Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said political parties coming to power with a huge mandate must keep in mind a large number of people who didn't vote for them.
Addressing a seminar at the Rajasthan Assembly, Mukherjee recalled some Lok Sabha elections had been won by massive majorities, but the vote share for any party had never crossed the 50 per cent mark.
"Surprisingly, there have been massive majorities, but not more than half of the Indian voters have given their mandate in favour of a party, not in the past not in present, never to the Congress, never to any other party including the BJP," Mukherjee said.
"The Indian electorate tells the ruling party that I am giving you enough seats to form the government, but please remember you do not have our total mandate. That means you have to carry along those who have not voted for you because they are the people of this sovereign democratic republic," he added.
The former president's address comes months after the Bharatiya Janata Party won the Lok Sabha polls, securing 303 seats. Its vote share was about 40 per cent. The Congress had improved its tally, although marginally, to 52 from 44 in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.
(With PTI inputs)
