General elections were held in India on 22 and 26 November 1989 to elect the members of the 9th Lok Sabha. The incumbent Indian National Congress government under the premiership of Rajiv Gandhi lost its mandate, even though it was still the largest single party in the Lok Sabha. V. P. Singh, the leader of the second largest party Janata Dal (which also headed the National Front) was invited by the President of India to form the government.The government was formed with outside support from the Bharatiya Janata Party and a Left Front led by CPI (M).V. P. Singh was sworn in as the seventh Prime Minister of India on 2 December 1989.