Indian Political Science Association The Indian Journal of Political Science
Indian Political Science Association The Indian Journal of Political Science
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THE SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS : A STUDY OF THE
ELECTION MANIFESTOS OF THE NATIONAL PARTIES
by
KOUSARJ. AZAM*
While the significant feature of the 1971 general elections was that il
followed a pre-mature dissolution of India's Lok Sabha for the first time
since independence the imposition of emergency with its allied regimentation
and constitutional modifications during the period of emergency (19 months),
added to the fervour of the Sixth general elections announced on 18th Jan-
uary 1977 about fifteen months ahead of the recently extended tenure of
India's Lok Sabha.
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3?6 ] the indián journal op political sgibncb
Back home, for an Indian observer, the election results, are perhaps
indicative of the efficacy of "golden mean", and the terms like the "Leftist"
and the "Rightist" perhaps need a redefinition considering the manoeuvra-
bility of the groups representing the varied shades of political option.
Mrs. Gandhi, at least in her addresses to the nation made through the
AIR, has had a reputation of being precise, brief and clear. The clarity and
brevity of her announcements - be it the declaration of war against Pakistan,
or the decision of her government and people to support Bangla Desh - has
always added to the depth and the magnitude of the action that followed.
But of late a certain change became discernible in all her public announce-
ments - a change which pointed towards a peculiar psychology of defence -
and once this change set in, her declarations grew long and repetitive,
hyphenated with frequent personal references. ( One wonders whether it had
anything to do with the resurgence of Gandhism as symbolized by J. P. as
against extreme Machiavelism towards which she was steadily moving )•
Realising its absence, said Mrs. Gandhi, the emergency was relaxed to
"permit legitimate political activity" in the country. Her broadcast started
with a description of the conditions under which emergency was imposed
eighteen months ago, when "our beloved country was on the verge of disaster,"
when, "violence was preached, workers were exhorted not to work, students
not to study, and government servants to break their oaths." In an obvious
reference to Jai Prakash Narayan's "total revolution" the Prime Minister
said, "Massive paralysis was propagated in the n^me of revolution," It was to
curb this dysfunctioning of the social and political process in India that the
process had to be suspended.
The announcement also underlined the various issues over which the
oncoming electoral battle was to be fought - issues which were sought to be
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MANIFESTOS IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 377
Several studies made from different perspectives will shed light on the
nature and significance of this 'revolution* through ballot, and will explain
the significance of this political change through peaceful means in our
"developing" system. The endeavour of the present study would be to analyse
the ideological and the political contents of the manifestos of the national
parties.
The Congress
The manifesto of Indian National Congress was much more rhetorical
than that of the CPI, suggestive of a psychology of defence, but couched in a
language that exhorted development and dynamism as the inherent qualities
of the Indian National Congress.
The Congress had an obvious advantage over the other political groups
in the sense that it could, and did claim all progress made in the country
during the past thirty years, as its own individual achievements, as a testi-
mony of the relevance of its policies and their successful implementation in the
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378 J THfe INDIAN JOURNAL OÍ? POLITICI AL SOlEŇOfe
Indian political system. Apart from that, it could reiterate once again ( and
with greater fervour, verging on sentimentality ) its historic role in ushering
in an era of independence, democracy, and development. Added to these
were the mentioning of the newly acquired "benefits" during the state of
emergency. These thoughts were expressed in a sort of preamble to the Con-
gress manifesto, entitled "The Sole Hope of the People" and in the earlier
sections of the manifesto itself.
J anata
If the Congress emphasized the need for the strength of the Central
Government, capable of introducing and implementing developmental pro-
grammes, the Janata concentrated on an erosion of democratic values and
norms due to the development of the non- constitutional centres of power and
authority. Thus it was not surprising when the Congress raised the slogan of
democracy and development vs. disruption and chaos (which will be ushered
in by the new synthetic Janata group) and the Janata preferred the slogan of
democracy vs. dictatorship. The acceptance of Gandhi as a renewed political
diety could largely be attributed of the presence of a staunch Gandhiite, J.
P., as the guardian angel of the opposition's strength. If J. P. symbolized the
conscience of the nation, that resisted the torture of the body and the torment
of the soul, for upholding truth and righteousness, the Janata manifesto as-
pired to be an intellectual expression of this conscience.
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MANIFESTOS IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 379
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380 ] THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF PO LITIO AL BOIENOB
C. F. D.
Like its electoral ally, the CFD also mentioned Gandhi and his tea
chings and lamented about the way of INC had reduced "Mahatm
teachings of 'defiance against injustice and oppression* into 'convenient in
truments for asserting personal power*." It accused the INC for "the cont
nued denial of basic rights to freedom of speech and expression, and right
liberty which are the foundations of democracy." The purpose of its own
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MANIFESTOS IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 381
Among the other national parties which took pains to present a mani-
festo, we would mention the CPI, and the CPI-(M). The Election Commission
as such recognised only four 'national' parties: the Indian National Congress,
the Janata ( allied with CFD) , the Communist Party of India and the
Communist Party of India - Marxist, treating the Janata-CFD alliance,
virtually as a single party.
