MargueriteMcEwan at 22:16, 21 April 2026

2026-04-21T22:16:52Z

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{{short description|none}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox election
| country = India
| type = parliamentary
| previous_election = 1980 Indian general election
| previous_year = 1980
| next_election = 1989 Indian general election
| next_year = 1989
| election_date = 24, 27 and 28 December 1984
| seats_for_election = 541 of the 543 seats in the [[Lok Sabha]]
| majority_seats = 271
| registered = 400,375,333
| turnout = 64.01% ({{increase}} 7.09[[Percentage point|pp]])
| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image=Rajiv Gandhi (1987).jpg|bSize=120|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=10|oTop=5}}
| leader1 = [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| party1 = Indian National Congress (Indira)
| last_election1 = 42.69%, 353 seats
| seats1 = '''414'''
| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 61
| popular_vote1 = '''120,107,044'''
| percentage1 = '''49.1%'''
| swing1 = {{increase}} 4.17[[Percentage point|pp]]
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image=NT Rama Rao.jpg|bSize=100|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=0|oTop=0}}
| leader2 = [[N. T. Rama Rao]]
| party2 = Telugu Desam Party
| last_election2 = –
| popular_vote2 = 10,132,859
| percentage2 = 4.31%
| swing2 = ''New''
| seat_change2 = ''New''
| seats2 = 30
| image3 = {{CSS image crop|Image=E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg|bSize=120|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=10|oTop=5}}
| leader3 = [[E. M. S. Namboodiripad]]
| party3 = Communist Party of India (Marxist)
| last_election3 = 6.24%, 37 seats
| seats3 = 22
| seat_change3 = {{decrease}} 15
| popular_vote3 = 13,809,950
| percentage3 = 5.87%
| swing3 = {{decrease}} 0.37[[Percentage point|pp]]
| image4 = {{CSS image crop|Image=Chandra Shekhar Singh 2010 stamp alt.jpg|bSize=100|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=5|oTop=10}}
| leader4 = [[Chandra Shekhar]]
| party4 = Janata Party
| last_election4 = 18.97%, 31 seats
| seats4 = 10
| seat_change4 = {{decrease}} 21
| popular_vote4 = 16,210,514
| percentage4 = 6.89%
| swing4 = {{decrease}} 12.08[[Percentage point|pp]]
| image5 = {{CSS image crop|Image=Prime minister Charan Singh_(cropped).jpg|bSize=120|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=10|oTop=5}}
| leader5 = [[Charan Singh]]
| party5 = Lokdal
| last_election5 = ''New''
| seats5 = 3
| seat_change5 = ''New''
| popular_vote5 = 14,040,064
| percentage5 = 5.97%
| swing5 = ''New''
| image6 = {{CSS image crop|Image=lkadvani.jpg|bSize=120|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=10|oTop=5}}
| leader6 = [[L. K. Advani]]
| party6 = Bharatiya Janata Party
| last_election6 = ''New''
| seats6 = 2
| seat_change6 = ''New''
| popular_vote6 = 18,202,853
| percentage6 = 7.74%
| swing6 = ''New''
| map_image = Wahlergebnisse Indien 1984.svg
| map_caption = Results by constituency
| title = [[Prime Minister of India|Prime Minister]]
| before_election = [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| before_party = Indian National Congress (Indira)
| after_election = [[Rajiv Gandhi]]
| after_party = Indian National Congress (Indira)
| posttitle = Prime Minister after election
| outgoing_members = List of members of the 7th Lok Sabha
| elected_members = List of members of the 8th Lok Sabha
}}{{Politics of India}}

General elections were held in [[India]] on 24, 27 and 28 December 1984, shortly after the [[Assassination of Indira Gandhi|assassination]] of [[Prime Minister of India|prime minister]], [[Indira Gandhi]]. Voting was delyed in [[Assam]] and [[Punjab (India)|Punjab]] until 1985 due to ongoing insurgency.

