{{Infobox Indian political party , party_name = United Progressive Alliance , native_name = {{IAST3, Saṁyukt Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan , abbreviation = UPA , logo = United Progressive Alliance logo.svg , founder =

Sonia Gandhi Sonia Gandhi ('' née'' Maino; born 9 December 1946) is an Indian politician. She is the longest serving president of the Indian National Congress, a social democratic political party, which has governed India for most of its post-independ ...

, colorcode = {{party color, Indian National Congress , formerchairman =

(last) , incumbent = , formerpm =

Manmohan Singh Manmohan Singh (; born 26 September 1932) is an Indian politician, economist and statesman who served as the 13th prime minister of India from 2004 to 2014. He is also the third longest-serving prime minister after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indir ...

(2004–2014) , eci = , national_convener = , no_of_members = 19 Parties , foundation = {{start date and age, df=yes, 2004, 05, 06 , dissolution = {{end date and age, df=y, 2023, 07, 18 , successor =

Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance The Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A; ) is a big tent political alliance of 28 political parties in India led by the Indian National Congress. The primary objective of the alliance is to defeat the ruling National Dem ...

(INDIA) , position = Centre to centre-left , ideology = {{ubl, class=nowrap, , Majority: , Big tent{{cite book, author=Lowell Barrington, title=Comparative Politics: Structures and Choices, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3uuAtazupnAC&pg=PA379, year=2009, publisher=Cengage Learning, isbn=978-0-618-49319-7, page=379 , Secularism , Factions: , Social liberalism{{refn , {{cite book , last=DeSouza , first=Peter Ronald , date=2006 , title=India's Political Parties Readings in Indian Government and Politics series , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eeRhDwAAQBAJ&q=Indian+National+Congress+liberal+ideology , publisher= SAGE Publishing , page=420 , isbn=978-9-352-80534-1 {{cite book , last1=Rosow , first1=Stephen J. , last2=George , first2=Jim , date=2014 , title=Globalization and Democracy , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v3mVoAEACAAJ , publisher=

Rowman & Littlefield Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, pages=91–96 , isbn=978-1-442-21810-9 {{cite book, author=N. S. Gehlot, title=The Congress Party in India: Policies, Culture, Performance, url={{Google books, 06HLD2_3Qj4C, page=PM177, keywords=, text=, plainurl=yes, year=1991, publisher=Deep & Deep Publications, isbn=978-81-7100-306-8, pages=150–200{{cite book , last1=Soper , first1=J. Christopher , last2=Fetzer , first2=Joel S. , date=2018 , title=Religion and Nationalism in Global Perspective , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y7BoDwAAQBAJ , publisher= Cambridge University Press , pages=200–210 , isbn=978-1-107-18943-0 , Social democracy{{cite book, year=1989, editor1-last=Agrawal, editor1-first=S. P., editor2-last=Aggarwal, editor2-first=J. C., title=Nehru on Social Issues, location = New Delhi, publisher=Concept Publishing, isbn=978-817022207-1 , Economic liberalism{{cite book, year=1989, editor1-last=Agrawal, editor1-first=S. P., editor2-last=Aggarwal, editor2-first=J. C., title=Nehru on Social Issues, location = New Delhi, publisher=Concept Publishing, isbn=978-817022207-1 The United Progressive Alliance (UPA;

IAST The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration (IAST) is a transliteration scheme that allows the lossless romanisation of Indic scripts as employed by Sanskrit and related Indic languages. It is based on a scheme that emerged during ...

: Saṁyukt Pragatiśīl Gaṭhabandhan) was a

political alliance A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies. International terms Equivalent terms are used differ ...

in India led by the Indian National Congress. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party got the majority. The UPA subsequently governed India from 2004 until 2014 for two terms before losing power to their main rivals, the BJP-led

National Democratic Alliance National Democratic Alliance (NDA) () is a Centre-right politics, centre-right to Right-wing politics, right-wing and Conservatism, conservative Indian big tent political alliance led by the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). It was foun ...

. The UPA used to rule seven

States and union territories of India India is a federal union comprising 28 states and 8 union territories, with a total of 36 entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into districts and smaller administrative divisions. History Pre-indepen ...

before it was dissolved to form the

on 18 July 2023 ahead of the 2024 general election.

History

2004–2008

UPA was formed soon after the

2004 Indian general election General elections were held in India in four phases between 20 April and 10 May 2004. Over 670 million people were eligible to vote, electing 543 members of the 14th Lok Sabha. Seven states also held assembly elections to elect state governm ...

when no party had won a majority. The then ruling Bharatiya Janata Party-led

(NDA) won 181 seats of 544, as opposed to the UPA's tally of 218 seats. The Left Front with 59 MPs (excluding the speaker of the Lok Sabha), the

Samajwadi Party The Samajwadi Party ( SP; translation: ''Socialist Party'', founded 4 October 1992) is a Socialism, socialist political party in India, headquartered in New Delhi but mainly based in Uttar Pradesh, with significant presence in other states as w ...

with 39 MPs and the

Bahujan Samaj Party The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) is a national level political party in India that was formed to represent Bahujans (literally means "community in majority"), referring to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and Other Backward Classes (OBC), alon ...

with 19 MPs were other significant blocks that supported UPA at various times. UPA did not achieve a majority, rather it relied on external support, similar to the formula adopted by the previous minority governments of the United Front, the NDA, the Congress government of

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian lawyer, statesman and politician who served as the 9th prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He is known for introducing various liberal reforms to Indi ...

