1977 elections in India


Elections in India in 1977 included Legislative Assembly elections in several Indian states, including Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.

Legislative Assembly elections

Goa, Daman and Diu

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!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=center|Political Party

!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Seats contested

!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Seats won

!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Number of Votes

!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |% of Votes

!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" |Seat change

Himachal Pradesh

RankPartySeats ContestedSeats won% votes
1Janata Party685349.01
2Indian National Congress56927.32
3Independent68621.10
Total 68

Source

Jammu and Kashmir

Elections for the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir were held in June 1977, which are generally regarded as the first 'free and fair' elections in the state.
Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, newly revived from the former Plebiscite Front, won an overwhelming majority and re-elected Sheikh Abdullah as the Chief Minister.

Kerala

PartySeatsAlliance
Indian National Congress 38United Front
Communist Party of India 23United Front
Kerala Congress 20United Front
Indian Union Muslim League 13United Front
Revolutionary Socialist Party 9United Front
Communist Party of India 17Opposition
Bhartiya Lok Dal 6Opposition
All India Muslim League 3Opposition
Kerala Congress 2Opposition
Independent 9
Total140

Madhya Pradesh

Source:
SNPartySeats
Contested
Seats
won
Seats
Changed
%
Votes
1Janata Party319230N/A47.28%
2Indian National Congress (I)32084-13635.88%
3Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad41N/A2.88%
4Independent3205-1315.35%
Total320

Odisha

PartyNo. of candidatesNo. of electedNo. of votes%
Janata Party147110252778749.2%
Indian National Congress14626159450531.0%
Independents264973854514.4%
Communist Party of India2511834853.6%
Communist Party of India (Marxist)41452190.9%
All India Jharkhand Party100250020.5%
Socialist Unity Centre of India60187730.4%
Jharkhand Party2072330.1%

Tamil Nadu

The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on June 10, 1977. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam won the election defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. M. G. Ramachandran, the AIADMK founder and a leading Tamil film actor, was sworn in as Chief Minister for the first time. The election was a four cornered contest between the AIADMK, DMK, the Indian National Congress and the Janata Party. Earlier on 17 October 1972, M.G.R had founded the AIADMK following his expulsion from the DMK after differences arose between him and DMK leader M. Karunanidhi. On 31 January 1976, Karunanidhi's government was dismissed by the central government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi citing corruption charges against Karunanidhi and President's rule was imposed on the state. Karunanidhi had been at odds with Indira Gandhi over his opposition to [The The Emergency (India)|Emergency (India)|Emergency] and allied with Janata Party founded by Jayaprakash Narayan. Meanwhile, M.G.R had developed a close relationship with Indira Gandhi and supported the Emergency. M.G.R remained as Chief Minister until his death in 1987, winning the next two elections held in 1980 and 1984.
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;vertical-align:top;" |Alliance/Party
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! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Seats won
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Change
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Popular Vote
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Vote %
! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" |Adj. %
! style="background-color:#009900; color:white"|AIADMK+ alliance
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! style="background-color:#FF0000; color:white"|DMK
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! style="background-color:#00FFFF; color:black"|Congress alliance
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! style="background-color:yellow; color:black"|Janata
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! style="background-color:gray; color:white"|Others
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Tripura

PartySeats contestedSeats wonNo. of votes% of votes1972 Seats
Communist Party of India1006,2660.84%1
Communist Party of India (Marxist)5551352,65247.00%16
Indian National Congress600133,24017.76%41
Janata Party59078,47910.46%-
All India Forward Bloc117,8001.04%0
Revolutionary Socialist Party2212,4461.66%-
Proutist Bloc of India602,1390.29%-
Congress for Democracy59066,9139.08%-
Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti28459,4747.93%0
Independents48230,8624.11%2
Total32860750,271

West Bengal

Legislative Assembly elections were held in the Indian state of West Bengal on 14 June 1977. The polls took place after the ousting of Indira Gandhi's government at the Centre. The Left Front won a landslide victory, much to the surprise of the left parties themselves. The 1977 election marked the beginning of the 34-year Left Front rule in West Bengal, with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Jyoti Basu leading the first Left Front cabinet.