Question

Who among the following prime ministers could not vote for himself during the “Vote of confidence” that he was seeking from the Lok Sabha?
A.VP Singh
B.PV Narasimha Rao
C.Chandra Shekhar
D.Manmohan Singh

Answer 1

Hint: No-confidence motion is passed when the opposition to a government feels that the government or a particular member of the parliament is not fit to hold the position she/he is in. The Prime Minister who could not vote for himself in this motion was the one who remained as Prime Minister for 10 years.

Complete Step by Step answer: Manmohan Singh was the Indian Prime Minister who could not vote for himself when the motion of no-confidence motion was passed in 2008. This came after the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Front withdrew their support from the UPA government. Further, they approached the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding the Indo-US Nuclear deal, evidently they weren’t happy with that. The UPA government needed 272 votes to stay in power and eventually they won 275 votes. However, Manmohan Singh could not vote since he wasn’t the member of Lok Sabha. He was a member of the Parliament and the then Prime Minister of India but his voting rights were guaranteed only if he were a member of the lower house of the parliament i.e. the Lok Sabha.

Note: If a no-confidence motion is successful which means the opposition wins the majority then, the present government would have to step down. The Prime Minister with his/her entire cabinet has to resign.