Lok Sabha Elections, 1977

The 1977 Lok Sabha Elections: A Referendum on the Emergency

In January 1977, after eighteen months of Emergency rule, the government suddenly announced that elections would be held. All political leaders and activists who had been jailed were released. The elections themselves took place in March 1977, giving the opposition very little time to prepare. Yet political developments moved with extraordinary speed.

The major opposition parties had already been drawing closer together in the period just before the Emergency. Now, on the eve of the elections, they formally united to form a new party: the Janata Party. This new party accepted the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, the veteran Gandhian socialist who had become the symbol of resistance to authoritarian rule. Some Congress leaders who had opposed the Emergency also joined the Janata Party. Among them was Morarji Desai — a freedom fighter, a Gandhian, a former Chief Minister of Bombay State, and a former Deputy Prime Minister — who would go on to become the first Prime Minister from a non-Congress party (1977–1979).

Other Congress leaders, led by Jagjivan Ram, broke away from the party and formed a separate outfit called the Congress for Democracy. This party later merged with the Janata Party.

The Janata Party turned the election into a referendum on the Emergency. Its entire campaign focused on the non-democratic character of the rule and the various excesses that had taken place during those eighteen months: the arrests of thousands of people, the censorship of the press, and the forced sterilisations and relocations. Public opinion had turned strongly against the Congress. Jayaprakash Narayan became the popular symbol of the restoration of democracy. The formation of the Janata Party also ensured that the non-Congress vote would not be split among multiple parties.

It was clear that the Congress faced a tough fight. But the final results stunned everyone.

The Results

For the first time since Independence, the Congress party was defeated in a Lok Sabha election. Here is the breakdown:

The Congress's share of the popular vote fell to less than 35 per cent. In north India, the defeat was a massive electoral wave. The Congress lost in every single constituency in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, and Punjab. It could win only one seat each in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh. Indira Gandhi herself was defeated from her constituency of Rae Bareli, and her son Sanjay Gandhi lost from Amethi.

A Regional Pattern

But the defeat was not uniform across the country. If you look at the election map, you will notice that the Congress retained many seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Orissa, and virtually swept through the southern states. Why this difference?

Two main reasons explain the regional pattern:

1. Uneven impact of the Emergency: The forced relocations, displacements, and sterilisations were mostly concentrated in the northern states. The southern states did not experience the Emergency's harshest measures to the same degree. …