BY
leading the National Democratic Alliance to a
clear election verdict — the first after
1984 — Atal Behari Vajpayee has perhaps
equalled the performance of Indira Gandhi, who,
like Vajpayee, in the face of heavy odds, led the
Congress to triumph in 1971. The elections of
1971 and 1999 thus stand out as highwater marks
in India’s political history. In 1971,
Indira Gandhi had faced the challenge from what
was then called the "Grand Alliance".
She entered into electoral adjustments with her
party, contesting 441 of the 518 Lok Sabha seats
and defeated the first-ever combined
anti-Congress onslaught.
BY
leading the National Democratic Alliance to a
clear election verdict — the first after
1984 — Atal Behari Vajpayee has perhaps
equalled the performance of Indira Gandhi, who,
like Vajpayee, in the face of heavy odds, led the
Congress to triumph in 1971. The elections of
1971 and 1999 thus stand out as highwater marks
in India’s political history. In 1971,
Indira Gandhi had faced the challenge from what
was then called the "Grand Alliance".
She entered into electoral adjustments with her
party, contesting 441 of the 518 Lok Sabha seats
and defeated the first-ever combined
anti-Congress onslaught. 
