1971 Indian general election

1971 Indian general election
← 1967 1–10 March 1971[1] 1977 →
518 of the 521 seats in the Lok Sabha
260 seats needed for a majority
Registered274,189,132
Turnout55.27% (Decrease 5.77pp)
  First party Second party
 
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the US enhanced.jpg
Sundaraiah-Puchalapalli.jpg
Leader Indira Gandhi Puchalapalli Sundarayya
Party INC(R) CPI(M)
Last election 40.78%, 283 seats 4.28%, 12 seats
Seats won 352 25
Seat change Increase 69 Increase 6
Popular vote 64,033,274 7,510,089
Percentage 43.68% 5.12%
Swing Increase 2.90pp Increase 0.84pp
  Third party Fourth party
 
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (crop 2).jpg
K Kamaraj 1976 stamp of India (cropped).jpg
Leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee K. Kamaraj
Party ABJS INC(O)
Last election 9.31%, 35 seats –
Seats won 22 16
Seat change Decrease 13 New
Popular vote 10,777,119 15,285,851
Percentage 7.35% 10.43%
Swing Decrease 1.96 pp New
Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election

Indira Gandhi
INC(R)

Prime Minister after election

Indira Gandhi
INC(R)

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]

  1. ^ India Inter-Parliamentary Union
  2. ^ "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.
  3. ^ "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.