The elections were a [[landslide victory]] for the [[Indian National Congress (Indira)]] of [[Rajiv Gandhi]] (son of Indira Gandhi),<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Manor |first=James |date=1985 |title=The Indian general election of 1984 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/026137948590006X |journal=Electoral Studies |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=149–152 |doi=10.1016/0261-3794(85)90006-X |issn=0261-3794|url-access=subscription }}</ref> which won 404 of the 514 seats elected in 1984 and a further 10 in the delayed elections. The [[Telugu Desam Party]] of [[N. T. Rama Rao]], a regional political party from the state of [[Andhra Pradesh]], was the second largest party, winning 30 seats, thus achieving the distinction of becoming the first regional party to become a national opposition party. [[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam|AIADMK]] of [[Tamil Nadu]] contested the election in alliance with the INC (I), and won 12 seats.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumaresan |first=S. |date=2019-03-04 |title=AIADMK- Congress combine ride on sympathy wave in 1984 |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/tamil-nadu/2019/Mar/04/aiadmk--cong-combine-ride-on-sympathy-wave-in-84-1946778.html |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=The New Indian Express |language=en}}</ref>

Voting was held immediately after the [[assassination of Indira Gandhi]] and the [[1984 anti-Sikh riots]] in November. Congress (Indira) received significant support due to an outpouring of [[public grief]] at Gandhi's death. Voting was delayed in the Sikh-majority state of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], while the [[Assam Movement|Assam movement]] and sporadic violence in [[Mizoram]] by the [[Mizo National Front]] as a part of its [[Mizo National Front uprising|uprising against the government]] saw voting being delayed in these states.

The 1984 elections were the last in which a single party won a majority of seats until [[2014 Indian general election|2014]], and the only time to date in which a party won more than 400 seats.

==Results==
{{Election results
|image=[[File:Lok Sabha Zusammensetzung 1984.svg|350px]]
|party1=[[Indian National Congress (Indira)]]|votes1=115478267|seats1=404
|party2=[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]|votes2=18202853|seats2=2
|party3=[[Janata Party]]|votes3=16210514|seats3=10
|party4=[[Lokdal]]|votes4=14040064|seats4=3
|party5=[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]|votes5=13809950|seats5=22
|party6=[[Telugu Desam Party]]|votes6=10132859|seats6=30
|party7=[[Communist Party of India]]|votes7=6363430|seats7=6
|party8=[[Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]|votes8=5695179|seats8=2
|party9=[[All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam]]|votes9=3968967|seats9=12
|party10=[[Indian Congress (Socialist)]]|votes10=3577377|seats10=4
|party11=[[Indian National Congress (Jagjivan)]]|votes11=1511515|seats11=1
|party12=[[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|Revolutionary Socialist Party]]|votes12=1173869|seats12=3
|party13=[[All India Forward Bloc]]|votes13=1055556|seats13=2
|party14=[[Jammu & Kashmir National Conference]]|votes14=1010243|seats14=3
|party15=[[Indian Union Muslim League]]|votes15=658821|seats15=2
|party16=[[Kerala Congress (Joseph)]]|votes16=598113|seats16=2
|party17=[[Doordarshi Party]]|votes17=508426|seats17=0
|party18=[[Peasants and Workers Party of India]]|votes18=463963|seats18=1
|party19=[[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha]]|votes19=332403|seats19=0|
|party20=[[Kerala Congress]]|votes20=258591|seats20=0
|party21=[[Muslim League (Opposition)|All India Muslim League]]|votes21=224155|seats21=0
|party22=Gandhi Kamraj National Congress|votes22=217104|seats22=0
|party23=[[Socialist Unity Centre of India (Communist)|Socialist Unity Centre of India]]|votes23=196767|seats23=0
|party24=[[Republican Party of India (Khobragade)]]|votes24=165320|seats24=0
|party25=[[Manipur Peoples Party]]|votes25=149019|seats25=0
|party26=Tamil Nadu Congress (K)|votes26=144076|seats26=0
|party27=[[Naga National Democratic Party]]|votes27=113919|seats27=0
|party28=Jammu & Kashmir Panthers Party|votes28=95149|seats28=0
|party29=[[Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party]]|votes29=83122|seats29=0
|party30=[[People's Party of Arunachal]]|votes30=78455|seats30=0
|party31=[[Republican Party of India]]|votes31=22877|seats31=0
|party32=[[Jharkhand Party]]|votes32=18837|seats32=0
|party33=Jammu & Kashmir Peoples Conference|votes33=646|seats33=0
|party34=Independents|votes34=18623803|seats34=5
|row35=Appointed [[Anglo-Indians]]|seats35=2
|invalid=6062678
|electorate=379540608
|source=[https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzVx8fLfn2ReU7TfrqYobgIioTRtrX9vvkQ8lDf9Brh2QljusDaFYGfpJM9zoHo8J9PwdGGp0XefbaBYdvPF8WFYJhpk%2BW%2Bp89Gy9OKaFe1hlV80Naz6W6EWVdsoeDF0ia ECI]
}}