The Leftists
If the Janata and CFD Manifestos suggested an obsession with Gandhian
thought, philosophy and action, the documents of the Leftist parties reflec-
ted a similar obsession with the extra-territorial origins of their existence.
In the absence of a Gandhian or Nehruvian counterpart, the Leftist
documents dinged to 'socialism* for all their exhortations, criticisms and
programmes.
CPI
Among the many other things that the manifesto regarded as "a
stake" in the coming elections we could make a special mention of "gains o
the country", "the economic advances made by the country, the building
of a powerful dynamic public sector, with the help of Soviet Union." This
was the only party which made a direct reference to an outside power wh
contesting for the internal political hegemony in the country. It talked of t
"vested interests" grabbing the main gains while the masses remained steep
3-12
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382 ] THE INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITIGAL SCIftKOE
in poverty. Also at stake were "the progressive objectives and policies of our
nation, the inclusion of socialism in the preamble, the secular and democratic
system, the anti-imperialist foreign policy of peace, non-alignment, friendship
with Soviet Union and their socialist states."
CPI-(M)
On the other hand, the Marxist wing of the CPI seemed to be more
forthright in declaring its intentions and aspirations - an account which did
not take recourse to the revolutionary rhetoric to make its presence felt.
Unlike the earlier electoral battles in India, when the election mani-
festos were mostly taken for granted, and were left unread, and unrespondei
by the Indian electorate with its poor literacy, the party manifestos for the
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MANIFESTOS IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 383
It is in this context that we shall try to probe into the nature of the
electoral promises and the treatment of the different issues and problems, and
their reaction among the Indian masses.
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3Ô4r ] Thb Indian journal of pòlìtigal sgíengâ
The basic issues over which the respective parties fought the elections,
could be identified as follows : The Congress : a justification of emergency in
view of stability and development, economic and other gains during the
period of emergency and the absence of ideology in the opposition camp.
For the opposition ranging from the CPI-M to the Janata, the issues
were the undesirability of the emergency, democracy, fundamental rights,
press censorship, coercion in the implementation of family planning schemes,
the 'development of non-constitutional centres of power' viz., Sanjay Gandhi,
and the forty second amendment. We do not suggest that these were the only
issues - the list could be large and exhaustive ranging from the tampering of
J. P.'s kidneys in the jail to the supposed threat to the modesty of a female
cine -star. Our attempt here will be to restrict an analysis to the issues wen-
tioned in the manifesto and not an analysis of everything that was said or
discussed.
The direct rapport that was established between the masses and the
leaders of the Opposition was basically a product of negativism and negative
forces that succeeded in transcending their earlier commitments and the
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Manifestos in Sixth général elegtìons [ 3Ô5
earlier ideological stances. This negative mood of the mass was cleverly
exploited by the Opposition which went to the extent of appealing and insula-
ting the symbols of primordialities in their otherwise 'civic' camps.
As the past experience with manifestos suggest that they had largely
remained unread and unresponded. This was partly due to the low literacy
of our people, and also because the socalled reading public in India has
always been averse to read the election manifestos. The campaign and the
nature of electioneering normally does not depend on the manifesto for mak-
ing his political choice.2 The factors influencing the political choice of the
voter may be many and varied but hardly the text of the manifesto.
2. A fact that has been authenticated by the sample survey conducted by the Department
of Political Science, Oimania University, Hyderabad.
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386 ] th* TNblAN JOURNAL OF POLÌTIOAL SO IE NOB
The Indian politics, right from the initial years of independence and
self-government, has never had a need to seek and opt for a radical change of
a Leftist nature. It also did not face the need of initiating a highly sophisti-
cated democratic, constitutional kind of a protest to oppose a supposedly
centralized, dictatorship. This could largely be attributed to the democratic
and consensual foundations of the political movement in India. The colonial
experience, despite its bitterness, did succeed in generating a respect and
dedication for democratic values among the participants of the freedom
struggle. If the British administrators were the cause of political discontent,
the British philosophers, to a great extent stimulated the political awakening.
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MANIF£STOS IN SIXTH GliNBRAL ELECTIONS [ 387
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388 ] THB INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITIGAL SGIENGE
The close proxity between the Janata and the CFD stand on different
issues could be explained in view of the electoral understanding between
them and their subsequent merger after the elections Among the Leftist
parties, the silence of the CPI on a number of issues could best be explained
in view of its traditional links with the ruling elite. While the GPI-M
meticulously fulfilled the requirements of an electoral alliance with Janata,
and GFD, the campaign of the GPI sometimes assumed a ridiculous dimen-
sion, when it chose to oppose the Congress candidates in some place retaining
its Congress alliances elsewhere. This political vacillation is also reflected in
its treatment and studied silences on various issues.
