_#_Leaders:
Chief of State—President Ramaswamy Iyer VENKATARAMAN (since 25 July 1987); Vice President Dr. Shankar Dayal SHARMA (since 3 September 1987);
Head of Government—Prime Minister P. V. Narasimha RAO (since 21 June 1991)
_#_Political parties and leaders:
Congress (I) Party, P. V. Narasimha RAO, president;
Bharatiya Janata Party, L. K. ADVANI;
Janata Dal Party, V. P. SINGH;
Communist Party of India/Marxist (CPI/M), E. M. S. NAMBOODIRIPAD;
Communist Party of India (CPI), C. Rajeswara RAO;
Telugu Desam (a regional party in Andhra Pradesh), N. T. Rama RAO;
All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK; a regional party
in Tamil Nadu), JAYALALITHA;
Samajwadi Janata Party, CHANDRA SHEKHAR;
Shiv Sena, Bal THACKERAY;
Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Tridip CHOWDHURY;
Bahujana Samaj Party (BSP), Kanshi RAM;
Congress (S) Party, leader NA;
Communist Party of India/Marxist-Leninist (CPI/ML), Satyanarayan SINGH;
Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (a regional party in Tamil Nadu),
M. KARUNANIDHI;
Akali Dal factions representing Sikh religious community in the Punjab;
National Conference (NC; a regional party in Jammu and Kashmir), Farooq
ABDULLAH;
Asom Gana Parishad (a regional party in Assam), Prafulla MAHANTA
_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18
_#_Elections:
People's Assembly—last held 21 May, 12 and 15 June
1991 (next to be held by November 1996);
results—percent of vote by party NA;
seats—(545 total), 509 elected—Congress (I) Party 225,
Bharatiya Janata Party 117,
Janata Dal Party 55,
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 35,
Communist Party of India 13,
Telugu Desam 12,
AIADMK 11,
Samajwadi Janata Party 5,
Shiv Sena 4,
RSP 4,
BSP 1,
Congress (S) Party 1, other 26; note—second and third rounds of
voting were delayed because of the assassination of Congress
President Rajiv GANDHI on 21 May 1991
_#_Communists: 466,000 members claimed by CPI, 361,000 members claimed by CPI/M; Communist extremist groups, about 15,000 members
_#_Other political or pressure groups: various separatist groups seeking greater communal autonomy; numerous religious or militant/chauvinistic organizations, including Adam Sena, Anand Marg, Vishwa Hindu Parishad, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, C, CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-6,
G-19, G-24, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS,
NAM, PCA, SAARC, UN, UNAVEM, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIIMOG, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO