 President Narayanan determined that no one would be able to secure a majority in the Lok Sabha and accepted Gujral's advice (4 December).In the ensuing general elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerged as the single largest party, leading the largest pre-election coalition, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and the coalition leader Vajpayee staked his claim to form the government, though at that point he did not have a majority.Narayanan asked Vajpayee to furnish letters of support to demonstrate the NDA's ability to secure a majority.