The Indian National Congress, led by Indira Gandhi, won a landslide victory after the party divided.¹

It won 352 of the 518 seats, a majority on its own.

That was 92 seats above the 260-seat mark needed for a majority.

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) finished second, with 25 seats on 5.1% of the vote.

The party's vote share — the slice of all ballots cast that went to one party or candidate — reached 43.7%, which still converted into 68.0% of the seats under India's first-past-the-post system.

On 12 November 1969 the Indian National Congress split, after senior party leaders expelled Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Her faction took the name Congress (R), the older organisation continued as Congress (O), and Congress (R) went on to contest the 1971 election as her own party.¹

Without a secure majority after the split, Indira Gandhi had the Lok Sabha dissolved on 27 December 1970, about a year early. The resulting February-March 1971 poll broke, for good, the practice of holding national and state elections together.²

Five opposition parties — Congress (O), the Samyukta Socialist Party, the Praja Socialist Party, the Swatantra Party and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh — joined forces ahead of the poll. They formed a pact called the Grand Alliance to contest seats jointly against Congress (R).³

The INC made its biggest gains at the expense of the Swatantra Party.

It picked up 27 of the seats that changed hands this way.

222 of the 518 constituencies changed hands nationwide since the last election.

The INC's own seat total grew by 69 from the previous election.

Nationally, turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — fell -5.7 pp, to about 54.2%.

The closest race was at Tiruchendur, Tamil Nadu, decided by 26 votes.

The widest margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — was at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, where the winner finished 81.8% of the vote ahead of the runner-up.

Turnout peaked in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, where 78.7% of registered voters cast a ballot — the highest of any seat in the country.

Bombay North East, Maharashtra had the largest electorate anywhere in the country, with 8,58,986 registered voters on its rolls.

Secunderabad, Andhra Pradesh drew the most candidates of any seat, with 16 names on the ballot.

The INC split on 12 November 1969, when senior leaders expelled Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the party.¹

Indira Gandhi had the Lok Sabha dissolved on 27 December 1970, about a year before its term was due to end. The resulting poll broke, for good, India's practice of holding national and state elections on a shared cycle.²

The Grand Alliance brought together five opposition parties to contest seats jointly against Indira Gandhi's INC.³