Morarji Ranchhodji Desai was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his long career in politics, he held many important posts in government such as Chief Minister of Bombay State, Home Minister, Finance Minister and 2nd Deputy Prime Minister of India.
Charan Singh, better known as Chaudhary Charan Singh, was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and author who was a central figure among the agrarian community in India during late 1970s and early 1980s. Singh was principally known for his land and agricultural reform initiatives. He briefly served as the 5th prime minister of India from July 1979 to August 1979 and was Member of Parliament (MP) for Baghpat. During prime ministership he was a member of the Janata Party (Secular). Singh also briefly served as deputy prime minister of India from January 1979 to July 1979 as a member of the Janata Party. Singh is widely regarded as the "Champion of farmers", after his life has been dedicated to advocating for the wellbeing and rights of farmers.
The Janata Party is an unrecognized political party in India. It was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress. In the 1977 general election, the party defeated the Congress and Janata leader Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress prime minister in independent modern India's history.
Bharatiya Lok Dal was a political party in India. The BLD or simply BL was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Party, the Samyukta Socialist Party, the Utkal Congress and the Bharatiya Kranti Dal. The leader of the BLD was Charan Singh.
The Indian National Congress (Organisation) also known as Congress (O) or Syndicate/Old Congress was a political party in India formed when the Congress party split following the expulsion of Indira Gandhi.
The deputy prime minister of India, although not a Constitutional post, is the second-highest ranking minister of the Union in the executive branch of the Government of India and is a senior member of the Union Council of Ministers. The office holder also deputises for the prime minister in their absence.
Navnirman Andolan was a socio-political movement in 1974 in Gujarat by students and middle-class people against economic crisis and corruption in public life. It is the only successful agitation in the history of post-independence India that resulted in dissolution of an elected government of the state.
The Lok Sabha is the lower house in the Parliament of India. The 6th Lok Sabha, which ran from 23 March 1977 to 22 August 1979 was elected in February and March 1977. 11 sitting members from Rajya Sabha were elected to 6th Lok Sabha after the 1971 Indian general election.
General elections were held in India between 1 and 10 March 1971 to elect members of the fifth Lok Sabha. They were the fifth general elections since independence in 1947. The 27 Indian states and union territories were represented by 518 constituencies, each with a single seat. Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, the Indian National Congress (R) led a campaign which focused on reducing poverty and won a landslide victory, overcoming a split in the party and regaining many of the seats lost in the previous election.
General elections were held in India between 16 and 20 March 1977 to elect the members of the sixth Lok Sabha. The elections took place during the Emergency period, which expired on 21 March 1977, shortly before the final results were announced.
General elections were held in India on 3 and 6 January 1980 to elect the members of the 7th Lok Sabha. The Janata Party alliance came into power in the 1977 general elections amidst public anger with the Indian National Congress (R) and the Emergency. However, its position was weak; the loose coalition barely held on to a majority with only 295 seats in the Lok Sabha and never quite had a firm grip on power. Bharatiya Lok Dal leaders Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram, who had quit the Congress, were members of the Janata alliance but were at loggerheads with Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
Ravindra Varma was an Indian politician who served as the Minister for Labour and Parliamentary Affairs in the Morarji Desai Ministry in India from 1977 to 1979.
Renuka Devi Barkataki was an Indian politician from Assam. She was the Union Minister of state for education, social welfare and culture in the Janata Party government led by prime minister Morarji Desai from 1977 to 1979. In 1962, she was elected to the 3rd Lok Sabha from Barpeta constituency as an Indian National Congress candidate. In 1972, she was elected to the Assam legislative Assembly from Hajo constituency. In 1977, she was elected to the 6th Lok Sabha from Gauhati constituency as a Janata Party candidate. Later, she became the honorary secretary of the Assam state branch of the Indian Red Cross Society. She died on 14 August 2017 in a government hospital due to injuries.
Digvijay Narain Singh was an Indian politician who served as a Member of Parliament. He started his career as a member of the Indian National Congress, later joining Morarji Desai's NCO faction in 1969, and then the Janata Party. He represented Pupri, Muzaffarpur, Hajipur, Vaishali et al. seats from Bihar in Lok Sabha from 1952 well into 1970s. He joined Janata Party in 1977 and was elected to Lok Sabha from Vaishali.
The 1977 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. The result was a big victory for Indian National Congress under Indira Gandhi and its allies All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India winning 34 seats, while Janata Party and its allies Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Indian National Congress (Organisation) won only 5 seats. The Janata Party ended up winning this election. After the election, the AIADMK ended up supporting the Janata Party under Morarji Desai. In 1979, AIADMK continued to support Janata Party, by supporting Charan Singh, which resulted in the appointment of two AIADMK cabinet members.
The Congress for Democracy (CFD) was an Indian political party founded in 1977 by Jagjivan Ram. It was formed after Jagjivan Ram, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna, and Nandini Satpathy left the Indian National Congress of Indira Gandhi and denounced her rule during the Indian Emergency. The party contested the 1977 Indian general election with the Janata alliance and later merged with it.
The Janata Morcha was a coalition of Indian political parties formed in 1974 to oppose the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) party. The coalition was an integral part of the popular movement against the Emergency rule of Indira Gandhi and the direct predecessor of the Janata Party, which defeated the Congress (R) in the 1977 Indian general election to form the first non-Congress government in independent India. It was formed by Jayaprakash Narayan and Morarji Desai, chief of the main opposition Congress (O) party.
The premiership of Morarji Desai extended from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979. In the 1977 Indian general election Morarji Desai led the Janata Party to victory against the Congress party. Upon taking office, Morarji Desai became the first Indian Prime Minister not belonging to the Congress party.
Mohan Dharia was a Union minister, a lawyer and social worker. During his last days he stayed in Pune. Dharia was an environmentalist and ran a non-government organisation Vanarai. He was elected to the Lok Sabha twice from Pune Lok Sabha constituency, first in 1971 as an Indian National Congress (INC) member and became a Minister of State, and later in 1977 as a Bharatiya Lok Dal member, and joined the Morarji Desai Ministry as Union Minister of Commerce. Prior to it, he remained member of the Rajya Sabha twice from INC, first 1964-1970 and then 1970- 1971
The 1977 Indian general election was held to constitute the 6th Lok Sabha. Polling was held between 16 and 20 March 1977. It was held during the Emergency period, which ceased on 21 March 1977, right before the final results were announced.