, and earlier governments of

V. P. Singh Vishwanath Pratap Singh (25 June 1931 – 27 November 2008), shortened to V. P. Singh, was an Indian politician who was the 7th Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1990 and the 41st Raja Bahadur of Manda. He is India's only prime minister to ...

and Chandra Shekhar. An informal alliance had existed prior to the elections as several of the constituent parties had developed seat-sharing agreements in many states. After the election the results of negotiations between parties were announced. The UPA government's policies were initially guided by a common minimum programme that the alliance hammered out with consultations with Jyoti Basu and Harkishan Singh Surjeet of the 59-member Left Front. Hence, government policies were generally perceived as centre-left, reflecting the centrist policies of the INC. During the tenure of Jharkhand Chief Minister

Madhu Koda Madhu Koda (born 6 January 1971) is an Indian politician who had served as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand from 2006 to 2008 (UPA alliance). He was sworn in as the fourth Chief Minister of Jharkhand on 14 September 2006, and remained in offic ...

, the constituents of the UPA were, by mutual consent, supporting his government. On 22 July 2008, the UPA survived a vote of confidence in the parliament brought on by the Left Front withdrawing their support in protest at the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement. The Congress party and its leaders along with then

leader Amar Singh were accused of a "cash for vote" scam as part of the cash-for-votes scandal, in which they were accused of buying votes in Lok Sabha to save the government. During UPA I, the economy saw steady economic growth and many people (100 million+) escaped poverty.

2009–2014

In the 2009 Lok Sabha election, the UPA won 262 seats, of which the INC accounted for 206. During UPA II, the alliance won election in Maharashtra, Haryana and Arunachal Pradesh. However, there were several allegations of scams during its tenure that impacted UPA's image nationwide and the approval rating for the government fell. In addition, many members left for YSRCP. This started a domino effect with members leaving to form their own parties and parties such as DMK leaving the alliance altogether. During this time UPA struggled with state election and leadership stability. The alliance suffered a defeat in

2014 Indian general election General elections were held in India in nine phases from 7 April to 12 May 2014 to elect the members of the 16th Lok Sabha. With 834 million registered voters, they were the largest-ever elections in the world until being surpassed by the 2019 ...

as it won only 60 seats. In addition, UPA won only one state election and got wiped out from Andhra Pradesh where they previously had 150+ MLAs.

2015–2019

From 2014 to 2017, UPA won only 3 state elections. This was blamed on the alliance's failed leadership and weakness compared to the NDA. In addition the party lost power in states where they had once won state elections as in Bihar. In 2017 the alliance lost again. In 2018 UPA had a phenomenal comeback in the state elections as the party won important in Karnataka, Rajasthan and others. More parties joined the alliance and it was stronger than ever. In

2019 Indian general election General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and voter ...

the UPA won only 91 seats in the general election and INC won 52 seats, thus failed to secure 10% seats required for the leader of opposition post. The alliance lost another state to BJP with the party winning by-polls and pushing the UPA into the minority. Towards the end of 2019, the alliance made huge gains in Haryana, won in Jharkhand and formed a state-level alliance called Maha Vikas Aghadi to form the government in Maharashtra with

Uddhav Thackeray Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Marathi pronunciation: d̪ʱːəʋ ʈʰaːkɾeː born 27 July 1960) is an Indian politician who served as the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra from 2019 to 2022. He was also the president of Shiv Sena prior to ...

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena ( IAST: ''Śiva Sēnā'') () was a right-wing to far-right Marathi regionalist and Hindu ultranationalist political party in India founded in 1966 by cartoonist Bal Thackeray. Originally emerging from nativist movements in Bom ...

leading the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. Shiv Sena had been a member of NDA for twenty five years. It left NDA and joined MVA in 2019.{{cite news , title="Wasted 25 Years in Alliance With BJP...," Says Uddhav Thackeray , url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/uddhav-thackeray-says-wasted-25-years-in-alliance-with-bjp-2725461 , access-date=24 January 2022 , work=NDTV.com , date=23 January 2022

2020–2023

Since 2020, more parties joined the alliance. The alliance lost the Bihar election that everyone expected it to win but in 2022, ruling party

JD(U) Janata Dal (United) ("People’s Party (United)”) abbreviated as JD(U) is an Indian political party with political presence mainly in eastern and north-eastern India. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar , Arunachal Pr ...

