1977 Indian general election

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1977 Indian general election
Flag of India.svg
  1971 16–20 March 1977 [1] 1980  

542 of the 544 seats in the Lok Sabha [lower-alpha 1]
272 seats needed for a majority
Registered321,174,327
Turnout60.49% (Increase2.svg 5.22pp)
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Morarji Desai 1978b.jpg
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the US enhanced.jpg
Sundaraiah-Puchalapalli.jpg
Leader Morarji Desai Indira Gandhi Puchalapalli Sundarayya
Party JP INC(R) CPI(M)
Alliance JP+LF INC (R)+ JP+LF
Last election20.33%, 51 seats43.68%, 352 seats5.12%, 25 seats
Seats won29515422
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 209Decrease2.svg 198Decrease2.svg 3
Popular vote78,062,82865,211,5898,113,659
Percentage41.32%34.52%4.29%
SwingIncrease2.svg 20.99pp Decrease2.svg 9.16pp Decrease2.svg 0.83pp

Wahlergebnisse Indien 1977.svg
Results by constituency

Prime Minister before election

Indira Gandhi
INC(R)

Prime Minister after election

Morarji Desai
JP

General elections were held in India between 16 and 20 March 1977 to elect the members of the sixth Lok Sabha. [2] The elections took place during the Emergency period, which expired on 21 March 1977, shortly before the final results were announced. [1]

Contents

The elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the Indian National Congress (R), with the incumbent Prime Minister and INC(R) party leader Indira Gandhi losing her seat in Rae Bareli, while her son Sanjay lost his seat in Amethi. [3] The call for restoration of democracy by revoking the Emergency is considered to be a major reason for the sweeping victory for the opposition Janata Alliance, [4] whose leader Morarji Desai was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of India on 24 March. At 81, Desai became the oldest man to be elected Prime Minister of India.

Background

The sixth general elections, which were conducted for 542 seats in single-member constituencies, represented 27 Indian states and union territories. [5] These 542 constituencies remained same until 2004 Indian general elections for the 14th Lok Sabha.

The Emergency declared by the Indira Gandhi led Congress(R) government was the core issue in the 1977 elections. Civil liberties were suspended during the national emergency from 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977 and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assumed vast powers.

Gandhi had become unpopular for her decision and paid for it during the elections. On 18 January, Gandhi called for fresh elections and released some political prisoners. Many remained in prison until she was ousted from office and a new prime minister took over. [6] On 20 January, four opposition parties, the Indian National Congress (Organisation), the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Praja Socialist Party, decided to fight the elections under a single banner called the Janata alliance. [1] The alliance used the symbol allocated to Bhartiya Lok Dal as their symbol on the ballot papers.

The Janata Alliance reminded voters of the excesses and human rights violations during the Emergency, like compulsory sterilisation and imprisonment of political leaders. The Janata campaign said the elections would decide whether India would have "democracy or dictatorship." [7] The Congress(R) looked jittery. Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram quit the party in the first week of February; other notable Congress(R) stalwarts who crossed the floor with Jagjivan Ram before the election were Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna and Nandini Satpathy.

Results

Lok Sabha Zusammensetzung 1977.svg
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Janata Party 78,062,82841.32295+209
Indian National Congress (R) 65,211,58934.52154–198
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 8,113,6594.2922–3
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 5,480,3782.9018New
Communist Party of India 5,322,0882.827–16
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 3,323,3201.762–21
Indian National Congress (Organisation) 3,252,2171.723–13
Shiromani Akali Dal 2,373,3311.269+8
Peasants and Workers Party of India 1,030,2320.555+5
Republican Party of India (Khobragade) 956,0720.512+2
Revolutionary Socialist Party 851,1640.454+1
All India Forward Bloc 633,6440.343+1
Indian Union Muslim League 565,0070.3020
Kerala Congress (Pillai Group)526,9370.280New
Kerala Congress 491,6740.262–1
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference 483,1920.262New
Muslim League (Opposition) 318,9790.170New
Socialist Unity Centre of India 280,9950.1500
Vishal Haryana Party 192,8670.100–1
Republican Party of India 155,9720.080–1
All India Jharkhand Party 126,2880.0710
United Democratic Front 124,6270.071New
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party 118,7480.061+1
Jharkhand Party 116,9610.060New
Manipur Peoples Party 109,1300.0600
Shoshit Samaj Dal (Akhil Baharatiya)96,7530.050New
Revolutionary Communist Party of India 45,0470.0200
Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti 35,9160.020New
Hindu Mahasabha 35,4190.0200
Bihar Prant Hul Jharkhand 27,1160.0100
Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad 26,1690.0100
All India Labour Party17,1910.010New
Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League 12,5090.0100
All India Shiromani Baba Jivan Singh Mazabhi Dal5,8680.000New
Independents10,393,6175.509–5
Appointed Anglo-Indians 20
Total188,917,504100.00544+23
Valid votes188,917,50497.25
Invalid/blank votes5,346,4112.75
Total votes194,263,915100.00
Registered voters/turnout321,174,32760.49
Source: ECI

Voter behaviour

The elections in India's largest state Uttar Pradesh, historically a Congress(R) stronghold, turned against Gandhi. Dhanagare says the structural reasons included the emergence of a strong and united opposition, disunity and weariness within the Congress(R), an effective opposition and the failure of Gandhi in controlling the mass media, which was under censorship during the Emergency. The structural factors allowed voters to express their grievances, notably their resentment of the emergency and its authoritarian and repressive policies. One grievance often mentioned was the 'Nasbandi' (vasectomy) campaign in rural areas. The middle class also emphasised on the curbing of freedom of speech throughout the country. [8]

Meanwhile, Congress(R) hit an all-time low in West Bengal, according to the Gangulys, because of poor discipline and factionalism among Congress(R) activists as well as numerous defections that weakened the party. Opponents emphasised the issues of corruption within the Congress(R) and appealed to a deep desire by the voters for fresh leadership. [9] The Congress(R), however, did well in southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The results were mixed in the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, although the Janata alliance won all the seats in Mumbai.

See also

Notes

  1. Two seats were reserved for Anglo-Indians and filled by presidential nomination

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References

  1. 1 2 3 India Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. "INDIA" (PDF).
  3. "How Amethi became a Gandhi bastion". The Times of India. 28 March 2004. ISSN   0971-8257 . Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. M.R. Masani, "India's Second Revolution," Asian Affairs (1977) 5#1 pp 19–38.
  5. "General Election of India 1977, 6th Lok Sabha" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
  6. From FPJ Archives: Emergency impact - Indira Gandhi loses elections, India gets first non-Gandhi PM Archived 3 September 2019 at the Wayback Machine The Free Press Journal, 25 June 2019
  7. "INKredible India: The story of 1977 Lok Sabha election - All you need to know". Archived from the original on 27 February 2021. Retrieved 6 December 2020.
  8. D.N. Dhanagare, "Sixth Lok Sabha Election in Uttar Pradesh – 1977: The End of the Congress Hegemony," Political Science Review (1979) 18#1 pp 28–51
  9. Mira Ganguly and Bangendu Ganguly, "Lok Sabha Election, 1977: The West Bengal Scene," Political Science Review (1979) 18#3 pp 28–53

Further reading