Won by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | 85 | 54.7% | BJP57SP20BSP4SAP2 |
| Bihar | 54 | 63.6% | BJP20RJD17SAP10INC5 |
| Maharashtra | 48 | 56.0% | INC33SHS6RPI4BJP4 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 42 | 64.9% | INC22TDP12BJP4CPI2 |
| West Bengal | 42 | 78.0% | CPM24WBTC7RSP4CPI3 |
| Madhya Pradesh | 40 | 60.4% | BJP30INC10 |
| Tamil Nadu | 39 | 56.2% | ADMK18DMK5PMK4MDMK3 |
| Karnataka | 28 | 63.8% | BJP13INC9JD3LS3 |
| Gujarat | 26 | 56.6% | BJP19INC7 |
| Rajasthan | 25 | 59.3% | INC18BJP5AIICS1IND1 |
| Odisha | 21 | 57.0% | BJD9BJP7INC5 |
| Kerala | 20 | 70.1% | INC8CPM6MUL2CPI2 |
| Assam | 14 | 58.7% | INC10BJP1ASDC1IND1 |
| Punjab | 13 | 59.4% | SAD8BJP3JD1IND1 |
| Haryana | 10 | 68.1% | HLDR4INC3BSP1BJP1 |
| Delhi | 7 | 50.8% | BJP6INC1 |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 6 | 43.0% | JKN3BJP2INC1 |
| Himachal Pradesh | 4 | 65.6% | BJP3INC1 |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2 | 58.1% | AC2 |
| Goa | 2 | 60.5% | INC2 |
| Manipur | 2 | 56.4% | MSCP1CPI1 |
| Meghalaya | 2 | 72.5% | INC2 |
| Tripura | 2 | 79.3% | CPM2 |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 1 | 62.9% | INC1 |
| Chandigarh | 1 | 53.2% | BJP1 |
| Dadra and Nagar Haveli | 1 | 75.7% | BJP1 |
| Daman and Diu | 1 | 71.7% | BJP1 |
| Lakshadweep | 1 | 84.6% | INC1 |
| Mizoram | 1 | 69.1% | IND1 |
| Nagaland | 1 | 42.9% | INC1 |
| Puducherry | 1 | 61.5% | DMK1 |
| Sikkim | 1 | 65.9% | SDF1 |
Largest victories of 1998
| Constituency | State | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NAGALAND | Nagaland | INCK. ASUNGBA SANGTAM | LSAKHEI ACHUMI | 2,91,43873.41% |
| TURA | Meghalaya | INCPurno Agitok Sangma | BJPAnilla D. Shira | 1,77,65954.39% |
| RAJKOT | Gujarat | BJPDR.KATHIRIYA VALLABHBHAI RAMJIBHAI | AIRJPRADADIYA VITHALBHAI HANSRAJBHAI | 3,54,18753.33% |
| JORHAT | Assam | INCBijoy Krishna Handique | AGPDeba Kumar Bora | 1,62,00948.76% |
| KHURJA | Uttar Pradesh | BJPASHOK KUMAR PRADHAN | BSPVIJAY SINGH | 2,29,39939.98% |
| DIBRUGARH | Assam | INCPaban Singh Ghatowar | BJPAjit Chaliha | 1,41,12238.81% |
| BARPETA | Assam | UMFAA.F.GOLAM OSMANI | BJPMANJUSHREE PATHAK | 2,24,46236.79% |
| KALIABOR | Assam | INCTarun Gogoi | AGPKeshab Mahanta | 2,32,33536.24% |
| TEHRI GARHWAL | Uttar Pradesh | BJPMANABENDRA SHAH | INCHIRA SINGH BISHT | 1,82,09235.94% |
| JHARGRAM | West Bengal | CPMMURMU RUPCHAND | WBTCSAMAY MANDI | 2,87,18835.79% |
Closest results of 1998
| Constituency | State | Winner | Runner-up | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RAJMAHAL | Bihar | BJPSOM MARANDI | INCTHOMAS HANSDA | 90.00% |
| MIZORAM | Mizoram | INDDR. H. LALLUNGMUANA | INCJ. LALSANGZUALA | 410.01% |
| MUMBAI SOUTH CENTRAL | Maharashtra | SHSMOHAN VISHNU RAWALE | SPPRINCIPAL SUHAIL LOKHANDWALA | 1530.04% |
| TIRUPPATTUR | Tamil Nadu | DMKVENUGOPAL. D | ADMKKRISHNAMOORTHY.S | 2740.04% |
| ROHTAK | Haryana | INCBHUPINDER SINGH | HLDRDEVI LAL S/O SH. LEKH RAM | 3830.06% |
| SAIDPUR | Uttar Pradesh | BJPVIJAY | SPTOOFANI | 8250.12% |
| PANAJI | Goa | INCRAVI SITARAM NAIK | BJPRAUT PANDURANG DATTARAM | 4170.17% |
| MAVELIKARA | Kerala | INCProf. P.J. Kurien | INDProf. Nainan Koshy | 1,2610.20% |
| MISRIKH | Uttar Pradesh | BSPRAM SHANKER | SPSHYAM LAL RAWAT | 1,4950.25% |
| CANNANORE | Kerala | INCMullappally Ramachandran | INDA.C.Shanmukha Das | 2,1800.27% |