Motion of no confidence in India


In India, a motion of no confidence, also called vote of no confidence/no trust, is a motion of no confidence initiated in the Lok Sabha or in a state legislative assembly, to determine the confidence of the House in the Council of Ministers. If the motion is passed by a majority of the members of the house, all the ministers are expected to resign on moral grounds. When a similar motion is moved by a minister to prove their command of confidence, it is called motion of confidence/vote of trust.

List

Lok SabhaNo Confidence Motions

YearPrime MinisterParty/Alliance in PowerOutcomeNotes
1963Jawaharlal NehruIndian National CongressSurvivedFirst-ever no-confidence motion post Sino-Indian War.
1979Morarji DesaiJanata PartyResignedResigned before vote; Janata Party split.
1993P. V. Narasimha RaoIndian National CongressSurvivedNarrow victory; allegations of bribery.
2003Atal Bihari VajpayeeBJP-led NDASurvivedMotion moved by Sonia Gandhi.
2008Manmohan SinghUnited Progressive AllianceSurvivedOver Indo-US Nuclear Deal.
2018Narendra ModiBJP-led NDASurvivedMoved by TDP over the non-allocation of funds to the state of Andhra Pradesh NDA won with 325 votes.
2023Narendra ModiBJP-led NDASurvivedMoved by Gaurav Gogoi over the ethnic violence in the state of Manipur. Defeated by a voice vote after Opposition walkout.

State Assemblies – No Confidence Motions

YearStateChief MinisterParty/Alliance in PowerOutcomeNotes
1964KeralaR. SankarINCResignedOn 8 September 1964, a no-confidence motion was put to vote with 73 Members voting for it and 50 Members voting against it. The motion was declared as carried and the Chief Minister resigned.
Governor's rule was imposed with only 6 months left for the term of the assembly to expire. Elections were held as per schedule in March 1965, which led to a hung assembly.
1973Tamil NaduM. KarunanidhiDMK ResignedCongress (Indira) withdrew support.
1982KeralaK. KarunakaranINC Survived
On February 2, 1982, a no-confidence motion was put to vote with 70 members each voting for and against the motion. Then Speaker exercised casting vote against the motion under Art. 189 of the constitution and the motion was declared as lost.
In March 1982, a legislator defected to the opposition following which the Chief Minister resigned, leading to the imposition of Governor's rule.
Subsequently, an early election was held in May 1982 which the UDF won.
1984Andhra PradeshN. T. Rama RaoTDPReinstatedDismissed by Governor; reinstated under public pressure.
1998Uttar PradeshKalyan SinghBJP-led coalitionSurvivedFaced instability due to alliance issues.
2005BiharNitish KumarJD(U)BJPResignedFailed to prove majority in 7 days.
2011Andhra PradeshN. Kiran Kumar ReddyIndian National CongressSurvivedN. Chandrababu Naidu, the Leader of the Opposition, introduced a no-confidence motion against the government. After a 16 hour debate, voting took place at around 1am on 6 December 2011. The government survived the motion, with 160 members voting against and 122 in favour.
2016UttarakhandHarish RawatINCReinstatedSC restored government after President's Rule.
2016Arunachal PradeshNabam TukiINCLostRebel faction supported BJP.
2020Madhya PradeshKamal NathINCResigned22 MLAs defected to BJP.
2020RajasthanAshok GehlotINCSurvivedRebellion by Sachin Pilot faction.
2023MaharashtraEknath ShindeBJPShiv Sena (Shinde faction)SurvivedToppled Maha Vikas Aghadi government.