a. The elections of 1989 resulted in the fall of Congress however no other party was able to get a majority to form a government.

b. National Front, the alliance of Janata Dal and another regional party, was able to get support from the parties which were poles apart, Left and BJP.

c. Hence, this was the beginning of an era of a multi-party system.

d. Then in 1996, the United Front government got power with the support of Congress and Left, since both the parties wanted to oust BJP from politics.

e. But Bhartiya Janta party continued to consolidate position in elections of 1991 and in 1996 became the largest party. Atal Behari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister during these NDA governments and his government formed in 1999. Atal Ji's government also completed its full term.

f. A number of parties had always contested since 1947 in elections, but this time no single party was able to get a significant share of votes.

g. Since 1989 till 2014, this trend continued along with identity politics and caste based issues and regional assertions.