The 1971 elections saw Indira Gandhi coming back to power with her campaign to eradicate poverty. Images: the election posters, the heated campaigns and telephone operators disseminating election-related information
1/23Morarji Desai, who went on to be prime minister in 1977, casting his vote in the 1971 elections. India held its 5th Lok Sabha elections in March 1971. Photos: Hindustan Times
2/23Morarji Desai voting in 1971. In the 1971 elections the internal rift between Indira Gandhi and the party establishment, including Morarji Desai continued.
3/23Posters about Indira Gandhi in 1971. Indira Gandhi’s campaign based on her campaign “Garibi Hatao” led the Congress to the a landslide victory, overcoming the party-split. The Congress regained many of the seats it lost in the previous election.
4/23Pre-election activity in Bangalore in 1971. The 27 Indian states and union territories were represented by 518 constituencies, each with a single seat, during the 1971 general elections.
5/23Posters about Indira Gandhi in 1971. During her subsequent term, the Allahabad High Court, on 12 June 1975, invalidated the results in Gandhi’s constituency on the grounds of electoral malpractices.
6/23Jan Sangh posters taking a hit at the Congress rule in 1971. It was the first hint of the coming storm which would have significant bearing on the next polls.
7/23Opposition posters in 1971. The coalition that would challenge Indira Gandhi during and after the Emergency was beginning to fall in place.
8/23Campaigning in 1971. Indian National Congress led by Indira Gandhi won 352 out of 545 seats, while the Indian National Congress (Organization), the old guard won just 16 seats.
9/23Election posters in 1971. This one talks of restoring the ‘Marathi manoos’ pride.
10/23A Shiv Sena election poster in 1971. It was the first time the Maharashtra-based party was fielding candidates in the Lok Sabha polls.
11/23Campaigning in Himachal Pradesh during the Lok Sabha polls in 1971.
12/23People going to vote in 1971. It is amazing to think how in a nascent democracy, voters were already committed to exercising their right even if it meant trudging miles.
13/23Voting in Jammu in 1971.
14/23Election security in Lucknow in 1971, a far cry from the massive preparations that has to be put in place for the coming elections.
15/23Voters brave the elements during voting in Srinagar in 1971.
16/23Voting in Manipur in 1971.
17/23A young Muslim woman voting in the old city of Hyderabad in March 1972.
18/23Results of the 1971 elections outside The Statesman office in New Delhi.
19/23Telephone operators handling election information in March 1972.
20/23Results of the 1971 elections outside The Hindustan Times office in New Delhi.
21/23Election results displayed outside Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi in March 1972.
22/23An elaborate network of teleprinter circuits for collection and dissemination of election results in March 1972.
23/23Large crowds outside a counting booth in Bangalore in March 1972.
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