The 1967 election was a landmark election in the history of India. It showed that elections had come to be taken very seriously and had a life of their own. By this time, there were gainers and losers from the economic development process and this changed the pattern of political competition. It was not surprising that the Congress party suffered its worst defeat till then. It was returned with the lowest majority it had since independence (284 seats). It was defeated in assemblies like Bihar, U.P., Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal, Orissa, Madras and Kerala. This was the first big transition in India. The party which had ruled continually for nearly 30 years was now being challenged. The defeated party did not try to cling to power but allowed the victors to form the government. This showed that democracy had taken roots in India and the country was moving towards a competitive multi-party system.

The prominent losses for the Congress included Tamil Nadu and Kerala. In Tamil Nadu, the DMK won by a huge margin. It also showed that strongly organised regional movements could challenge the dominant party. The DMK had strong links with the film industry and was able to galvanise fans organisations of the popular hero, M G Ramachandran popularly called MGR across the state.

The Congress also lost in the neighbouring state, Kerala, as also in West Bengal and Odisha. These defeats and challenges also weakened the Congress internally. In many states in the north, where it had won narrow victories, its members defected to opposition parties. Consequently, the Congress governments fell and they were replaced by Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) governments. These were basically a coalition of legislators against the Congress - made up Jan Sangh, Socialists, Swatantra Party, and Congress defectors, besides local parties.

The new governments are an important marker in India’s political history because it was in a way the first democratic upsurge. It was for the first time that the intermediate castes; the groups who had first benefitted from the land reforms and acquired some degree of economic standing gained political power. These castes included the Jats in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, Kurmis and Koeris in Bihar, Lodhs in MP as well as the Yadavs in all these states; the Reddys and Kammas in Andhra Pradesh, the Vokkaligas in Karnataka and the Vellalas in Tamil Nadu. They were the dominant castes in their respective states and also had a significant numerical presence. The DMK itself is the best example of the coming to age of the other dominant (backward) castes.

Many of these SVD governments were however short-lived. Their life was marked by defections and corruption. Power seemed to be the only thing that united them. These governments had nothing to showcase. However, the problem is that even today, the regional or state parties are evaluated from this standpoint.

This period saw a renewal of a regional sentiment in different parts of the country. In Andhra Pradesh, there was demand for the separation of Telangana. The movement was spearheaded by the students of Osmania University, whose main