1967 general election
Also called: Fourth general election · Topic: Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 12, Ch 5 "Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System"
Meaning
The 1967 general election, also called the fourth general election, was held in February 1967. The Lok Sabha and state assemblies were elected together. It was the Congress's first election without Nehru, and observers called the result a "political earthquake". It showed that the Congress could now be defeated, but no party could yet replace it.
Example
The Congress kept its Lok Sabha majority, but its 283 of 520 seats and about 41% of the vote were its lowest since 1952. It lost power in nine states. In Madras, the DMK won a majority on its own and C.N. Annadurai became Chief Minister. People joked that you could take a train from Delhi to Howrah without passing through a single Congress-ruled state.
Don't confuse with
- Losing power at the Centre: in 1967 the Congress did NOT lose its Lok Sabha majority or form a coalition in Delhi. Its losses were in the states.