View source for Bharatiya Lok Dal

{{short description|Former political party in India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{use Indian English|date=March 2017}}
{{Infobox Indian political party
|party_name = Bharatiya Lok Dal
| colorcode = {{party color|Bharatiya Lok Dal}}
|logo = [[File:BLD Symbol.jpg|180px]]
|foundation = 1974
|dissolution = 1977
|split = 
|merged = [[Janata Party]]
|predecessor = [[Bharatiya Kranti Dal]] <br/> [[Samyukta Socialist Party]]<br/>[[Swatantra Party]]<br/>[[Utkal Congress]]
|ideology =        Anti-[[Indira Gandhi]]<ref>{{cite news
| author       =<!--not stated-->
| title        = Gandhi ends Indian censorship and frees political prisoners 
| url          = https://books.google.com/books?id=nJwuAAAAIBAJ&dq=%22Bharatiya+Lok+Dal%22&pg=PA2&article_id=1940,4222869
| work         =  The Montreal Gazette
| date         = 21 January 1977
| access-date  = 19 June 2024
}}</ref>
|position          = [[Centre-left politics|Centre-left]]<ref>{{cite book |last=Gould |first=Harold|author-link=Harold A. Gould|date=20 May 2019|title=India Votes Alliance Politics And Minority Governments In The Ninth And Tenth General Elections |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gbuZDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22Bharatiya+Lok+Dal%22+-Bharatpedia&pg=PT82 |publisher=Taylor and Francis|page= |isbn=9780429722776|access-date=19 June 2024}}</ref>
}}
'''Bharatiya Lok Dal''' ({{translation| Indian Peoples' Party}}) was a [[Indian political parties|political party in India]]. The '''BLD,''' or simply '''BL,''' was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the rule of [[Indira Gandhi]], including the [[Swatantra Party]], the [[Samyukta Socialist Party]], the [[Utkal Congress]] and the [[Bharatiya Kranti Dal]]. The leader of the BLD was [[Choudhary Charan Singh|Charan Singh]].<ref name="charan">{{cite book | url=https://charansingh.org/biography | title=Charan Singh, A Brief Life History | publisher=Charan Singh Archives | author=Harsh Singh Lohit | pages=32}}</ref>

==History==
In 1977, the BLD combined with the [[Jan Sangh]] and the [[Indian National Congress (Organization)]] to form the [[Janata Party]]. The newly formed Janata Party contested the [[1977 Indian general election|1977 elections]] on the BLD symbol and formed independent India's first government not ruled by the [[Indian National Congress]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Grover|first=Verinder|author-link=|date=1997|title=Political Parties and Party System Volume 5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ERsVf_DPFUC&dq=%22Bharatiya+Lok+Dal%22+-Bharatpedia&pg=PA608|location=|publisher=Deep and Deep publications|pages=608–609|isbn=9788171008780}}</ref>

Despite a strong start, the Janata government began to wither as significant ideological and political divisions emerged. Through 1979, support for Morarji Desai had declined considerably due to worsening economic conditions as well as the emergence of allegations of nepotism and corruption involving members of his family. Protesting Desai's leadership, Charan Singh resigned and withdrew the support of his BLD. Desai also lost the support of the secular and socialist politicians in the party, who saw him as favoring the Hindu nationalist [[Bharatiya Jana Sangh|BJS]]. On 19 July 1979 Desai resigned from the government. Dissidents projected Charan Singh as the new prime minister in place of Desai.<ref>{{cite book|last=Horowitz|first=Donald L.|title=The Deadly Ethnic Riot|year=2001|publisher=[[University of California Press]]|isbn=978-0-520-22447-6|page=[https://archive.org/details/deadlyethnicriot00horo/page/244 244]|url=https://archive.org/details/deadlyethnicriot00horo/page/244}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Jeff Haynes|title=Democracy and Political Change in the Third World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YdWAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|date=2 September 2003|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-134-54184-3|pages=168–|access-date=6 July 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170423174835/https://books.google.com/books?id=YdWAAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA168|archive-date=23 April 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Supporting Charan Singh">{{cite book|last1=de Mesquita|first1=Bruce Bueno|title=The Predictioneer's Game: Using the Logic of Brazen Self-Interest to See and shape the future|publisher=[[Random House]]|location=New York|isbn=978-0-8129-7977-0|page=xxiii|url={{Google books|8BafGvdAYYEC|page=PA10|keywords=%22charan%20singh%22|text=|plainurl=yes}}|year=2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Sanghvi|first1=Vijay|title=The Congress, Indira to Sonia Gandhi By|date=2006|publisher=Kalpaz|location=Delhi|isbn=978-81-7835-340-1|pages=114–122|url={{Google books|npdqD_TXucQC|page=PA7|keywords=charan|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

