Question

In how many states has the Bharatiya Janata Party issued the president's rule?
a) 8
b) 4
c) 9
d) 3

Answer 1

Hint: The first female Prime Minister of India, Ms. Indira Gandhi imposed president's rule in whooping 39 states! The Janata Party, now known as the Bharatiya Janata Party, after the emergency, had the numbers very low.

Complete Step by Step answer: In most cases, the president's rule is imposed in case of severe civil unrest. According to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution, the Central Government holds the authority to impose president’s rule over the impacted states of India. The powers given through this article have often been misused as it was meant only to preserve the unity and integrity of the country.
The article was used for the very first time in 1951. Eventually it became a very common trend to dismiss the opposition government in a particular state, especially during the 1970’s and the 1980’s.
Gradually the Supreme Court limited the powers of this provision. Indira Gandhi's government between 1966 and 1977 is known to have imposed president's rule 39 times in different states. Similarly, the Janata Party which came to power after the emergency, as we discussed above, issued president's rule in 9 states which were ruled by Congress.
The practice was limited only after the Supreme Court established strict guidelines for imposing president's rule in 1994.
Hence option c, 9, is the correct answer.

Note: An important thing you need to remember with regards to this topic of President’s rule is that the article we talked about above, Article 356, is valid with regards to states of India only. The provisions of article 239 are used to impose this rule on the Union Territories of India.