CONGRESS DEBACLES: A LOOK BACK

1967: The state elections were a turning point for the Congress. Economic conditions in the country were bad as a result of two successive years of drought, the 1965 war with Pakistan and the devaluation of the rupee in 1965. The party suffered significant losses in seven states: Gujarat (Congress won 11 out of 24 seats; the Swatantra Party won 12); Madras (Congress won three out of 39 seats; the DMK won 25); Orissa (Congress won six out of 20 seats; the Swatantra Party won eight); Rajasthan (Congress won 10 out of 20 seats; Swatantra Party won eight); West Bengal (Congress won 14 out of 40 seats); Kerala (Congress won only one out of 19 seats) and Delhi (Congress won one out of 7; remaining six were won by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh).

1977: The general election and some state elections were held together. The Congress’ tally in Parliament dropped from 350 to 153. It failed to win a single seat in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Bihar, Punjab, Delhi. State elections were held in Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Punjab, Tripura and Bihar. In Punjab, its tally came down from 66 to 17. In West Bengal, the party won just 20 seats; the Left Front got 231 out of 294 seats. Kerala saved face as the Congress got 111 seats out of 140.

1982: The Congress(I)’s tally in Kerala, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh dropped to 88 seats from the 107 it held before the polls. In West Bengal, it more than doubled its share from 20 to 49 chiefly because of the disappearance of the Janata Party, but trailed far behind the Left Front (238 seats). In Himachal Pradesh the electorate shaved the Congress(I)’s share of votes by nine per cent to 43 per cent; in Haryana by two per cent to 27 per cent compared to the 1980 polls. In West Bengal its share dropped by four per cent to about 32 per cent.

1991: The BJP came to power in UP, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and HP. The Congress was decimated.