On 25 June 1975, the President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, accepted prime minister Indira Gandhi's recommendation to declare a state of national emergency. Indira argued that the political and civil disorder constituted a threat to national security. A state of emergency enabled the central government to issue executive decrees without requiring the consent of Parliament. Elections were postponed and public gatherings, rallies and strikes were banned. Curfews were imposed and police forces were empowered to make warrantless searches, seizures and arrests. Indira's government imposed "President's rule" in the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, dismissing the governments controlled by opposition political parties.
Emergency
Janata Party
Janata Party | Emergency
A state of emergency enabled the central government to issue executive decrees without requiring the consent of Parliament. Sorry. I cannot find the answer based on the context. They opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 to 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress. When the State of Emergency was lifted and new elections called in 1977 the Janata Party won a majority in the Indian Parliament.
who was the first president of india to be elected unopposed
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Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
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was he involved in freedom struggle?
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Yes, he joined the Indian struggle for independence.
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which other political posts did he have?
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President of the Indian National Congress, Union Minister of Steel and Mines, Union Minister of Transport, Civil Aviation, Shipping and Tourism, speaker of the Lok Sabha, etc.
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which political party was he associated with?
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Indian National Congress Party in the Indian independence movement and Janata Party as a candidate for Parliament.
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when was the second political party established?
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23 January 1977
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what was its role during emergency?
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He also participated in the formation of the Janata Party and its initial setup (Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the State of Emergency). As a result, the party formation was complete and the party was ready when elections were declared in 1977.
Uttamrao Patil | Emergency years (1975-1977)
In 1975, Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency, and threw many major opposition politicians in jail including the leaders of the BJS. In 1977, the Emergency was withdrawn, and elections were held. The BJS, joined forces with the Bharatiya Lok Dal, the Congress (O), and the Socialist Party, to form the Janata Party (People's Party). The Janata Party became the first Indian government not led by what was by then called the Indian National Congress. Former BJS leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L. K. Advani became the External Affairs (Foreign), and Information and Broadcasting Ministers respectively.
Bharatiya Jana Sangh | Emergency of 1975
The Janata Party's 298 seats and its allies' 47 seats (of a total 542) gave it a massive majority. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. Voters in the electorally largest state of Uttar Pradesh, historically a Congress stronghold, turned against Gandhi and her party failed to win a single seat in the state. Dhanagare says the structural reasons behind the discontent against the Government included the emergence of the strong and united opposition, disunity and weariness inside Congress, an effective underground opposition, and the ineffectiveness of Gandhi's control of the mass media, which had lost much credibility.
The Emergency (India) | Elections of 1977
On 25 June 1975, the President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, accepted prime minister Indira Gandhi's recommendation to declare a state of national emergency. Indira argued that the political and civil disorder constituted a threat to national security. A state of emergency enabled the central government to issue executive decrees without requiring the consent of Parliament. Elections were postponed and public gatherings, rallies and strikes were banned. Curfews were imposed and police forces were empowered to make warrantless searches, seizures and arrests. Indira's government imposed "President's rule" in the states of Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, dismissing the governments controlled by opposition political parties.
Janata Party | Emergency
This rule was interrupted between 1977 and 1980, when the Janata Party coalition won the election owing to public discontent with the controversial state of emergency declared by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The Janata Dal won elections in 1989, but its government managed to hold on to power for only two years.
Politics of India | Role of political parties
The Janata Party was formed by political leaders and activists of various political parties who had been united in opposing the state of emergency imposed in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After elections were called in 1977, the Janata Party was formed from the union of the Congress (O), Swatantra Party, Socialist Party of India, Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Lok Dal. Congress defector Jagjivan Ram, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna & Nandini Satpathy formed the Congress for Democracy and joined the Janata alliance. The widespread unpopularity of Emergency rule gave Janata and its allied a landslide victory in the election.
Premiership of Morarji Desai | Emergency and election victory
Calling elections on 18 January 1977 the government released political prisoners and weakened restrictions and censorship on the press, although the state of emergency was not officially ended. When opposition leaders sought the support of Jayaprakash Narayan for the forthcoming election, Narayan insisted that all opposition parties form a united front. The Janata party was officially launched on 23 January 1977 when the Janata Morcha, Charan Singh's Bharatiya Lok Dal, Swatantra Party, the Socialist Party of India of Raj Narain and George Fernandes, and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) joined together, dissolving their separate identities (the merger of all party organisations was to be completed after the election).
Janata Party | Creation
In 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a state of emergency. The Jana Sangh took part in the widespread protests, with thousands of its members being imprisoned along with other agitators across the country. In 1977, the emergency was withdrawn and general elections were held. The Jana Sangh merged with parties from across the political spectrum, including the Socialist Party, the Congress (O) and the Bharatiya Lok Dal to form the Janata Party, with its main agenda being defeating Indira Gandhi. The Janata Party won a majority in 1977 and formed a government with Morarji Desai as Prime Minister. The former Jana Sangh contributed the largest tally to the Janata Party's parliamentary contingent, with 93 seats or 31% of its strength.
Bharatiya Janata Party | Janata Party (1977–80)
After the State of Emergency in 1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other parties to form the Janata Party; it defeated the incumbent Congress party in the 1977 general election. After three years in power, the Janata party dissolved in 1980 with the members of the erstwhile Jana Sangh reconvening to form the BJP. Although initially unsuccessful, winning only two seats in the 1984 general election, it grew in strength on the back of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement. Following victories in several state elections and better performances in national elections, the BJP became the largest party in the parliament in 1996; however, it lacked a majority in the lower house of Parliament, and its government lasted only 13 days.
Bharatiya Janata Party | Introduction
She was barred from contesting any election for the next six years. Economic problems, corruption and the conviction of Gandhi led to widespread protests against the Congress (R) government, which responded by imposing a State of Emergency. The rationale was that of preserving national security. However, the government introduced press censorship, postponed elections and banned strikes and rallies. Opposition leaders such as Jivatram Kripalani, Jayaprakash Narayan, Chandra Shekhar, Biju Patnaik, , Atal Bihari Vajpayee, L. K. Advani, Raj Narain, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Ramnandan Mishra and Morarji Desai were imprisoned, along with thousands of other political activists. When the State of Emergency was lifted and new elections called in 1977, opposition political parties such as the Congress (O), Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Bharatiya Lok Dal as well as defectors from the Congress (R) joined to form the Janata party, which won a sweeping majority in the Indian Parliament.
