Which state was under President’s rule most number of times?

According to a RTI response from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), President’s rule was imposed maximum number of times in Uttar Pradesh (10 times) while President’s rule was in vogue for maximum number of days in Punjab (more than 3000 days). Congress was in power at the center when President’s rule was imposed 84 times, which is more than 73% of all the occasions.

When President’s rule was imposed in Uttarakhand in March 2016, it became the 115th instance of imposition of President’s rule since 1950. As per response of the MHA to a RTI application by Factly, President’s rule was imposed most number of times (10 times) in Uttar Pradesh.

President’s rule was imposed at least once in 27 of the 29 states

President’s rule was imposed at least once in 27 of the 29 states in the country. Except in Chhattisgarh and Telangana, President’s rule was imposed at some point in the rest of the 27 states. Uttar Pradesh leads the charts where President’s rule was imposed 10 times followed by Bihar where it was imposed 9 times. In Kerala, Manipur, Orissa and Punjab, President’s rule was imposed 8 times each. In both Gujarat and Karnataka, it was imposed five times each. Uttarakhand, Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh are the only states where President’s rule was imposed only once. In both Uttarakhand & Arunachal Pradesh, President’s rule was imposed in 2016.

Punjab was under President’s rule for close to 10 years effectively

In terms of the absolute number of days, Punjab was under President’s rule for 3510 days, which is about 10 years. Much of this was in the 80s during the height of militancy in Punjab. In fact, Punjab was under President’s rule for 5 continuous years from 1987 to 1992. Second is Jammu & Kashmir with 2061 days (close to 6 years); much of this in one continuous stretch between 1990 and 1996. In fact, these are the only two occasions when the President’s rule went beyond the constitutionally stipulated maximum of 3 years and a mention to this extent is also made in the constitution.

Uttar Pradesh was under President’s rule for 1700 days followed by Nagaland for 1545 days. Kerala was under President’s rule for 1515 days. Ten states were under the President’s rule for more than 1000 days each. Only Uttarakhand and Arunachal Pradesh were under President’s rule for less than 100 days each.

President’s rule was imposed 84 times when a Congress led government was in power

Out of the 115 times when President’s rule was imposed, Congress or a Congress led alliance was in power at the center 84 times. This is more than 73% of the times when President’s rule was imposed in the country. The Janata alliance was in power when President’s rule was imposed 16 times.

Interestingly, the Janata alliance was in power only for 2 years between 1977 and 1979, but recommended president’s rule 16 times. BJP or a BJP led alliance recommended President’s rule 7 times followed the National Front Alliance that recommended President’s rule 6 times. The United Front alliance (1996 to 1998) recommended President’s rule only twice during its two year tenure. This is the second part of a two part series on imposition of President’s Rule in India. In the first part, the number of times President’s rule was imposed and its use since 1950 was analyzed.

BY Rakesh Dubbudu