The 1971 Elections: Indira Triumphant

Indira Gandhi found she could not take independent action as head of a minority government. Her efforts at progressive

legislations were obstructed by the Supreme Court as well as the Parliament. She got the nationalisation of banks through a presidential ordinance after clearing the legal lacunae pointed out by the court. The abolition of privy purses not only failed to get passed in Parliament (the constitutional amendment fell through just by one vote in the Rajya Sabha), but the presidential order derecognising the princes that Indira Gandhi brought in was nullified by the Supreme Court. In December 1970, Indira Gandhi recommended dissolution of the Lok Sabha and called for early elections. The nation thus went to the polls in 1971. The catchy slogan of the Congress (R) was ‘Garibi Hatao’ (Remove Poverty). Indira Gandhi campaigned for social change and removal of disparities in income and for stability of government.

The non-Communist opposition parties (Swatantra, Congress-O, SSP) came together in what was called the Grand Alliance with the election cry of ‘Indira Hatao’ (Remove Indira).

Congress (R) won the election with a good majority, probably because the voters showed maturity in preferring to vote on national issues rather than fall prey to political patronage. Indira Gandhi was now well on her way to dominating the political scene for a long time to come.

India’s victory over Pakistan in December 1971 and the subsequent creation of independent Bangladesh out of the erstwhile East Pakistan in the liberation war gave a big boost to the image of Indira Gandhi. In the state assembly elections in March 1972 the Congress (R) came to power in many states. The elections of 1971 and 1972 had virtually reduced the importance of the Congress (O) and the Swatantra Party as significant opponents.