left

and rejoined Mahagathbandhan to form government in Bihar. In addition UPA only won 1 out of the 5 state elections in 2021. However the alliance made significant gain in a number of MLA races. MVA lost control of Maharashtra due to crisis and split in

. Moreover, UPA lost in Gujarat assembly elections however, it won the state election in Himachal Pradesh. In 2023, UPA again failed in winning elections in the

North-East The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

but won the assembly in the very important state of Karnataka. The alliance was rebranded as the

on 18 July 2023, with many parties joining the newly-formed alliance. The alliance will contest the

2024 Indian general election General elections are expected to be held in India between April and May 2024 to elect 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Background The tenure of the 17th Lok Sabha is scheduled to end on 16 June 2024. The previous general elections were held ...

, being the primary opposition to the ruling

Former Members

{{transcluded section, source=List of United Progressive Alliance members Current Members at the time of dissolution. {, class="wikitable sortable" , - ! colspan="2" style="width:30px;" , Party ! style="width:170px;" , Base state , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Indian National Congress; text-align: center;color:white;" , 1 , Indian National Congress , style="text-align: center;" , National Party , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; text-align: center;color:white;" , 2 , Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , style="text-align: center;" , Tamil Nadu, Puducherry , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Shiv Sena; text-align: center;color:white;" , 4 ,

Shiv Sena (UBT) Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) (IAST: ; ; SS (UBT)) is a Hindutva-based, Marathi regionalist, nationalist political party formed in 2022 under the leadership of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Uddhav Thackeray. It was allo ...

, style="text-align: center;" ,

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

, Dadra and Nagar Haveli , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Nationalist Congress Party; text-align: center;color:white;" , 5 , Nationalist Congress Party , style="text-align: center;" ,

, - , style="background-color:{{party color, Rashtriya Janata Dal; text-align: center;color:white;" , 6 ,

Rashtriya Janata Dal The Rashtriya Janata Dal ( RJD; translation: ''National People's Party'') is an Indian political party, based in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala. The party was founded in 1997 by Lalu Prasad Yadav. The party's support base has tradit ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Bihar, Jharkhand, Kerala , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Indian Union Muslim League; text-align: center;color:white;" , 7 , Indian Union Muslim League , style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , - , style="background:{{party color, Jammu and Kashmir National Conference; text-align:center; color:white;", 8 ,

Jammu and Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

, style="text-align: center;" ,

Jammu and Kashmir Jammu and Kashmir may refer to: * Kashmir, the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent * Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), a region administered by India as a union territory * Jammu and Kashmir (state), a region administered ...

, - , style="background:{{party color, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha; text-align:center; color:white;", 9 ,

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Jharkhand Mukti Morcha ( lit. ''Jharkhand Liberation Front''; JMM) is a State political party in the Indian state of Jharkhand which was founded by Binod Bihari Mahato. It has one seat in the 17th Lok Sabha. Shibu Soren is the president of th ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Jharkhand , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam; text-align: center;color:white;" , 10 , Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , style="text-align: center;" , Tamil Nadu , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Revolutionary Socialist Party (India); text-align: center;color:white;" , 11 , Revolutionary Socialist Party (India) , style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi; text-align: center;color:white;" , 12 , Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi , style="text-align: center;" , Tamil Nadu , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Hindustani Awam Morcha; text-align: center;color:white;" , 13 ,

Assam Jatiya Parishad Assam Jaitya Parishad (AJP) is a state Political Party in Assam, India. It is formed by two student organizations of Assam, All Assam Students Union (AASU) and Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba Chatra Parishad (AJYCP) in September 2020. Former All Assam Stu ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Assam , - , style="background:#353982; text-align:center; color:white;", 14 ,

Goa Forward Party Goa Forward Party ( GFP) is a regional political party in the western coastal Indian state of Goa, led by Vijai Sardesai. The GFP fielded four candidates in the 2017 Goa Assembly election and won three seats. It played a crucial, if controversi ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Goa , - , style="background:#c60; text-align:center; color:white;", 15 ,

Kerala Congress Kerala Congress is an Indian political party founded at Kottayam, Kerala in October, 1964, by a block of former Indian National Congress leaders led by K. M. George. The party is primarily active in central Kerala. The establishment of Kerala ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , - , style="background:#ccf; text-align:center; color:white;", 16 , Revolutionary Marxist Party of India , style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , - , style="background:#FD5B78; text-align:center; color:white;", 17 , Anchalik Gana Morcha , style="text-align: center;" , Assam , - , style="background:#CC6600; text-align:center; color:white;", 18 ,

Kerala Congress (Jacob) Kerala Congress (Jacob) is a regional political party in the Indian state of Kerala. It is a faction of Kerala Congress founded by the former minister the late T. M. Jacob who has held portfolios like Education, Irrigation, Culture and Civil ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , - , style="background:teal; text-align:center; color:white;", 19 ,

Nationalist Congress Kerala Democratic Congress Kerala, is a political party in Kerala, India, formed after the split in Nationalist Congress Party in Kerala. It is led by Mani C. Kappan. Formation Mani C. Kappan and his Nationalist Congress Party were part of the ruling Le ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , - , 20 ,

Peasants and Workers Party of India The Peasants and Workers Party of India is a Marxist political party in Maharashtra, India. The party was founded on 13.06.1948, having its roots from the pre-Independence period and has around 1,00,000 members. The influence of the party is lar ...

, - , style="background-color:{{party color, Independents; text-align: center;color:black;" , 20 , Independent , style="text-align: center;" , None , - style="text-align: center;" , style="background-color:{{party color, United Progressive Alliance; " , , style="text-align: center;" , Total , India Members left before dissolution. {, class="wikitable" style="width:100%; text-align:center" !colspan=2, Political Party !State !Date !Reason for withdrawal , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Telangana Rashtra Samithi;", , style="text-align: center;", BRS , style="text-align: center;", Telangana , style="text-align: center;", 2006 , Differences over proposed statehood for Telangana , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Bahujan Samaj Party; text-align: center;" , , style="text-align: center;" , BSP , style="text-align: center;" , National Party , style="text-align: center;" , 2008 , Congress opposed the UP government where the BSP was the ruling party , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party; text-align:center;", , style="text-align: center;" , JKPDP , style="text-align: center;" ,

, style="text-align: center;" , 2009 , Congress decided to support National Conference Government in

, - , style="background-color:{{party color, Pattali Makkal Katchi; text-align: center;" , , style="text-align: center;" , PMK , style="text-align: center;" , Tamil Nadu , style="text-align: center;" , 2009 , PMK declared that it would join the AIADMK led front , - , style="background-color:{{party color, All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen; text-align:center;", , style="text-align: center;" ,

AIMIM The All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen ( en, All India Council for Unity of Muslims) ( AIMIM) is an Indian political party based primarily in the city of Hyderabad. It is also a significant political party in the Indian States of Telangana ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Telangana , style="text-align: center;" , 2012 , Accused Congress led State Government of Communalism , - , style="background-color:{{party color, All India Trinamool Congress; text-align: center;" , , style="text-align: center;" , AITC , style="text-align: center;" , West Bengal , style="text-align: center;" , 2012 , AITC's demands on rollbacks and reforms not met, including the governments decision to allow FDI in retail and hike in the prices of railway tickets. , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Socialist Janata (Democratic); text-align: center;" , , style="text-align: center;" , SJ(D) , style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , style="text-align: center;" , 2014 , It merged with Janata Dal (United) on 29 December 2014. , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Rashtriya Lok Dal; text-align: center;" , , style="text-align: center;" , RLD , style="text-align: center;" , Uttar Pradesh , style="text-align: center;" , 2014 , Decided to leave after 2014 election performance. , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Janata Dal (Secular); text-align: center;color:white;" , , style="text-align: center;" ,

JD(S) The Janata Dal (Secular) is an Indian political party led by former prime minister of India, H. D. Deve Gowda. The party is recognized as a State Party in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Arunachal Pradesh. It was formed in July 1999 by the ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Karnataka , style="text-align: center;" , 2019 , After JD(S)-INC alliance govt fell in Karnataka, two parties decided to end alliance. , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Rashtriya Lok Samta Party; text-align: center;" , , style="text-align: center;" , RLSP , style="text-align: center;" , Bihar , style="text-align: center;" , 2020 , Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with BSP+ on 29 September 2020. , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Vikassheel Insaan Party; text-align: center;color:white;" , , style="text-align: center;" , VIP , style="text-align: center;" , Bihar , style="text-align: center;" , 2020 , Withdrawn support before Bihar Assembly Election 2020 & Allied with

NDA NDA may stand for: Military * National Defence Academy (India), a military academy in India * National Defence Act, legislation for organizing and funding Canada's military * National Defense Academy of Japan, a military academy in Japan * Nig ...

, - , style="background-color:{{party color, Kerala Congress (M); text-align: center;", , style="text-align: center;" , KC(M) , style="text-align: center;" , Kerala , style="text-align: center;" , 2020 , Decided to join LDF , - , style="background-color:{{party color, Bodoland People's Front; text-align: center;color:white;" , , style="text-align: center;" , BPF , style="text-align: center;" , Assam , style="text-align: center;" , 2021 , Withdrew due to performance in 2021 Assam election. , - , style="background-color:{{party color, All India United Democratic Front; text-align: center;color:white;" , , style="text-align: center;" ,

AIUDF The All India United Democratic Front (also known as AIUDF and ''Sarva Bharatiya Sanyukt Ganatantric Morcha'') is a political party active in the Indian state of Assam. It is the 3rd largest political party in Assam Legislative Assembly after B ...

