India is a land of civilization and a mother of democracy as rightly said by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India has travelled and has seen a lot of political issues and happenings in the last 75 years.
With India celebrating its diamond jubilee, it is important to note that all the general elections in our country right from 1952 to 2019, have a relevant thing in them. This can be of social, economical and political ramifications that can be seen in the respective elections.
The elections in India are a celebration of the world’s largest democracy. With more than seven decades now, what is to be seen is how democracy has strengthened with time.
The celebration of the 75 years takes us back to the journey of looking back at the elections from the beginning and how these elections drove the national political scenarios and set the political dynamics of the country.
From Indian National Congress to Janata Dal, Communist parties and the inception of Bharatiya Janata Party, all the parties have contributed something to the nation. India has been a vibrant democracy right from the beginning. While inaugurating the Pradhan Mantri Sangrahalaya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that all the Prime Ministers have played a great role in making the country what it is today.
PM Modi further reiterated that all the governments formed in independent India have contributed immensely towards nation building. The First General elections were held in 1952 while the recent in 2019 which is the seventeenth general election of Lok Sabha.
The First General Elections
The first elections of the Republic of India were held from 1951-52. The total Lok Sabha seats at that time were 489. A number of 17.3 crore people took part in the festival of democracy as eligible voters. 14 national and around 39 political parties took part in the first election of the independent India. The Indian National Congress won 364 seats while the Communist Party of India won just 16 seats in the Lok Sabha.
More than 50 parties and 533 independent candidates took part in the elections. A total of 1,949 candidates jumped into the electoral battle. The socialist party under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan and Ram Manohar Lohia won 12 seats while the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party under the leadership of Acharya Kripalani won 9 seats.
The independents won 38 seats, while the other smaller regional parties clinched 50 seats. There was no alliance during that time. Jawaharlal Nehru became the Prime Minister post 1952 elections.
It was in this year that Shyama Prasad Mukherjee went in to establish Jan Sangh in 1951 while Dr. BR Ambedkar made efforts to revive the Scheduled Castes Federation.
The Second General Elections
The Second Elections to the lower body of the parliament was held in 1957. The Lok sabha seats increased slightly to 494. One thing to note is that in the first as well as the second general elections there were few seats that elected two members. In the first elections, 86 constituencies elected two members while in the second elections, 91 constituencies elected two members.
This is the beauty of Indian Democracy. Changes are dynamic but widely accepted that lead the country. Out of 494 seats, INC won 371 seats while CPI won 27 seats and Prajatantrik Socialist party(PSP) won 19 seats. The independent candidates won 42 seats in the country.
The second elections again made Jawaharlal pandit as the Prime Minister of India. One must not forget the seats that Bharatiya Jan Sangh as well as Scheduled Castes Federation was getting. There was rising momentum in that direction.
The Third General Elections
This election saw a reformation in the electoral process. Now, each constituency was to choose just one member. The third election was held in 1962. The seats remained the same at 494. The INC won 361 seats while CPI won 29 seats.
The newly formed political party, Swatantra party gained 18 seats while Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh won 14 seats while the number of elected members from PSP declined to 12. The Republican party of India came down to 3 seats. There were many parties that lost the goodwill of the people.
The election saw the rise and formation of many regional political parties in the country. Akali Dal as well as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were formed which won a few seats in their respective states. Significantly, there were no alliances in this election as well.
The Fourth General Elections
The fourth general elections were held in 1967. This was the first election held in the absence of Jawaharlal Nehru. The number of seats to go for the polls increased to 520. In this election, Congress suffered a big setback nationally.
The number of voters increased to 25 crore. INC lost a big chunk of seats and came down to 283 seats. The Swatantra party won 44 seats followed by Bharatiya Jana Sangh which won 35 seats. The CPI won 6 seats.
The democracy saw the emergence of two new parties – the Samyukta Socialist Party and Communist Party of India( Marxist) won 23 and 19 seats, respectively. There were a lot of regional parties which won a good chunk of seats. Political psephologists believe it to be the period of rise of the regional parties in India that can be seen till today.
Indira Gandhi became the next prime minister of India.
The Fifth General Elections
The fifth general elections began with the time of political upheaval in the country. It was the time when the congress party broke into two factions. The internal rift came out in the open between Morarji Desai and Indira Gandhi.
After Indira Gandhi was expelled by the party in 1969, the party broke into two factions, Indira Gandhi formed her own party named Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) where many of the eminent congress leaders joined. The seats that went into the election remained unchanged to 518 .
