text: Sharma's decision to invite Vajpayee has been attributed to the fact that no party had staked their claim to form the government and the United Front, a coalition of thirteen parties, took time to decide on their leader and in getting the Congress party to extend its support to them. Sharma's deadline of two weeks given to Vajpayee to prove his majority was much shorter than the time given to prime ministers in previous instances and was a move to discourage horse trading.
  Deve Gowda government (1996–1997)
  Following Vajpayee's resignation, Sharma asked him to continue as caretaker prime minister and appointed H. D. Deve Gowda as prime minister on 28 May 1996 after being assured of the support of the Congress party for his candidature. Gowda and a 21 member council of ministers sworn in on 1 June and won a vote of confidence within the deadline of twelve days set by Sharma. Gowda, a former chief minister of Karnataka, was India's third prime minister in as many weeks and headed a diverse coalition comprising regional parties, leftists and lower caste Hindu politicians. He was also India's first prime minister not conversant in its official language, Hindi. The government lasted ten months and was dependent on the Congress party which, under its new President Sitaram Kesri, withdrew support in April 1997 alleging failure on the part of the prime minister in preventing the growth of Hindu nationalist political parties in North India. Sharma then directed Gowda to seek a vote of confidence in Parliament. Gowda lost the vote of confidence on 11 April 1997 and continued to head a caretaker government as President Sharma considered a further course of action.