The results were decisively in favour of the BJP and the NDA, with the formal NDA picking up 269 seats, and a further 29 seats taken by the Telugu Desam Party, which gave support to the BJP-led government but was not strictly part of its alliance.
The Congress party lost 23 seats, and its two key regional allies performed worse than expected, however it did regain ground in some states such as Uttar Pradesh (where it had been wiped out in 1998, not winning a single seat in the state).
The leftist parties’ fortunes continued to decline, with the Communist Party of India dropping to just four seats and losing its official status as a "national party".

The result for the Indian National Congress was the worst in nearly half a century, with party leader Sonia Gandhi calling upon the party to take a frank assessment of itself – "the result calls for introspection, frank assessment and determined action.
We will attend to this in the coming days.
In the meantime, we accept unhesitatingly the verdict of the people".
For the BJP, this marked the first occasion where a non-INC party had secured a stable government coalition.
Previous non-INC governing coalitions had been formed in 1977, 1989 and 1996; however none of these administrations had been able to maintain a stable coagulation for more than a couple of years.
One Senior BJP figure commented in the aftermath "It will certainly be a government of stability...I expect that Mr Vajpayee, with all his experience, will be able to handle our coalition partners."
The results were decisively in favour of the BJP and the NDA, with the formal NDA picking up 269 seats, and a further 29 seats taken by the Telugu Desam Party, which gave support to the BJP-led government but was not strictly part of its alliance. The Congress party lost 23 seats, and its two key regional allies performed worse than expected, however it did regain ground in some states such as Uttar Pradesh (where it had been wiped out in 1998, not winning a single seat in the state). The leftist parties’ fortunes continued to decline, with the Communist Party of India dropping to just four seats and losing its official status as a "national party".
The result for the Indian National Congress was the worst in nearly half a century, with party leader Sonia Gandhi calling upon the party to take a frank assessment of itself – "the result calls for introspection, frank assessment and determined action. We will attend to this in the coming days. In the meantime, we accept unhesitatingly the verdict of the people". For the BJP, this marked the first occasion where a non-INC party had secured a stable government coalition. Previous non-INC governing coalitions had been formed in 1977, 1989 and 1996; however none of these administrations had been able to maintain a stable coagulation for more than a couple of years. One Senior BJP figure commented in the aftermath "It will certainly be a government of stability...I expect that Mr Vajpayee, with all his experience, will be able to handle our coalition partners."
1999 Indian general election