, style="text-align: center;" , Assam , style="text-align: center;" , 2021 , Party was expelled from the alliance.

Poll performances

{, class="wikitable" , +2004 Lok Sabha Election !Sr.no !Party !Seats Won !Seat Change !Vote% , - , 1. , Indian National Congress , 145 , {{Increase 32 , 26.7% , - , 2. ,

, 21 , {{Increase 12 , 2.2% , - , 3. , Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , 16 , {{Increase 4 , 1.8% , - , 4. , Nationalist Congress Party , 9 , {{Increase 1 , 1.8% , - , 5. , Lok Janshakti Party , 4 , {{Steady , 0.6% , - , 6. , Telangana Rashtra Samithi , 2 , {{Steady , 0.6% , - , 7. , Pattali Makkal Katchi , 6 , {{Increase 1 , 0.5% , - , 8. ,

, 5 , {{Steady , 0.5% , - , 9. , Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , 4 , {{Steady , 0.4% , - , 10. , Indian Union Muslim League , 1 , {{Increase 1 , 0.2% , - , 11. , Republican Party of India (Athawale) , 1 , {{Steady , 0.1% , - , 12. ,

Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of , ...

, 1 , {{Steady , 0.1% , - ! colspan="2" , Total !218 !{{Increase 83 !35.4% {, class="wikitable" , +2009 Lok Sabha Election !Sr.no !Party !Seats Won !Seat Change , - , 1. , Indian National Congress , 206 , {{Increase 61 , - , 2. ,

, 4 , {{Decrease 17 , - , 3. , Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam , 18 , {{Increase 2 , - , 4. , Nationalist Congress Party , 9 , {{Decrease 1 , - , 5. ,

All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress (English: All India Grassroots Congress; AITC), colloquially the Trinamool Congress ( TMC) is an Indian political party which is predominantly active in West Bengal. The party is led by Mamata Banerjee, the cur ...

, 19 , {{Increase 18 , - , 6. ,

Jammu & Kashmir National Conference The Jammu & Kashmir National Conference (JKNC) is a regional political party in the Indian union territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. Founded as the ''All Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference'' by Sheikh Abdullah and Chaudhry Ghulam A ...

, 3 , {{Increase 3 , - , 7. , Bodoland People's Front , 1 , {{Increase 1 , - , 8. ,

, , {{Decrease 3 , - , 9. , All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen , 1 , {{Increase 1 , - , 10. , Indian Union Muslim League , 2 , {{Increase 1 , - , 11. ,

Kerala Congress (Mani) Kerala Congress (M) is a state-level political party in the Indian state of Kerala, currently led by chairman Jose K. Mani. It was formed by K. M. Mani in 1979, after a split from the Kerala Congress. They are part of the Left Democratic Fron ...

, 1 , {{Increase 1 , - ! colspan="2" , Total !262 !{{Increase 44

List of presidents and vice presidents

Note that it refers to nomination by alliance, as the offices of President and Vice President are apolitical.

Presidents

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;width:98%;margin-top:0.5em;" , - ! scope="col" , {{Abbr, No., Number ! scope="col" class="unsortable" , Portrait ! scope="col" style="width:17%;", Name
(birth–death) ! colspan="2" , Term of office Electoral mandates Time in office ! scope="col" , Previous post ! scope="col" , Vice president ! colspan="2" scope="col" class="unsortable" , Party , - ! rowspan="4" , 12 , rowspan="4" , The President of India, Smt

, rowspan="4" scope="row" , Pratibha Patil
{{small, (b.1934) , 25 July 2007 , 25 July 2012 , rowspan="3" ,

Governor of Rajasthan A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, rowspan="3" , Bhairon Singh Shekhawat (2007) ---- Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2007–12) , rowspan="8" , Indian National Congress , rowspan="8" style="background:{{party color, Indian National Congress;" , , - , colspan="2" ,

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

, - , colspan="2" , {{age in years and days, 2007, 07, 25, 2012, 07, 25 , - , colspan="4" , , - ! rowspan="4" , 13 , rowspan="4" , Pranab Mukherjee Portrait

, rowspan="4" scope="row" , Pranab Mukherjee
{{small, (1935–2020) , 25 July 2012 , 25 July 2017 , rowspan="3" , Union Minister of Finance , rowspan="3" , Mohammad Hamid Ansari (2012–17) , - , colspan="2" ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, - , colspan="2" , {{age in years and days, 2012, 07, 25, 2017, 07, 25 , - , colspan="4" ,

Vice presidents

{, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;margin-top:0.5em;" , - ! {{Tooltip, No. !class="unsortable", Portrait ! style="width:15%;", Name
{{small, (birth–death) ! Elected
(% votes) ! Took office ! Left office ! Term ! President(s) ! scope="col" class="unsortable" colspan="2", Party , - ! rowspan="2" , 12 , rowspan="2" , Official portrait of Shri Mohammed Hamid Ansari, The Vice President of India, 2014

