Janata party

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The Janata Party ( JNP , Hindi जनता पार्टी , "People's Party") was a party in India that existed from 1977 to 2013. It emerged after the state of emergency in India through the merger of four major parties and was the first nationwide large people's party to successfully oppose the previously dominant Congress Party in elections. As a result, the JNP has become a model for other parties that were later founded in India . However, the Janata Party's success did not last long. It was the government of India from 1977 to 1979, but already during its time in office it began to break up into smaller and smaller groups, most of which then only had a certain regional significance. The Janata Party experienced a certain new edition when the Janata Dal was founded in 1988 through the amalgamation of several parties (including the JNP) , which provided the Prime Minister of India from 1989 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 1998, but suffered the same fate as the JNP before, and many others Successor parties disintegrated. The last small remnants of the JNP joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 2013 , which itself emerged from parts of the Janata Party in 1980.

prehistory

Indira Gandhi (1966)

Indira Gandhi's government until 1975

In the first two decades after independence, the political landscape of India was dominated by the Congress Party , which, benefiting from the prevailing relative majority voting system, was always able to win an absolute majority of the seats in national elections. The opposition (communists, socialists, the Swatantra party and others) was too fragmented to pose a serious threat to the Congress Party. After Nehru's death in 1964, the Congress party split into a left wing under Nehru's charismatic daughter Indira Gandhi and a conservative wing under Morarji Desai ( Indian National Congress (Organization) , " Congress (O) "). The 1971 elections were won with 43.7% of the vote and a two-thirds majority of the constituencies of Indira's Congress Party.

The subsequent government under Prime Minister Indira Gandhis was felt by many to be autocratic or even dictatorial. There was practically no serious internal opposition in Indira's Congress Party. The attempts of Indira to change the Indian constitution in their favor with their two-thirds majority were seen by their opponents as an attack on the foundations of Indian democracy. The war against Pakistan in 1971 , the associated supply of the millions of refugees from Bangladesh , the oil and economic crisis of 1973 and the ambitious nuclear armament program (1973 detonation of the first Indian atomic bomb in the desert of Rajasthan ) placed considerable strains on the Indian economy. The government was unable to fulfill the populist promise to eradicate poverty made during the 1971 election campaign. Unrest, strikes and demonstrations against the Indonesian government broke out across the country, led by prominent labor leaders such as George Fernandes and reformers inspired by social revolution such as Jayaprakash Narayan .

Foundation of the Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD)

At a meeting in Delhi on May 29, 1974, seven opposition parties under the leadership of Chaudhary Charan Singh came together to form Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) in order to be able to act together more effectively against the all-powerful Prime Minister. The three main founding parties were the Bharatiya Kranti Dal founded by Charan Singh , the liberal-conservative Swatantra Party and the United Socialist Party ( Samyukta Socialist Party ). Together, these seven parties received 10% of the vote in the 1971 election.

Riots and new elections in Gujarat 1973–75

After Chimanbhai Patel (Congress Party), who was seen by many as a symbol of corruption, became Chief Minister of the state of Gujarat on July 20, 1973 , a movement emerged in Gujarat to oppose the economic crisis, inflation and the corruption rampant in public life judged. This movement ( Nav Nirman , "new beginning", "new beginning") was mainly supported by students and members of the middle class. There were school strikes and unrest, to which the government responded with a curfew . On February 8, 1974, Patel finally resigned after Indira Gandhi also withdrew his trust. Gujarat was placed under President's rule until June 17, 1975 . This did not stop the riots, however; the protesters also demanded that new elections be held for the Gujarat parliament. The protesters received strong support from other parts of India, including Jayaprakash Narayan and the opposition parties. By March 1975, under the pressure of agitation, 95 of the 167 members of the Gujarat Parliament had resigned. On March 12, 1975, the 79-year-old Morarji Desai announced that, in the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi , he would start an indefinite hunger strike until the demand for new elections was met. As a result, Indira's government gave in and the Gujarat parliament was dissolved on March 16, 1975. The new elections in Gujarat took place on June 11, 1975. In advance, an electoral alliance was formed from the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Jana Sangh , the Congress (O) , the Socialist Party and the BLD. The electoral alliance went under the name Janata Front (or Janata Morcha , "Popular Front"). The election was won by the Janata Front in alliance with the Kizan Mazdoor Lok Paksha , a party founded by Chimanbhai Patel. On June 18, 1975, Babhubai Jashbai Patel was elected Chief Minister of Gujarat by the Janata Front . He was the first chief minister in Gujarat State history to be outside the Congress Party.

State of emergency 1975–77

At the height of the internal unrest, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency for all of India on June 25, 1975 to restore orderly conditions. Many thousands of members of the opposition were arrested as a result. The prisoners included prominent politicians from the Janata Front , including Morarji Desai (Congress (O)), Charan Singh (BLD), Atal Bihari Vajpayee (Bharatiya Jana Sangh, later BJP), Lal Krishna Advani (Bharatiya Jana Sangh, later) BJP). After the domestic political situation had calmed down and the economic outlook seemed more favorable, Indira Gandhi surprisingly announced on January 18, 1977 the temporary relaxation of the state of emergency until the holding of the 16-20. Parliamentary elections scheduled for March 1977 . All prisoners of the opposition were released.

