2009 Indian general election

General elections were held in India in five phases between 16 April 2009 and 13 May 2009 to elect the members of the fifteenth Lok Sabha. With an electorate of 716 million, it was the largest democratic election in the world until being surpassed by the 2014 general election.

By constitutional requirement, elections to the Lok Sabha must be held every five years or when Parliament is dissolved by the president. The previous elections were held in May 2004 and the term of the 14th Lok Sabha would have naturally expired on 1 June 2009. Elections are organised by the Election Commission of India (ECI) and are normally held in multiple phases to better handle the large electorate and security concerns. The 2009 elections were held in five phases. In February 2009, Rs.11.20 billion ($200.5 million) was budgeted for election expenses by parliament.

A total of 8,070 candidates contested 543 seats elected in single-member constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. Voter turnout over all five phases was around 58%. The results of the election were announced within three days of phase five, on 16 May.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the Indian National Congress formed the government after winning a majority of seats, with strong results in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal. Manmohan Singh became the first Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term. The UPA was able to put together a comfortable majority with support from 322 of the 543 elected members. External support was provided by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), Samajwadi Party (SP), Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other minor parties.

Singh was sworn in as Prime Minister on 22 May 2009 at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.