2. Which leader walked out of Parliament in a huff during the election of the leader of the Janata Dal Parliamentary Party in December 1989?
a. Chandra Shekhar.
b. Arun Nehru.
c. Devi Lal..
Wrong! Try again..
Wrong!
The correct answer is A.
Chandra Shekhar felt he had greater legitimacy to head the Janata Dal Parliamentary Party than V P Singh. Not only was he the senior politician -- someone who had been an MP long before V P Singh entered Uttar Pradesh politics -- he was also a card-carrying member of the Janata ethos, having been president of the Janata Party when it was founded in 1977. He may also have believed he had the support of the majority in the Janata Dal Parliamentary Party. But Arun Nehru, who had left the Congress party along with V P Singh in 1988, ganged up with Devi Lal and ensured that when the time came to nominate a leader, they would quickly endorse V P Singh, giving Chandra Shekhar no opportunity to manoeuvre things his way. Angered by the way he had been shunted out of the prime ministerial race, Chandra Shekhar stormed out of the meeting. To our mind that -- rather than the subsequent Mandal movement and L K Advani's rath yatra -- was the beginning of the end for the V P Singh government.
Correct!
Chandra Shekhar felt he had greater legitimacy to head the Janata Dal Parliamentary Party than V P Singh. Not only was he the senior politician -- someone who had been an MP long before V P Singh entered Uttar Pradesh politics -- he was also a card-carrying member of the Janata ethos, having been president of the Janata Party when it was founded in 1977. He may also have believed he had the support of the majority in the Janata Dal Parliamentary Party. But Arun Nehru, who had left the Congress party along with V P Singh in 1988, ganged up with Devi Lal and ensured that when the time came to nominate a leader, they would quickly endorse V P Singh, giving Chandra Shekhar no opportunity to manoeuvre things his way. Angered by the way he had been shunted out of the prime ministerial race, Chandra Shekhar stormed out of the meeting. To our mind that -- rather than the subsequent Mandal movement and L K Advani's rath yatra -- was the beginning of the end for the V P Singh government.
3. In November 1995, what important decision was taken by the BJP leadership at its Mumbai convention?
a. That it was not averse to being part of a coalition at the Centre.
b. That it would not contest seats in South India in the 1996 general election.
c. That Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be its candidate for prime minister.
Wrong! Try again..
Wrong! The correct answer is C.
In November 1995 at the BJP convention in Mumbai, L K Advani proposed that Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be the party's prime ministerial nominee. No one really knows if Advani stepped aside because he did not want the BJP to contest the 1996 Lok Sabha election under a leader (Advani), accused of involvement in what was then known as the hawala scam (Advani had already declared he would not contest any election until he was absolved of any wrongdoing). Or because Advani cleverly felt that his old friend Vajpayee would be more acceptable to the Indian people than his hawkish self. Advani once told our colleagues: "Vajpayeeji protested that I had not even consulted him before I announced his name as our party's prime ministerial candidate. I asked him, 'would you have agreed had I asked you?'" Whatever the reason, it must count as a brilliant choice. Without the avuncular Vajpayee at its helm, the BJP may not have made the gains it did in the 1996 general election and thereafter.
Correct!In November 1995 at the BJP convention in Mumbai, L K Advani proposed that Atal Bihari Vajpayee would be the party's prime ministerial nominee. No one really knows if Advani stepped aside because he did not want the BJP to contest the 1996 Lok Sabha election under a leader (Advani), accused of involvement in what was then known as the
hawala scam (Advani had already declared he would not contest any election until he was absolved of any wrongdoing). Or because Advani cleverly felt that his old friend Vajpayee would be more acceptable to the Indian people than his hawkish self. Advani once told our colleagues: "Vajpayee
ji protested that I had not even consulted him before I announced his name as our party's prime ministerial candidate. I asked him, 'would you have agreed had I asked you?'" Whatever the reason, it must count as a brilliant choice. Without the avuncular Vajpayee at its helm, the BJP may not have made the gains it did in the 1996 general election and thereafter.
4. What links Prime Ministers V P Singh, H D Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee?
a. They all lost a vote of confidence in Parliament.
b. They all lasted less than a year in their first term.
c. They were all non-Congress prime ministers.
Wrong! Try again..
Wrong! The correct answer is A, B and C.
This is the third googly I've bowled this election season! Makes me feel like Warnie:-) V P Singh, H D Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were all non-Congress prime ministers who did not last a year in their first term in office. They are also the only three prime ministers to lose a vote of confidence in Parliament. V P Singh lasted about 10 months in office; Deve Gowda's term lasted about nine months; and Vajpayee's first government survived a mere 13 days. His second term in office was cut short in April 1998 by just one vote, the smallest margin in Indian parliamentary history.
Correct!
This is the third googly I've bowled this election season! Makes me feel like Warnie:-) V P Singh, H D Deve Gowda and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were all non-Congress prime ministers who did not last a year in their first term in office. They are also the only three prime ministers to lose a vote of confidence in Parliament. V P Singh lasted about 10 months in office; Deve Gowda's term lasted about nine months; and Vajpayee's first government survived a mere 13 days. His second term in office was cut short in April 1998 by just one vote, the smallest margin in Indian parliamentary history.
5. Who served as home and defence ministers in the first Vajpayee government in May 1996?
a. L K Advani and George Fernandes.
b. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat and Jaswant Singh.
c. Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and Pramod Mahajan.
Wrong! Try again..
Wrong! The correct answer is C.
Neither current Home Minister L K Advani nor present Defence Minister George Fernandes were in the Vajpayee government -- Advani, because he did not contest the 1996 election; Fernandes, because he was not an ally of the BJP in 1996. So Vajpayee chose his old associate Dr Murli Manohar Joshi as home minister. Mahajan -- who had moved to Vajpayee's camp after being an Advani disciple for many years -- got the prestigious defence portfolio. Alas, it didn't last. The government fell in 13 days, and when Vajpayee became prime minister again in March 1998, Advani was India's home minister. Dr Joshi moved to human resources development -- would India's academic institutions have preferred him at the home ministry? Poor Mahajan had to wait eight months after Vajpayee was sworn in -- apparently, because the RSS reportedly stonewalled his return to the Cabinet -- to get a ministership again.
Correct!
Neither current Home Minister L K Advani nor present Defence Minister George Fernandes were in the Vajpayee government -- Advani, because he did not contest the 1996 election; Fernandes, because he was not an ally of the BJP in 1996. So Vajpayee chose his old associate Dr Murli Manohar Joshi as home minister. Mahajan -- who had moved to Vajpayee's camp after being an Advani disciple for many years -- got the prestigious defence portfolio. Alas, it didn't last. The government fell in 13 days, and when Vajpayee became prime minister again in March 1998, Advani was India's home minister. Dr Joshi moved to human resources development -- would India's academic institutions have preferred him at the home ministry? Poor Mahajan had to wait eight months after Vajpayee was sworn in -- apparently, because the RSS reportedly stonewalled his return to the Cabinet -- to get a ministership again.