Janata Party - History

History

Having led the Indian independence movement, the Indian National Congress became the most popular political party in independent India and won every election following national independence in 1947. However, the Indian National Congress bifurcated in 1967 over the issue of the leadership of Indira Gandhi, the daughter of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Supporters of Indira Gandhi claimed to be the real Congress party, adopting the name Indian National Congress (R) - where "R" stood for "Requisition." Congress politicians who opposed Indira identified themselves as the Indian National Congress (O) - where "O" stood for "Organisation" or "Old." For the 1971 election, the Congress (O), Samyukta Socialist Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh had formed a coalition called the "Grand Alliance" to oppose Indira Gandhi and the Congress (R), but failed to have an impact; Indira's Congress (R) won a large majority in the 1971 elections and her popularity increased significantly after India's victory in the war of 1971 against Pakistan.

However, Indira's subsequent inability to address serious issues such as unemployment, poverty, inflation and shortages eroded her popularity. The frequent invoking of "President's rule" to dismiss state governments led by opposition political parties was seen as authoritarian and opportunist. Political leaders such as Jayaprakash Narayan and Congress (O) chief Morarji Desai condemned Indira's government as dictatorial and corrupt. Narayan and Desai founded the Janata Morcha (People's Front), the predecessor of what would become the Janata party. The Janata Morcha won the elections for the Vidhan Sabha (State Legislature) of the state of Gujarat on June 11, 1975.

Raj Narain, a leader of the Socialist Party of India, who had unsuccessfully contested election against Indira from the constituency of Rae Bareilly in 1971, lodged a case at the Allahabad High Court, alleging electoral malpractices and the use of government resources for her election campaign. On June 12, 1975 in State of Uttar Pradesh v. Raj Narain, the Allahabad High Court found Indira guilty and barred her from holding public office for six years. Opposition politicians immediately demanded her resignation and stepped up mass protests against the government. On June 25, Narayan and Desai held a massive rally in Delhi, calling for a "Satyagraha" - a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience to force the government to resign.