Official portrait of Shri Mohammed Hamid Ansari, The Vice President of India, 2014

, rowspan="2" , Mohammad Hamid Ansari
(b.1937) ,

(67.21) , 11 August 2007 , 10 August 2012 , rowspan="2" , {{age in years and days, 2007, 08, 11, 2017, 08, 11 , Pratibha Patil , rowspan="2" , Indian National Congress , rowspan="2" style="background:{{party color, Indian National Congress;" , , - ,

(67.31) , 11 August 2012 , 10 August 2017 , Pranab Mukherjee

List of prime ministers

{{Further, List of prime ministers of India {, class="wikitable sortable" , +

List of prime ministers of India The prime minister of India is the chief executive of the Government of India. Although the President of India is the constitutional, nominal, and ceremonial head of state, in practice and ordinarily, the executive authority is vested in the P ...

, - ! rowspan="2" , No. ! rowspan="2" , Prime ministers ! rowspan="2" , Portrait ! colspan="3" , Term in office ! rowspan="2" , Lok Sabha ! rowspan="2" , Government ! rowspan="2" , Cabinet ! rowspan="2" , Constituency , - ! Start ! End ! Tenure , - style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" ! rowspan="2" , 14 , rowspan="2" ,

, rowspan="2" , Prime Minister Dr

, 22 May 2004 , 22 May 2009 , rowspan ="2" , {{age in years and days, 22 May 2004, 26 May 2014 ,

14th 14 (fourteen) is a natural number following 13 (number), 13 and preceding 15 (number), 15. In relation to the word "four" (4), 14 is spelled "fourteen". In mathematics * 14 is a composite number. * 14 is a square pyramidal number. * 14 is a s ...

, UPA I , Manmohan Singh I , rowspan ="2" ,

Rajya Sabha MP A Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha (abbreviated: MP) is the representative of the Indian states to the one of the two houses of the Parliament of India (Rajya Sabha). Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by the electoral college of the elected ...

From Assam , - style="vertical-align: middle; text-align: center;" , 22 May 2009 , 26 May 2014 ,

15th 15 (fifteen) is the natural number following 14 (number), 14 and preceding 16 (number), 16. Mathematics 15 is: * A composite number, and the sixth semiprime; its proper divisors being , and . * A deficient number, a smooth number, a lucky ...

, UPA II , Manmohan Singh II

Candidates in elections

Lok Sabha general elections

2009 Indian general election 9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding . Evolution of the Arabic digit In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...

Electoral performance

{, class="wikitable sortable" , - !align=center, Election !Seats won !Change !Total votes !Share of votes !Swing !align=center, Status !UPA Leader , - ,

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, {{composition bar, 262, 543, hex={{party color, United Progressive Alliance , ''New'' , 158,305,006 , 36.66% , ''New'' , {{yes2, Government ,

, - ,

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, {{composition bar, 60, 543, hex={{party color, United Progressive Alliance , {{decrease202 , 130,664,858 , 23.59% , {{decrease13.07% , {{no2, Opposition ,

/ Rahul Gandhi , - ,

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

, {{composition bar, 91, 543, hex={{party color, United Progressive Alliance , {{increase31 , 177,645,346 , 29.00% , {{increase5.41% , {{no2, Opposition , Rahul Gandhi

Controversies

The winter session of parliament in October 2008 came under intense criticism from the Left parties and the BJP to demand a full-fledged winter session instead of what was seen as the UPA to having "scuttled the voice of Parliament" by bringing down the sittings to a record low of 30 days in the year. The tensions between the UPA and the opposition parties became evident at an all-party meeting convened by Lok Sabha speaker

Somnath Chatterjee Somnath Chatterjee (25 July 1929 – 13 August 2018) was an Indian politician who was associated with the Communist Party of India (Marxist) for most of his life, though he had been a non affiliated independent during his last decade. He was t ...

when the leader of opposition, L. K. Advani questioned the status, timing and schedule of the current session of parliament.

M. Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

had said he felt "let down" by the "lukewarm" response of the centre and had demanded amendments in the resolution on Sri Lanka.{{citation needed, date=June 2014 One of the amendments was to "declare that genocide and war crimes had been committed and inflicted on the

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...

by the Sri Lanka Army and the administrators". The second one was "establishment of a credible and independent international commission of investigation in a time-bound manner into the allegations of war crimes,

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are widespread or systemic acts committed by or on behalf of a ''de facto'' authority, usually a state, that grossly violate human rights. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity do not have to take place within the ...