Party formation after the state of emergency and parliamentary elections in 1977

Just a few days after the state of emergency was suspended and the political prisoners released, the leaders of the Janata Front met in Delhi on January 18, 1977 and decided to found a new party, the Janata Party (“People's Party”) by merging the founding parties of the Janata Front . The foundation was officially decided on January 23, 1977. Morarji Desai was elected first chairman, and Charan Singh was elected vice-chairman. Three secretaries of the party have been named: Lal Krishna Advani (Bharatiya Jana Sangh), Surendra Mohan (Socialist Party) and Ram Dhan (formerly Congress Party). The founding parties of the Janata Party were:

  • Bharatiya Lok Dal (BLD) under Charan Singh
  • Congress (O) under Morarji Desai
  • Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) under Lal Krishna Advani
  • Socialist Party (SP)

The actual organizational unification did not take place until May 1st, 1977 and the founding parties were formally counted as individual parties by the Indian Election Commission of India in the upcoming election. In the election campaign, they used the symbols of the Bharatiya Lok Dal, the peasant with a plowshare in a wheel as the election symbol. The only exceptions were the two states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala , where the Janata Party used the election symbols of the Congress (O) . The unification of ideologically and programmatically so different parties brought with it considerable problems, could only be explained under the pressure of the upcoming parliamentary elections and was largely mediated by Jayaprakash Narayan. The oppression experienced together during the time of the state of emergency formed a connecting bond. All party leaders had in common the concern that Indira Gandhi would again win the upcoming elections and thereby legitimize her dictatorial rule and / or expand it by changing the constitution. The state of emergency had not been lifted by Indira, but only loosened so that the elections could be held. It could therefore be explained again at any time. An election victory for Indira's Congress Party seemed likely to most election observers and the opposition's prospects were uncertain. The press was largely influenced or dependent on the government. Radio and television were completely under government control. During the time of the state of emergency, the opposition organizations were banned, so they first had to be reactivated. However, the Janata Party received support from the ranks of Indira's Congress Party from people who had become uncanny about the concentration of power in the hands of the Prime Minister. The most prominent defector was Jagjivan Ram , who had held ministerial posts in various Congress Party governments almost continuously since India's independence, had previously been President of the Congress Party and was considered the second man in Indira's cabinet. Ram founded the Congress for Democracy on February 2, 1977 with other like-minded dissidents from the Congress Party, which supported the Janata Party during the election campaign and joined the Janata Party on May 5, 1977 after the election.

The day after the election it became clear that the Janata Party and its allies ( Shiromani Akali Dal in Punjab , Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in Tamil Nadu ) had won the election in an impressive manner despite the seemingly unfavorable starting conditions. Almost all of northern India fell to her and she won an absolute majority of the parliamentary seats.

The Janata Party government from 1977 to 1979

Morarji Desai as Prime Minister (1978)
Visit of President Jimmy Carter to India in 1977. First row from right: Secretary of State Vajpayee , Rosalynn Carter , Prime Minister Desai , President Carter

After the election, surprisingly clearly won, the Janata Party faced the task of appointing a prime minister. Basically three people came into question: Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram. In order to avoid a leadership conflict, Jayaprakash Narayan, who was regarded as a kind of spiritual and moral authority of the resistance against Indira Gandhi, was asked to mediate. Narayayan decided in favor of Morarji Desai, who was elected Prime Minister on March 24, 1977 and presented a coalition cabinet that included members of the Janata Party and representatives of Shiromani Akali Dal.

In the elections to the regional parliaments of 10 Indian states in June 1977, the success of the Janata Party was repeated. The Congress Party governments have been voted out of office everywhere. In West Bengal the Communist Party of India (Marxist) established itself as the ruling party (and remained there in this role until 2011), Shiromani Akali Dal won the Punjab, and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) was successful in Tamil Nadu . JNP-led governments have been formed in Rajasthan, Orissa , Haryana , Madhya Pradesh , Uttar Pradesh , Bihar, and Himachal Pradesh . Elections were also held in Jammu and Kashmir , which resulted in Sheikh Abdullah becoming Chief Minister again after a 25-year hiatus .

The JNP government initially focused on the complete lifting of the state of emergency provisions. Civil liberties and the independence of the courts were restored. A commission chaired by the former Supreme Court judge JC Shah (Shah Commission) was set up to hold those primarily responsible for the state of emergency to legal responsibility if possible.

In terms of foreign policy, the Janata government resumed diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China , which had broken off since the Indo-Chinese border war of 1962 , and tried to improve relations with the United States, which led to President Jimmy Carter's visit to India in 1978 .

In terms of economic policy, the JNP government was not lucky. In an effort to promote domestic industries, the government made it a condition that foreign companies enter into joint ventures with Indian companies. This led to the exodus of large multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola and IBM from India. Rising inflation, nearly 10% unemployment and poverty could not be effectively addressed by the government. After the ban on strikes that had applied during the state of emergency was lifted, the Indian economy was shaken by strikes.

