1984 Indian general election

{{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}} 7.09pp)

| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image=RajivGandhi.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 = 46.86%

| swing1 = {{increase}} 4.17pp

| 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}} 0.37pp

| 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}} 12.08pp

| 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=Atal Bihari Vajpayee (crop 2).jpg|bSize=120|cWidth=100|cHeight=120|oLeft=20|oTop=5}}

| leader6 = Atal Bihari Vajpayee

| 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

| 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 soon after the assassination of previous Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi, though the vote in Assam and Punjab was delayed 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),{{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}} 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. AIADMK of Tamil Nadu contested the election in alliance with the INC (I), and won 12 seats.{{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}}

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, while the Assam movement and sporadic violence in Mizoram by the Mizo National Front as a part of its 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, and the only time to date in which a party won more than 400 seats.