The elections resulted in a landslide victory for Indira Gandhi with her party winning 352 seats while this time the CPI(M) bagged the second position with 25 seats, while CPI won 23 seats. Interestingly, Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee won 22 seats while the other faction of congress, INC (Organisation) won only 16 seats.
There began the era of alliance in the country. INC(O) formed a pre-poll alliance with Samyukta Socialist party which won 3 seats, Praja Socialist party won 2 seats, Swatantra Party won 8 seats and Bharatiya Jan Sangh and several other regional parties as well.
In 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed emergency after the verdict of Allahabad high court which declared the result of her constituency as invalid on the grounds of ‘electoral malpractices’.
The Sixth General Elections
The sixth general elections were held in 1977, after the horrors of emergency. The number of seats increased to 544. The INC suffered a major setback. It was dethroned from power. Morarji Desai formed his Janta Party(JP) and won 295 seats. INC won 154 seats with Indira Gandhi losing the election from Rae Bareli.
The four parties, INC(O), Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the Bharatiya lok dal and the Praja Socialist Party formed an alliance as Janta Party/ Janta Alliance.
The CPI(M) and CPI won 22 and 7 seats each. AIADMK and DMK along with many regional parties won many seats in the parliament.
The Seventh General Elections
The Janata party alliance became a weak alliance. It lost the motion of no confidence in 1979. Charan Singh became the prime minister of the country with the support of INC. But the congress party betrayed Charan Singh just two days before the scheduled day to prove their majority. The Janata Party Alliance split after this.
This led to the seventh general elections in 1980. The seats that went to polls were 529. INC made a comeback into the elections but the Janata Party shrunk down. Congress won 353 seats but Janata Party(Secular) won 41 seats. The Janata Party won 31 seats. The CPI(M) and CPI won 47 seats collectively.
Many regional parties also took part in the elections and earned a couple of seats. Indira Gandhi again became the Prime Minister of the country.
The Eighth General Elections
The general elections were held in 1984 just after the assasination of Indira Gandhi. The number of seats in Lok Sabha increased to 541. Riding a sympathy wave, the congress won a landslide majority with 414 seats and a new regional party – Telugu Desam Party coming on the second position with 30 seats.
This election was held just after the 1984 anti-sikh riots. The Bharatiya Janata Party won its first two seats. Rajiv Gandhi became the next Prime minister of India.
The Ninth General Elections
In 1989, India witnessed the ninth general elections with so many issues and allegations against Rajeev Gandhi. The Bofors scam, the civil war between Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and the Sri Lankan government along with the rising militancy in Punjab made to the list of several issues in the country.
India saw a hung house for the very first time. A total of 529 seats went to polls. The INC won 197 seats while the Janata Dal’s V.P. Singh won 143 seats. The BJP under the leadership of L.K. Advani won 85 seats. The CPI won 12 seats.
V.P. Singh became the next Prime minister leading the National front government. The National front consisted of many regional parties supporting Janata Dal. This was another experiment of alliance in Indian Political History. His government fell after BJP withdrew support as Lalu Prasad stopped the Ram Rath Yatra and arrested Advani in Samastipur, Bihar. VP Singh’s government fell subsequently.
Later Chandra Shekhar along with 64 MP’s formed their own party Samajwadi Janata Party and formed the government with the outside support of INC. Chandra Shekhar resigned in 1991.
The Tenth General Elections
The tenth general elections to Lok sabha took place after the resignation of Chandra Shekhar in 1991. This general election took place under the shadow of the assasination of Rajeev Gandhi. This election is also termed as ‘Mandal Mandir’ elections because of the Mandal Commission and Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid issue.
In these elections as well, no party could gain the complete majority. The INC became victorious in 244 seats while BJP won 120 seats. The Janata Dal won 59 seats while the CPI(M) won 35 seats. The Elections saw the rise of Regional parties.
P.V. Narsimha Rao. became the Prime Minister of a minority government. It even completed its 5 year term. He is also called the ‘ Father of Indian Economic Reforms’. In the political upheaval, India witnessed stability to some extent. This was the first minority government in the history of India.
The Eleventh General Elections
The eleventh general elections were held in 1996. This election was held under the allegations of the Narsimha Rao government as well as the pretext of scandals and mishandling of power. Allegations were levelled against the government. The congress party broke up into many factions. The parliamentary elections took place for 543 seats.
The elections resulted in a hung assembly with no party gaining majority in the parliament. The BJP won 161 seats under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. PV Narsimha Rao led Congress party could secure only 140 seats.
