After five years of steadfast leadership under Mr. P.V. Narasimha Rao, India witnessed some one of its the most unstable years politically, between 1996 and 1999. The cause for this was largely the two consecutive United Front governments and the short-lived Vajpayee government.
The United Front (UF) experiment between 1996 and 1998 was a non-Congress, non-BJP alliance, touted as an alternative to the two mighty parties. Comprising of thirteen regional, socialist, Left-leaning parties, the United Front governments headed by Janata Dal’s H.D. Devegowda and later I.K. Gujral were propped up with outside support from Congress.
Previously, between 1989 and 1991, two National Front (NF) governments were cobbled together by a regional coalition, once again led by Janata Dal with outside support from the Congress. Ironically, all four Third Front governments were brought down by the Congress withdrawing support.
