A Massive Protest

While her opponents danced in the streets of Bombay, threw confetti in Calcutta, and held victory parades in Madras, Indira Gandhi retreated into the seclusion of her modest New Delhi bungalow. There was ample reason for gloom. The Congress Party, which has ruled India for 20 years and won elections with clocklike regularity, suffered setbacks in India's fourth general elections that far exceeded even the most pessimistic predictions and imperiled Indira's chances of continuing as Prime Minister.

As the ballots of 150 million voters were laboriously counted by hand at tabulating stations in the electoral districts, the scope of the Congress Party's reversal reached dramatic proportions. Down to defeat went five Cabinet ministers, four state chiefs, and even the president of the Congress Party. The party lost control of governments in three states--Kerala, Orissa and Madras--and fell short of a majority in five others, in which it will almost certainly have to form coalitions with opposition parties.

At week's end, the Congress Party appeared to have lost nearly 100 seats in the new Parliament, coming in with a majority of only 24, v. its previous 123, in the 521-seat body. Indira Gandhi reacted philosophically. "We have proved to the world that we have a fair and free election," she said. "That is the whole idea of having a democracy."

Troubles Galore. The party, which is an unwieldy conglomerate of rival, disparate factions, lost ground for just about all the reasons that can flare up in a hungry, desperate land. It was blamed for the food shortages that are plaguing India for the second successive year; for violent riots, which Indira's permissiveness sometimes seemed to encourage; and for the country's stagnant economy, which no amount of five-year plans and doses of bureaucratic management have managed to get off dead center. Not all the blame rightfully belongs to Indira: India, especially during a drought, is an almost ungovernable country. Yet in the 13 months since she succeeded the late Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira seldom gave the impression that she had grasped the levers of power.

In such circumstances, the Communists, with their usual panaceas, might have been expected to gain big--and they did do well in the troubled tropical state of Kerala, where a coalition of pro-Peking and pro-Moscow factions managed to win control of the state government. Elsewhere, however, the day did not go to the Communists, who, in fact, dropped from second to fourth place in Parliament.

Young Appeal. The biggest gainers were two young, aggressive parties. Into second place in Parliament (with 41 seats won at week's end) went the Swatantra Party, which was founded only eight years ago. By far India's most pro-West party, Swatantra stands for free enterprise, appeals to India's growing middle class and business interests. Third place went to the Jana Sangh Party, which has won 33 seats so far. A conservative Hindu party that wants to reassert India's historic greatness, the Jana Sangh championed a national ban on cow slaughter, campaigned for atom bombs for India and a harder line with Moslem Pakistan and Communist China. Jana Sangh and Swatantra share one goal that may be very beneficial for India: they want to dismantle the country's stifling socialistic bureaucracy and adopt a form of free enterprise that would attract needed foreign investment. In a limited way, Swatantra will get a chance, since it will head a coalition government in the eastern state of Orissa.

Young candidates as well as young parties appealed to India's voters. Congress Party President Kamaraj Nadar was bested by a 28-year-old student leader. Rail Minister S. K. Patil, a leading member of the party's kingmaking "Syndicate," was unseated by a 36-year-old former dock worker. Surendra Tapuriah, the young man who modeled his hairdo and politics after Bobby Kennedy, won by a landslide. To a younger candidate, too, fell fiery old Leftist Krishna Menon, 69, in a defeat that undoubtedly ended his stormy political career.

Prime Decision. This week the powerful working committee of the Congress Party will convene in New Delhi to talk about who should be Prime Minister when a new government is formed in April. If the party decides to bypass Indira, the choice is most likely to fall on Morarji Desai, 71, the ascetic longtime Finance Minister in Nehru's Cabinet, who won re-election by the biggest (80%) margin of any leading Congress Party politician.

Beaten by Indira in last year's race for Prime Minister, a badly miffed Desai remained aloof from her administration. He now stands as an alternative to her policies, since he would undoubtedly crack down on violence, actively encourage foreign investment, and cut back on government controls of business. Other possibilities for Prime Minister: Y. B. Chavan, 53, the able Home Minister, and D. P. Mishra, 65, chief minister of Madhya Pradesh, who led the party to a big victory in his state.

For India, the election marked the beginning of an effective political opposition. In the past, the Congress Party has claimed that its massive power brought stability to Indian politics. By their votes, millions of Indians showed that they now demand more than that. The returns were a clear warning to the Congress Party to either get India moving or get out.

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