This election had an impact of Kashmir Genocide and violence that broke out in Punjab region. Both the parties made efforts to create alliances with the regional parties. It was at this time when the presence of the third front was visible.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the Prime Minister but the government fell down in mere 13 days due to lack of majority. After which H.D. Deve Gowda, leader of Janata Dal, became the Prime Minister from the support of congress party. They created a United front which consisted of 13 parties which were mostly regional.
He resigned in 1997. Following which I.K. Gujral became the next Prime Minister. This all again brought in political instability in the country. He resigned in 1997, forcing another election in India.
The Twelfth General Elections
The twelfth general elections were held in 1998. This election was held just after 3 years from the eleventh general elections 543 seats went into polls. It was again a hung assembly. BJP became the single largest party with 182 seats. Congress party could only secure 141 seats. The regional parties played an important part in the formation of the government.
The people hoped for stability in Indian Politics. This led to the creation of NDA (National Democratic Alliance) which included several regional parties. However, the central government fell after a year in 1999. Political psephologists call this period of the return of uncertainity.
This government was formed after the support of Telugu Desam Party. The government fell with the AIADMK withdrawing the support from the government. This reflects on how important the role of regional parties became. Atal Bihari Vajpayee again became the Prime Minister but just for a year. Elections were held in 1999.
The Thirteenth General Elections
The general elections to the thirteenth Lok sabha was called in 1999. The number of seats that went to polls were 543. These elections were held soon after the Kargil war. BJP again became the single largest party with 182 seats, congress was able to win only 114 seats.
It is at this time when the regional parties have won a big share of seats in the parliament. The regional parties became victorious in 158 seats. The government was formed after the formation of the NDA alliance where the Telugu Desam Party gave outside support to the government.
This was the first non-congress government to have completed its five year tenure. Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the prime minister for the third time. There came certainty in Indian Political history.
The fourteenth General Elections
The fourteenth general elections were held much before time. The elections were held for 543 seats with more than 650 million people electing their own representatives. Bjp called for an early election by launching their ‘India Shining’ campaign. Elections for the first were held through Electronic Voting Machines.
Congress won 145 seats while the BJP won 138 seats in the parliament. The regional parties won a good chunk of seats(159 seats). Many regional parties fought in an alliance with the national parties.
The democracy of India witnessed the formation of United Progressive Alliance(UPA) under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi. The numbers of this alliance went to 335 members. Manmohan Singh became the Prime minister of the country. In political terms, it is called the tenure of UPA-I.
The Fifteenth General Elections
The fifteenth general elections were held in 2009. The seats were 543 seats with more than 715 million voters casting their votes. The elections resulted in the formation of UPA II. The Congress party won 206 seats while the BJP could only win 116 seats.
A total of 8,070 candidates contested this election. The tally of UPA II came to 322 in the parliament with many parties like BSP, SP, JD(S) and other minor parties providing outside support to the government.
India witnessed a rise of the third front and fourth front in the country. Manmohan Singh became the Prime Minister of the country again.
The Sixteenth General Elections
The Sixteenth General Elections were held in 2014. The number of voters increased to more than 834 million with more than 8200 candidates contesting for 543 seats. The average election voting turnout for the general elections was one of the highest in Indian political history with 66.44%.
BJP made a historic comeback by becoming victorious in 282 seats and NDA won a total of 336 seats. This was the best ever performance by BJP and NDA till that date. In contrast to this, Congress saw its worst time till date in Indian political history.
Congress won only 44 seats and the UPA alliance won only 59 seats. This election saw a rise of BJP and the NDA. Narendra Modi became the next prime minister of the country.
The Seventeenth General Elections
The Seventeenth General Elections were held in 2019. The number of voters in this election increased to over 910 million. The seats remained the same at 543. This election took place on the issues of nationalism. The average voting turnout in the political history of India was highest and recorded at around 67.40%.
BJP won more than 300 seats for the first time. The NDA won over 350 seats. Till date this has been the best performance of the party and the alliance. Congress party suffered a great loss again, by winning 52 seats while UPA’s tally came to just 91 seats.
BJP won the highest vote share of 37.36% which can be seen as the highest since the 1989 general elections. Narendra Modi, became the Prime Minister of the country again.
Overview
The political journey of India in the 75 year old history can be seen as a period of certainty as well as uncertainty. The political dynamics are clear from the journey of different political parties. But India stood the test of time.
While the political journey continues, there has been more and more progress in the process of strengthening democracy in the country.
From the formation of alliances to the minority government formation and one party majority government. India has gone through all the phases of the political journey. Democracy has strengthened in the last 75 years with aspirations high for India@100 with a strong political future.