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AIADMK withdraws support, Vajpayee government falls

· New Delhi

The AIADMK's withdrawal of support led to the Vajpayee government losing a confidence vote by a single vote.

In the 1998 Lok Sabha election the AIADMK, allied with the BJP, became a key partner in Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's coalition government. Relations were strained over the following year. In April 1999 Jayalalithaa withdrew the AIADMK's support, and the government lost the resulting confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by one vote. Fresh elections followed in 1999, in which the DMK joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance.

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