Janata Party
Topic: The Emergency (1975-77) and the Crisis of Democratic Order · NCERT: Class 9, Ch 6 "Democracy"; Class 9, Ch 7 "Elections"; Class 12, Ch 6 "The Crisis of Democratic Order"; Class 12, Ch 8 "Recent Developments in Indian Politics"
Meaning
The Janata Party was formed just before the 1977 election under Jayaprakash Narayan's guidance. It brought together the Jana Sangh, Congress (O), Bharatiya Lok Dal, Socialists and others. Jagjivan Ram's Congress for Democracy later merged with it. Its campaign slogan was "Save democracy", and it formed India's first non-Congress government at the Centre.
Example
In March 1977 the Janata Party won 295 Lok Sabha seats, and Morarji Desai became PM. His government repealed MISA, set up the Shah Commission and passed the 44th Amendment (1978) to guard against another emergency. But its leaders kept competing for power, and the dual membership dispute split the party. The Desai government lost its majority in July 1979, under 28 months after taking office.
Don't confuse with
- Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP): a later party. The Janata Party was a coalition of several parties formed in 1977.