END OF THE DARK PERIOD- 1977

 Advaniji talks about the Victory of the Janata Party

Although I have participated, either as a campaigner or as a contestant, in every single parliamentary election held so far-from the first in 1952 to the fourteenth in 2004-I would unhesitatingly say that it was the one held in 1977 that is the most memorable one for me. On no other occasion, did the survival of Indian democracy depend so critically on the outcome of the elections. Similarly, no other election became a greater testimony to the innate democratic wisdom of the Indian electorate as this one. The 1977 Lok Sabha poll was nothing short of a silent and peaceful ballot-box revolution, carried out by India’s humble voters. The Janata Party faced many daunting difficulties right from the onset of the poll campaign. Our flag and election symbol were new, and hence little known to the voters. In contrast, the people were quite familiar with the Congress party’s poll symbol of the charkha. Our party was starved of resources, whereas the Congress was flush with funds. The latter also had the entire government-controlled media at its disposal. Since the Emergency was formally still in force, people were generally fearful and suspicious. They were unwilling to openly express their views on who they would vote for. True, the Janata Party’s election meetings attracted huge crowds, but, at least in the initial days, there were no signs whatsoever of an impending anti-Congress wave. In fact, Congress flags far outnumbered the Janata Party’s, both in villages and towns. And, yet, there was a whiff of change in the air. An electoral earthquake was in the offing.

I distinctly remember one election meeting that I addressed in Amethi in Uttar Pradesh during the election campaign. As I was passing through the main market, I could see only Congress flags fluttering outside every shop. I went into a small shop and started talking to its owner. He was initially reluctant to be dragged into any discussion about the elections. Once he developed enough confidence in me, I asked him, ‘Who will win from this constituency?’ I was taken aback by his reply, ‘Of course, the Janata candidate will win hands down. No doubt about it.’ I said, ‘How can you be so sure? I don’t see any signs here that the Congress is going to be defeated. Even your own shop has displayed a jhanda (flag) of the Congress party.’ ‘Bhai sahab, you only see the jhanda. Don’t forget that there is also a danda there, on which it is hoisted. We fear the danda, which is why we have put up the Congress jhanda.’ In a flash, I learnt one of the greatest lessons in democracy: never underestimate the common people’s political understanding or their commitment to democracy. India’s voters may be illiterate or semi-literate; sometimes they may even be swayed by caste and religious considerations. But when it is time to defend big ideals like democracy or freedom, the multitudes rise like a mighty, united force.

This was resoundingly proved when the results were declared on 20 March. The Congress was defeated for the first time since Independence. The Janata Party won a clear majority by securing 295 seats in a House of 542 seats. The Congress tally was abysmal: only 154 seats. In terms of voteshare, too, the Janata Party’s performance was spectacular-41.32 per cent as against 34.52 per cent for the Congress, a difference of nearly seven per cent. For the ruling party, the defeat became more humiliating when news spread that Indira Gandhi was defeated in Rae Bareli and her son Sanjay was trounced in Amethi, both being their own constituencies. The official media tried to suppress the news of the Congress debacle and, especially the defeat of the Prime Minister and her son as long as they could. This gave rise to many wild rumours and speculations. I later came across an account of what happened on that fateful day in the memoirs of K.P. Krishnanunny, a PTI correspondent. Once the results of the counting in most constituencies showed that the Janata Party was heading towards a great victory, Krishnanunny typed out the story whose lead line was: ‘The 30-year Congress rule in India has ended and a non-Congress Ministry will assume office soon….’ To his surprise, his Editor asked him to hold on to the story, and according to Krishnanunny, told him that Indira Gandhi was meeting the three chiefs of staff ‘apparently to know their mind whether they would extend support to her if she continued in power despite adverse election results’. Only after ascertaining that the ’service chiefs had turned down Mrs Gandhi’s attempt to remain in power’ did the Editor release the story. Emergency was officially lifted on 23 March 1976. With that ended the darkest period in the history of the Indian Republic.

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