HwaNormanby23 at 15:42, 26 March 2026

2026-03-26T15:42:41Z

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{{Short description|none}}
{{no footnotes|date=June 2024}}
{{For|State Assembly election|1977 Kerala Legislative Assembly election}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1977 Indian general election
| country = India
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1971 Indian general election in Kerala
| previous_year = 1971
| next_election = 1980 Indian general election in Kerala
| next_year = 1980
| election_date = March 1977
| seats_for_election = 20 seats
| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image=K. Karunakaran, Indian politician.jpg|bSize=100|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=0|oTop=14}}
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image=E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg|bSize=100|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=0|oTop=04}}
| leader1 = [[K. Karunakaran]]
| alliance1 = [[United Democratic Front (Kerala)|UDF]]
| leaders_seat1 = -
| leader2 = [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]]
| alliance2 = [[Left Democratic Front|LDF]]
| leaders_seat2 = -
| seats1 = 20
| seats2 = 0
| last_election1 = 18
| last_election2 = 2
| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 2
| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 2
| party1 = Indian National Congress
| party2 = Communist Party of India (Marxist)
| percentage1 = 54.2%
| percentage2 = 43.2%
| title = [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
| posttitle = Prime Minister after election
| before_election = [[Indira Gandhi]]
| before_party = Indian National Congress
| after_election = [[Morarji Desai]]
| after_party = Janata Party
}}

The [[1977 Indian general election|1977 Parliamentary Election]] was held in the aftermath of the Emergency which was declared nationwide. At the national level, the [[Indian National Congress]] lost power for the first time in independent India, with Prime Minister [[Indira Gandhi]] losing from her own constituency and the Janata Party under [[Morarji Desai]] coming to power.

However, the trend was the reverse in Kerala with the INC-led United Front winning a landslide by registering victories in all 20 constituencies. It is the only election in Kerala where a coalition has whitewashed all the seats. In the concurrently held assembly election, the United Front won a colossal 111 out of 140 seats, the only state to elect a Congress-led government in that year. This seemingly unusual result was attributed to the good governance as well as performance of the outgoing Achutha Menon Ministry. Congress leaders [[K. Karunakaran]] and [[A.K. Antony]] would go on to assume the office of Chief Minister for the first time.

For the [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], this election remains its worst performance in a Lok Sabha election in Kerala. It also came at a time when the party came into power in West Bengal, marking the beginning of a 3 and a half decade long rule.

The two coalitions comprised the following parties-

'''United Front'''- [[Indian National Congress]], [[Communist Party of India]], Indian Union Muslim League, Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kerala Congress

'''Marxist Front'''- [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], Bharatiya Lok Dal, Kerala Congress (Pillai), Muslim League (Opposition)

==Parties and alliances==

=== United Front ===
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" style="width:4px;" |No.
! scope="col" style="width:200px;" |Party
! scope="col" style="width:80px;" |Election Symbol
! scope="col" style="width:60px;" |Seats contested
|- style="height: 45px;"
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Indian National Congress}};color:white" |'''1.'''
|[[Indian National Congress]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Hand INC.svg|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |11
|- style="height: 45px;"
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Communist Party of India}};color:white" |'''2.'''
|[[Communist Party of India]]
|[[File:CPI symbol.svg|center|45x45px|Star]]
| style="text-align:center;" |4
|- style="height: 45px;"
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Indian Union Muslim League}};color:white" |'''3.'''
|[[Indian Union Muslim League]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Indian Election Symbol Lader.svg|47x47px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |2
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Kerala Congress}};color:white" |'''4.'''
|[[Kerala Congress]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Indian Election Symbol Cycle.png|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |2
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)}};color:white" |'''5.'''
|[[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|Revolutionary Socialist Party]]
| style="text-align:center;" |[[File:Indian Election Symbol Spade and Stoker.png|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |1
|-
|}

