title: 1977 elections in India
text: # 1977 elections in India
  
  Elections in India in 1977 included Legislative Assembly (Vidhan Sabha) elections in several Indian states, including Goa, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal.
  
  ## Legislative Assembly elections
  
  ### Bihar
  
  | Party | Seats Contested | Seats Won | Seats Change | Vote Share |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Janata Party | 311 | 214 | 214 | 42.7% |
  | Indian National Congress | 286 | 57 | 110 | 23.6% |
  | Independent politician | 2206 | 24 | 7 | 23.7% |
  | Communist Party of India | 73 | 21 | 14 | 7.0% |
  | Communist Party of India | 16 | 4 | 14 | 0.9% |
  | Jharkhand Party | 31 | 2 | 1 | 0.4% |
  | Akhil Bharatiya Shoshit Samaj Dal | 26 | 1 | New | 0.8% |
  | All India Jharkhand Party | 21 | 1 | New | 0.5% |
  
  ### Goa, Daman and Diu
  
  Summary of results of the Goa Legislative Assembly election, 1977 :
  
  | Political Party | Seats contested | Seats won | Number of Votes | % of Votes | Seat change |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party | 29 | 15 | 116,339 | 38.49% | 3 |
  | Indian National Congress | 27 | 10 | 87,461 | 28.94% | 9 |
  | Janata Party | 30 | 3 | 69,823 | 23.10% | 3 |
  | Independents | 57 | 2 | 28,022 | 9.27% | 1 |
  | Total | 145 | 30 | 302,237 | | |
  
  ### Haryana
  
  Seats :
  
  | | Janata Party | 1,765,566 | 46.70 | 75 |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Indian National Congress | 648,422 | 17.15 | 3 |
  | | Vishal Haryana Party | 225,478 | 5.96 | 5 |
  | | Communist Party of India | 29,196 | 0.77 | 0 |
  | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 23,191 | 0.61 | 0 |
  | | Socialist Unity Center of India | 2,916 | 0.08 | 0 |
  | | Republican Party of India | 2,058 | 0.05 | 0 |
  | | Republican Party of India (Khobragade) | 1,150 | 0.03 | 0 |
  | | Independents | 1,082,982 | 28.64 | 7 |
  | Total | Total | 3,780,959 | 100.00 | 90 |
  | Valid votes | Valid votes | 3,780,959 | 98.77 | |
  | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 47,101 | 1.23 | |
  | Total votes | Total votes | 3,828,060 | 100.00 | |
  | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 5,938,821 | 64.46 | |
  | Source: ECI: |||||
  
  ### Himachal Pradesh
  
  | Rank | Party | Seats Contested | Seats won | % votes |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Janata Party | 68 | 53 | 49.01 |
  | 2 | Indian National Congress | 56 | 9 | 27.32 |
  | 3 | Independent | 68 | 6 | 21.10 |
  | | 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
  
  Party Wise Results :
  
  | Party | Seats | Alliance |
  | - | - | - |
  | Indian National Congress (INC) | 38 | United Front |
  | Communist Party of India (CPI) | 23 | United Front |
  | Kerala Congress (KEC) | 20 | United Front |
  | Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) | 13 | United Front |
  | Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP) | 9 | United Front |
  | Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPM) | 17 | Opposition |
  | Bhartiya Lok Dal (BLD) | 6 | Opposition |
  | All India Muslim League (Opposition) (AIML) | 3 | Opposition |
  | Kerala Congress (Pillai Group) (KCP) | 2 | Opposition |
  | Independent (IND) | 9 | |
  | Total | 140 | |
  
  ### Madhya Pradesh
  
  Source:
  
  | SN | Party | Seats Contested | Seats won | Seats Changed | % Votes |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | 1 | Janata Party | 319 | 230 | N/A | 47.28% |
  | 2 | Indian National Congress (I) | 320 | 84 | -136 | 35.88% |
  | 3 | Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad | 4 | 1 | N/A | 2.88% |
  | 4 | Independent | 320 | 5 | -13 | 15.35% |
  | | Total | | 320 | | |
  
