1980 Indian general election

1980 Indian general election

← 1977 3 and 6 January 1980 1984 →

529 of the 531 seats in the Lok Sabha
265 seats needed for a majority
Registered356,205,329
Turnout56.92% (Decrease 5.55pp)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi_in_the_US_enhanced.jpg
Prime minister Charan Singh_(cropped).jpg
E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg
Leader Indira Gandhi Charan Singh E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Party INC(I) JP(S) CPI(M)
Last election 34.52%, 154 seats New Party 4.29%, 22 seats
Seats won 353 41 37
Seat change Increase 199 New Increase 15
Popular vote 84,455,313 18,574,696 12,352,331
Percentage 42.69% 9.39% 6.24%
Swing Increase 8.17pp New Increase 1.95pp

  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Jagjivan Ram stamp (cropped).jpg
AK Antony at Ponnani.jpg
Leader Jagjivan Ram A.K. Antony
Party JP INC(U)
Last election 41.32%, 295 seats New
Seats won 31 13
Seat change Decrease 264 New
Popular vote 37,530,228 10,449,859
Percentage 18.97% 5.28%
Swing Decrease 22.35pp New


Prime Minister before election

Charan Singh
JP(S)

Prime Minister after election

Indira Gandhi
INC(I)

General elections were held in India on 3 and 6 January 1980 to elect the members of the 7th Lok Sabha. The Janata Party alliance came into power in the 1977 general elections amidst public anger with the Indian National Congress (R) and the Emergency. However, its position was weak; the loose coalition barely held on to a majority with only 295 seats in the Lok Sabha and never quite had a firm grip on power. Bharatiya Lok Dal leaders Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram, who had quit the Congress, were members of the Janata alliance but were at loggerheads with Prime Minister Morarji Desai. The tribunals the government had set up to investigate human rights abuses during the Emergency appeared vindictive.

The Janata Party, an amalgam of socialists and nationalists, split in 1979 when several coalition members including the Bharatiya Lok Dal and several members of the Socialist Party withdrew support for the government. Subsequently, Desai lost a vote of confidence in parliament and resigned. Charan Singh, who had retained some partners of the Janata alliance, was sworn in as prime minister in June 1979. The INC(I) (successor of the INC(R) from 1978) promised to support Singh in parliament but later backed out just two days before the Government was scheduled to prove its majority on the floor of Lok Sabha. Charan Singh, forced to resign, called for elections in January 1980 and is the only Prime Minister of India never to have obtained the confidence of Parliament. In the run up to the general elections, Indira Gandhi's leadership faced a formidable political challenge from a galaxy of regional satraps and prominent leaders of Janata party like Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Karpuri Thakur in Bihar, Ramakrishna Hegde in Karnataka, Sharad Pawar in Maharashtra, Devi Lal in Haryana & Biju Patnaik in Orissa. Janata Party contested the election with Jagjivan Ram as its prime ministerial candidate. However, internal feud between Janata Party leaders and the political instability in the country worked in favour of Indira Gandhi's Congress (I), that reminded voters of the strong government of Indira Gandhi during campaigning.

In the ensuing elections, the INC(I) won 353 seats and the Janata Party just 31 seats, with Charan Singh's Janata Party (Secular) taking 41. The Janata Party alliance continued to split over the subsequent years.

Results

PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress (Indira)84,455,31342.69353+199
Janata Party37,530,22818.9731–264
Janata Party (Secular)18,574,6969.3941New
Communist Party of India (Marxist)12,352,3316.2437+15
Indian National Congress (Urs)10,449,8595.2813New
Communist Party of India4,927,3422.4910+3
All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam4,674,0642.362–16
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam4,236,5372.1416+14
Shiromani Akali Dal1,396,4120.711–8
Revolutionary Socialist Party1,285,5170.6540
All India Forward Bloc1,011,5640.5130
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference493,1430.253+1
Indian Union Muslim League475,5070.2420
Peasants and Workers Party of India470,5670.240–5
Republican Party of India (Khobragade)383,0220.190–2
Kerala Congress356,9970.181–1
Republican Party of India351,9870.1800
Socialist Unity Centre of India307,2240.1600
Jharkhand Party254,5200.131+1
All India Muslim League196,8200.1000
United Democratic Front140,2100.070–1
Shiv Sena129,3510.070New
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party127,1880.0610
Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti111,9530.0600
People's Party of Arunachal69,8100.040New
Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad61,1610.0300
Peoples Conference53,8910.030New
Manipur Peoples Party49,2770.0200
Indian Socialist Party39,3990.020New
Shoshit Samaj Dal (Akhil Bharatiya)38,2260.0200
Sikkim Janata Parishad31,7500.021New
Muslim Majlis26,3630.010New
All India Labour Party14,7200.0100
All Party Hill Leaders Conference13,0580.010New
Sikkim Congress (Revolutionary)11,6320.010New
Sikkim Prajatantra Congress5,1250.000New
Independents12,717,5106.4390
Appointed Anglo-Indians20
Total197,824,274100.00531–13
Valid votes197,824,27497.57
Invalid/blank votes4,928,6192.43
Total votes202,752,893100.00
Registered voters/turnout356,205,32956.92
Source: EIC

See also


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