General elections were held in India between 1 and 10 March 1971 to elect members of the fifthLok Sabha. They were the fifth general elections since independence in 1947. The 27 Indian states and union territories were represented by 518 constituencies, each with a single seat.[2] 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.[3]
During her previous term, there had been internal divisions in the Indian National Congress between Indira Gandhi and the party establishment, especially Morarji Desai. In 1969, she was expelled from the party, 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 governmentedit
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 outside support from left-wing parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (26 seats), the Communist Party of India and it's 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 at the recommendation of Gandhi.
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 one candidate against the INC(R) candidate in every constituency in order to defeat Gandhi's party.
Resultsedit
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.
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' first electoral defeat.
^India 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Inter-Parliamentary Union
^(PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 13 January 2010.
^"INKredible India: The story of 1971 Lok Sabha election - All you need to know". Zee News. 7 March 2019. from the original on 8 October 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
March 31, 2024
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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 The 27 Indian states and union territories were represented by 518 constituencies each with a single seat 2 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 3 1971 Indian general election 1967 1 10 March 1971 1 1977 518 of the 521 seats in the Lok Sabha260 seats needed for a majorityRegistered274 189 132Turnout55 27 5 77pp First party Second party Leader Indira Gandhi Puchalapalli SundarayyaParty INC R CPI M Last election 40 78 283 seats 4 28 12 seatsSeats won 352 25Seat change 69 6Popular vote 64 033 274 7 510 089Percentage 43 68 5 12 Swing 2 90pp 0 84pp Third party Fourth party Leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee K KamarajParty ABJS INC O Last election 9 31 35 seats Seats won 22 16Seat change 13 NewPopular vote 10 777 119 15 285 851Percentage 7 35 10 43 Swing 1 96 pp NewResults by constituencyPrime Minister before electionIndira GandhiINC R Prime Minister after election Indira GandhiINC R Contents 1 Background 1 1 Congress party split 1 2 Minority government 1 3 Opposition alliance 2 Results 2 1 Results by state 2 2 State wise Detailed 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 ReferencesBackground editCongress party split edit During her previous term there had been internal divisions in the Indian National Congress between Indira Gandhi and the party establishment especially Morarji Desai In 1969 she was expelled from the party 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 edit 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 outside support from left wing parties like the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 26 seats the Communist Party of India and it s 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 at the recommendation of Gandhi Opposition alliance edit Further information Grand Alliance 1971 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 one candidate against the INC R candidate in every constituency in order to defeat Gandhi s party Results editDespite 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 nbsp PartyVotes Seats Indian National Congress R 64 033 27443 68352 69Indian National Congress Organisation 15 285 85110 4316NewBharatiya Jana Sangh10 777 1197 3522 13Communist Party of India Marxist 7 510 0895 1225 6Communist Party of India6 933 6274 73230Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam5 622 7583 8423 2Swatantra Party4 497 9883 078 36Samyukta Socialist Party3 555 6392 433 20Bharatiya Kranti Dal3 189 8212 181NewTelangana Praja Samithi1 873 5891 2810NewPraja Socialist Party1 526 0761 042 11Shiromani Akali Dal1 279 8730 871NewUtkal Congress1 053 1760 721NewAll India Forward Bloc962 9710 6620Peasants and Workers Party of India741 5350 510 2Revolutionary Socialist Party724 0010 493NewRepublican Party of India Khobragade 542 6620 370NewKerala Congress542 4310 373 3Bangla Congress518 7810 351 4Indian Union Muslim League416 5450 2820Vishal Haryana Party352 5140 241NewAll India Jharkhand Party272 5630 191NewShiv Sena227 4680 160NewShoshit Dal Bihar193 3890 130NewSocialist Unity Centre of India157 7030 110NewRepublican Party of India153 7940 1010Janta Party139 0910 090NewAll Party Hill Leaders Conference90 7720 0610United Front of Nagaland89 5140 061NewHindu Mahasabha73 1910 050NewAkhil Bharatiya Gorkha League72 1310 050NewBihar Prant Hul Jharkhand66 6690 050NewHindustani Shoshit Dal65 9250 040NewRevolutionary Communist Party of India65 6220 040NewLok Sewak Sangh62 5270 040NewJana Congress60 1030 0400Nagaland Nationalist Organisation58 5110 040 1United Goans Seqveria Group58 4010 0410Socialist Party55 0640 040NewMaharashtrawadi Gomantak Party54 5970 040NewProutist Bloc of India43 8490 030NewTelangana