1977 general election
Also called: Sixth general election · Topic: The Emergency (1975-77) and the Crisis of Democratic Order · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 6 "The Crisis of Democratic Order"
Meaning
The 1977 general election was the Lok Sabha poll held in March 1977. The Emergency had lasted 18 months when it was called. It became a referendum on the Emergency, meaning a public vote on whether people approved of it. The opposition united under the Janata Party, so non-Congress votes were not split. The Congress lost a Lok Sabha election for the first time.
Example
The Janata Party won 295 seats on its own, and 330 of 542 with its allies. The Congress won only 154 seats, with under 35% of the vote. It lost every seat in Bihar, UP, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, and Indira Gandhi lost Rae Bareli. But it kept many seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa and nearly swept the south. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress PM on 24 March 1977.
Don't confuse with
- 1980 general election: a mid-term poll in which the Congress came back with 353 seats. In 1977 voters punished authoritarian rule. In 1980 they punished an unstable government.