Janata Party | Introduction
During the emergency, the leaders and activists of the Janata Morcha were imprisoned. After the 1977 elections were called, the constituents of the Janata Morcha formally launched the Janata Party on 18 January 1977, determined to forge a united front of all opposition political parties. The Janata party replicated the success of the Morcha in Gujarat by winning the 1977 elections and forming the first non-Congress government of India.
Janata Morcha | Janata Party
During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi implemented a 20-point program of economic reforms that resulted in greater economic growth, aided by the absence of strikes and trade union conflicts. Encouraged by these positive signs and distorted and biased information from her party supporters, Indira called elections for May 1977. However, the emergency era had been widely unpopular. The most controversial issue was the 42nd amendment to the Constitution of India, which deprived citizens of direct access to the Supreme Court, except when violation of the fundamental rights resulted from Union law. The Parliament was given unrestrained power to amend any parts of the Constitution.
Janata Party | Emergency
This led some Congress party leaders to demand a move towards a presidential system emergency declaration with a more powerful directly elected executive. The most significant of the initial such movement was the Nav Nirman movement in Gujarat, between December 1973 and March 1974. Student unrest against the state's education minister ultimately forced the central government to dissolve the state legislature, leading to the resignation of the chief minister, Chimanbhai Patel, and the imposition of President's rule. After the re-elections in June 1977, Gandhi's party was defeated by the Janata alliance, formed by parties opposed to the ruling Congress party.
The Emergency (India) | Political unrest
Although the political ideologies of Janata constituents were diverse and conflicting, the party was able to unite under the over-reaching appeal of Jayaprakash Narayan, who had been seen as the ideological leader of the anti-Emergency movement and now the Janata party. Chandra Shekhar became first president of Janata Party. Ramakrishna Hegde became the party general secretary, and Bharatiya Jana Sangh politician Lal Krishna Advani became the party spokesperson. The Janata manifesto was released on 10 February, which declared that the coming election presented voters with: As it became clear that Indira's Emergency rule had been widely unpopular, defections from the Congress (R) government increased.
Janata Party | Creation
The Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency on 25 June 1975 due to internal political disturbances. Accordingly, all fundamental rights enjoyed in the Indian Constitution were suspended. Political dissidents, newspaper reporters, opposition leaders who opposed emergency were jailed. "Chhote Saheb", along with other prominent leaders, opposed this blatant misuse of state machinery. In 1977, during the emergency in India, he was made president of Bihar Janata Party and Chairman of State Election Committee. He worked together with premier colleagues of Janata Party like Morarji Desai, Chandra Shekhar Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, Charan Singh, Jagjivan Ram, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, Madhu Limaye, H.
Satyendra Narayan Sinha | Emergency era
The Janata Party (JNP, translation: "People's Party") was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 to 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian National Congress. In the 1977 general election, the party defeated the Congress and Janata leader Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress prime minister in independent modern India's history. Raj Narain, a socialist leader, had filed a legal writ alleging electoral malpractice against Indira Gandhi in 1971. On 12 June 1975, Allahabad High Court found her guilty of using corrupt electoral practices in her 1971 election victory over Narain in the Rae Bareli constituency.
Janata Party | Introduction
The tribunals the government had set up to investigate human rights abuses during the Emergency appeared vindictive. Finally, the Janata Party, an amalgam of socialists and nationalists, split in 1979 when several coalition members such as the Bharatiya Lok Dal plus several members of the erstwhile Socialist Party withdrew support to the government. Subsequently, Desai lost a trust vote in parliament and resigned. Charan Singh, who had retained some partners of the Janata alliance, was sworn in as Prime Minister in June 1979. Congress promised to support Singh in parliament but later backed out just two days before the Govt was scheduled to prove its majority on the floor of Lok Sabha.
1980 Indian general election | Introduction
Although Narayan and Kripalani did not seek office themselves, they became the leading campaigners for the Janata party, drawing great masses of people in rallies across the country. Actions taken during Emergency significantly diminished support for the Congress (R) amongst its most loyal constituencies. The bulldozing of slums near the Jama Masjid was widely unpopular amongst India's Muslims, and the defection of Jagjivan Ram significantly diminished support for the Congress (R) amongst India's Dalits. BLD leader Charan Singh's peasant roots helped him raise considerable support in the rural parts of Uttar Pradesh, the most populous state of India. The Shiromani Akali Dal, the party of the Sikhs of Punjab and regional political parties such as the Tamil Nadu-based Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam became important allies.
Janata Party | 1977 elections
The Janata Party was formed by political leaders and activists of various political parties who had been united in opposing the state of Emergency imposed in 1975 by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. After elections were called in 1977, the Janata Party was formed from the union of the Congress (O), the Swatantra Party, the Socialist Party of India, the Jana Sangh and the Lok Dal. Jagjivan Ram split from the Indian National Congress, bringing a small faction known as the Congress for Democracy with him, and joined the Janata alliance. The widespread unpopularity of Emergency rule gave the Janata Party and its allies a landslide victory in the election.
L. K. Advani | Janata Party to Bharatiya Janata Party
On 18 January 1977, Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners, though the Emergency officially ended on 23 March 1977. The opposition Janata movement's campaign warned Indians that the elections might be their last chance to choose between "democracy and dictatorship." In the Lok Sabha elections, held in March, Mrs Gandhi and Sanjay both lost their Lok Sabha seats, as did all the Congress candidates in northern states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Many Congress Party loyalists deserted Mrs Gandhi. The Congress was reduced to just 153 seats, 92 of which were from four of the southern states.
The Emergency (India) | Elections of 1977
The other major constituents of the Janata Party demanded that the Jana Sangh should break from the RSS, which the Jana Sangh refused to do. Eventually, a fragment of the Janata Party broke off to form the Janata Party (Secular). The Morarji Desai government was reduced to a minority in the Parliament, forcing its resignation. Following a brief period of coalition rule, general elections were held in 1980, in which the Janata Party fared poorly, winning only 31 seats. In April 1980, shortly after the elections, the National Executive Council of the Janata Party banned its members from being 'dual members' of party and the RSS.
Bharatiya Janata Party | Janata Party (1977–80)
Lakshmi played a more active political role during the Indian Emergency of 1975 and was jailed by Indira Gandhi. She co-founded the Janata Party and unsuccessfully contested from Mylapore in the 1977 Legislative Assembly election.
Lakshmi Krishnamurti | During the Emergency
The first actions taken by the Desai government were to formally end the state of emergency and media censorship and repeal the controversial executive decrees issued during the Emergency. The Constitution was amended to make it more difficult for any future government to declare a state of emergency; fundamental freedoms and the independence of India's judiciary was reaffirmed. The new government also proceeded to withdraw all charges against the 25 accused in the Baroda dynamite case, which included the new Minister of Industry, George Fernandes. The Minister of Railways reinstated the railway employees disciplined after the May 1974 strike. The Desai government proceeded to establish inquiry commissions and tribunals to investigate allegations of corruption and human rights abuses by members of Indira Gandhi's government, political party and the police forces.