, violations of international International human rights law, violations of international humanitarian law and crime of genocide against the Tamils". Karunanidhi said Parliament should adopt the resolution incorporating these two amendments.{{cite news , url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-19/india/37843259_1_dmk-chief-karunanidhi-sri-lankan-tamils-humanitarian-law-and-crime , title=DMK pulls out of UPA govt over Sri Lanka Tamils issue – ''The Times of India'' , access-date=1 July 2013 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529171837/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-03-19/india/37843259_1_dmk-chief-karunanidhi-sri-lankan-tamils-humanitarian-law-and-crime , archive-date=29 May 2013 , work= The Times of India , url-status=dead The year 2008 was a darkest part of the UPA, due to the failure to prevent several terrorist attacks. The UPA had repealed the Prevention of Terrorism Act, 2002 in 2004, which softened the stand on acts of terrorism and reduced powers for the law enforcement while dealing with acts of terrorism. The weakened legislation, along with intelligence failures, resulted in bombings in 2008 across cities like Jaipur, Bangalore,

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

and Delhi, led by the

Indian Mujahideen Indian Mujahideen (IM) is an Islamic terrorist group which has been particularly active in India. The jihadist group was founded as an offshoot of the Students' Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) by several radicalized members including Iqbal Bh ...

under support from Pakistan based

ISI ISI or Isi may refer to: Organizations * Intercollegiate Studies Institute, a classical conservative organization focusing on college students * Ice Skating Institute, a trade association for ice rinks * Indian Standards Institute, former name of ...

, as well as

2006 Mumbai train bombings The 2006 Mumbai train bombings were a series of seven bomb blasts on 11 July. They took place over a period of 11 minutes on the Suburban Railway in Mumbai, the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the nation's financial capital ...

and

2006 Varanasi bombings In March 2006, the Indian city of Varanasi witnessed a series of bombings in which at least 28 people were reportedly killed and 101 injured. Varanasi is considered holy by Hindus and is one of the oldest living city in the world. In June 20 ...

. During the

2008 Mumbai attacks The 2008 Mumbai attacks (also referred to as 26/11, pronounced "twenty six eleven") were a series of Terrorism, terrorist attacks that took place in November 2008, when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamist terrorist organisation from P ...

, when 10 Pakistani terrorists from the banned terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba came from the sea route and seized the city for 3 days, the UPA Government faced immense condemnation from citizens and leaders of opposition for intelligence failures as well as not being able to provide quick transportation for NSG commandos.{{Cite web , url=http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21305&issueid=82 , title=Red tape delays NSG by 6 hours , first=Aman , last=Sharma , date=29 November 2008 , website= India Today , access-date=15 June 2009 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112013546/http://indiatoday.digitaltoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21305&issueid=82 , archive-date=12 January 2009 , url-status=live Furthermore, Congress leader

Digvijaya Singh Digvijaya Singh (born 28 February 1947) is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. He is Ex-General Secretary of the Indian National Congress party's All India Congress Committee. Previously, he had served as the ...

, faced extreme disparagement for launching a book which mentioned that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh was somehow linked to the attack, despite credible evidence and confessions from Ajmal Kasab, the only gunman who was captured by

Mumbai Police The Mumbai Police (Marathi: मुंबई पोलीस, IAST: ''Mumbaī Pulīs'', formerly ''Bombay Police'') is the police department of the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a part of Maharashtra Police and has the primary responsibiliti ...

. The 2008 attacks in Mumbai also led to resignation of several leaders like Vilasrao Deshmukh,

R. R. Patil Raosaheb Ramrao Patil, better known as R. R. Patil (16 August 1957 – 16 February 2015) was an Indian politician from the state of Maharashtra. He was an MLA for Tasgaon vidhan sabha constituency from 1991 to 2015. He was an important lea ...

and Shivraj Patil, on the grounds of moral responsibility as well as for making insensitive statements. The UPA subsequently faced flak for being soft against Pakistan following the attack, as well as in the aftermath of Pakistan Army beheading soldiers of the Indian Army in 2013.{{cite news , author=

Press Trust of India The Press Trust of India Ltd., commonly known as PTI, is the largest news agency in India. It is headquartered in New Delhi and is a nonprofit cooperative among more than 500 Indian newspapers. It has over 500 full-time employees , including abo ...

, title=No military action against Pakistan: India , work=Times of India , location=India , date=2 December 2008 , url= http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/No_military_action_against_Pakistan_India/articleshow/3783853.cms , accessdate=9 December 2008 Following the

2011 Mumbai bombings The 2011 Mumbai bombings, also known as 13/7, were a series of three coordinated bomb explosions at different locations in Mumbai, India, on 13 July 2011 between 18:54 and 19:06 IST. The blasts occurred at the Opera House, at Zaveri Bazaar and ...

, which claimed 26 lives and injured 130+, UPA leader and INC General Secretary Rahul Gandhi remarked that it was impossible to stop every terror attack, adding that "We work towards defeating it, but it is very difficult to stop all the attacks. Even the United States, they are being attacked in Afghanistan.". His comments drew flak from some quarters of the Indian political spectrum, who criticised him for equating the Mumbai attacks with those in Afghanistan and called it an insult to those killed in the blasts. The UPA was criticised for its alleged involvement scams such as the

Commonwealth Games Scam A number of concerns and controversies surfaced before the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, which received widespread media coverage both in India (the host nation) and the rest of the world. The Commonwealth Games was severely cri ...

of 2010, the

2G spectrum case The 2G spectrum case was a political controversy in which politicians and private officials of the United Progressive Alliance coalition government India were involved in selling or allotting 122 2G spectrum licenses on conditions that provi ...

