It first came to power in 1989, after allegations of corruption, known as the Bofors affair, caused Rajiv Gandhi's Congress (I) to lose the elections. The National Front coalition that was formed consisted of the Janata Dal and a few smaller parties in the government, and had outside support from the BJP and the Communists. V. P. Singh was the Prime Minister. In November 1990, this coalition collapsed, and a new government headed by Chandra Shekhar which had the support of the Congress (I) and a faction of the Janata Dal came to power. This coalition fell shortly causing new elections in June 1991 which brought the Congress back to power.

Its second spell of power started in 1996, when the Janata Dal-led United Front coalition came to power, with outside support from the Congress, choosing H. D. Deve Gowda as their Prime Minister. Congress (I) withdrew their support in less than a year, hoping to gain power with the support of various United Front constituent groups, and Inder Kumar Gujral became the next Janata Dal Prime Minister. His government fell in a few months, and in February 1998, the Janata Dal-led coalition lost power to the BJP.