Janata Party | Janata rule
During the Emergency, Indira Gandhi implemented a 20-point program of economic reforms that resulted in greater economic growth, aided by the absence of strikes and trade union conflicts. Encouraged by these positive signs and distorted and biased information from her party supporters, Gandhi called for elections in May 1977. However, the Emergency era had been widely unpopular. The 42nd Amendment was widely criticised, and the clampdown on civil liberties and widespread abuse of human rights by police angered the public. In its election manifesto for the 1977 elections, the Janata Party promised to "restore the Constitution to the condition it was in before the Emergency and to put rigorous restrictions on the executive's emergency and analogous powers".
Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India | Aftermath
The Communist Party of India (Marxist) emerged as one of the primary opposition to the emergency rule of Indira Gandhi. The following period witnessed a succession of authoritarian measures and political repression, which was particularly severe in West Bengal. The members of the CPI-M's labour union became the first subject to political repression and mass arrests while the rest of the members of the CPI-M went underground.
Jyoti Basu | Boycott of Assembly & Emergency rule (1972–1977)
After the emergency was subsided in January 1977, so that elections could be held on 21 March 1977 in India. The Congress Party, led by Indira Gandhi, suffered a defeat at the hands of the Janata Party, a coalition created in 1977 out of several small parties that opposed Gandhi's Emergency era. The Janata Party and its allies came to power, headed by Morarji Desai, who became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. Fernandes won the Muzaffarpur seat in Bihar by an over 300,000 vote margin in 1977 from jail where he was lodged in the Baroda dynamite case, despite his not even visiting the constituency.
George Fernandes | Union Minister and Muzaffarpur MP post-1977
The central government also imposed censorship on radio, television and newspapers. Across the country, police forces arrested thousands of opposition political activists, as well as leaders such as Raj Narain, Jayaprakash Narayan, Jivatram Kripalani, Morarji Desai, Satyendra Narayan Sinha, Vijay Raje Scindhia, Charan Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and others. Opposition political organisations such as the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) were banned and their leaders arrested. Only the Communist Party of India supported the state of emergency. Due to the advancing age and failing health, Narayan was released from prison, but remained prohibited from political activity.
Janata Party | Emergency
However, the Janata Party was not able to fully achieve its objective of restoring the Constitution to the condition it was in before the Emergency.
Forty-second Amendment of the Constitution of India | Aftermath
During The Emergency, the DMK opposed the Emergency, for which his government was summarily dismissed by Indira Gandhi's government and many of his party leaders were arrested and jailed till the Emergency was lifted. Later, the D.M.K teamed up with the Janata Party post-Emergency, but suffered defeat at the assembly elections under accusations of corruption . His one time friend M. G. Ramachandran, who floated his AIADMK party after being sacked by Karunanidhi from DMK a few years earlier, would come to power in Tamil Nadu. The DMK then suffered multiple electoral defeats against his primary opponent M.G.Ramachandran's AIADMK, until the latter's death in 1987.
M. Karunanidhi | 1970s and Emergency
During the election campaign, the leaders of the Congress (R) and the Janata party travelled across the country to rally supporters. Indira and her Congress (R) promoted the record of achieving economic development and orderly government. Although she offered apologies for abuses committed during the Emergency, Indira and the Congress (R) defended the rationale 455 of imposing the state of emergency as being essential for national security. On the other hand, Janata leaders assailed Indira for ruling as a dictator and endangering human rights and democracy in India. Janata's campaign evoked memories of India's freedom struggle against British rule, during which Jayaprakash Narayan, Jivatram Kripalani and Morarji Desai had first emerged as political leaders.
Janata Party | 1977 elections
The Emergency in India was finally lifted in 1977 after international pressure, specially from Willy Brandt of Germany, Chancellor Bruno Kriesky of Austria, Prime Minister Olaf Palme of Sweden, Prime Minister Joop den Uyl, of the Netherlands and Prime Minister Odvar Nordli of Norway, all of whose parties were in the Socialist International, to which the former Catholic seminarian turned firebrand Indian politician, George Fernandes' Socialist Party, also belonged.
Paul Mantosh | Introduction
He "recruited into the party thousands of younger people, many of them hooligans and ruffians, who used threats and force to intimidate rivals and those who opposed Mrs Gandhi's authority or his own."
Sanjay Gandhi | Role during emergency
The election came after the end of The Emergency that Prime Minister Gandhi had imposed in 1975; it effectively ended democracy, suppressed the opposition, and took control of the media with authoritarian measures. The opposition called for a restoration of democracy and Indians saw the election results as a repudiation of the Emergency. The sixth general elections, which were conducted for 542 seats from 542 constituencies, represented 27 Indian states and union territories. The state of Emergency declared by the Congress government was the core issue in the 1977 elections. Civil liberties were suspended during the national emergency from 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977 and Prime Minister Indira Gandhi assumed vast powers.
Zulfikar Ali Khan | Politics
Sanjay Gandhi had masterminded the Union government's unpopular campaign of family planning, which had allegedly involved forcible sterilisation of young men by government officials. Sanjay Gandhi had also instigated the demolition of slums in the Jama Masjid area of New Delhi, the national capital, which left thousands of people, mostly Muslims, homeless. Indian labourers, urban workers, teachers and government employees were also disenchanted by wage freezes and the curtailing of trade union activities and rights.
Janata Party | Emergency
The Indian National Congress attracted support from Indians of all classes, castes and religions opposed to the British Empire. The Janata Party which came into power in India in 1977, was a catch-all party which consisted of people with different ideologies opposed to The Emergency.
Big tent | India
Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and Communist Party of India continued to support Indira Gandhi. M. G. Ramachandran even visited Delhi to extend his support to Indira Gandhi. It was under these circumstances Karunanidhi's government was dismissed by the Government of India on 31 January 1976.
1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Emergency
The second largest party, the Indian National Congress, declined to attempt to form a government, instead choosing to support one headed by Janata Dal, and chose Karnataka Chief Minister H. D. Deve Gowda to assume the Prime Minister post. Janata Dal and a bloc of smaller parties thus formed the United Front which would form the government coalition for the next two years. However, the United Front was beset by internal tensions, accommodating as it did parties with ideologies from free market to unreconstructed Marxist, and would spend the next two years balancing delicate coalition arrangements and appeasing this uneasy alliance.
