In the 1977 Lok Sabha elections, the Congress party was indeed defeated, and the Janata Party and its allies won a majority of seats. Morarji Desai was subsequently elected as the Prime Minister, not Jagjivan Ram. Although there was a contest for leadership within the Janata Party, Jagjivan Ram did not become Prime Minister.
The Janata Party made the 1977 Lok Sabha election into a referendum on the Emergency. Its campaign was focused on the non-democratic character of the rule and on the various excesses that took place during this period. In the backdrop of arrests of thousands of persons and the censorship of the Press, public opinion was against Congress. Jayaprakash Narayan became the popular symbol of the restoration of democracy. The formation of the Janata Party also ensured that non-Congress votes would not be divided. It was evident that the going was tough for the Congress. Yet the final results took everyone by surprise. For the first time since Independence, the Congress party was defeated in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress could win only 154 seats in the Lok Sabha. Its share of popular votes fell to less than 35 per cent. The Janata Party and its allies won 330 out of the 542 seats in the Lok Sabha; Janata Party itself won 295 seats and thus enjoyed a clear majority. |
