The 1967 election was fought by a Congress divided from within. It was Indira Gandhi vs the Syndicate of senior leaders, and the results showed the damage done. The party lost vote share, seat share, and its hegemony across India.
In 1971, the split would become official. Indira Gandhi was now enjoying a surge in popularity; the Garibi Hatao slogan symbolised her appeal and propelled her campaign. Her party bounced back. Only for the Congress to face the blow of Emergency in 1975. In ’77, the tally dipped to 154 Lok Sabha seats. The Janata Party won 295. For the first time, a majority had been secured by a non-Congress party.
A new landscape evolves
As the electorate changed, and grew, the opposition united, and a pattern of bipolar contests with the Congress in key states emerged. Indira Gandhi would continue to drive wins for years, but key non-Congress players were strengthening their base. A grand alliance would falter, but prove to be a start. Emergency would then serve as the impetus to take these players across the finish line.
A decade after the election of 1967, the non-Congress opposition would find the right combination of political unity and political narrative to sweep Indira Gandhi’s Congress out of power, at least for a while - redefining the landscape for the long term.
Indira, Kamaraj, Jayaprakash Narayan: 5 key leaders
The people who defined this era: Indira Gandhi, who would dominate the next era too. Morarji Desai, who was chief minister, home minister, finance minister, and finally, India’s first non-Congress PM. K Kamaraj, a Congress visionary who would eventually attempt to stitch together an opposing coalition. Jayaprakash Narayan, who had gradually grown disenchanted with the Congress too, and would call for “sampoorna kranti (complete revolution)”. And C Rajagopalachari, who, disillusioned with the Congress, would launch the Swatantra Party.
Garibi Hatao, Bangladesh war, Emergency: 5 key moments
When Lal Bahadur Shastri died unexpectedly, it heralded the rise of Indira on the national stage. Regional parties, meanwhile, were gathering strength. The Garibi Hatao slogan would wrest the narrative back for Indira’s Congress. India’s decisive victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war that led to the creation of Bangladesh would be another watershed moment. And then Emergency, a suspension of rights, a jailing of opposition leaders and a black mark on the country’s record.
After a dark day, a vital shift
A massive mandate won by the Congress in 1971 leaves both the principal opposition (the Communist Party of India-Marxist) and the old guard of the Congress (which fought under the banner of Indian National Congress (Organisation)), way behind. But it's a victory marred by Emergency in 1975, and followed by an inevitable fall.
The making and unmaking of Indira Gandhi
A loss in seat share across nearly all states; that was 1967. A rebounding comeback followed, for Indira's Congress. Then came the draconian crackdown, with its suspension of rights, forced sterilisations, slum demolitions and its jailing of opposition leaders. Emergency was followed by a terrible miscalculation. Until the reins passed, for the first time, out of Congress hands.
