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Motion of no confidence in India

In India, a motion of no confidence, also called vote of no confidence/no trust, is a motion of no confidence initiated in the Lok Sabha or in a state legislative assembly, to determine the confidence of the House in the Council of Ministers. If the motion is passed by a majority of the members of the house, all the ministers are expected to resign on moral grounds.[1][2] When a similar motion is moved by a minister to prove their command of confidence, it is called motion of confidence/vote of trust.[3]

list

Lok Sabha – No Confidence Motions

Major No Confidence Motions in Lok Sabha
Year Prime Minister Party/Alliance in Power Outcome Notes
1963 Jawaharlal Nehru Indian National Congress Survived First-ever no-confidence motion post Sino-Indian War. [4]
1979 Morarji Desai Janata Party Resigned Resigned before vote; Janata Party split. [5]
1993 P. V. Narasimha Rao Indian National Congress Survived Narrow victory; allegations of bribery. [6]
2003 Atal Bihari Vajpayee BJP-led NDA Survived Motion moved by Sonia Gandhi. [7]
2008 Manmohan Singh United Progressive Alliance Survived Over Indo-US Nuclear Deal. [8]
2018 Narendra Modi BJP-led NDA Survived Moved by TDP; NDA won with 325 votes. [9]
2023 Narendra Modi BJP-led NDA Survived Voice vote after Opposition walkout. [10]

State Assemblies – No Confidence Motions

Major No Confidence Motions in State Assemblies
Year State Chief Minister Party/Alliance in Power Outcome Notes
1964 Kerala R. Sankar INC Resigned On 8th September 1964, a no-confidence motion was put to vote with 73 Members voting for it and 50 Members voting against it. The motion was declared as carried and the Chief Minister resigned.[11]

Governor's rule was imposed with only 6 months left for the term of the assembly to expire. Elections were held as per schedule in March 1965, which led to a hung assembly.[12]

1973 Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi DMK (with INC support) Resigned Congress (Indira) withdrew support. [13]
1982 Kerala K. Karunakaran INC (UDF) Survived

(Chief Minister resigned after a month)

On February 2, 1982, a no-confidence motion was put to vote with 70 members each voting for and against the motion. Then Speaker exercised casting vote against the motion under Art. 189 of the constitution and the motion was declared as lost.[14][15]

In March 1982, a legislator defected to the opposition following which the Chief Minister resigned, leading to the imposition of Governor's rule. Subsequently, an early election was held in May 1982 which the UDF won.

1984 Andhra Pradesh N. T. Rama Rao TDP Reinstated Dismissed by Governor; reinstated under public pressure. [16]
1998 Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh BJP-led coalition Survived Faced instability due to alliance issues. [17]
2005 Bihar Nitish Kumar JD(U)–BJP Resigned Failed to prove majority in 7 days. [18]
2016 Uttarakhand Harish Rawat INC Reinstated SC restored government after President's Rule. [19]
2016 Arunachal Pradesh Nabam Tuki INC Lost Rebel faction supported BJP. [20]
2020 Madhya Pradesh Kamal Nath INC Resigned 22 MLAs defected to BJP. [21]
2020 Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot INC Survived Rebellion by Sachin Pilot faction. [22]
2023 Maharashtra Eknath Shinde BJP–Shiv Sena (Shinde faction) Survived Toppled Maha Vikas Aghadi government. [23]

See also

References

  1. ^ Shankar, B. L.; Rodrigues, Valerian (2012). The Indian Parliament: A Democracy at Work. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780199080434.
  2. ^ "What is a no confidence motion?". The Indian Express. 26 July 2023. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
  3. ^ "Motion of confidence in the Council of Ministers" (PDF). Lok Sabha Digital Library. THE PRIME MINISTER (DR. MANMOHAN SINGH): Mr. Speaker, Sir, with your permission, I beg to move : "That this House expresses its confidence in the Council of Ministers."
  4. ^ https://loksabha.nic.in/
  5. ^ https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19790715-morarji-desai-steps-down-charan-singh-swears-in-as-prime-minister-822963-2014-12-05
  6. ^ https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/19930815-narasimha-rao-government-survives-no-confidence-motion-811625-1993-08-15
  7. ^ https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/vajpayee-survives-no-trust-vote/articleshow/52027816.cms
  8. ^ https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/upa-wins-trust-vote/article1272582.ece
  9. ^ https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-44897755
  10. ^ https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/10/india-pm-modi-wins-no-confidence-vote-in-parliament
  11. ^ "Confidence / No Confidence Motions - 2nd KLA [KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY]". KERALA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ Visalakshi, N. R. (1966). "President's Rule in Kerala". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 27 (1): 55–68. ISSN 0019-5510.
  13. ^ https://www.frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/dismissal-of-karunanidhi-government-1976/article65532673.ece
  14. ^ Balan, Rakesh Mehar,Saritha S. (19 June 2017). "Kerala Chronicles: How an Assembly Speaker kept a Congress govt afloat for 3 months in 1982". The News Minute. Retrieved 22 April 2025.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ "Business- Kerala Legislature". www.niyamasabha.org. Retrieved 22 April 2025.
  16. ^ https://scroll.in/article/970978/the-story-of-how-nt-rama-rao-outsmarted-indira-gandhi-and-got-reinstated-as-andhra-cm
  17. ^ https://www.rediff.com/news/1998/oct/23up.htm
  18. ^ https://www.tribuneindia.com/2005/20050307/main2.htm
  19. ^ https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/harish-rawat-wins-trust-vote-in-uttarakhand-sc-opens-door-to-his-return-as-cm/story-XQxB7APphzZBbtSn5TZzaN.html
  20. ^ https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/tuki-resigns-kalikho-pul-takes-over-as-arunachal-cm/article8168414.ece
  21. ^ https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/madhya-pradesh-political-crisis-kamal-nath-resignation-floor-test-1658263-2020-03-20
  22. ^ https://indianexpress.com/article/india/ashok-gehlot-wins-trust-vote-in-rajasthan-assembly-floor-test-6559316/
  23. ^ https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/maharashtra-news-eknath-shinde-passes-trust-vote-wins-floor-test-in-maharashtra-assembly-3151183