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MANIFESTOS IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 389
The silence of the CPI on an issue like (7) Judiciary which was used
by all the parties as a proof of their dedication to democratic values and an
open society was an eloquent indicator of the nature of the state, if and when
the CPI were to come to power. While Janata, the CFD and even the CPI-M
demanded a restoration of judicial review, the Congress justified the 42nd
Amendment as restoring "the harmony between the executive and judiciary
as originally contemplated by the Constitution."
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390 ] THB INDIAN JOURNAL OF POLITIGAL SCIENQB
of protection for the whole chapter on fundamental rights from attacks under
the pretext of helping the poor, the denied and the have-nots; secondly,
perhaps it was also an attempt to absorb, appease and insulate the potential
socialists from defecting to the other groups.
(9) Land-reforms , would have been the factor that would have
smoothen the working of a coalition government, (if there was tobe a need),
as this issue received almost a unanimous approval ( at least in theory ) from
all the parties.
While all the political parties displayed a soft-corner for the (13) fair
sex (promising them better conditions of work, equal pay, maternity benefits
and childwelfare schemes) , none took the trouble of suggesting reforms of a
social nature (as different from political and economic) that would relieve the
rural sisters of the urban advocates of women's lib of the miseries and
tortures of their daily existence. The pronouncements of the parties at bes
remained vote-catching devices, and at worst, they suggest a callous attitud
of taking women for granted.
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MANIFESTOS IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 391
Remunerative prices for the produce of the (17) peasants and provision
of adequate and cheap credit, remained the promise of all parties to the
peasants and farmers of India, the Congress was able to elaborate in greater
detail (perhaps due to its experience of office) its programme regarding soil
conservation, irrigation, cultivation and assistance to drought-prone areas.
(20) Industry was also treated alike by all the four parties, with promi-
ses to restore sick mills, modern and scientific methods of the management of
industries (Congress), statutory reservation of spheres of production for mass
consumption (Janata), democratization of public sector (CPI) and nationali-
zation of monopoly houses (CPI-M). The CFD promised full utilization of
our industrial capacities to accelerate economic growth.
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392 ] THE INDIÁN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ŠG1BNGÉ
While the Congress and the CFD had nothing to offer on (22) Mono-
polies and multinationals , the CPI, CPI-M wanted prevention of the penetra-
tion of the multi-national companies. The Janata declared its intention of
reviving the functioning of the monopolies commission. It also criticized the
Congress for its failure to achieve the six basic needs through (23) planning
(food, safe drinking water, clothing, housing» education and health), but the
Congress attributed the success of the fifth plan to the introduction of 20-Point
programme and the 5-Point programme. While the CPI wanted to orient
planning to the development of home-market, rapid industrialization and
creation of employment, CFD wanted to check the process of growing regi-
onal disparities through planning.
While the CFD, CPI and CPI-M were silent on a politically significant
issue like (25) decentralization and devolution of authority , the Janata made
a plea for these for c,a maximization of individual initiative and popular
participation." It also expressed the desirability of smaller districts and
smaller developmental blocks and a revitalization of panchayats. The Cong-
ress, did not commit itself to these issues in print, but the tone of the verbal
campaign of the Congress remained very much against decentralization and
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toAMFB3T0S IN SIXTH GENERAL ELECTIONS [ 393
A live issue like (27) language on which it had centred its initial
political awakening was dropped by the communist camp. The Janata and
GFD promised that Sindhi and Urdu would be given due importance and
reiterated their commitment to implement the three language formula. The
Congress did not treat language as an issue in the campaign for the Sixth Lok
Sabha elections.
The Janata, CFD, CPI and CPI-M were unanimous in voicing their
anger and disgust at (28) administrative corruption and the J anata/ GFD
suggested ways and means to check corruption in public life, the Congress
chose not to bring administration in electoral politics.
In the field of (29) foreign policy the national parties of India seemed
to be at a loss to find a substitute for the declared policy of non-alignment,
peace, with friendship with all. The leftists, however, found it necessary to
especifically promise friendship with the socialist countries of the world.
Apart from these there were varied (30) minor issues discussed by the
parties which were not common to all the documents. Among these a mention
could be made of Urban Development, communication and environment
(the Congress). The Janata elaborated in detail its political, economic and
social programmes, through three different 'Charters', the CFD promised
inquiry commissions to look into the excesses committed by the earlier regime,
the CPI had a word for the weavers and artisans and the CPI-M pleaded for
support to those forces that would throw the autocratic regime out of power.
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394 ] thè indìan jourňaL oí political sdíBNoá
qualitative shifts in the policies and priorities of the new government. Even
during the campaign, the political parties had refrained from suggesting
qualitative alternatives in the policies - the differences between the ruling and
the opposition parties were mainly those of omissions and commissions. The
silence of a party over a burning political issue did not create the fire but
added to the widening blaze of discontent and disillusionment. Similarly the
mentioning of an issue in the election manifesto, in no way, widened the
imagination of a voter, it perhaps reassured him in the choice that he had
already made.*
* The present analysis was conducted basically with the help of the documents issued by
the different parties on the eve of election and the subsequent reaction to these
documents by different groups and individuals as reported in the press, hence the
absence of elaborate footnotes and other references.
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