1996 Indian general election | Results
On November 10 and 11, the team of civil libertarian barristers, led by Nanabhoy Palkhivala, argued against the Union government's application for reconsideration of the Kesavananda decision. Some of the judges accepted his argument on the very first day, the others on the next; by the end of the second day, the Chief Justice was reduced to a minority of one. On the morning of 12 November, Chief Justice Ray tersely pronounced that the bench was dissolved, and the judges rose. The 39th Amendment attempted, among other provisions, to legitimize the election of Indira Gandhi in 1971. Article 329A put the elections of the Prime Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker outside the purview of the judiciary and provided for determination of disputes concerning their elections by an authority to be set up by a Parliamentary law.
Basic structure doctrine | The Emergency (1975)
In 1977, the Government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was toppled when the Congress was defeated in the elections by the Janata Party. Kao's closeness to Indira Gandhi had aroused deep suspicion among the political class about his role in the Emergency. However, Kao had privately advised Mrs. Gandhi not to declare emergency. His tenure had been extended by Mrs. Gandhi; he would have retired in 1976 otherwise. When Morarji Desai's government came to power after the Emergency, Kao was under no illusion about how the new set of politicians— who had publicly attacked Indira Gandhi for spying on them— would react to his presence.
R. N. Kao | Under the new Government
The Indian Emergency of 25 June 1975 – 21 March 1977 was a 21-month period when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon advice by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a national emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively bestowing on her the power to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. It is one of the most controversial times in the history of independent India. On 23 January 1977, Mrs Indira Gandhi called elections for March and released all political prisoners. Pranab Mukherjee was secretly felicitated for helping Sanjay Gandhi for arresting high profile political opponents. In the elections held on 16–20 March 1977 Congress Party suffered a defeat at the hands of the Janata Party, which took office on 24 March 1977.
Shah Commission | Background
In 1975, following the State Emergency Indira Gandhi, Latchanna was arrested on the same night in Srikalahasti where he was attending Visakhapatnam central jail and was released in 1977 after the withdrawal of Emergency. Upon release, he went to New Delhi to attend all opposition parties conference convened and presided by Jaya Prakash Narayan, the founder of Janata Party. In 1977 general elections, Latchanna was elected to the Andhra Pradesh assembly from Janata Party ticket and was recognised officially, as the opposition leader, as Janata Legislature Party was the main opposition party in the Andhra Pradesh assembly. After the demise of C.
Gouthu Latchanna | Emergency in India
Members of CPI(M) were identified and arrested all over India . Raids were conducted in houses suspected to be sympathetic of CPI(M) or the opposition of emergency. Those jailed during the Emergency include the current general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) , Sitaram Yechury, and his predecessor, Prakash Karat. Both were then leaders of the Students Federation of India, the party's student wing. Other Communist Party of India (Marxist) members to be jailed included the current Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan, then a young MLA. He was taken into custody during the Emergency and subjected to third degree methods.
The Emergency (India) | The role of CPI(M)
In 1975, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed—on Indira's advice—imposed a state of emergency, therefore, bestowing the government with the power to rule by decree, the period is known for human right violations. After widespread protests, the emergency was lifted in 1977, and a general election was to be held. All of the political parties of the opposition—after the conclusion of the emergency—fought together against the Congress, under the umbrella of the Janata Party, in the general election of 1977, and were successful in defeating the Congress. Subsequently, Morarji Desai—a former deputy prime minister—became the first non-Congress prime minister of the country.
Prime Minister of India | 1947–1984
The structural factors allowed voters to express their grievances, notably their resentment of the emergency and its authoritarian and repressive policies. One grievance often mentioned as the 'nasbandi' (vasectomy) campaign in rural areas. The middle classes also emphasised the curbing of freedom throughout the state and India. Meanwhile, Congress hit an all-time low in West Bengal because of the poor discipline and factionalism among Congress activists as well as the numerous defections that weakened the party. Opponents emphasised the issues of corruption in Congress and appealed to a deep desire by the voters for fresh leadership.
The Emergency (India) | Elections of 1977
Indira Gandhi's Congress Party called for general elections in 1977, only to suffer a humiliating electoral defeat at the hands of the Janata Party, an amalgamation of opposition parties. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. The Desai administration established tribunals to investigate Emergency-era abuses, and Indira and Sanjay Gandhi were arrested after a report from the Shah Commission. In 1979, the coalition crumbled and Charan Singh formed an interim government. The Janata Party had become intensely unpopular due to its internecine warfare, and a perceived lack of leadership on solving India's serious economic and social problems.
History of India (1947–present) | Janata interlude
Lal was in the limelight when Emergency was imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. He was a confidante of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi during the controversial Emergency days in 1975. He was part of a cabal around Sanjay Gandhi, along with V C Shukla, Om Mehta, et al., which came to be known as 'the Emergency caucus'. This group, led by Sanjay Gandhi, was said to be responsible for various harsh steps during the Emergency. He was the defence minister from 21 December 1975 to 24 March 1977 and a minister without portfolio in the Union government from 1 December 1975 to 20 December 1975.
Bansi Lal | Role during Emergency
The chief reason for the collapse was the demand by the duo and other left-leaning members, like Madhu Limaye, Krishan Kant, and George Fernandes that no member of the Janata party could simultaneously be a member of an alternative social or political organisation. This attack on "dual membership" was directed specifically at members of the Janata party who had been members of the Jan Sangh, and continued to be members of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the Jan Sangh's ideological parent.
Morarji Desai | Intra-party squabbles and collapse of Janata government
The formal term of the government expired on 21 October 1975 but was extended on three occasions over six month periods during the Emergency. C. Achutha Menon continued as Chief Minister till 25 March 1977, becoming the first Chief Minister of Kerala to complete normal constitutional term.
United Front (1970-79, Kerala) | Emergency (1975- 77)
The mystery of how this was managed and utilised by the defeated opponent Raj Narain could not be unraveled, and it still remains a mystery in the archives of the records of this country. To arrest the proposed unrest by the opposition who had all come together against the PM who had to take many leaders under house arrest From the opposition during the Emergency Rule, which many liked and many disliked too. In 1977, after the end of the Emergency period and fresh elections, the people of India voted Janata Party to power, which was a combination of various political parties pooled together.