Congress43 5480 030NewMinorities Labour Party41 1980 030NewIndian Socialist Party38 7130 030NewMuslim Majlis Uttar Pradesh36 5260 020NewLok Raj Party Himachal Pradesh34 0700 020NewUttar Pradesh Kisan Mazdoor Party31 7290 020NewManipur Peoples Party31 0290 020NewAkhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad24 0930 020NewRepublican Party of India Ambedkarite 22 4280 020NewBackward Classes Mahasabha6 9290 000NewRevolutionary Socialist Party of India Marxist Leninist 6 1980 000NewChota Nagpur Bhumi Rakshak Party4 9820 000NewIndependents12 279 6298 3814 21Appointed members a 30Total146 602 276100 00521 2Valid votes146 602 27696 74Invalid blank votes4 934 5263 26Total votes151 536 802100 00Registered voters turnout274 189 13255 27Source ECI Two representing Anglo Indians and one representing the North East Frontier Agency Results by state edit State Totalseats Seats wonINC R CPM CPI DMK BJS INC O TPS SWA SSP PSP BKD Others Ind App Andaman and Nicobar Islands 1 1Andhra Pradesh 41 28 1 1 10 1Assam 14 13 1Bihar 53 39 5 2 3 2 1 1Chandigarh 1 1Dadra and Nagar Haveli 1 1Delhi 7 7Goa Daman and Diu 2 1 1Gujarat 24 11 11 2Haryana 9 7 1 1Himachal Pradesh 4 4Jammu and Kashmir 6 5 1Kerala 19 6 2 3 7 1Laccadive Minicoy and Amindivi Islands 1 1Madhya Pradesh 37 21 11 1 4Maharashtra 45 42 1 2Manipur 2 2Mysore 27 27Nagaland 1 1North East Frontier Agency 1 1Orissa 20 15 1 3 1Punjab 13 10 2 1Pondicherry 1 1Rajasthan 23 14 4 3 2Tamil Nadu 39 9 4 23 1 1 1Tripura 2 2Uttar Pradesh 85 73 4 4 1 1 2West Bengal 40 13 20 3 1 2 1Anglo Indians 2 2Total 521 352 25 23 23 22 16 10 8 3 2 1 19 14 3Source ECIState wise Detailed edit State of seats Party Seats Contested Seats won of votesAndhra Pradesh 41 Indian National Congress R 37 28 55 73Telangana Praja Samithi 14 10 14 33Communist Party Of India 11 1 5 94Communist Party of India Marxist 5 1 2 82Independent 93 1 8 21Indian National Congress Organisation 12 0 5 55Assam 14 Indian National Congress R 13 13 56 98All Party Hill Leaders Conference 1 1 3 0Communist Party Of India 5 0 5 65Praja Socialist Party 5 0 4 56Independent 31 0 17 92Bihar 53 Indian National Congress R 47 39 40 06Communist Party of India 17 5 9 85Indian National Congress Organisation 24 3 11 51Bharatiya Jana Sangh 28 2 12 1Samyukta Socialist Party 28 2 9 47Independent 183 1 9 11Gujarat 24 Indian National Congress R 23 11 44 85Indian National Congress Organisation 19 11 39 70Swatantra Party 4 2 5 46Haryana 9 Indian National Congress R 9 7 52 56Bharatiya Jana Sangh 3 1 11 19Vishal Haryana Party 3 1 9 16Indian National Congress Organisation 4 0 11 34Jammu amp Kashmir 6 Indian National Congress R 6 5 54 06Independent 20 1 32 17Bharatiya Jana Sangh 3 0 12 23Kerala 19 Indian National Congress R 7 6 19 75Communist Party of India 3 3 9 09Kerala Congress 3 3 8 31Communist Party of India Marxist 11 2 26 21Revolutionary Socialist Party 2 2 6 43Muslim League 2 2 5 62Independent 27 1 17 97Madhya Pradesh 37 Indian National Congress R 36 21 45 60Bharatiya Jana Sangh 28 11 33 56Independent 73 4 13 93Samyukta Socialist Party 5 1 1 57Maharashtra 45 Indian National Congress R 44 42 63 18All India Forward Bloc 3 1 2 47Praja Socialist Party 8 1 1 68Republican Party Of India 1 1 1 11Bharatiya Jana Sangh 13 0 5 23Peasants And Workers Party Of India 12 0 5 33Mysore 27 Indian National Congress R 27 27 70 87Indian National Congress Organisation 17 0 16 36Orissa 20 Indian National Congress R 19 15 38 46Swatantra Party 13 3 15 91Utkal Congress 20 1 23 6Communist Party of India 3 1 4 31Punjab 13 Indian National Congress R 11 10 45 96Communist Party of India 2 2 6 22Shiromani Akali Dal 12 1 30 85Rajasthan 23 Indian National Congress R 23 14 50 35Bharatiya Jana Sangh 7 4 12 38Swatantra Party 8 3 14 64Independent 71 2 12 34Tamil Nadu 39 Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam 24 23 35 25Indian National Congress R 9 9 12 51Communist Party of India 4 4 5 43Indian National Congress Organisation 29 1 30 43Independent 27 1 3 24All India Forward Bloc 1 1 1 31Uttar Pradesh 85 Indian National Congress R 78 73 48 54Bharatiya Jana Sangh 37 4 12 23Communist Party of India 9 4 3 7Independent 231 2 8 4Bharatiya Kranti Dal 67 1 12 70Indian National Congress Organisation 44 1 8 6Samyukta Socialist Party 25 0 4 1West Bengal 40 Communist Party of India Marxist 38 20 34 29Indian National Congress R 31 13 28 2Communist Party Of India 15 3 10 54Independent 28 1 5 79Bangla Congress 14 1 3 97Revolutionary Socialist Party 5 1 2 04Praja Socialist Party 3 1 1 29All India Forward Bloc 10 0 2 7Source ECIAftermath editOn 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 first electoral defeat See also editList of members of the 5th Lok Sabha Election Commission of India 1969 Indian presidential electionReferences edit India Archived 21 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine Inter Parliamentary Union General Election of India 1971 5th Lok Sabha PDF Election Commission of India p 6 Archived from the original PDF on 18 July 2014 Retrieved 13 January 2010 INKredible India The story of 1971 Lok Sabha election All you need to know Zee News 7 March 2019 Archived from the original on 8 October 2020 Retrieved 3 December 2020 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1971 Indian general election amp oldid 1216365987, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
