Fresh Lok Sabha Elections and End of Janata Party Rule

Lok Sabha elections took place in January 1980. The parties in the fray were the Congress (I), Congress (U), Lok Dal, the new party floated by Charan Singh and the Socialists, and Janata, now consisting primarily of Jana Sangh and of the old Congressmen such as Jagjivan Ram and Chandra Shekhar The presence of the CPM and CPI was only in West Bengal and Kerala. The Janata Party campaigned again on the planks of threats to democracy and Charan Singh spoke of power to the farmers, but this time round Indira Gandhi ignored ideology and astutely focussed on an issue close to the people’s heart at the time, namely, the offer of a government that could govern. The people, tired of the Janata’s lack of governance and incessant mutual quarrels, gave their mandate in favour of the Congress led by Indira Gandhi, also thus endorsing the view that hers was the real Congress.

The Janata Party split into various parties, like Janata Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Samajwadi Party, etc.