=== Marxist Front ===
{| class="wikitable"
! scope="col" style="width:4px;" |No.
! scope="col" style="width:200px;" |Party
! scope="col" style="width:80px;" |Election Symbol
! scope="col" style="width:60px;" |Seats contested
|- style="height: 45px;"
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}};color:white" |'''1.'''
|[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]
|[[File:CPI(M) election symbol - Hammer Sickle and Star.svg|center|45x45px|Key]]
| style="text-align:center;" |9
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Bharatiya Lok Dal}};color:white" |'''2.'''
|[[Bharatiya Lok Dal]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Blank.svg|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |3
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Kerala Congress}};color:white" |'''3.'''
|[[Kerala Congress (B)|Kerala Congress (Pillai)]]
| style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Blank.svg|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |3
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Indian Union Muslim League}};color:white" |'''4.'''
|[[Muslim League (Opposition)]]
|style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Blank.svg|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |2
|-
| style="text-align:center; background:{{party color|Independent (politician)}};color:black" |'''5.'''
|[[Independent (politician)|Independent]]
|style="text-align:center;" | [[File:Blank.svg|50px]]
| style="text-align:center;" |3
|}
==List of Candidates==
{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
!colspan="2" rowspan="2"|Constituency
|colspan="3" bgcolor={{party color|Indian National Congress}}|
|colspan="3" bgcolor={{party color|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}|
|-
!colspan="3"|United Front
!colspan="3"|Marxist Front
|-
!1
|[[Kasaragod Lok Sabha constituency|Kasaragod]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| [[Kadannappalli Ramachandran]]
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| [[Ramanna Rai]]
|-
!2
|[[Kannur Lok Sabha constituency|Cannanore]]
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India}}
| C. K. Chandrappan
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| O. Bharathan
|-
!3
|[[Vatakara Lok Sabha constituency|Badagara]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| K. P. Unnikrishnan
|{{Party name with colour|Bharatiya Lok Dal}}
| Arangil Sreedharan
|-
!4
|[[Kozhikode Lok Sabha constituency|Calicut]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| V. A. Seyid Muhammad
|{{Party name with colour|Bharatiya Lok Dal}}
| M. Kamalam
|-
!5
|[[Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency|Manjeri]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian Union Muslim League}}
| [[Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait]]
|{{Party name with colour|Muslim League (Opposition)}}
| B. M. Hussain
|-
!6
|[[Ponnani Lok Sabha constituency|Ponnani]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian Union Muslim League}}
| G. M. Banatwala
|{{Party name with colour|Muslim League (Opposition)}}
| M. Moideen Kutty Haji
|-
!7
|[[Palakkad Lok Sabha constituency|Palghat]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| A. Sunnasahib
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| T. Sivadasa Menon
|-
!8
|[[Ottapalam Lok Sabha constituency|Ottapalam (SC)]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| K. Kunhambu
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| C. K. Chakrapani
|-
!9
|[[Trichur Lok Sabha constituency|Trichur]]
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India}}
| K. A. Rajan
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| Aravindakshan
|-
!10
|[[Mukundapuram Lok Sabha constituency|Mukundapuram]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| A. C. George
|{{Party name with colour|Independent|shortname=Ind.}}
| S. C. S. Menon
|-
!11
|[[Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency|Ernakulam]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| Henry Austin
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| K. N. Raveendranath
|-
!12
|[[Muvattupuzha Lok Sabha constituency|Muvattupuzha]]
|{{Party name with colour|Kerala Congress}}
| George J. Mathew
|{{Party name with colour|Kerala Congress (B)|shortname=KC(P)}}
| K. M. Joseph Kuruppamadham
|-
!13
|[[Kottayam Lok Sabha constituency|Kottayam]]
|{{Party name with colour|Kerala Congress}}
| Skariah Thomas
|{{Party name with colour|Kerala Congress (B)|shortname=KC(P)}}
| Varkey George
|-
!14
|[[Idukki Lok Sabha constituency|Idukki]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| C. M. Stephen
|{{Party name with colour|Kerala Congress (B)|shortname=KC(P)}}
| M. M. Joseph
|-
!15
|[[Alleppey Lok Sabha constituency|Alleppey]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| V. M. Sudheeran
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| E. Balanandan
|-
!16
|[[Mavelikara Lok Sabha constituency|Mavelikara]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| B. K. Nair
|{{Party name with colour|Independent|shortname=Ind.}}
| B. G. Verghese
|-
!17
|[[Adoor Lok Sabha constituency|Adoor (SC)]]
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India}}
| P. K. Kodiyan
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| K. Chandrasekharan Shastri
|-
!18
|[[Kollam Lok Sabha constituency|Quilon]]
|{{Party name with colour|Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)}}
| [[N. Sreekantan Nair]]
|{{Party name with colour|Independent|shortname=Ind.}}
| N. Rajagopalan
|-
!19
|[[Chirayinkil Lok Sabha constituency|Chirayinkil]]
|{{Party name with colour|Indian National Congress}}
| [[Vayalar Ravi]]
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| K. Anirudhan
|-
!20
|[[Trivandrum Lok Sabha constituency|Trivandrum]]
|{{Party name with colour|Communist Party of India}}
| [[M. N. Govindan Nair]]
|{{Party name with colour|Bharatiya Lok Dal}}
| P. Viswambharan
|-
|}

