General elections were held in India between 1 and 10 March 1971 to elect members of the fifth Lok Sabha. They were the fifth general elections since independence in 1947. Members were elected from 518 single-seat constituencies. Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, the Indian National Congress (R) led a campaign which focused on reducing poverty and won a landslide victory, overcoming a split in the party and regaining many of the seats lost in the previous election.

Background Congress party split During Indira Gandhi's previous term, there had been internal divisions in the Indian National Congress caused by various initiatives of her administration like nationalisation of banks, coal and steel, abolition of the privy purse and increasing closeness with the Soviet Union, steps that were considered to be too left-wing by the Congress high command consisting of centre-right leaders like Morarji Desai, K. Kamaraj, Atulya Ghosh, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, S. K. Patil and others. In 1969 she was expelled from the party by party president S. Nijalingappa, causing a split. Most of the Congress MPs and grassroots support joined Gandhi's Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) faction, which was recognised by the Election Commission as being the successor to the previous party. 31 MPs who opposed Gandhi formed Indian National Congress (Organisation) party.

Minority government The Second Indira Gandhi government, formed in November 1969 and dissolved in March 1971, was the first minority government in independent India. After the split, the INC(R) held 221 seats in the 523-seat parliament, 41 seats short of a majority. However, Gandhi and her cabinet remained in power by relying on support from left-wing parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (26 seats), the Communist Party of India and its recently formed breakaway faction, the CPI(Marxist) (who together had 42 seats), giving the government a total of 289 seats, a comfortable majority and far more than the minimum of 262 seats required for a majority. Knowing that her minority government would eventually fall, on 27 December 1970, President V.V. Giri dissolved the Lok Sabha on the recommendation of Gandhi.

Opposition alliance

INC(O) formed a pre-poll alliance with Samyukta Socialist Party (SSP), Praja Socialist Party (PSP), the Swatantra Party and Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) and several other regional parties opposed to the INC(R). They agreed to field a single joint candidate against the INC(R) candidate in every constituency in order to defeat Gandhi's party.

Results Despite the split, the ruling faction gained votes and seats to win a strong majority, while the Grand Alliance was badly trounced and lost more than half of their seats.

Results by state StateTotalseatsSeats wonINC (R)CPMCPIDMKBJSINC (O)TPSSWASSPPSPBKDOthersInd.App. Andaman and Nicobar Islands11Andhra Pradesh412811101Assam14131Bihar5339523211Chandigarh11Dadra and Nagar Haveli11Delhi77Goa, Daman and Diu211Gujarat2411112Haryana9711Himachal Pradesh44Jammu and Kashmir651Kerala1962371Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands11Madhya Pradesh37211114Maharashtra454212Manipur22Mysore2727Nagaland11North-East Frontier Agency11Orissa2015131Punjab131021Pondicherry11Rajasthan2314432Tamil Nadu399423111Tripura22Uttar Pradesh857344112West Bengal4013203121Anglo-Indians22Total521352252323221610832119143Source: ECI

State wise Detailed State (# of seats)PartySeats contestedSeats won% of votesAndhra Pradesh(41) Indian National Congress (R)372855.73 Telangana Praja Samithi141014.33 Communist Party Of India1115.94 Communist Party of India (Marxist)512.82 Independent9318.21 Indian National Congress (Organisation)1205.55Assam(14) Indian National Congress (R)131356.98 All Party Hill Leaders Conference113.0 Communist Party Of India505.65 Praja Socialist Party504.56 Independent31017.92Bihar(53) Indian National Congress (R)473940.06 Communist Party of India1759.85 Indian National Congress (Organisation)24311.51 Bharatiya Jana Sangh28212.1 Samyukta Socialist Party2829.47 Independent18319.11Gujarat(24) Indian National Congress (R)231144.85 Indian National Congress (Organisation)191139.70 Swatantra Party425.46Haryana(9) Indian National Congress (R)9752.56 Bharatiya Jana Sangh3111.19 Vishal Haryana Party319.16 Indian National Congress (Organisation)4011.34Jammu & Kashmir(6) Indian National Congress (R)6554.06 Independent20132.17 Bharatiya Jana Sangh3012.23Kerala(19) Indian National Congress (R)7619.75 Communist Party of India339.09 Kerala Congress338.31 Communist Party of India (Marxist)11226.21 Revolutionary Socialist Party226.43 Muslim League225.62 Independent27117.97Madhya Pradesh(37) Indian National Congress (R)362145.60 Bharatiya Jana Sangh281133.56 Independent73413.93 Samyukta Socialist Party511.57Maharashtra(45) Indian National Congress (R)444263.18 All India Forward Bloc312.47 Praja Socialist Party811.68 Republican Party Of India111.11 Bharatiya Jana Sangh1305.23 Peasants And Workers Party Of India1205.33Mysore(27) Indian National Congress (R)272770.87 Indian National Congress (Organisation)17016.36Orissa(20) Indian National Congress (R)191538.46 Swatantra Party13315.91 Utkal Congress20123.6 Communist Party of India314.31Punjab(13) Indian National Congress (R)111045.96 Communist Party of India226.22 Shiromani Akali Dal12130.85Rajasthan(23) Indian National Congress (R)231450.35 Bharatiya Jana Sangh7412.38 Swatantra Party8314.64 Independent71212.34Tamil Nadu(39) Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam242335.25 Indian National Congress (R)9912.51 Communist Party of India 445.43 Indian National Congress (Organisation)29130.43 Independent2713.24 All India Forward Bloc111.31Uttar Pradesh(85) Indian National Congress (R)787348.54 Bharatiya Jana Sangh37412.23 Communist Party of India943.7 Independent23128.4 Bharatiya Kranti Dal67112.70 Indian National Congress (Organisation)4418.6 Samyukta Socialist Party2504.1West Bengal(40) Communist Party of India (Marxist) 382034.29 Indian National Congress (R)311328.2 Communist Party Of India 15310.54 Independent2815.79 Bangla Congress1413.97 Revolutionary Socialist Party512.04 Praja Socialist Party311.29 All India Forward Bloc1002.7Source:ECI

Aftermath On 12 June 1975 the Allahabad High Court invalidated the result in Gandhi's constituency on the grounds of electoral malpractices. Instead of resigning, Indira Gandhi called a state of emergency, suspending democracy and outlawed political opposition. After democracy was restored in 1977, the opposition Congress faction formed a coalition of parties called the Janata Party, which inflicted the Congress's first electoral defeat.

See also List of members of the 5th Lok Sabha

1969 Indian presidential election

References