===Delayed elections in Assam and Punjab===
[[File:Wahlergebnisse Indien 1985.svg|thumb|300px|Results from 1985]]
The elections in [[Punjab, India|Punjab]] were held in September 1985 after the signing of the [[Rajiv–Longowal Accord]] between Prime Minister [[Rajiv Gandhi]] and Akali leader [[Harchand Singh Longowal]] on 24 July 1985. The elections were held alongside elections to the [[Punjab Legislative Assembly]].<ref name=Asian>{{cite journal |last1=Narain |first1=Iqbal |title=India in 1985: Triumph of Democracy|journal=Asian Survey |date=1986 |volume=26|number=2|pages=253–269 |doi=10.2307/2644461|jstor=2644461 }}</ref> In Assam elections were held in December 1985 after the signing of the [[Assam Accord]] in August 1985.<ref name=Asian/>

{{Election results
|party1=[[Indian National Congress (Indira)]]|votes1=4628777|seats1=10|sc1=
|party2=[[Shiromani Akali Dal]]|votes2=2577279|seats2=7|sc2=
|party3=[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]|votes3=462576|seats3=0|sc3=
|party4=[[Indian Congress (Socialist)]]|votes4=457705|seats4=1|sc4=
|party5=[[Communist Party of India]]|votes5=369687|seats5=0|sc5=
|party6=[[Plain Tribals Council of Assam]]|votes6=310150|seats6=1|sc6=
|party7=[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]|votes7=263284|seats7=0|sc7=
|party8=[[Janata Party]]|votes8=420082|seats8=0|sc8=
|party9=[[Lokdal]]|votes9=46627|seats9=0|sc9=
|party10=Independents|votes10=4864958|seats10=8|sc10=
|invalid=646951
|total_sc=0
|electorate=20834725
|source=[https://www.eci.gov.in/eci-backend/public/api/download?url=LMAhAK6sOPBp%2FNFF0iRfXbEB1EVSLT41NNLRjYNJJP1KivrUxbfqkDatmHy12e%2FzVx8fLfn2ReU7TfrqYobgIu%2BY1riOdtLqDPjuHK%2BWBTls%2Fs7eWaiORvgh9NZUu3Dhn2%2B0peSE%2F6jkqAXewxbNCqdDnW5UMpJMTM2Ys0Nt%2BP%2FJ2%2BdBIBswoUnKE3KB7EMq ECI]
}}


==See also==
*[[List of members of the 8th Lok Sabha]]
*[[:Category:1984 Indian general election by state or union territory]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Indian elections}}

[[Category:1984 Indian general election| ]]
[[Category:General elections in India]]
[[Category:1984 elections in India|General]]
[[Category:December 1984 in India|General]]
[[Category:1984 elections in Asia|India]]

1984 Indian general election - Revision history

MargueriteMcEwan at 22:16, 21 April 2026