The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress| Class 12 Political Science

The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress is a subpart of the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5 Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System. The subpart 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress describes the turning point of the Congress party as the Former Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru died in 1964. The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress describes how Indira Gandhi fought the 1971 Lok Sabha election and how he resorted to the central power through it.

In this article, we are going to discuss the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5 subpart ‘The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress’ in detail.

The 1971 Lok Sabha Election and Restoration of Congress

During the 1971 General Elections, the Congress’s right wing did many commendable jobs. The Congress’s right wing was totally under the control of Smt. Indira Gandhi. So many political developments happened due to this time and again Indira showed her dominance in Indian politics.

Here are some major developments in the 1971 General Elections on which Indira Gandhi restored the power of Congress in central government as mentioned below.

• In the time of the 1971 general elections, the Congress’s right wing became the minority party. For that, she started to support other parties and started to form new alliances. Congress (R) became an alliance party of the Communist Party of India.
• Her government actively supported socialist policies like land reforms and land ceiling legislation. Through these, she showed her concern for the poverty and inequality of the country.
• By doing this, Indira Gandhi tactfully used the slogan “Garibi Hatao” to attract people in her support. So many disadvantaged groups and unemployed youth started to support her. On the other side, the opposition’s focus was to remove Indira Gandhi from power.
• In the 1971 general elections, Congress (R) and the CPI alliance secured a huge victory by winning 375 seats in Lok Sabha. Indira Gandhi’s party alone won 352 seats.
• Under the Grand Alliance, the opposition failed to create pressure on Indira Gandhi and they only got 40 seats.
• Indira Gandhi also won in the 1972 State Assembly Elections due to her leadership and help to Bangladesh to achieve their freedom. For this move, she became more popular in India and all over the world.

In this way, Indira Gandhi and her Congress(R) party started to receive major victories and gained dominance in Indian politics.

Was it the Restoration of Congress in Indian Politics?

So, Now the major question is does it mean that the Congress system was fully restored in Indian polities? Yes, it is true. Under Indira Gandhi, the traditional process of Congress’s working and functioning was restored through the 1971 Lok Sabha and 1972 State Assembly Elections. It created again a dominant position in Indian Politics by following some major facts as mentioned below.

• The new Congress relied on the supreme leader Indira Gandhi.
• The old structure of the congress was open to all factions and opinions. However, the new congress entered Indian politics under Indira’s leadership only.
• The new congress realized the specific demographics data and they particularly targeted majorly poor and neglected sections of the society.
• The major vote pool came from the unemployed youths as they were really attracted to the “Garibi Hatao” slogan.

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FAQs on Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5 The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress

What was the slogan given by the Congress Party in the 1971 Lok Sabha?

Garibi Hatao Desh Bachao (“Remove poverty, save the country”) was the theme and slogan of Indira Gandhi’s 1971 election campaign.

What was the result of the AP Assembly election in 1971?

The result was a victory for the Indian National Congress which won 28 out of 42 seats. This election also saw introduction of Telangana Praja Samithi which won 10 out of the 14 seats it contested, mostly in the Telangana region.

What was the main reason behind the split in Congress in 1969 Class 12?

On 12 November 1969, the Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi was expelled from the Congress party for violating party discipline. The party finally split with Indira Gandhi setting up a rival organisation Indian National Congress (Requisitionists), which came to be known as Congress (R) or Indicate .

What was the election symbol of Congress party in the Lok Sabha election of 1971?

Gandhi’s breakaway faction were given a new symbol of a cow with suckling calf by the Election Commission as the party election symbol. The split occurred when, in 1969, a united opposition under the banner of Samyukt Vidhayak Dal won control over several states in the Hindi belt.

Who expelled Indira Gandhi from Congress?

These steps culminated in party president S. Nijalingappa expelling her from the party for indiscipline. Gandhi, in turn, floated her own faction of the Congress party and managed to retain most of the Congress MPs on her side with only 65 on the side of the Congress faction.

How many seats were there in the Lok Sabha election in 1971?

In 1971, elections were held for 518 seats for which a slightly higher number of 2784 candidates were in fray, averaging 5.37 contestants per seat but in 1977 with another significant hike in the number of Lok Sabha seats to 542.