== Results ==
===Results by Party/Alliance===
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
! colspan="4" rowspan="2" | Alliance/ Party
! colspan="3" | Popular vote
! colspan="3" | Seats
|-
! Votes
! %
! ±[[Percentage point|pp]]
! Contested
! Won
! '''+/−'''
|-
|rowspan="6" {{Party color cell|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}
!rowspan="6" style="background:#E5F8FF"|[[United Democratic Front (Kerala)|UF]]
|{{Party color cell|Indian National Congress}}
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|25,79,745
|29.13
|
|11
|11
|
|-
|{{Party color cell|Communist Party of India}}
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
|9,19,359
|10.38
|
|4
|4
|
|-
|{{Party color cell|Indian Union Muslim League}}
|[[Indian Union Muslim League|IUML]]
|5,33,726
|6.03
|
|2
|2
|
|-
|{{Party color cell|Kerala Congress}}
|[[Kerala Congress|KEC]]
|4,91,674
|5.55
|
|2
|2
|
|-
|{{Party color cell|Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)}}
|[[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|RSP]]
|2,72,378
|3.08
|
|1
|1
|
|-
! colspan="2"style="background:#E5F8FF" | Total
! style="background:#E5F8FF" | 47,96,882
! style="background:#E5F8FF" | 54.17
! style="background:#E5F8FF" | {{steady}}
! style="background:#E5F8FF" | 20
! style="background:#E5F8FF" | 20
! style="background:#E5F8FF" | {{steady}}
|-
|rowspan="6" {{Party color cell|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
!rowspan="6" style="background:#FFE6E6"|[[Left Democratic Front|MF]]
| {{Party color cell|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}
| [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)|CPI(M)]]
| 18,00,193
| 20.33
|
| 9
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Bharatiya Lok Dal}}
| [[Bharatiya Lok Dal|BLD]]
| 6,37,206
| 7.20
|
| 3
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Kerala Congress (B)}}
| [[Kerala Congress (B)|KC(P)]]
| 5,26,937
| 5.95
|
| 3
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Muslim League (Opposition)}}
| [[Muslim League (Opposition)|MLO]]
| 3,18,979
| 3.60
|
| 2
| 0
|
|-
| {{Party color cell|Independent politician}}
| [[Independent politician|IND]]
| 5,61,709
| 6.34
|
| 3
| 0
|
|-
! colspan="2"style="background:#FFE6E6" | Total
! style="background:#FFE6E6" | 38,45,024
! style="background:#FFE6E6" | 43.42
! style="background:#FFE6E6" | {{Steady}}
! style="background:#FFE6E6" | 20
! style="background:#FFE6E6" | 0
! style="background:#FFE6E6" | {{Steady}}
|-
| {{Party color cell|Other}}
| colspan="3" | Others
| 8,305
| 0.09
| {{steady}}
| 1
| 0
| {{steady}}
|-
| {{Party color cell|Independent (politician)}}
| colspan="3" | [[Independent (politician)|IND]]
| 2,05,962
| 2.33
|
| 22
| 0
| {{steady}}
|-
! colspan="4" | Total
! 88,56,173
! 100%
! -
! 63
! 20
! -
|}

