# 1967 Indian general election

General elections were held in India between 17 and 21 February 1967 to elect 520 of the 523 members of the fourth Lok Sabha, an increase of 15 from the previous session of Lok Sabha. Elections to State Assemblies were also held simultaneously, the last general election to do so.
The incumbent Indian National Congress government retained power, albeit with a significantly reduced majority. Indira Gandhi was resworn in as the Prime Minister on 13 March.

## Background

By 1967 economic growth in India had slowed – the 1961–1966 Five-Year Plan gave a target of 6% annual growth, but the actual growth rate was 2%. Under Lal Bahadur Shastri, the government's popularity was boosted after India prevailed in the 1965 War with Pakistan, but the war, along with the previous 1962 War with China, put a strain on the economy. Internal divisions were emerging in the Indian National Congress while its two popular leaders Jawaharlal Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri had both died. Indira Gandhi had succeeded Shastri as leader, but a rift had emerged between her and Deputy Prime Minister Morarji Desai, who had been her rival in the 1966 party leadership contest.

## Results

The INC suffered setbacks in seven states, which included Gujarat, where INC won 11 out of 24 seats while Swatantra Party won 12 seats; Madras State, where INC won 3 out of 39 seats and DMK won 25 seats; Orissa, where they won 6 out of 20 seats and Swatantra Party won 8 seats. Rajasthan where they won 10 out of 20 seats Swatantra Party won 8 seats, West Bengal where they won 14 out of 40, Kerala where they won only 1 out of 19. Delhi where they won 1 out of 7 while remaining 6 were won by Bharatiya Jana Sangh. The party was also ousted from power in nine states, while losing governance in Uttar Pradesh one month after the election.
| | Indian National Congress | 59,490,701 | 40.78 | 283 | –78 |
| | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 13,580,935 | 9.31 | 35 | +21 |
| | Swatantra Party | 12,646,847 | 8.67 | 44 | +26 |
| | Communist Party of India | 7,458,396 | 5.11 | 23 | –6 |
| | Samyukta Socialist Party | 7,171,627 | 4.92 | 23 | New |
| | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 6,246,522 | 4.28 | 19 | New |
| | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 5,529,405 | 3.79 | 25 | +18 |
| | Praja Socialist Party | 4,456,487 | 3.06 | 13 | +1 |
| | Republican Party of India | 3,607,711 | 2.47 | 1 | –2 |
| | Bangla Congress | 1,204,356 | 0.83 | 5 | New |
| | Peasants and Workers Party of India | 1,028,755 | 0.71 | 2 | +2 |
| | Akali Dal – Sant Fateh Singh | 968,712 | 0.66 | 3 | New |
| | All India Forward Bloc | 627,910 | 0.43 | 2 | 0 |
| | Indian Union Muslim League | 413,868 | 0.28 | 2 | 0 |
| | Kerala Congress | 321,219 | 0.22 | 0 | New |
| | Jammu & Kashmir National Conference | 210,020 | 0.14 | 1 | New |
| | Akali Dal – Tara Singh | 189,290 | 0.13 | 0 | New |
| | Jana Kranti Dal | 183,211 | 0.13 | 1 | New |
| | Jana Congress | 136,631 | 0.09 | 0 | New |
| | All Party Hill Leaders Conference | 112,492 | 0.08 | 1 | 0 |
| | United Goans – Seqveria Group | 100,137 | 0.07 | 1 | New |
| | Peoples Front | 42,725 | 0.03 | 0 | New |
| | Democratic National Conference | 30,788 | 0.02 | 0 | New |
| | United Goans – Furtadd Group | 1,714 | 0.00 | 0 | New |
| | Nagaland Nationalist Organisation | 0 | 0.00 | 1 | New |
| | Independents | 20,106,051 | 13.78 | 35 | +15 |
| Appointed members | Appointed members | | | 3 | –11 |
| Total | Total | 145,866,510 | 100.00 | 523 | +15 |
| Valid votes | Valid votes | 145,866,510 | 95.51 | | |
| Invalid/blank votes | Invalid/blank votes | 6,858,101 | 4.49 | | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 152,724,611 | 100.00 | | |
| Registered voters/turnout | Registered voters/turnout | 250,207,401 | 61.04 | | |
| Source: ECI ||||||
* ↑ Two seats were reserved for Anglo-Indians and one for the North-East Frontier Agency, which were filled by presidential nomination
* ↑ Two representing Anglo-Indians and one representing the North-East Frontier Agency.

