Samyukta Vidhayak Dal
Also called: SVD governments · Topic: Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 5 "Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System"
Meaning
Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) means "joint legislative party". After the 1967 election, non-Congress parties in several states joined together in the assembly to form coalition governments. The partners often had clashing ideas, from the far left to the right. Their common aim was mainly to keep the Congress out. Most SVD governments collapsed soon after.
Example
In Bihar, the SVD government brought together the SSP, PSP, CPI and Jana Sangh. Punjab's "Popular United Front" included both Akali groups, the CPI, the CPI(M), the SSP, the Republican Party and the Jana Sangh. Such governments fell when they lost their majority, when a new combination took over, or when President's rule was imposed under Article 356.
Don't confuse with
- Grand Alliance (1971): a front of non-Congress parties against Indira Gandhi in a national Lok Sabha election. The SVDs were coalition governments in the states after 1967.