Choose the correct statements with respect to the 1967 elections in India.
A. Defections played an important role in making and unmaking of governments in the states.
B. The Congress won in nine states including Punjab, Haryana, UP.
C. The SVD government in Bihar had Sant group and Master group of Akali party.
D. In Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - breakaway Congress legislators played an important role in installing a non-Congress government.
E. Gaya Lal, an MLA in Haryana, changed his party twice in a fortnight after 1967 election.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → A, D Only
A. Defections played an important role in making and unmaking of governments in the states. Correct. An important feature of the politics after the 1967 election was the role of defections in the making and unmaking of governments in the States. Defection means that an elected representative leaves the party on whose symbol he or she was elected and joins another party.
B. The Congress won in nine states including Punjab, Haryana, UP. Incorrect. The Congress lost power in nine States, among them Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh; it lost its majority in seven and was kept from forming a government by defections in two.
C. The SVD government in Bihar had Sant group and Master group of Akali party. Incorrect. The Sant group and the Master group, the two rival Akali parties, were part of the ‘Popular United Front’ in Punjab. The SVD government in Bihar included the SSP and the PSP, the CPI and the Jana Sangh.
D. In Haryana and Uttar Pradesh - breakaway Congress legislators played an important role in installing a non-Congress government. Correct. After the 1967 election, breakaway Congress legislators played an important role in installing non-Congress governments in three States — Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
E. Gaya Lal, an MLA in Haryana, changed his party twice in a fortnight after 1967 election. Incorrect. Gaya Lal changed his party thrice in a fortnight in 1967: from Congress to United Front, back to Congress, and then within nine hours to United Front again.
NCERT (2026-27): “Electoral verdict … The Congress lost majority in as many as seven States. In two other States defections prevented it from forming a government. These nine States where the Congress lost power were spread across the country – Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Orissa, Madras and Kerala.… Coalitions … The SVD government in Bihar, for instance, included the two socialist parties – SSP and the PSP – along with the CPI on the left and Jana Sangh on the right. In Punjab it was called the ‘Popular United Front’ and comprised the two rival Akali parties at that time – Sant group and the Master group – with both the communist parties – the CPI and the CPI(M), the SSP, the Republican Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Defection … Another important feature of the politics after the 1967 election was the role played by defections in the making and unmaking of governments in the States. Defection means an elected representative leaves the party on whose symbol he/she was elected and joins another party. After the 1967 general election, the breakaway Congress legislators played an important role in installing non-Congress governments in three States - Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.… The story of ‘Aya Ram, Gaya Ram’ … The expression originated in an amazing feat of floor crossing achieved by Gaya Lal, an MLA in Haryana, in 1967. He changed his party thrice in a fortnight, from Congress to United Front, back to Congress and then within nine hours to United Front again!…” |