Janata_Party

The Janata Party (Hindi: जनता पार्टी, People's Party) was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency (1975–1977) imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress (R). In the general election held after the end of the state of emergency in 1977, the Janata party defeated Congress (R) to form the first non-Congress government in the history of the Republic of India.[1] Economic problems, corruption and the conviction of Indira Gandhi by the Allahabad High Court in 1975 for misusing government machinery for her election campaign led to widespread protests against the Congress (R) government. This writ petition was filed by the irrepressible socialist leader Raj Narain four years before in 1971. On 12th June 1975 High Court of Allahabad accepted the charges against Smt Indira Gandhi by Raj Narain and found her guilty of using corrupt electoral practices in 1971 election from Rae Bareilly against Raj Narain. She was even barred to contest any election for the next 6 years. The result was imposition of emergency. Raj Narain defeated Smt Indira Gandhi in 1977 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareilly. This was rise of a new consciousness in Indian history. In response to growing unrest, the government imposed a state of emergency with the rationale of preserving national security. However, the government introduced press censorship, postponed elections and banned strikes and rallies. Opposition leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan, Jivatram Kripalani and Morarji Desai were imprisoned along with thousands of other political activists. When the state of emergency was lifted and new elections called in 1977, opposition political parties such as the Congress (O), Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Bharatiya Lok Dal as well as defectors from the Congress (R) joined to form the Janata party, which won a sweeping majority in the Indian Parliament. The new Janata-led government reversed many Emergency-era decrees and opened official investigations into Emergency-era abuses. Although several major foreign policy and economic reforms were attempted, continuous in-fighting and ideological differences made the Janata government unable to effectively address national problems. By mid-1979, Prime Minister Morarji Desai was forced to resign and his successor Chaudhary Charan Singh failed to sustain a parliamentary majority as alliance partners withdrew support. Popular disenchantment with the political in-fighting and ineffective government led to the resurgence of Indira Gandhi and her new Congress (I) party, which won the general election called in 1980. Although the original Janata party fragmented and dissolved, modern political parties continue to invoke the legacy of the Janata party.