Bharatiya Lok Dal was a political party

Political party

A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...

 in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

. The BLD was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the autocratic rule of Indira Gandhi

Indira Gandhi

Indira Priyadarshini Gandhara was an Indian politician who served as the third Prime Minister of India for three consecutive terms and a fourth term . She was assassinated by Sikh extremists...

, including the Swatantra Party

Swatantra Party

The Swatantra Party was a classical liberal political party in India founded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga in August 1959. The party opposed the Nehruvian socialist outlook of the Congress Party by advocating free enterprise and free trade, and opposing the licence-permit Raj...

, the Utkal Congress

Utkal Congress

Utkal Congress was a political party in the Indian state of Orissa. UC was formed in 1969 when Biju Patnaik left Indian National Congress. After the 1971 Orissa elections UC took part in the Biswanath Das ministry in the state. In 1977 Utkal Congress merged into Janata Party....

, the Bharatiya Kranti Dal

Bharatiya Kranti Dal

Bharatiya Kranti Dal was a political party in India, formed by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Charan Singh. The party was founded at a meeting in Lucknow in October 1967. After the 1977 general election, the party merged into the Janata Party....

, and the Socialist Party

Socialist Party (India)

Socialist Party has been the name of several political parties in India, all of which have their roots in the Congress Socialist Party formed during the freedom struggle...

. The leader of the BLD was Charan Singh

Choudhary Charan Singh

Chaudhary Charan Singh was the fifth Prime Minister of the Republic of India, serving from 28 July 1979 until 14 January 1980.Born into a Jat family in 1902, Charan Singh entered politics as part of the Independence Movement...

.

In 1977, the BLD combined with the Jan Sangh and the Indian National Congress (Organization) to form the Janata Party

Janata Party

The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...

. The newly formed Janata Party contested the 1977 elections on the BLD symbol and formed independent India's first government not ruled by the Indian National Congress

Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...

.

Constituent Parties

• Bharatiya Kranti Dal
  Bharatiya Kranti Dal
  Bharatiya Kranti Dal was a political party in India, formed by the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Charan Singh. The party was founded at a meeting in Lucknow in October 1967. After the 1977 general election, the party merged into the Janata Party....
  
  
• Swatantra Party
  Swatantra Party
  The Swatantra Party was a classical liberal political party in India founded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and N. G. Ranga in August 1959. The party opposed the Nehruvian socialist outlook of the Congress Party by advocating free enterprise and free trade, and opposing the licence-permit Raj...
  
  
• Socialist Party
  • Praja Socialist Party
    Praja Socialist Party
    The Praja Socialist Party was an Indian political party in existence from 1952 to 1972. It was founded when the Socialist Party, led by Jayprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh , merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party led by J.B. Kripalani...
    
    
  • Samyukta Socialist Party
    Samyukta Socialist Party
    Samyukta Socialist Party , was a political party in India from 1964 to 1972. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party in 1964. In 1972 SSP was reunited with PSP, forming the Socialist Party....
    
    
• Utkal Congress
  Utkal Congress
  Utkal Congress was a political party in the Indian state of Orissa. UC was formed in 1969 when Biju Patnaik left Indian National Congress. After the 1971 Orissa elections UC took part in the Biswanath Das ministry in the state. In 1977 Utkal Congress merged into Janata Party....