Identify the political party which has had a continuous growth in its Lok Sabha seats in the General Elections from 2009 to 2019.
Identify the political party which has had a continuous growth in its Lok Sabha seats in the General Elections from 2009 to 2019.
Options
Official answer
Correct option: (B) Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP's Lok Sabha tally rose continuously across three consecutive general elections — from 116 seats in 2009, to 282 seats in 2014, to 303 seats in 2019 — making it the only party among the given options to show sustained, uninterrupted growth in this period.
Marking scheme
- 1.1 mark: for correctly selecting option (B) Bharatiya Janata Party.
Hint
Compare each party's Lok Sabha seat count in 2009, 2014, and 2019 — only one shows an unbroken rising trend.
Quick oral answer
The BJP showed continuous growth in Lok Sabha seats — 116 in 2009, 282 in 2014, and 303 in 2019 — reflecting the emergence of a new, BJP-dominated party system in India.
Common mistakes
- 1.Selecting Congress by mistake, confusing its dominance in earlier decades with its performance in this specific 2009-2019 window.
- 2.Not knowing the actual seat figures and guessing based on which party is currently in the news.
Analysis and explanation
This question tests familiarity with recent electoral trends covered under 'Recent Developments in Indian Politics'.
Why (B) is correct
- BJP's seat share grew in each successive election — 2009, 2014, 2019 — reflecting its consolidation as the dominant party of the current 'fourth party system'.
- This continuous growth is linked to factors like strong central leadership, an expanded social coalition, and effective election management.
Why the other options are wrong
- Indian National Congress (A): its seats fell sharply from 206 (2009) to 44 (2014), a historic low, before a modest rise to 52 (2019) — decline, not continuous growth.
- Shiv Sena (C): its seat numbers fluctuated across these elections without a continuous upward trend.
- Communist Party of India (D): Left parties, including CPI, saw a consistent decline in seats over this period, not growth.
Interesting facts
The BJP's 303 seats in 2019 was its highest-ever tally, surpassing even its 2014 majority.
The 2014 election marked the first time since 1984 that a single party (BJP) won a majority on its own in the Lok Sabha.
Question details
Q11 of 38 questions
- Board
- CBSE
- Class
- Class 12
- Subject
- Political Science
- Year
- 2026
- Section
- Section A
- Marks
- 1
- Type
- MCQ
- Chapter
- Recent Developments in Indian Politics
- Topic
- Rise of BJP in Lok Sabha Elections (2009-2019)
- Bloom's level
- analyze
- Syllabus topic
- Unit 1: Politics in India since Independence — Recent Developments in Indian Politics: Rise of BJP and Decline of the Congress System
- Author
- CBSE
- Reviewed by
- Padhantu Academic Team
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Frequently asked questions
How many Lok Sabha seats did BJP win in 2009, 2014 and 2019?
BJP won 116 seats in 2009, 282 seats in 2014, and 303 seats in 2019 — a continuous rise across all three elections.
Why is the period after 2014 called the 'fourth party system' in India?
Political scientists describe post-2014 Indian politics as a fourth party system because the BJP has emerged as the new dominant, pan-Indian party, replacing the earlier Congress-dominance and subsequent coalition-politics eras.