  ### Nagaland
  
  | | United Democratic Front | 127,445 | 39.21 | 35 | +10 |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Indian National Congress | 65,616 | 20.19 | 15 | New |
  | | National Convention of Nagaland | 38,528 | 11.85 | 1 | New |
  | | Independents | 93,405 | 28.74 | 9 | –3 |
  | Total | Total | 324,994 | 100.00 | 60 | 0 |
  | Valid votes | Valid votes | 324,994 | 98.07 | | |
  | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 6,407 | 1.93 | | |
  | Total votes | Total votes | 331,401 | 100.00 | | |
  | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 403,454 | 82.14 | | |
  | Source: ECI ||||||
  
  ### Odisha
  
  | Party | No. of candidates | No. of elected | No. of votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Janata Party | 147 | 110 | 2527787 | 49.2% |
  | Indian National Congress | 146 | 26 | 1594505 | 31.0% |
  | Independents | 264 | 9 | 738545 | 14.4% |
  | Communist Party of India | 25 | 1 | 183485 | 3.6% |
  | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 4 | 1 | 45219 | 0.9% |
  | All India Jharkhand Party | 10 | 0 | 25002 | 0.5% |
  | Socialist Unity Centre of India | 6 | 0 | 18773 | 0.4% |
  | Jharkhand Party | 2 | 0 | 7233 | 0.1% |
  
  ### Punjab
  
  | Party | Party | contested | Seats won | change in seats | popular vote | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Shiromani Akali Dal | 70 | 58 | 34 | 17,76,602 | 31.41% |
  | | Janata Party | 41 | 25 | (new) | 8,47,718 | 14.99% |
  | | Indian National Congress | 96 | 17 | 49 | 18,99,534 | 33.59% |
  | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 8 | 8 | 7 | 1,98,144 | 3.50% |
  | | Communist Party of India | 18 | 7 | 3 | 3,72,711 | 6.59% |
  | | Independents | 435 | 2 | 1 | 5,41,958 | 9.58% |
  | | Others | 14 | 0 | - | 18,686 | 0.33% |
  | Total | Total | 682 | 117 | | 56,55,353 | |
  
  ### Rajasthan
  
  | | Janata Party | 4,160,373 | 50.39 | 152 | New |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Indian National Congress | 2,599,772 | 31.49 | 41 | –104 |
  | | Communist Party of India | 91,640 | 1.11 | 1 | –3 |
  | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 61,682 | 0.75 | 1 | +1 |
  | | Indian Union Muslim League | 21,889 | 0.27 | 0 | New |
  | | Vishal Haryana Party | 1,290 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
  | | Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad | 320 | 0.00 | 0 | New |
  | | Independents | 1,319,053 | 15.98 | 5 | –6 |
  | Total | Total | 8,256,019 | 100.00 | 200 | +16 |
  | Valid votes | Valid votes | 8,256,019 | 97.89 | | |
  | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 177,653 | 2.11 | | |
  | Total votes | Total votes | 8,433,672 | 100.00 | | |
  | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 15,494,289 | 54.43 | | |
  | Source: ECI ||||||
  
  ### Tamil Nadu
  
  The sixth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on June 10, 1977. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) won the election defeating its rival Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). M. G. Ramachandran (M.G.R), 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 (INC) 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 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.
  
  Summary of the 1977 June Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election results :
  
  | Alliance/Party | Seats won | Change | Popular Vote | Vote % | Adj. $%^‡$ |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | AIADMK+ alliance | 144 | +142 | 5,734,692 | 33.5% | 33.5% |
  | AIADMK | 130 | +130 | 5,194,876 | 30.4% | 35.4% |
  | CPI(M) | 12 | +12 | 477,835 | 2.8% | 33.0% |
  | FBL | 1 | – | 35,361 | 0.2% | 62.0% |
  | IND | 1 | – | 26,620 | 0.2% | 42.9% |
  | DMK | 48 | -136 | 4,258,771 | 24.9% | 24.9% |
  | DMK | 48 | -136 | 4,258,771 | 24.9% | 25.3% |
  | Congress alliance | 32 | +24 | 3,491,490 | 20.4% | 20.4% |
  | INC | 27 | +27 | 2,994,535 | 17.5% | 20.8% |
  | CPI | 5 | -3 | 496,955 | 2.9% | 20.4% |
  | Janata | 10 | +10 | 2,851,884 | 16.7% | 16.7% |
  | JNP | 10 | +10 | 2,851,884 | 16.7% | 16.8% |
  | Others | 1 | -7 | 751,712 | 4.4% | 4.4% |
  | IND | 1 | -7 | 751,712 | 4.4% | – |
  | Total | 234 | – | 17,108,146 | 100% | – |
  
