Assertion: The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) continued to consolidate its position in the General elections of 1991 and 1996.

Reason: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party in the 1996 General elections and was invited to form the government.

Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion

The correct answer is option 2 : Both the Assertion and the Reason are correct but the Reason is not the correct explanation of the Assertion

Assertion: The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) continued to consolidate its position in the General elections of 1991 and 1996. This is Correct.

Reason: Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) emerged as the largest party in the 1996 General elections and was invited to form the government.This is also Correct.

The Reason provided states that the BJP emerged as the largest party in the 1996 General elections and was invited to form the government. While this statement is factually correct, it does not directly explain why the BJP continued to consolidate its position in the General elections of 1991 and 1996, as mentioned in the Assertion.

"In 1996, the Left continued to support the non-Congress government but this time the Congress, supported it, as both the Congress and the Left wanted to keep the BJP out of power. They did not succeed for long, as the BJP continued to consolidate its position in the elections of 1991 and 1996. It emerged as the largest party in the 1996 election and was invited to form the government. But most other parties were opposed to its policies and therefore, the BJP government could not secure a majority in the Lok Sabha. It finally came to power by leading a coalition government from May 1998 to June 1999 and was re-elected in October 1999. Atal Behari Vajpayee was the Prime Minister during both these NDA governments and his government formed in 1999 completed its full term."