<P> Since the 1990s, Parliamentary elections have generally not resulted in a single party or group of parties having a distinct majority, until the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when BJP received a clear majority . In such cases, Presidents have used their discretion and directed Prime Ministerial aspirants to establish their credentials before being invited to form the government . Typically, the aspirants have been asked to produce letters from various party leaders, with the signatures of all the MPs who are pledging support to their candidature . This is in addition to the requirement that a Prime Minister prove he has the support of the Lok Sabha (by a vote on the floor of the House) within weeks of being sworn into office . </P> <P> Since the Indian Constitution does not provide any time limit within which the President is to declare his assent or refusal, the President could exercise a "pocket veto" by not taking any action for an indefinite time . The veto was used in 1986 by President Zail Singh over the Postal Bill . The President did not give assent to the bill, arguing that its scope was too sweeping and would give the government arbitrary powers to intercept postal communications indiscriminately . </P> <P> In the late 1990s, President K.R. Narayanan introduced explaining to the nation (by means of Rashtrapati Bhavan communiqués), the thinking that led to the various decisions he took while exercising his discretionary powers; this has led to openness and transparency in the functioning of the President . </P> <P> The constitution gives the President the power to return a bill unsigned but it circumscribes the power to send it back only once for reconsideration . If the Parliament sends back the bill with or without changes, the President is obliged to sign it . In mid-2006, President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam sent back a controversial bill regarding the exclusion of certain offices from the scope of' offices of profit', the holding of which would disqualify a person from being a member of parliament . The combined opposition, the NDA, hailed the move . The UPA chose to send the bill back to the president without any changes and, after 17 days, Kalam gave his assent on 18 August 2006 . </P>

Where does the president get his ability to have a cabinet from