Yashpal Kapur | Rajya Sabha
N. Chandrababu Naidu of the Telugu Desam Party served as the convener of United Front. The Indian general election in 1996 returned a fractured verdict. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as the largest party, with 161 of 543 seats, it was invited first to form a government. It accepted the offer, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as prime minister. However, he was unable to muster a majority on the floor of the house, and the government fell 13 days later. At a meeting of all the other parties, the Indian National Congress, with a substantial 140 seats, declined to head the government and along with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), agreed to extend outside support to a coalition with the Janata Dal at its head, named the "United Front".
Third Front (India) | United Front (1996–1998)
In India, "The Emergency" refers to a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. For much of the Emergency, most of Indira Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored.
The Emergency (India) | Introduction
Narain defeated Gandhi at Rae Bareli in those elections. The new Janata-led government reversed many Emergency-era decrees and opened official investigations into Emergency-era abuses. Although several major foreign policy and economic reforms were attempted, continuous in-fighting and ideological differences made the Janata government unable to effectively address national problems. By mid-1979, Prime Minister Morarji Desai was forced to resign and his successor Chaudhary Charan Singh failed to sustain a parliamentary majority as alliance partners withdrew support. Popular disenchantment with the political in-fighting and ineffective government led to the resurgence of Gandhi and her new Congress (I) party, which won the general election called in 1980.
Janata Party | Introduction
His government undid many amendments made to the constitution during emergency and made it more difficult for any future government to impose a national emergency. However, the Janata Party coalition was full of personal and policy friction and thus failed to achieve much, owing to continuous in-wrangling and much controversy. With no party in leadership of the coalition, rival groups vied to unseat Desai. Controversial trials of prominent Congress leaders, including Indira Gandhi over Emergency-era abuses worsened the fortunes of his administration. In 1979, Raj Narain and Charan Singh pulled out of the Janata Party, forcing Desai to resign from office and retire from politics.
Morarji Desai | Intra-party squabbles and collapse of Janata government
Vajpayee was arrested along with several other opposition leaders during the Internal Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. Initially interned in Bangalore, Vajpayee appealed his imprisonment on the grounds of bad health, and was moved to a hospital in Delhi. Gandhi ended the state of emergency in 1977. A coalition of parties, including the BJS, came together to form the Janata Party, which won the 1977 general elections. Morarji Desai, the chosen leader of the alliance, became the prime minister. Vajpayee served as the Minister of External Affairs, or foreign minister, in Desai's cabinet. As foreign minister, Vajpayee became the first person in 1977 to deliver a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in Hindi.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Janata and the BJP (1975–1995)
Upon the suspension of the emergency, the Janata Party which was preparing for the impending elections urged him to contest them but he refused preferring instead to carry on chamber practice. He was highly active with it, taking international arbitrations into his early nineties. After Indira Gandhi lost the elections of 1977, the ruling Janata Party wanted him to head the Commission of Inquiry against the illegal imposition of the emergency and the various atrocities committed during it but Khanna refused, as he felt he would appear biased against Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay Gandhi. He was then offered the Chairmanship of the Finance Commission, a position he also refused.
Hans Raj Khanna | Post-judicial career
In 1974, the opposition-led protests and strikes had caused a widespread disturbance in many parts of the country and badly affected the government and the economy. On 25 June 1975 following an adverse court decision against her, Indira Gandhi declared a national emergency, delayed elections, censored the press and suspended some constitutional freedoms in the name of national security. Non-Congress governments throughout the country were dismissed. Thousands of people, including several freedom fighters like Jaya Prakash Narayan and Jivatram Kripalani who were against the Emergency were arrested. In the extremely hostile political environment just before and soon after the Emergency, Sanjay Gandhi rose in importance as Indira's adviser.
Sanjay Gandhi | Role during emergency
Jayaprakash Narayan was a Gandhian leader in India after independence. When Indira Gandhi was found guilty of violating electoral laws by the Allahabad High Court, Narayan called for her to resign, and advocated a program of social transformation. He asked the military and police to disregard unconstitutional and immoral orders. However, Janata Party opposition leaders and dissenting members of Indira Gandhi's party, Congress (I) were arrested, beginning The Emergency in 1975. Narayan was detained at Chandigarh, and when released in 1976, formed the PUCLDR to oppose the suppression of civil and political rights during the emergency. The organization was thrown into disarray by his death and the election of the Janata party to power, which promised to enact the PUCL platform.
People's Union for Civil Liberties | Indian emergency
In 1979, Desai and Vajpayee resigned, triggering the collapse of the Janata Party. The erstwhile members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh came together to form the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980, with Vajpayee as its first President. The 1984 general elections were held in the wake of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's assassination by her Sikh bodyguards. While he had won the 1977 and the 1980 elections from New Delhi, Vajpayee shifted to his home town Gwalior for the election. Vidya Razdan was initially tipped to be the Congress (I) candidate. Instead, Madhavrao Scindia, scion of the Gwalior royal family, was brought in on the last day of filing nominations.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Janata and the BJP (1975–1995)
Nav Nirman Yuvak Samiti demanded fresh elections and opposition parties supported this. Morarji Desai again went on an indefinite fast on 6 April 1975 to support it. Finally Indira Gandhi gave in; fresh elections were held on 10 June and the result was declared on 12 June 1975. The verdict on Indira Gandhi's electoral malpractice was declared the same day which later resulted in the Emergency. Meanwhile Chimanbhai Patel formed a new party named Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksh and contested on his own. Congress, which won only 75 seats, lost the elections. Coalition of Congress (O), Jan Sangh, PSP and Lok Dal known as Janata Morcha won 88 seats and Babubhai J.
Navnirman Andolan | Consequences
For opposing the emergency activities of the INC (R), Yangmaso was put behind bars under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), passed by the Indian Parliament in 1971. By 1977, Janata Party was formed, and Morarji Desai was elected as the first chairman of the party.
Yangmaso Shaiza | Political career
During the period of emergency, on 26 July 1975, Indira Gandhi government took the decision to form a single entity by merging the four teleprinter news agencies of India. The employees' unions of the four agencies passed resolutions accepting the idea of forming a single news entity. Hence in February 1976, UNI was merged along with PTI, Hindustan Samachar, and Samachar Bharati to form a new identity Samachar. After the defeat of Indira Gandhi's government in 1977 election, "Kuldip Nayar Committee" was formed by the new government to examine the functioning of Samachar, taking into consideration the freedom of the press and independence of the news agency.
United News of India | Emergency period (1975 – 1978)
Indira's government used the state of emergency to clamp down on opposition and dissolved the newly elected assembly, preventing the Morcha from forming the government and taking power.
