[1] The chairman of the party was Necdet Calp,[2] who had once been an executive assistant of late İsmet İnönü, the second president of Turkey.

Although he was not a widely known name, he caused nationwide excitement in a panel discussion on TV due to his reaction to the proposal of privatization of the Istanbul Bosphorus Bridge.

[further explanation needed] The MGK banned SODEP, the main rival of the HP for the mantle of the CHP: as the sole heir of the CHP, the HP received 30.5 percent of the vote in the general election of 6 November 1983.

[citation needed] At the party's congress on 27 June 1985, Necdet Calp lost his position as chair to Aydın Güven Gürkan.

[3] Gürkan met with Rahşan Ecevit, who was planning to found the DSP party, and Erdal İnönü, the chairman of SODEP, for a possible merger.