  ‡: Vote % reflects the percentage of votes the party received compared to the entire electorate that voted in this election. Adjusted (Adj.) Vote %, reflects the % of votes the party received per constituency that they contested. Sources: Election Commission of India
  
  ### Tripura
  
  Performance of the political parties in this election :
  
  | Party | Seats Contested | Seats Won | No. of Votes | % of Votes | 1972 Seats |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Communist Party of India | 10 | 0 | 6,266 | 0.84% | 1 |
  | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 55 | 51 | 352,652 | 47.00% | 16 |
  | Indian National Congress | 60 | 0 | 133,240 | 17.76% | 41 |
  | Janata Party | 59 | 0 | 78,479 | 10.46% | - |
  | All India Forward Bloc | 1 | 1 | 7,800 | 1.04% | 0 |
  | Revolutionary Socialist Party | 2 | 2 | 12,446 | 1.66% | - |
  | Proutist Bloc of India | 6 | 0 | 2,139 | 0.29% | - |
  | Congress for Democracy | 59 | 0 | 66,913 | 9.08% | - |
  | Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti | 28 | 4 | 59,474 | 7.93% | 0 |
  | Independents | 48 | 2 | 30,862 | 4.11% | 2 |
  | Total | 328 | 60 | 750,271 | | |
  
  ### Uttar Pradesh
  
  | | Janata Party | 11,351,359 | 47.76 | 352 | New |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | | Indian National Congress | 7,592,107 | 31.94 | 47 | –168 |
  | | Communist Party of India | 611,450 | 2.57 | 9 | –7 |
  | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 136,850 | 0.58 | 1 | –1 |
  | | Others | 241,821 | 1.02 | 0 | 0 |
  | | Independents | 3,832,832 | 16.13 | 16 | +12 |
  | Total | Total | 23,766,419 | 100.00 | 425 | +1 |
  | Valid votes | Valid votes | 23,766,419 | 98.40 | | |
  | Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 386,237 | 1.60 | | |
  | Total votes | Total votes | 24,152,656 | 100.00 | | |
  | Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 52,345,606 | 46.14 | | |
  | Source: ECI ||||||
  
  ### 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.
  
  | Party | Party | Candidates | Seats | Votes | % |
  | - | - | - | - | - | - |
  | Left Front | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 224 | 178 | 5,080,828 | 35.46 |
  | Left Front | All India Forward Bloc | 36 | 25 | 750,229 | 5.24 |
  | Left Front | Revolutionary Socialist Party | 23 | 20 | 536,625 | 3.74 |
  | Left Front | Revolutionary Communist Party of India | 4 | 3 | 75,156 | 0.52 |
  | Left Front | Marxist Forward Bloc | 3 | 3 | 58,466 | 0.41 |
  | Left Front | Biplobi Bangla Congress | 2 | 1 | 35,457 | 0.25 |
  | Left Front | LF independent | 1 | 1 | 32,238 | 0.22 |
  | Janata Party | Janata Party | 289 | 29 | 2,869,391 | 20.02 |
  | Indian National Congress (R) | Indian National Congress (R) | 290 | 20 | 3,298,063 | 23.02 |
  | Communist Party of India | Communist Party of India | 63 | 2 | 375,560 | 2.62 |
  | Socialist Unity Centre of India | Socialist Unity Centre of India | 29 | 4 | 211,752 | 1.48 |
  | Indian Union Muslim League | Indian Union Muslim League | 32 | 1 | 54,942 | 0.38 |
  | Workers Party of India | Workers Party of India | 2 | 1 | 29,221 | 0.20 |
  | Jharkhand Party | Jharkhand Party | 2 | 0 | 5,701 | 0.04 |
  | Republican Party of India | Republican Party of India | 3 | 0 | 1,652 | 0.01 |
  | All India Gorkha League | All India Gorkha League | 2 | 0 | 810 | 0.01 |
  | Bharater Biplobi Communist Party | Bharater Biplobi Communist Party | 1 | 0 | 489 | 0.00 |
  | Independents | Independents | 566 | 7 | 912,612 | 6.37 |
  | Total | Total | 1,572 | 294 | 14,329,201 | 100 |
  | Source: ECI ||||||
  