Janata Morcha | Formation and election victory
Emergency, which was declared in June 1975 had a mixed reception in Tamil Nadu. Jayaprakash Narayan's opposition movement did not receive much support in Tamil Nadu due to his association with the DMK government, which had its own trouble due to accusations of corruption. K. Kamaraj did not come in support of Jayaprakash Narayan due to his association with DMK despite the fact he disapproved of Indira Gandhi's actions. DMK executive council called the Emergency unnecessary and undemocratic on 27 June and party leaders condemned it in several statewide meetings. Emergency regulations and censorship were not strictly enforced in Tamil Nadu unlike in other states.
1977 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election | Emergency
The Janata Morcha ("People's Front") was a coalition of Indian political parties formed in 1974 to oppose the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) party. The coalition was an integral part of the popular movement against the Emergency rule of Indira Gandhi and the direct predecessor of the Janata Party, which defeated the Congress (R) in the 1977 Indian general election to form the first non-Congress government in independent India. It was formed by Jayaprakash Narayan and Morarji Desai, chief of the main opposition Congress (O) party.
Janata Morcha | Introduction
Between 1967 and 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to obtain near-absolute control over the government and the Indian National Congress party, as well as a huge majority in Parliament. The first was achieved by concentrating the central government's power within the Prime Minister's Secretariat, rather than the Cabinet, whose elected members she saw as a threat and distrusted. For this, she relied on her principal secretary, P. N. Haksar, a central figure in Indira's inner circle of advisors. Further, Haksar promoted the idea of a "committed bureaucracy" that required hitherto-impartial government officials to be "committed" to the ideology of the ruling party of the day.
The Emergency (India) | Rise of Indira Gandhi
The efforts of the Janata administration to get government officials and Congress politicians tried for Emergency-era abuses and crimes were largely unsuccessful due to a disorganised, over-complex and politically motivated process of litigation. The Thirty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution of India, put in place shortly after the outset of the Emergency and which among other things prohibited judicial reviews of states of emergencies and actions taken during them, also likely played a role in this lack of success. Although special tribunals were organised and scores of senior Congress Party and government officials arrested and charged, including Mrs Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi, police were unable to submit sufficient evidence for most cases, and only a few low-level officials were convicted of any abuses.
The Emergency (India) | The tribunal
On 23 January 1977, Indira Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners. Emergency officially ended on 23 March 1977. The Congress Party, suffered a defeat at the hands of the Janata Party coalition of several small parties created in 1977 and the alliance came to power, headed by Morarji Desai, who became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. In Bihar, the Janata Party won all the fifty-four Lok Sabha seats in 1977 general elections under the mentorship of Narayan and rose to power in Bihar assembly also. Karpoori Thakur became Chief Minister after winning a contest from the then Janata Party President Satyendra Narayan Sinha.
Politics of Bihar | Bihar movement & Aftermath: 1975–1990
Vajpayee, previously the leader of the Jana Sangh, was appointed the Minister of External Affairs. The national leadership of the former Jana Sangh consciously renounced its identity, and attempted to integrate with the political culture of the Janata Party, based on Gandhian and Hindu traditionalist principles. According to Christophe Jaffrelot, this proved to be an impossible assimilation. The state and local levels of the Jana Sangh remained relatively unchanged, retaining a strong association with the RSS, which did not sit well with the moderate centre-right constituents of the Party. Violence between Hindus and Muslims increased sharply during the years that the Janata Party formed the government, with former Jana Sangha members being implicated in the riots at Aligarh and Jamshedpur in 1978–79.
Bharatiya Janata Party | Janata Party (1977–80)
As soon as the emergency was lifted, a joint opposition Janta Party won a thundering landslide victory winning 151 of the 200 seats. Shekhawat became the Chief Minister. The government was dismissed by Indira Gandhi in 1980 after she restored power in Delhi. In the 1980 elections, the Janta Party split at the centre giving the Congress a victory in Rajasthan.
Politics of Rajasthan | Introduction
The Indian general election in 1996 returned a fractured verdict. With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) emerging as the largest party, with 161 of 543 seats, it was invited first to form a government. It accepted the offer, and Atal Bihari Vajpayee was sworn in as prime minister. However, he was unable to muster a majority on the floor of the house, and the government fell 13 days later. At a meeting of all the other parties, the Indian National Congress, with a substantial 140 seats, declined to head the government and along with the Communist Party of India (Marxist), agreed to extend outside support to a coalition with the Janata Dal at its head, named the "United Front".
United Front (India) | Background
Devendra Fadnavis the leader of Bharatiya Janata Party was sworn in the Chief Minister of Maharashtra in November 2019. Here is the list of the ministers of his ministry. The ruling right-wing National Democratic Alliance (NDA) of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Shiv Sena (SHS) won a majority. Following differences over the government formation, the alliance was dissolved precipitating the political crisis. Since general Election did not result in a council of ministers. President's rule had been imposed in Maharashtra after none of the 4 largest parties could manage to form the government. On 23 November 2019, in the early hours, the President's rule was revoked and BJP's Devendra Fadnavis took oath as the Chief Minister for the second consecutive term while NCP's parliamentary party leader Ajit Pawar took oath as the Deputy Chief Minister.
Second Devendra Fadnavis ministry | Introduction
On 12 June 1975, the Allahabad High Court invalidated the result in Gandhi's constituency on the grounds of electoral malpractices. Instead of resigning, Indira Gandhi called a state of emergency, suspending democracy and outlawed political opposition. After democracy was restored in 1977, the opposition Congress faction formed a coalition of parties called the Janata Party, which inflicted the Congress' first electoral defeat.
1971 Indian general election | Aftermath
In the run-up to the 1980 elections, the remaining Janata party leaders tried unsuccessfully to rebuild the party and make fresh alliances. Desai campaigned for the party but did not himself stand for election, preferring retirement from politics. The Congress (I) capitalised on the aversion of the Indian public to another fragile and dysfunctional government by campaigning on the slogan "Elect A Government That Works!" Indira Gandhi apologised for mistakes made during the Emergency and won the endorsement of respected national leaders such as Vinoba Bhave. At the polls, the candidates running under the Janata ticket were resoundingly defeated – the party lost 172 seats, winning only 31.
Janata Party | Demise
He led the coalition of parties known as Janata Morcha. After a week, emergency was imposed by Indira Gandhi but he continued till March 1976 when Congress toppled his government. He again became CM leading Janata Party from 1977 to 1980. He shifted his cabinet to Morbi for six months during 1979 Machchhu dam failure disaster. He became a cabinet minister who headed Sardar Sarovar Dam project in Chimanbhai Patel government in early 1990s.