===Summary Results===
{{Pie chart|caption='''Vote Share by alliance'''|other=yes|value1=54.2|label1=[[United Democratic Front (Kerala)|UDF]]|color1={{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}|value2=43.2|label2=[[Left Democratic Front (Kerala)|LDF]]|color2={{party color|Left Democratic Front (Kerala)}}|color3={{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
!No.
!Constituency
!Elected M.P.
! colspan="2" |Party
!Majority
!Alliance
|-
|1
|[[Kasaragod (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kasaragod]]
|[[Kadannappalli Ramachandran]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|5,042
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|2
|[[Kannur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kannur]]
|[[C.K. Chandrappan]]
| width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
|12,877
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|3
|[[Vatakara (Lok Sabha constituency)|Vatakara]]
|[[K.P. Unnikrishnan|K. P. Unnikrishnan]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|8,070
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|4
|[[Kozhikode (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kozhikode]]
|V. A. Seyid Muhammad
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|13,704
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|5
|[[Manjeri (Lok Sabha constituency)|Manjeri]]
|[[Ebrahim Sulaiman Sait]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian Union Muslim League}}"|
| [[Indian Union Muslim League|IUML]]
|97,201
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|6
|[[Ponnani (Lok Sabha constituency)|Ponnani]]
|[[G. M. Banatwala]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian Union Muslim League}}"|
| [[Indian Union Muslim League|IUML]]
|1,17,546
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|7
|[[Palakkad (Lok Sabha constituency)|Palakkad]]
|A. Sunnasahib
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|44,820
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|8
|[[Ottapalam (Lok Sabha constituency)|Ottapalam]]
|K. Kunhambu
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|35,721
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|9
|[[Thrissur (Lok Sabha constituency)|Thrissur]]
|[[K. A. Rajan]]
| width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
|37,506
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|10
|[[Mukundapuram (Lok Sabha constituency)|Mukundapuram]]
|A. C. George
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|4,220
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|11
|[[Ernakulam (Lok Sabha constituency)|Ernakulam]]
|Henry Austin
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|7,285
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|12
|[[Muvattupuzha (Lok Sabha constituency)|Muvattupuzha]]
|George J. Matthew
| {{party name with color|Kerala Congress}}
|44,820
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|13
|[[Kottayam (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kottayam]]
|Skaria Thomas
| {{party name with color|Kerala Congress}}
|68,695
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|14
|[[Idukki (Lok Sabha constituency)|Idukki]]
|[[C. M. Stephen]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|79,257
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|15
|[[Alappuzha (Lok Sabha constituency)|Alappuzha]]
|[[V. M. Sudheeran]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|64,016
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|16
|[[Mavelikkara (Lok Sabha constituency)|Mavelikkara]]
|B. K. Nair
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|56,552
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|17
|[[Adoor (Lok Sabha constituency)|Adoor]]
|[[P.K. Kodiyan]]
| width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
|40,567
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|18
|[[Kollam (Lok Sabha constituency)|Kollam]]
|[[N. Sreekantan Nair]]
|{{party name with color|Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)}}
|1,13,161
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|19
|[[Chirayinkil (Lok Sabha constituency)|Chirayankil]]
|[[Vayalar Ravi]]
|width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Indian National Congress}}"|
|[[Indian National Congress|INC]]
|60,925
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|-
|20
|[[Thiruvananthapuram (Lok Sabha constituency)|Thiruvananthapuram]]
|[[M. N. Govindan Nair]]
| width="4px" style="background-color: {{party color|Communist Party of India}}"|
|[[Communist Party of India|CPI]]
|69,822
! style="background:{{party color|United Democratic Front (Kerala)}}" |UF
|}

== External links ==
* [https://www.indiavotes.com/lok-sabha/1977/kerala/6/28 PC: KERALA 1977]
* [http://webfile.ceo.kerala.gov.in/pdf/LOKSABHA-HISTORY/1977-LS.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1977 TO THE SIXTH LOK SABHA]

{{Kerala elections}}

[[Category:Indian general elections in Kerala]]
[[Category:1977 Indian general election by state or union territory]]

1977 Indian general election in Kerala - Revision history

HwaNormanby23 at 15:42, 26 March 2026