An Analytical Story of Indian Elections in 2 Charts

A time travel tale from 1960 to 2019

Data analytics is critical to our ability to interpret election validity and ensure data quality within governments. Visually understanding India’s election results since the year 1960 gives us a better picture of how the fates of leaders and parties have changed over the decades.

What might be surprising for one generation is just a manifestation of the cyclical nature of history and, more importantly, of people.

While the rule of one party/leader is revered at times, their fate is not sealed, and fortunes change in politics like winds at sea.

What you see below succinctly presents India’s post-independence political climate.

What’s the story here ?

How Indian National Congress’s juggernaut was shaken violently after the emergency of 1975 by a coalition of unlikely bed buddies. The era of coalitions had arrived, but it would take another 30 years before one could really survive.

The INC hiatus didn’t last, and they did make an overwhelming comeback. From the remnants of Janta Party had risen two new groups BJP and Janta Dal.

Politics of division gained momentum; each group nibbled away what was once INC’s. All this paved the way for the unstable governments of the 90s.

Five elections in around a decade.

What this did was cement the understanding that coalitions were the way forward. But another decade marred by corruption and growing discontent against the establishment run by a coalition led to the swing towards BJP.

And even though it was historic for the BJP to get 300+ seats, India had seen something even more radical than this in 1984 when Rajiv got INC 404 seats and 49% votes.

What’s the forecast?

India has seen even Juggernauts come and go. But, since currently, a juggernaut holds the helm, if history is any guide, Coalitions are coming, and probably so is instability.