Hindustan Times

Dipankar Ghose

Dhrubo Jyoti

The Congress tally of 404 in 1984 remains the only time a political party has crossed the 400-figure mark in the Lok Sabha. But already, the 30 seats won by the TDP marked a shift in the making.

Victory, amid the shadow of change

<p>The January 1980 election was a stage for Indira Gandhi to mount a comeback. The Congress had just backed out of supporting Charan Singh after initially pledging to, making him the only prime minister to never face Parliament. In the 1980 election, the widespread instability under the Janata government and its many factions worked against it. The Congress roared back to power with 353 seats, leaving two factions of the Janata family — Charan Singh’s Janata Party (Secular) and Jagjivan Ram’s Janata Party — far behind, at 41 and 31 seats, respectively.</p><p>The next general election, in 1984, was announced in the wake of Indira Gandhi’s assassination. The wave of sympathy across the country gave the Congress its highest-ever tally, of 404, and it remains the only time a political party crossed the 400-figure mark in the Lok Sabha. The Congress’s political opponents were decimated, and the second-largest party in the House turned out to be the Telugu Desam Party newly formed by NT Rama Rao. The 30 seats won by the Andhra Pradesh-based outfit made it the first regional party to become the principal national Opposition party.</p>