1977 Indian general election

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20 seats
First party Second party   Leader K. Karunakaran E. M. S. Namboodiripad Party INC CPI(M) Alliance UDF LDF Leader's seat - - Last election 18 2 Seats won 20 0 Seat change 2 2 Percentage 54.2% 43.2%

The 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)

• PC: KERALA 1977
• STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTIONS, 1977 TO THE SIXTH LOK SABHA