1980 Lok Sabha elections: Triumph and tragedy of Indira Gandhi

Even as the Congress rapidly regained public sympathy, the contradictions within Janata, an amalgam created only to defeat Indira, intensified. Charan Singh walked out for a second time, bringing down the government’s strength in Lok Sabha to 246 from 298. On July 10, 1979, Leader of Opposition Y B Chavan moved a motion of no-confidence, forcing Desai to resign on July 15.

President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy called on Chavan to form the new government, but he declined. So, Charan Singh, with his faction of Janata called Janata Party (Secular), took oath as Prime Minister on July 28. He was dependent for survival on two factions of the Congress — Devaraj Urs’ Congress (U), which joined the government, and Indira’s Congress (I), supporting from outside.

Hurtling to elections

Urs, who was then Chief Minister of Karnataka, had split from Indira’s Congress in July 1979, protesting against the control that her son Sanjay exercised on the affairs of the party. Urs and K Brahmananda Reddy, a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh who was then president of the Congress, positioned themselves against Indira and Sanjay. They were joined in the Congress (U) by Congress leaders including Sharad Pawar, A K Antony, C Subramanyan, and Karan Singh.

Y B Chavan became Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister in Charan Singh’s government, and Karan Singh was appointed Minister of Education and Culture.

The Prime Minister was asked to prove his majority on August 20, 1979. On the morning of the vote, the Congress (I) withdrew support to Charan Singh. The tallest farmer and Jat leader of the country could not last even a month as Prime Minister. Based on his advice to the President, Lok Sabha was dissolved on August 22, 1979.

Following the dissolution of Lok Sabha, a faction of the Janata Party led by Raj Narain claimed before the Election Commission of India that it was the “real” Janata. However, its claim was rejected, and in September 1979, Charan Singh’s Janata Party (S) was recognised as a national party and allotted a new symbol, that of ‘Farmer Ploughing a Field’. In September, the party was renamed as Lok Dal.

The return of Indira

Votes were cast on January 3 and January 6, 1980 — the first time that elections were held in peak winter. For the first time, two or three observers were appointed in each Lok Sabha constituency — a practice that was begun during the Assembly elections of 1978, breaking from the earlier system of appointing observers at only a few sensitive constituencies. For the first time, votes were cast in a particular booth — Bilona in Harlakhi Assembly constituency in Bihar — thrice due to malpractices.

A total 36.39 crore voters, including more than 17 crore women, voted for 543 seats, 79 of which were reserved for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 40 for Scheduled Tribes (STs). In the fray were 4,634 candidates, including 142 women.

Results were declared early on January 9, 1980. Indira’s Congress (I) swept to 353 seats, marking a triumphant return with almost two-thirds majority. Charan Singh’s group won 41 seats, and Chandra Shekhar’s Janata 31. The CPI(M) won 37, and CPI 10. The Congress (U) won just 13 seats.

Indira won from Rae Bareli in UP and Medak in Andhra Pradesh (now Telangana), and retained Medak. Sanjay won from Amethi, Kamal Nath from Chhindwara, Shankar Dayal Sharma (who would be President) from Bhopal, V P Singh (who would be Prime Minister) from Allahabad, and Zail Singh (another future President) from Hoshiarpur.

Chandra Shekhar retained Ballia, the seat from where he was elected in 1977 for the first time. Fernandes won from Muzaffarpur in Bihar and Devi Lal from Sonepat in Haryana on Janata Party (S) tickets.

Janata’s split, BJP’s birth

Following the election debacle, on February 25, 1980, Jagjivan Ram wrote to Chandra Shekhar to discuss the issue of “dual membership” of leaders who had come to Janata from the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), but remained members of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

In his autobiography, Advani, who was one of these “dual” members, wrote that he responded that BJS members in Janata “were being treated like Harijans (political untouchables)”. On April 6, 1980, a faction of leaders from the erstwhile BJS elected Vajpayee as their president, and staked claim to the Janata Party symbol.

On April 24, 1980, the Election Commission froze the ‘Farmer Holding a Plough Inside a Circle’ symbol, and granted the Vajpayee faction the status of a national party. This faction of Janata now became the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), with a new election symbol — the ‘Lotus’. Chandra Shekhar’s faction was allowed to retain the name Janata Party (JP), but was given a new symbol, the ‘Umbrella’.

Indira’s tragedy

Back in power, Indira dismissed nine non-Congress state governments, and dissolved those Assemblies. Polls in these states were held in May-June 1980, and the Congress came to power in most.

On June 23, 1980, Sanjay, Indira’s 33-year-old political heir, was killed in a plane crash at Delhi’s Safdarjung Airport. Indira was in mourning — but the years to come would bring her more difficulties. Sanjay was replaced in Amethi by his older brother, the “reluctant” politician Rajiv Gandhi.

The separatist movement in Punjab was Indira’s biggest challenge. To flush out Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple, the government launched Operation Blue Star on June 1, 1984. On June 3, a 36-hour curfew was imposed in Punjab, which included the suspension of all communication, public travel and electricity, and complete media censorship. The Indian Army killed Bhindranwale, but the holiest shrine of the Sikhs was heavily damaged, and the operation left very deep scars.

On October 31, 1984, Indira was assassinated by two of her Sikh bodyguards, triggering mass attacks on innocent members of the community. Rajiv, 40, stepped into his mother’s shoes as Prime Minister.

This was Part 7 of our series of explainers on the history of Indian elections.