### State wise

| State (# of seats) | Party | Party | Seats Contested | Seats won | % of votes |
| Andhra Pradesh(41) | Party | Party | | Indian National Congress | 41 | 35 | 46.82 |
| Andhra Pradesh(41) | | Swatantra Party | 19 | 3 | 13.75 |
| Andhra Pradesh(41) | | Communist Party Of India | 22 | 1 | 12.62 |
| Andhra Pradesh(41) | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 9 | 0 | 6.2 |
| Andhra Pradesh(41) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 4 | 0 | 1.0 |
| Andhra Pradesh(41) | | Independent | 63 | 2 | 18.52 |
| Assam(14) | | Indian National Congress | 14 | 10 | 45.84 |
| Assam(14) | | Praja Socialist Party | 4 | 2 | 12.80 |
| Assam(14) | | Communist Party Of India | 4 | 1 | 8.27 |
| Assam(14) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 3 | 0 | 5.48 |
| Assam(14) | | Independent | 18 | 0 | 19.08 |
| Bihar(53) | | Indian National Congress | 53 | 34 | 34.81 |
| Bihar(53) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 34 | 7 | 17.83 |
| Bihar(53) | | Communist Party of India | 17 | 5 | 9.93 |
| Bihar(53) | | Independent | 99 | 4 | 13.95 |
| Bihar(53) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 48 | 1 | 11.05 |
| Bihar(53) | | Praja Socialist Party | 32 | 1 | 7.38 |
| Bihar(53) | | Swatantra Party | 25 | 0 | 3.41 |
| Gujarat(24) | | Swatantra Party | 21 | 12 | 39.92 |
| Gujarat(24) | | Indian National Congress | 24 | 11 | 46.92 |
| Gujarat(24) | | Independent | 28 | 1 | 9.51 |
| Haryana(9) | | Indian National Congress | 9 | 7 | 44.06 |
| Haryana(9) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 7 | 1 | 19.85 |
| Haryana(9) | | Independent | 36 | 1 | 19.77 |
| Haryana(9) | | Swatantra Party | 2 | 0 | 5.6 |
| Haryana(9) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 5 | 0 | 5.5 |
| Jammu & Kashmir(6) | | Indian National Congress | 6 | 5 | 50.52 |
| Jammu & Kashmir(6) | | Jammu & Kashmir National Conference | 4 | 1 | 24.92 |
| Jammu & Kashmir(6) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 3 | 0 | 20.34 |
| Kerala(19) | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 9 | 9 | 24.56 |
| Kerala(19) | | Communist Party of India | 3 | 3 | 7.99 |
| Kerala(19) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 3 | 3 | 8.24 |
| Kerala(19) | | Muslim League | 2 | 2 | 6.6 |
| Kerala(19) | | Indian National Congress | 19 | 1 | 36.15 |
| Kerala(19) | | Independent | 12 | 1 | 7.36 |
| Kerala(19) | | Kerala Congress | 5 | 0 | 5.12 |
| Madhya Pradesh(37) | | Indian National Congress | 37 | 24 | 40.78 |
| Madhya Pradesh(37) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 32 | 10 | 29.56 |
| Madhya Pradesh(37) | | Independent | 61 | 2 | 13.65 |
| Madhya Pradesh(37) | | Swatantra Party | 2 | 1 | 2.74 |
| Madras(39) | | Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam | 25 | 25 | 35.78 |
| Madras(39) | | Swatantra Party | 8 | 6 | 9.16 |
| Madras(39) | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 5 | 4 | 6.85 |
| Madras(39) | | Indian National Congress | 39 | 3 | 41.69 |
| Madras(39) | | Independent | 36 | 1 | 4.07 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Indian National Congress | 45 | 37 | 48.51 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Peasants And Workers Party Of India | 11 | 2 | 7.54 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 7 | 2 | 5.14 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 5 | 2 | 3.74 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Independent | 62 | 1 | 11.45 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Praja Socialist Party | 8 | 1 | 2.55 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 26 | 0 | 7.36 |
| Maharashtra(45) | | Republican Party Of India | 17 | 0 | 12.71 |
| Mysore(27) | | Indian National Congress | 27 | 18 | 49.02 |
| Mysore(27) | | Swatantra Party | 11 | 5 | 14.29 |
| Mysore(27) | | Praja Socialist Party | 5 | 2 | 5.12 |
| Mysore(27) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 2 | 1 | 2.61 |
| Mysore(27) | | Independent | 45 | 1 | 22.0 |
| Orissa(20) | | Swatantra Party | 17 | 8 | 30.87 |
| Orissa(20) | | Indian National Congress | 20 | 6 | 33.33 |
| Orissa(20) | | Praja Socialist Party | 5 | 4 | 16.1 |
| Orissa(20) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 2 | 1 | 4.5 |
| Orissa(20) | | Independent | 16 | 1 | 10.81 |
| Punjab(13) | | Indian National Congress | 13 | 9 | 37.31 |
| Punjab(13) | | Akali Dal – Sant Fateh Singh | 8 | 3 | 22.61 |
| Punjab(13) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 8 | 1 | 12.49 |
| Punjab(13) | | Independent | 25 | 0 | 9.32 |
| Rajasthan(23) | | Indian National Congress | 22 | 10 | 39.95 |
| Rajasthan(23) | | Swatantra Party | 14 | 8 | 27.04 |
| Rajasthan(23) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 7 | 3 | 10.27 |
| Rajasthan(23) | | Independent | 64 | 2 | 17.12 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Indian National Congress | 85 | 47 | 33.44 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 77 | 12 | 22.18 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 43 | 8 | 10.27 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Independent | 190 | 8 | 17.08 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Communist Party of India | 17 | 5 | 3.26 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Praja Socialist Party | 27 | 2 | 3.74 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Swatantra Party | 38 | 1 | 4.77 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Republican Party Of India | 24 | 1 | 4.07 |
| Uttar Pradesh(85) | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 6 | 1 | 1.19 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Indian National Congress | 40 | 14 | 39.69 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Independent | 44 | 7 | 15.28 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | 16 | 5 | 15.65 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Communist Party Of India | 11 | 5 | 9.14 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Bangla Congress | 7 | 5 | 9.36 |
| West Bengal(40) | | All India Forward Bloc | 6 | 2 | 4.88 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Praja Socialist Party | 2 | 1 | 1.7 |
| West Bengal(40) | | Samyukta Socialist Party | 3 | 1 | 1.49 |
| Source=ECI ||||||