Which Prime Minister of India was the first to lose a vote of confidence in the Lok Sabha?
- A.Morarji Desai
- B.Charan Singh
- C.V. P. Singh
- D.Chandra Shekhar
Correct answer
Explanation
The correct answer is C, V. P. Singh. His National Front government lost the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha in November 1990 after the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew support, and he resigned, becoming the first Prime Minister to be removed by a vote of the House rather than by resignation or an election. Option A is wrong because Morarji Desai resigned in July 1979 before the vote was taken, so the House never voted him out. Option B is wrong because Charan Singh never faced the Lok Sabha at all and resigned when support was withdrawn. Option D is wrong because Chandra Shekhar also resigned, in March 1991, when the Congress withdrew its outside support, without a defeat on a confidence motion. Examiners often set Charan Singh as the trap here, because both his government and that of V. P. Singh fell within a decade of each other; the difference is that Charan Singh resigned without a vote while V. P. Singh was actually defeated on the floor of the House, the first such defeat in the history of the office.
Read the full article: Prime Ministers of India: Complete List and Records
Practice Questions
View allWho was the first Prime Minister of independent India?
- A.Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
- B.Jawaharlal Nehru
- C.Dr. Rajendra Prasad
- D.C. Rajagopalachari
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He was sworn in as Prime Minister on 15 August 1947 and held the office until his death on 27 May 1964, which makes him both the first and the longest serving Prime Minister of India; he also kept the External Affairs portfolio with him.
Read the full explanation →Which Prime Minister of India died at Tashkent in January 1966?
- A.Jawaharlal Nehru
- B.Gulzari Lal Nanda
- C.Lal Bahadur Shastri
- D.Morarji Desai
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He became Prime Minister on 9 June 1964, led the country through the Indo-Pak war of 1965, gave the slogan Jai Jawan Jai Kisan, and died at Tashkent on 11 January 1966, a day after signing the Tashkent Declaration, which makes him the only Indian Prime Minister to have died…
Read the full explanation →Who has been the youngest Prime Minister of India?
- A.Rajiv Gandhi
- B.Indira Gandhi
- C.Chandra Shekhar
- D.V. P. Singh
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He was sworn in on 31 October 1984, the day his mother Indira Gandhi was assassinated, at the age of forty, which makes him the youngest person to hold the office; the oldest was Morarji Desai, who took office at eighty one.
Read the full explanation →Which Prime Minister of India never faced the Lok Sabha during his tenure?
- A.Gulzari Lal Nanda
- B.Charan Singh
- C.I. K. Gujral
- D.H. D. Deve Gowda
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He was sworn in on 28 July 1979 with outside support that was withdrawn before the Lok Sabha assembled, and he resigned rather than seek a vote, so he remained Prime Minister until January 1980 without ever facing the House.
Read the full explanation →Which Article of the Constitution provides for the appointment of the Prime Minister by the President?
- A.Article 72
- B.Article 74
- C.Article 75
- D.Article 78
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Article 75(1) states that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the President and the other Ministers shall be appointed by the President on the advice of the Prime Minister; the same Article carries the fifteen per cent ceiling on the size of the Council, collective responsibility to the Lok…
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