The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly socialist and statist outlook. It had a number of distinguished leaders, most of them old Congressmen, for example, C. Rajagopalachari, Tanguturi Prakasam Pantulu, Minoo Masani, N.G. Ranga, Darshan Singh Pheruman, Udham Singh Nagoke and K.M. Munshi. The provocation for the formation of the party was the left turn which the Congress took at Avadi and the Nagpur Resolutions. Swatantra stood for a market-based economy with the "Licence Raj" dismantled, although it opposed laissez faire policies. Considered to be on the economic right of the Indian political spectrum, Swatantra was not a religion-based party, unlike the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Jana Sangh. In 1960, Rajagopalachari and his colleagues drafted a 21-point manifesto detailing why Swatantra had to be formed, even though they were hitherto Congressmen and associates of Nehru during the struggle for independence. The Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru was highly critical of Swatantra, dubbing the party as belonging to "the middle ages of lords, castles and zamindars". Swatantra Party of India Electoral history In the 1962 general election, the first after its formation, Swatantra received 7.89 percent of the total votes and won 18 seats in the third Lok Sabha (1962–67). It emerged as the main opposition to the dominant Congress in four states—Bihar, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Orissa. By the next general election in 1967, Swatantra had become a significant force in some parts of India; it won 8.7 percent of the votes and became the single-largest opposition party in the fourth Lok Sabha (1967–71) with 44 seats. In 1971, Swatantra joined a "Grand Alliance" of parties from across the political spectrum who aimed to defeat Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The party secured eight seats, winning 3% of the votes. The next year, in 1972, its founder Rajagopalachari died, and Swatantra declined rapidly. By 1974, it had dissolved with many of its members joining the Charan Singh-led Bharatiya Lok Dal. Ideology Fundamental principles First and foremost the Swatantra Party committed to social justice and equality of opportunity of all people 'without distinction of religion, caste, occupation, or political affiliation'. The party felt that progress, welfare, and happiness of the people could be achieved by giving maximum freedom to individuals with the state minimising intervention. The state