, and the Indian coal allocation scam. Apart from the above-mentioned scams, the UPA has been under intense fire for the alleged doles handed out to the son-in-law of the Gandhi family, Robert Vadra, by UPA-run state governments. The UPA Government has been severely condemned for mishandling the aftermath of the

2012 Delhi gang rape The 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder, commonly known as the Nirbhaya case, involved a rape and fatal assault that occurred on 16 December 2012 in Munirka, a neighbourhood in South West Delhi. The incident took place when Jyoti Singh, a 22-year ...

case. As per several media houses, the Government had failed to act positively or give credible assurances to the protesters and instead used police force, lathi-charging, pushing the media out of the scene, and shutting down metro rail stations.{{cite news, last=Kaul, first=Vivek, title=Shinde-speak shows all that is wrong with government, url=http://www.firstpost.com/india/shinde-speak-shows-all-that-is-wrong-with-government-567536.html, newspaper=FirstPost, date=24 December 2012, access-date=25 December 2012, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121231004818/http://www.firstpost.com/india/shinde-speak-shows-all-that-is-wrong-with-government-567536.html, archive-date=31 December 2012, url-status=live In the aftermath of the incident, while the Government passed an amendment of the current laws against rape and sexual assault, which ensured stricter punishments for rape convicts, the amendment was criticized and labeled as an eyewash, as the changes in the laws failed to serve as a deterrent to rising incidents of rape. Furthermore, several key suggestions were ignored, including the criminalisation of marital rape and trying military personnel accused of sexual offences under criminal law, which was severely condemned by several women's safety activists. The UPA was also slammed for inaction against political leaders such as

and Mulayam Singh Yadav for their comments which promoted misogyny and anti-women views, as well as insensitivity towards rape victims. {{cite web, url=http://www.ndtv.com/elections/article/election-2014/mulayam-s-shocker-on-rape-boys-make-mistakes-why-hang-them-506823 , title=Mulayam's shocker on rape: Boys make mistakes, why hang them? , publisher=NDTV , date=10 April 2014 , accessdate=11 July 2014 During its tenure between 2004 and 2014, as well as before, the UPA faced widespread condemnation for indulging in appeasement politics. Following the introduction of Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act, 2019, which criminalized triple talaq or instant divorce and replaced the

Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986 The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act was a landmark legislation passed by the parliament of India in 1986 to protect the rights of Muslim women who have been divorced by, or have obtained divorce from, their husband and to prov ...

, several leaders from the UPA opposed the law.{{Cite news, url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/lok-sabha-debates-bill-criminalising-instant-triple-talaq-who-said-what/articleshow/67271378.cms, title=Lok Sabha debates bill 'criminalising' instant triple talaq: Who said what , work=The Times of India, access-date=2018-12-27, date=27 December 2018 The UPA, in its opposition, faced immense criticism by the NDA Government for banking frauds, mostly by giving unsecured loans to fugitive businessmen Vijay Mallya,

Nirav Modi Nirav Deepak Modi (born 27 February 1971) is a Belgian businessman and fugitive who was charged by Interpol and the Government of India for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including delivery of property, ...

and

Mehul Choksi Mehul Chinubhai Choksi (born 5 May 1959) is a fugitive Indian-born businessman living in Antigua and Barbuda, who is wanted by the Indian judicial authorities for criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust, cheating and dishonesty including ...

during the tenure of then Prime Minister

. Mallya owes money to a consortium of 17 banks, from whom he took loan to fund his now closed Kingfisher Airlines, and Modi owes money to the Punjab National Bank. While Mallya and Modi have been apprehended in the Great Britain and awaiting extradition, Choksi acquired citizenship of Antigua and Barbuda, with a warrant against him to extradite to India for the bank fraud.{{Cite news, last=Shirbon, first=Estelle, date=2021-02-25, title=UK court allows extradition of diamond billionaire Nirav Modi to India, agency= Reuters, url=https://www.reuters.com/article/britain-india-modi-extradition-idUSKBN2AP1SS, access-date=2021-05-17

References

{{reflist

Notes

{{notelist

External links

Common Minimum Programme of the UPA
(PDF; archived 18 April 2013) *Arora, Balveer and Tawa Lama Rewal, Stéphanie
''"Introduction: Contextualizing and Interpreting the 15th Lok Sabha Elections"''
''South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal'', 3, 2009 {{Indian political parties {{United Progressive Alliance, state=collapsed {{Authority control 2004 establishments in India Manmohan Singh administration Political parties established in 2004 Political parties disestablished in 2023