V. P. Singh’s government was riven by rivalries from day one. Singh first proposed the name of Haryana leader Devi Lal to ensure that party veteran Chandra Shekhar would not become prime minister, and then stepped in when Devi Lal withdrew his candidature in favour of Singh. Devi Lal was made deputy prime minster as part of the deal. A livid Chandra Shekhar conspired to oust Singh from the outset. He was helped in this effort by parties that had initially supported the Janata Dal but began having second thoughts. Thus the BJP withdrew support due to differences on the issue of building a
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