In this essay, MR Masani evaluates the merit of Swatantra Party’s ideas and discusses the Party’s agenda in the February 1976 elections, listing qualifications for being a stronger candidate than Congress. Drawing inspiration from the Bible, Lincoln, and Gandhi, the Swatantra Party believed in limited government and trusting the conscience of the citizens. Just like different body parts serve different functions, the Party believed citizens, organizations, and the government have different roles which should be respected. It supported a mixed economy, accepting the government as an industry player without having a monopoly. Hence, the Party was against controls and supported the free competition. It proposed democratic indicative planning, where citizens are free to accept or reject the proposed suggestions of the governing bodies. The Party believed in maintaining friendly relationships and forming healthy alliances, especially with India’s South-East Asian neighbors, to ensure regional security. Masani writes, although considered “reactionaries,” the Party called themselves a “modern, twentieth century party of Liberation” and the government’s “critical critic,” wanting the support of “young, dynamic, and progressive people.”