Samyukta Vidhayak Dal was a coalition of parties formed in several north Indian states after the 1967 assembly elections, made up of the Bharatiya Kranti Dal, the Samyukta Socialist Party, the Praja Socialist Party and the Jana Sangh. The coalition opposed the Indian National Congress party that had hitherto single-handedly dominated Indian politics.[1]
The 1967 Indian general election was a landmark election in the history of India. The ruling Congress Party was returned to power with the lowest majority it had had since independence (284 seats). It was defeated in assemblies like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, and Kerala. In many states in the north, where it had won narrow victories, its members defected to opposition parties. Consequently, the Congress governments fell and they were replaced by Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) governments. This was a coalition of legislators against the Congress - made up Jana Sangh, Socialists, Swantantra Party and Congress defectors, beside local parties.[2]