1977 Indian general election

A total of 542 members were elected from single-member constituencies.^[5] These 542 constituencies remained same until 2004 Indian general elections for the 14th Lok Sabha.

The Emergency declared by the Indira Gandhi led Congress(R) 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.

Gandhi had become unpopular for her decision and paid for it during the elections. On 18 January, Gandhi called for fresh elections and released some political prisoners. Many remained in prison until she was ousted from office and a new prime minister took over.^[6] On 20 January, four opposition parties, the Indian National Congress (Organisation), the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Praja Socialist Party, decided to fight the elections under a single banner called the Janata alliance.^[1] The alliance used the symbol allocated to Bhartiya Lok Dal as their symbol on the ballot papers.

The Janata Alliance reminded voters of the 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."^[7] The Congress(R) looked jittery. Agriculture and Irrigation Minister Babu Jagjivan Ram quit the party in the first week of February; other notable Congress(R) stalwarts who crossed the floor with Jagjivan Ram before the election were Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna and Nandini Satpathy.

The elections in India's largest state Uttar Pradesh, historically a Congress(R) stronghold, turned against Gandhi. Dhanagare says the structural reasons included the emergence of a strong and united opposition, disunity and weariness within the Congress(R), an effective opposition and the failure of Gandhi in controlling the mass media, which was under censorship during the Emergency. 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 was the 'Nasbandi' (vasectomy) campaign in rural areas. The middle class also emphasised on the curbing of freedom of speech throughout the country.^[8]

Meanwhile, Congress(R) hit an all-time low in West Bengal, according to the Gangulys, because of the state-sponsored anti-Communist violence against the cadres of CPI(M) & Naxalites by the government of Siddhartha Shankar Ray, whose legitimacy was questionable, poor discipline and factionalism among Congress(R) activists as well as numerous defections that weakened the party. Opponents emphasised the issues of corruption within the Congress(R) and appealed to a deep desire by the voters for fresh leadership.^[9] The Congress(R), however, did well in southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh. The results were mixed in the western states of Maharashtra and Gujarat, although the Janata alliance won all the seats in Mumbai.

More information Party, Votes ...

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Janata Party	78,062,828	41.32	295	+209
	Indian National Congress (R)	65,211,589	34.52	154	–198
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)	8,113,659	4.29	22	–3
	All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	5,480,378	2.90	18	New
	Communist Party of India	5,322,088	2.82	7	–16
	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	3,323,320	1.76	2	–21
	Indian National Congress (Organisation)	3,252,217	1.72	3	–13
	Shiromani Akali Dal	2,373,331	1.26	9	+8
	Peasants and Workers Party of India	1,030,232	0.55	5	+5
	Republican Party of India (Khobragade)	956,072	0.51	2	+2
	Revolutionary Socialist Party	851,164	0.45	4	+1
	All India Forward Bloc	633,644	0.34	3	+1
	Indian Union Muslim League	565,007	0.30	2	0
	Kerala Congress (Pillai Group)	526,937	0.28	0	New
	Kerala Congress	491,674	0.26	2	–1
	Jammu & Kashmir National Conference	483,192	0.26	2	New
	Muslim League (Opposition)	318,979	0.17	0	New
	Socialist Unity Centre of India	280,995	0.15	0	0
	Vishal Haryana Party	192,867	0.10	0	–1
	Republican Party of India	155,972	0.08	0	–1
	All India Jharkhand Party	126,288	0.07	1	0
	United Democratic Front	124,627	0.07	1	New
	Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party	118,748	0.06	1	+1
	Jharkhand Party	116,961	0.06	0	New
	Manipur Peoples Party	109,130	0.06	0	0
	Shoshit Samaj Dal (Akhil Baharatiya)	96,753	0.05	0	New
	Revolutionary Communist Party of India	45,047	0.02	0	0
	Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti	35,916	0.02	0	New
	Hindu Mahasabha	35,419	0.02	0	0
	Bihar Prant Hul Jharkhand	27,116	0.01	0	0
	Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad	26,169	0.01	0	0
	All India Labour Party	17,191	0.01	0	New
	Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League	12,509	0.01	0	0
	All India Shiromani Baba Jivan Singh Mazabhi Dal	5,868	0.00	0	New
	Independents	10,393,617	5.50	9	–5
Appointed Anglo-Indians				2	0
Total		188,917,504	100.00	544	+23
Valid votes		188,917,504	97.25
Invalid/blank votes		5,346,411	2.75
Total votes		194,263,915	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		321,174,327	60.49
Source: ECI

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It was not clear if Indira would accept the election results. Although she publicly claimed she would "abide" by the results, behind the scenes, she fired Military Intelligence Head Mani Mishra in favour of loyalist Kashmiri Hardayal Kaul. The INC(R) and senior military officers held several meetings in New Delhi, raising suspicions.^[10] Chief of the Army Staff T.N. Raina (who had only been appointed because Indira had superseded senior officers to appoint him) was invited for a discussion by Indira and Sanjay Gandhi. Sanjay reportedly told Raina "There are about 300 districts in the country. One infantry platoon is sufficient to control each district... Thus we can control India by deploying 300 platoons or about 25 infantry battalions; a mere three or four divisions. The party [the Congress], supported by paramilitary forces and the police, can deal with other administrative details." Although Indira agreed with Sanjay's plan, Raina refused to follow the plan, despite noting Sanjay's assumptions were "mathematically correct".^[10]

• List of members of the 6th Lok Sabha
• 1977 Indian general election by state or union territory