Babubhai J. Patel | Career
Chandrasekhar was jailed during the emergency and after, he became the President of Janata Party. In the parliamentary elections, Janata Party formed the government after the 1977 Indian general election headed by Morarji Desai.However the party lost the 1980 elections and were routed in 1984 Indian general election winning just 10 seats and Chandrasekhar losing his own Ballia seat to Jagannath Chowdhary. In 1988, his party merged with other parties and formed the government under the leadership of V.P. Singh. Again his relationship with the coalition deteriorated and he formed another party, Janata Dal socialist faction. With the support of Congress (I) headed by Rajiv Gandhi, he replaced V.P.
Chandra Shekhar | In Janata Party
In the early hours of 23 November, the president's rule was revoked and BJP's Devendra Fadnavis was sworn in as Chief Minister for a second consecutive term, while NCP leader Ajit Pawar was sworn in as Deputy Chief Minister. On the other side, NCP chief Sharad Pawar announced that Ajit Pawar's decision to support the BJP was his own and not endorsed by the party. The NCP split into two factions: one led by Sharad Pawar and the other led by his nephew Ajit Pawar. Later in the day, Ajit Pawar was removed as the parliamentary party leader of the NCP.
2019 Maharashtra political crisis | First Government Formation
The next election's result was that India's first-ever coalition government was formed at the national level under the Prime Ministership of Morarji Desai, which was also the first non-Congress national government, which existed from 24 March 1977 to 15 July 1979, headed by the Janata Party, an amalgam of political parties opposed to Emergency imposed between 1975 and 1977. As the popularity of Janata Party dwindled, Morarji Desai had to resign and Charan Singh, a rival of Desai became the fifth PM. However, due to lack of support, this coalition government did not complete its five-year term. Congress returned to the power in 1980 under Indira Gandhi, and later under Rajiv Gandhi as the 6th PM.
Coalition government | India
Janata Party was a recent amalgam of disparate groups including Indian National Congress (Organisation), Charan Singh's Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD), Socialists and Hindu Nationalists of Jana Sangh. The sole purpose of these groups joining together was to defeat Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who had imposed a nationwide emergency and curtailed many freedoms. There were also social cleavages with Socialists and BLD representing backward castes and Congress(O) and Jana Sangh the upper castes. Infighting in the party broke over the question of Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur's decision to implement the Mungeri Lal Commission report, that recommended the institution of reservations for Backward Castes in government jobs.
Ram Sundar Das | Political Career
Third Front national governments were formed in 1989 and 1996 with outside support of one of the two major parties, BJP or Congress. The CPI-M gave outside support to the Congress Party from 2004–2008, but later withdrew support after the India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement.
Confidence and supply | India
After the Emergency was lifted, he was elected to the 6th Lok Sabha (1977-1979) on a Janata Party ticket from Kapadvanj but lost that seat in 1980 elections. He was the Vice-President of the Janata Party in Gujarat and from 1980 to 1991 he was the General Secretary and President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Gujarat. He was a member of the Rajya Sabha from 1984 to 1989. In 1989 he was elected to the 9th Lok Sabha (1989–91) from Gandhinagar and in 1991 he was re-elected to the 10th Lok Sabha (1991–96) from Godhra. In 1995, BJP won a majority of 121 seats in the 182-member Legislative Assembly.
Shankersinh Vaghela | Janata Party and Bharatiya Janata Party
Meanwhile, there were assassination attempts on public leaders as well as the assassination of the railway minister Lalit Narayan Mishra by a bomb. All of these indicated a growing law and order problem in the entire country, which Mrs Gandhi's advisors warned her of for months. In March–April 1974, a student agitation by the Bihar Chatra Sangharsh Samiti received the support of Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, referred to as "JP", against the Bihar government. In April 1974, in Patna, JP called for "total revolution," asking students, peasants, and labour unions to non-violently transform Indian society. He also demanded the dissolution of the state government, but this was not accepted by the Centre.
The Emergency (India) | Political unrest
After two years in the political wilderness, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), came to power with Vajpayee returning as Prime Minister in March 1998, when elections were called after India saw two unstable Governments headed by H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral respectively. After the fall of two United Front government between 1996 and 1998 (H. D. Deve Gowda and I. K. Gujral), the Lok Sabha, (lower house) of India's Parliament was dissolved and new elections were held. Now, a coalition of political parties signed up with BJP to form the Nationwide Democratic Alliance (NDA), headed by A.
L. K. Advani | Second term (1998–99)
Gandhi had become extremely unpopular for her decision and paid for it during the elections. Gandhi, on 23 January, called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners. Four Opposition parties, the Organisation Congress, the Jan Sangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Socialist Party, decided to fight the elections as a single party, called the Janata Party. The Janata Party reminded voters of excesses and human rights violations during the Emergency, like compulsory sterilisation and imprisonment of political leaders. The Janata campaign said the elections would decide whether India would have "democracy or dictatorship." The Congress tried to woo voters by speaking about the need for a strong government but the tide was against it.
Zulfikar Ali Khan | Politics
Dev Anand has also been politically active. He led a group of film personalities who stood up against the Internal Emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi. He actively campaigned against her with his supporters in Indian parliamentary elections in 1977. He also formed a party called the "National Party of India", which he later disbanded.
Dev Anand | Political activism during the Emergency in the late 1970s
A state of emergency declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in June 1975, by invoking Article 352 of the Constitution of India, and it lasted for 21 months. Emergency provisions suspended all the Constitutional rights and gave power to rule by decree. It enabled the Prime Minister to suspend elections and civil liberties. Indira Gandhi took this extreme step due to a host of reasons. The venerated Gandhian leader Jaya Prakash Narayan's agitation in Bihar for change in provincial government, was getting increasingly against the Central Government. More immediate reason for clamping of emergency was that in a judgment dated 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court held that Mrs.
Shripad Amrit Dange | The CPI and the Emergency
Both Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram were accorded the title of deputy prime minister. Charan Singh became the Minister of Home Affairs, the second-most important position in the Council of Ministers, while Jagjivan Ram took charge of the Ministry of Defence. BJS leaders Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani were respectively given charge of the Ministry of External Affairs and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Raj Narain was appointed Minister of Health, Madhu Dandavate was to head the Ministry of Railways and trade unionist George Fernandes was made the Minister of Communications. Jurist Shanti Bhushan was appointed Minister of Law and Justice.
Janata Party | Government formation
In response, the former Jana Sangh members left to create a new political party, known as the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Bharatiya Janata Party | Janata Party (1977–80)
After the emergency was lifted on 21 March 1977, fresh general elections were held in India.