Shortly after the Janata Party came into power, the old differences in content between the founding parties of the JNP came to light again. Faced with the choice between membership in the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and membership in the Janata Party, prominent former leaders of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh such as Vajpayee and Advani opted for the former and resigned from their JNP government offices and left the Janata Party.

The over 80-year-old Prime Minister Moraji, who was considered personally incorruptible and followed an ascetic lifestyle in the footsteps of Mahatma Gandhi, was not a man of compromise and did not understand how to reconcile the various factions in the Janata Party. Government work was paralyzed by ideological disputes. When the economic situation in India deteriorated in 1979, old rivalries with Charan Singh broke out again. Singh resigned from his ministerial office, withdrew support from the Moraji government, together with his supporters, most of whom were recruited from the former Bharatiya Lok Dal, and founded a new Janata Party (Secular) . Thereupon Desai resigned from the office of Prime Minister and Charan Singh was entrusted with the formation of a government by President Neelam Sanjiva Reddy . The newly formed Charan Singh cabinet also lacked parliamentary support, as many JNP MPs did not want to support it. In addition, the old alliance parties Shiromani Akali Dal and DMK turned away from the Janata Party. An attempt by Singh to get the support of Indira Gandhi's Congress Party faction failed, so that Singh saw no other option than to ask President Reddy to dissolve parliament and call for new elections for January 1980. Singh remained in office as executive prime minister until then.

Follow-up from 1980

The 1980 general election ended in a clear defeat for the Janata Party, which won 19% of the vote and 33 of the 542 constituencies. Singh's Janata Party (Secular), which had since been renamed Lok Dal , won 9% of the vote and 41 seats. Indira Gandhi, who had been declared dead politically after being voted out of office in 1977, received 43% of the vote and 353 constituency seats with her congress party.

The reason for the electoral defeat of the JNP was the division of the Janata Party government and the associated paralysis of government work in the face of urgent domestic political problems. In contrast, the time of the state of emergency under Indira Gandhi had almost been forgotten again.

In the following years, the JNP could not gain significantly in importance again. In 1988 it merged a second time with Lok Dal to form Janata Dal . This was the government of India for a short time from 1989 to 1991 and again from 1996 to 1998, but then split into a number of successor parties , the so-called Janata Parivar parties , which for a long time made up a significant part of today's Indian political landscape. The Janata Party was also rebuilt.

On August 11, 2013, the official dissolution of the remnants of the Janata Party and its union with the BJP was announced after a meeting of JNP chairman Subramanian Swamy and BJP chairman Rajnath Singh in Delhi.

Election results

year choice Parliament seats
1977 IndiaIndia Elected Lok Sabha in 1977
298/542
1980 IndiaIndia Election for Lok Sabha in 1980
31/529
1984 IndiaIndia Elected Lok Sabha in 1984
10/514
1989 IndiaIndia Elected Lok Sabha in 1989
0/529
1991 IndiaIndia Election for Lok Sabha in 1991
5/521
1996 IndiaIndia Elected Lok Sabha 1996
0/543
1998 IndiaIndia Election for Lok Sabha in 1998
1/543

Since 1998, the Janata Party has not won a seat in the Lok Sabha elections.

literature

  • GG Mirchandani: 320 Million Judges - Analysis of 1977 Lok Sabha and State Elections in India . Abhinav Publications, New Delhi, 1977 (detailed description of the 1977 parliamentary elections and the history of the Janata Party, English)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. INDIA: Why an umbrella. Der Spiegel 22/1974, May 27, 1974, accessed on July 29, 2014 .
  2. ^ Ghanshyam Shah: Pulse of the people. India Today, December 20, 2007; accessed July 30, 2014 .
  3. a b Election Results - Full Statistical Results. Election Commission of India, accessed July 31, 2014 .
  4. S Muralidharan: Modi needn't fret on Keshubhai: Gujarat hates party-poopers. firstpost.com, August 11, 2012, accessed July 31, 2014 .
  5. a b c G.G. Mirchandani: 320 million judges. Abhinav Publications 2003, pp. 83 ff.
  6. ^ History of Coca-Cola in India. groovyganges.org, July 10, 2007, accessed August 4, 2014 .
  7. ^ Dinesh C. Sharma: Rise, fall and rise of IBM in India. businesstoday.intoday.in, June 17, 2011, accessed August 4, 2014 .
  8. in the 2009 election, the Janata Party had only one candidate left and won a total of 1,514 votes across India
  9. Swamy merges Janata Party with BJP. The Hindu, August 12, 2013, accessed August 1, 2014 .
  10. Abhinav Bhatt: Subramanian Swamy's Janata Party merges with Bharatiya Janata Party. August 11, 2013, accessed August 1, 2014 .
  11. ^ The Indian Election Commission registered the founding parties of the Janata Party in the 1977 election as individual parties, here they are added together
  12. in the parliamentary elections in 1989, most of the Janata Party was united under the umbrella of Janata Dal, which is not counted here