But for Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohmmad (JeM) sponsored Pulwama terrorist attack on last 14 February, entire India was in election mode for the 17th Lok Sabha due in April-May 2019. There seems some uncertainty since the security of the country is more important and all the political parties are unanimous in supporting any action by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the three wings of the Armed Forces, including all out war with Pakistan.The mood of the nation is that general election can wait. Of course, the Lok Sabha election would take place, though little late and the well established parliamentary democratic traditions would be carried out irrespective of who forms the next government. Looking at the towering personalities in the freedom movement and at the time of the Indian independence era beginning from 1947, one is pained to see the nation reaching the era of dwarfs. Let’s hope this phase would also evaporate soon thanks to the solid foundation built up by the Indian Constitution makers. India would continue shining.
The Constituent Assembly (CA), consisted of indirectly elected representatives in the elections held during 15 December 1946 and June 1947. It was set up for the purpose of drafting a constitution for India. Total 208 elected members were of Indian National Congress (INC) including Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Pandit Nehru, Sardar Patel and others followed by 73 of Muslim League (ML) and 15 others including Scheduled Castes Federation (SCF) leader and India’s first Law Minister Dr. B. R. Ambedkar. The Muslim League initially refused to join the Interim Government headed by Lord Wavell, the Viceroy and Governor General, but the Congress leaders opted to join. Later the ML leaders joined the Government, but boycott the CA.
Despite Mahatma Gandhi’s firm opposition, the Partition of British India could not be avoided. The Mahatma even offered the Premiership to Mohammad Ali Jinnah to avoid the Partition but his lieutenants including Nehru and Patel disliked his offer. Following the 3 June 1947 declaration by Lord Mountbatten, the new Viceroy, the Partition became reality and nearly 600 Princely States were free to join either Indian Union or Pakistan Union or had option to remain independent. According to the India Independence Act passed by the British Parliament in July 1947, independent India and Pakistan were to be independent on 15 August 1947 but for facilitating Mountbatten attending the swearing in of Jinnah as the Governor General of Pakistan, the ceremony was held on 14 August 1947 at Karachi. A separate Constituent Assembly headed by Jogendra Nath Mandal was formed for Pakistan. A depressed caste leader Mandal became the first Law Minister of Pakistan and defected to India in 1956.
The Indian leaders preferred to have Mountbatten as the first Governor General of Independent India followed by C. Rajgopalachari, the first Indian to be appointed, during June 1948 and January 1950. Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected the President of Republic of India. The first Cabinet of independent India, popularly called Nehru-Sardar government, had at least five non-Congress members including Dr. Ambedkar, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Baldev Singh, Shanmukham Chetty and C. H. Bhabha under the advice of the Mahatma to make it a National Government. Following differences with Prime Minister Nehru, Dr. Mookerjee, formerly the President of the Hindu Mahasabha and Dr. Ambedkar, who was the founder President of SCF, preferred to resign and joined the opposition.
In 1951-52, the elections were held for 489 seats. The INC won 364. Only two other parties won double digit seats. The Communist Party of India (CPI) with 16 seats and the Socialist Party with 12 seats. The Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS) headed by Dr. Mookerjee, the previous avatar of the BJP won only 3 seats. Independents won 37, the second highest number of seats after Congress. Nehru was elected the Prime Minister.In 1957 election, out of 494 seats, the INC won 371. Only two other parties won double digit seats. The CPI with 27 seats and the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) with 19 seats. The BJS won only 4 seats. Once again, the Independents won 42, the second highest number of seats after Congress. Nehru was again elected the PM. There was no official Leader of Opposition during the second Lok Sabha. Dr. Rammanohar Lohia, Rajaji and others deserted Congress following differences with Nehru.
The 1962 elections saw INC winning 361 out of 494 seats. The CPI won 29, BJS 14 Swatantra Party 18 PSP 12 respectively. Nehru was elected the Prime Minister, but after he passed away in 1964, Gulzari lal Nanda was made the interim PM who was succeeded by Lal Bahadur Shastri who held the post for about 19 months before his death. Indira Gandhi then took over in 1966.This was a crucial period for India since in 1962, China attacked and defeated India.It was a personal set back to PM Nehru. In 1965, PM Shastri led India to victory in war with Pakistan. The Congress party under Indira Gandhi’s leadership won a 4th successive term to office by winning 283 out of 520 seats in 1967. But the vote share of Congress went down. In these elections, six other parties won double digit seats with Rajaji’s Swatantra Party winning 44 seats and emerging as the single largest opposition party. Indira became the PM for the second time. This was a turning point in Indian politics since Socialist leader Dr. Lohia and BJS leader Deendayal Upadhyaya called for an anti-Congress front leading to as many as nine states forming non-Congress coalition governments, though for a shorter period.
In 1971, it was the first election after Smt. Gandhi broke away from the Congress in 1969. Her party won a whopping 352 seats out of 518 with the other faction of Congress under Morarji Desai winning only 16 seats. Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister for the third time. India supported East Pakistan's struggle for independence. The third Indo-Pakistan war broke out on December 3, but 11 days later the Pakistani army was forced to surrender in East Pakistan and India recognized the People's Republic of Bangladesh under Bangbandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahaman. Of course, this Lok Sabha period saw the Emergency imposed by PM Indira in June 1975 following the judgment of Allahabad High Court disqualifying her and setting aside her election. Though she imprisoned most of the opposition leaders, in the March 1977 elections not only her party but even Indira and her son Sanjay lost the election. This was rather a turning point in the Indian politics where after getting defeated in her own constituency, she opted to contest from Chikmanglur to enter the Lok Sabha!
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