Satyendra Narayan Sinha | Emergency era
Joshi came in contact with the RSS in Delhi at a young age and took part in the Cow Protection Movement in 1953–54, in the Kumbh Kisan Andolan of UP in 1955, demanding halving of land revenue assessment. During the Emergency period (1975–1977) in India, Joshi was in jail from 26 June 1975 until the Lok Sabha elections in 1977. He was elected Member of Parliament from Almora. When the Janata Party (which then included his party) came to power forming the first non-Congress government in Indian history, Joshi was elected General Secretary of the Janata Parliamentary Party. After the fall of the government, his party came out of Janata Party in 1980, and formed the Bharatiya Janata Party or the BJP.
Murli Manohar Joshi | Politics and activism
Desai's confrontational attitude eroded his support. His main rival Charan Singh had developed an acrimonious relationship with Desai. Protesting Desai's leadership, Singh resigned and withdrew the support of his BLD. Desai also lost the support of the secular and socialist politicians in the party, who saw him as favouring the Hindu nationalist BJS. On 19 July 1979 Desai resigned from the government and eventually retired to his home in Mumbai (then Bombay). The failing health of Jayaprakash Narayan made it hard for him to remain politically active and act as a unifying influence, and his death in 1979 deprived the party of its most popular leader.
Janata Party | Fall of the government
However, Chandra Shekhar's government fell less than four months later, after the Congress (I) withdrew its support. Its second spell of power began in 1996, when the Janata Dal-led United Front coalition came to power, with outside support from the Congress under Sitaram Kesri, choosing H. D. Deve Gowda as their prime minister. The Congress withdrew their support in less than a year, hoping to gain power with the support of various United Front constituent groups, and I. K. Gujral became the next prime minister. His government too fell in a few months, and in February 1998, the Janata Dal-led coalition lost power to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Janata Dal | Ascent to power
On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found the Prime Minister guilty on the charge of misuse of government machinery for her election campaign. Protests led by J.P.Narayan, Raj Narain, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Morarji Desai flooded the streets of Delhi close to the Parliament building and the Prime Minister's residence. According to the first interim report of the Shah Commission on March 11, 1978, no reports were filed by the Intelligence Bureau between June 12 to June 18, suggesting a state of emergency. Chapter 5.28 of the report says that on June 18, a top secret note between Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and the Director of Intelligence, which suggest constant surveillance of the Congress' political opponents.
Atma Jayaram | Emergency
In 1975 the Indira Gandhi government proclaimed emergency rule in India, thereby suspending fundamental rights and curtailing the freedom of the press. This action was taken after the Supreme Court of India cancelled her election to the Indian Parliament on charges of malpractices in the election. Democratic institutions were suspended and prominent opposition leaders, including Gandhian Jayaprakash Narayan, were arrested whilst thousands of people were detained without any charges taken up against them. RSS, which was seen as being close to opposition leaders, and with its large organisational base was seen to have the capability of organising protests against the government, was also banned.
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh | Movement against the Emergency
Played an active part in the JP movement and in an effort to create a united opposition party. He was detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) from July 1975 to February 1977 in various Madhya Pradesh Jails. Resigned in protest, from membership of the fifth Lok Sabha, on immoral extension of its term by Indira Gandhi through abuse of constitutional provisions about emergency. general secretary, Janata Party 1 May 1977–79. general secretary, Janata Party (S) and Lok Dal,1979–82. Retired from active politics in 1982 after the formation of Lok Dal (K). Wrote more than 60 books in English, Hindi and Marathi.
Madhu Limaye | Janata Party
Hindus were urged by VHP to "take revenge" for these deaths, resulting in riots against Muslims across Uttar Pradesh. The BJP withdrew its support from the V.P. Singh government, leading to fresh general elections. It once again increased its tally, to 120 seats, and won a majority in the Uttar Pradesh assembly. On 6 December 1992, the RSS and its affiliates organised a rally involving more than 100,000 VHP and BJP activists at the site of the mosque. Under circumstances that are not entirely clear, the rally developed into a frenzied attack that ended with the demolition of the mosque.
Bharatiya Janata Party | Ram Janmabhoomi movement and Hindutva
In the 1970s during the “days of emergency”, Singh joined the struggle led by Jayaprakash Narayan and worked closely with his close colleague and Janata Party veteran Satyendra Narain Sinha also a prominent political leader of this movement he was repeatedly imprisoned as a political prisoner during the emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Thakur Ramapati Singh | Dissidence during State of Emergency
No fresh election held until Morarji Desai went on indefinite hunger strike in April 1975. The fresh elections were held in June 1975. Chimanbhai Patel formed new party named Kisan Mazdoor Lok Paksh and contested on his own. Congress lost elections which won only 75 seats. Coalition of Congress (O), Jan Sangh, PSP and Lok Dal known as Janata Morcha won 88 seats and Babubhai J. Patel became Chief Minister. Indira Gandhi imposed the emergency in 1975. Janata Morcha government lasted nine months and president's rule imposed in March 1976 following failure of passage of budget in assembly to opposition of coalition partners.
History of Gujarat | 1974–2000
Under V. P. Singh, the Janata Dal and the National Front sought to replicate the Janata-style alliance of anti-Congress political parties. Although it failed to win a majority, it managed to form a fragile coalition government with V.P. Singh as the prime minister with the outside support of the BJP and the Communist Party of India (Marxist). However, Singh's government soon fell victim to intra-party rivalries and power struggles, and his successor Chandra Sekhar's Janata Dal (Socialist) government lasted barely into 1991.
Janata Party | Demise
During the emergency period, many top leaders of the party were either arrested or went underground themselves. This gave an opportunity to Raghavulu to manage the party office at his best. The party later, during emergency period itself, sent him to Visakhapatnam. There he founded the student movement. While he was at Visakhapatnam, he completed a diploma in English and enrolled for Master of Arts in history. Up to December 1981, he was the office bearer for Students Federation of India. Completing his M.A. in distinction, he pursued a research in economics as scholar. Meanwhile, party secretary of the Visakhapatnam unit expired succumbing to ill health.
B. V. Raghavulu | Political career
In 1980, Janata Party disintegrated fully. The old Jan Sangh again reunited as the Bharatiya Janata Party in Mumbai with the lotus as its symbol. Atal Bihari Vajpayee was chosen as the National President and Nanasaheb was chosen as the President of Maharashtra BJP. In the same year, Nanasaheb declared his retirement from active electoral politics and vowed to work for the party only. In 1984, he handed over the presidency to the young Gopinath Munde and declared that in future neither would he contest elections nor would he hold party positions. He will be just 'a party worker' henceforth.
Uttamrao Patil | Retirement from electoral politics (1980-1989)