1977 Indian general election

1977 Indian general election
← 1971 16–20 March 1977[1] 1980 →
542 of the 544 seats in the Lok Sabha[a]
272 seats needed for a majority
Registered321,174,327
Turnout60.49% (Increase 5.22pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Morarji Desai 1978b.jpg
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the US enhanced.jpg
Sundaraiah-Puchalapalli.jpg
Leader Morarji Desai Indira Gandhi Puchalapalli Sundarayya
Party JP INC(R) CPI(M)
Alliance JP+LF INC (R)+ JP+LF
Last election 20.33%, 51 seats 43.68%, 352 seats 5.12%, 25 seats
Seats won 295 154 22
Seat change Increase 209 Decrease 198 Decrease 3
Popular vote 78,062,828 65,211,589 8,113,659
Percentage 41.32% 34.52% 4.29%
Swing Increase 20.99pp Decrease 9.16pp Decrease 0.83pp
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election

Indira Gandhi
INC(R)

Prime Minister after election

Morarji Desai
JP

General elections were held in India between 16 and 20 March 1977 to elect the members of the sixth Lok Sabha.[2] The elections took place during the Emergency period, which expired on 21 March 1977, shortly before the final results were announced.[1]

The elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the Indian National Congress (R), with the incumbent Prime Minister and INC(R) party leader Indira Gandhi losing her seat in Rae Bareli, while her son Sanjay lost his seat in Amethi.[3] The call for restoration of democracy by revoking the Emergency is considered to be a major reason for the sweeping victory for the opposition Janata Alliance,[4] whose leader Morarji Desai was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister of India on 24 March. At 81, Desai became the oldest man to be elected Prime Minister of India.

  1. ^ a b India Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. ^ "INDIA" (PDF).
  3. ^ "How Amethi became a Gandhi bastion". The Times of India. 28 March 2004. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 23 July 2023.
  4. ^ M.R. Masani, "India's Second Revolution," Asian Affairs (1977) 5#1 pp 19–38.


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