President [[Neelam Sanjiva Reddy]] appointed Charan Singh as the Prime Minister of a minority government on the strength of 64 MPs, calling upon him to form a new government and prove his majority. The departure of Desai and the BJS had considerably diminished Janata's majority, and numerous Janata MPs refused to support Charan Singh. MPs loyal to [[Jagjivan Ram]] withdrew themselves from the [[Janata party]]. Former allies such as the DMK, Shiromani Akali Dal and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) had distanced themselves from the Janata party. Desperately seeking enough support for a majority, Charan Singh even sought to negotiate with Congress (I), which refused. After only three weeks in office, Charan Singh resigned. With no other political party in position to establish a majority government, President Reddy dissolved the Parliament and called fresh elections for January 1980.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/forty-years-ago-august-21-1979-charan-govt-resigns-5921778/|title = Forty Years Ago, August 21, 1979: Charan Govt Resigns|date = 21 August 2019|access-date=23 June 2024}}</ref>

After 1980 elections, Charan Singh came out of the Janata Alliance with his party and renamed it as Lok Dal.

Subsequently, [[Ajit Singh (politician, born 1939)|Ajit Singh]] (son of Charan Singh) founded the [[Rashtriya Lok Dal]] (RLD). Now Lok Dal is led by [[Chaudhary Sunil Singh]] of [[Aligarh]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/lucknow/Lok-Dal-jumps-into-poll-fray-as-Chaudharys-heir/articleshow/11560154.cms|title=Lok Dal jumps into poll fray as Chaudhary's heir|website=The Times of India|date=20 January 2012 }}</ref>

== Constituent Parties ==
* [[Bharatiya Kranti Dal]]
* [[Swatantra Party]]<ref name="Patnaik 1985 p.183 ">{{cite book | last=Patnaik | first=B.K. | title=The Politics of Floor-crossing in Orissa | publisher=Santosh Publications | year=1985 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RJUeAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2024-07-06 | page=183|quote=Swatantra, Utkal Congress and S.P.I. merged into Bharatiya Lok Dal.}}</ref>
* [[Samyukta Socialist Party]]
* [[Utkal Congress]]<ref name="Asthana 1988 p.154 ">{{cite book | last=Asthana | first=P. | title=Party System in India: Development Or Decay | publisher=Criterian Publications | year=1988 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iW8mAAAAMAAJ | access-date=2024-07-06 | page=154 |quote=When the Pragati Legislature Party was formed, the Utkal Congress became a constituent unit of it. In a meeting, on 17th August, 1974, the founder President of the UC party announced the decision of the party to merge with the B.L.D.
}}</ref>
* [[Rashtriya Loktantrik Dal]]
* [[Kisan Mazdoor Party]]
* [[Punjabi Khetibari Zamindari Union]]<ref name="Archives">{{cite web | url=https://charansingh.org/life-history/bkd-continues-do-well-assembly-elections-cannot-replace-dominant-congress-due | title=Charan Singh Archives | date=2 November 2015 | publisher=charansingh.org | accessdate=26 May 2021}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />

==External links==
* {{official|http://lokdal.org.in/}}

{{Indian political parties}}
{{Indian Emergency}}

[[Category:Bharatiya Lok Dal| ]]
[[Category:Defunct political parties in India]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1974]]
[[Category:1974 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Political parties with year of disestablishment missing]]
[[Category:Political parties disestablished in 1977]]
[[Category:1977 disestablishments in India]]