1971 Indian general election in Tamil Nadu

Indian general election in Tamil Nadu, 1971
← 1967 November 1971 1977 →
39 (of 518) seats in the Lok Sabha
Registered	23,064,983
Turnout	16,565,949 (71.82%) 4.74%
	Tamil Nadu
Prime Minister before election; Indira Gandhi ; INC(R)	Prime Minister after election; Indira Gandhi ; INC(R)

Last updated January 05, 2026

The 1971 Indian general election polls in Tamil Nadu were held for 39 seats in the state. After winning in 1967, DMK supported the Congress party under Indira Gandhi, and the 25 DMK MPs, ensured her to stay in power as a minority government, from 1969 to 1971.^[1] This state was crucial for Indira Gandhi to hold, in order for her to stay in power. The result was a victory for Indian National Congress (Indira) and its ally Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam winning 38 seats (with 5 seats going to the Left Front), while Opposition Congress and Swatantra Party could only win 1 seat. DMK won every seat it contested except the seat contested by K. Kamarajar in Nagercoil.

Seat Allotment

Progressive Front

No.		Leader	Seats
1.	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	M. Karunanidhi	24
2.	Indian National Congress (R)	Indira Gandhi	9
3.	Communist Party of India	M. Kalyanasundaram	4
4.	All India Forward Bloc	P. K. Mookiah Thevar	1
5.	Indian Union Muslim League	Muhammed Ismail	1

Democratic Front

No.		Leader	Seats
1.	Indian National Congress (Organization)	K. Kamaraj	29
2.	Swatantra Party	C. Rajagopalachari	9
3.	Samyukta Socialist Party	George Fernandes	1

List of Candidates

Constituency
Constituency
1	Madras North	DMK	K. Manoharan	INC(O)	S. G. Vinayagamoorthy
2	Madras South	DMK	Murasoli Naran	SWA	Nara Simhan
3	Sriperumbudur (SC)	DMK	T. S. Latchumanan	INC(O)	P. Kakkan
4	Chingleput	DMK	C. Chittibabu	INC(O)	P. M. Muthukumarappa
5	Tiruttani	INC(R)	O. V. Alagesa Mudaliar	INC(O)	P. Ramachandran
6	Vellore (SC)	DMK	R. P. Ulaganambi	INC(O)	T. Manavalan
7	Tiruppattur	DMK	C. K. Chinnaraji Gounder	SWA	N. Parthasarathy
8	Wandiwash	DMK	G. Viswanathan	INC(O)	A. Krishnaswamy
9	Tindivanam	INC(R)	M. R. Lakshminarayanan	SWA	M. P. Radhakrishnan
10	Cuddalore	INC(R)	S. Radhakrishnan	INC(O)	R. Muthukumaran
11	Chidambaram (SC)	DMK	V. Mayavan	INC(O)	L. Elayaperumal
12	Kallakurichi	DMK	M. Devekan	INC(O)	K. Veerasamy
13	Krishnagiri	INC(R)	T. Thirthagiri Gounder	SWA	T. M. Thirupathy
14	Salem	DMK	E. R. Krishnan	INC(O)	M. P. Subramanyam
15	Mettur	INC(R)	G. Bhuvarahan	INC(O)	K. Ramamurthy
16	Tiruchengode	DMK	M. Muthusami	INC(O)	T. M. Kaliyannan
17	Nilgiris	DMK	J. Matha Gowder	INC(O)	Akkamma Devi
18	Coimbatore	CPI	K. Balathandayutham	INC(O)	Ramaswamy
19	Pollachi	DMK	Narayanan	SSP	K. R. Nallasivam
20	Dharapuram (SC)	DMK	C. T. Dhandapani	INC(O)	K. Paramalai
21	Gobichettipalayam	DMK	P. A. Saminathan	INC(O)	E. V. K. Sampath
22	Periakulam	IND	S. M. Mohammed Sheriff	SWA	Ajmalkhan
23	Dindigul	DMK	M. Rajangam	SWA	K. Chemachamy
24	Madurai	INC(R)	R. V. Swaminathan	INC(O)	S. Chinna Karuppa Thevar
25	Karur	INC(R)	Gopal	INC(O)	V. Ramanathan
26	Tiruchirappalli	CPI	M. Kalyanasundaram	INC(O)	S. P. Thangavelu
27	Perambalur (SC)	DMK	A. Durairasu	INC(O)	M. Ayyakunnu
28	Pudukkottai	DMK	K. Veeriah	INC(O)	R. Vijaya Reghunatha Thondaiman
29	Kumbakonam	DMK	Era Sezhiyan	INC(O)	C. R. Ramasamy
30	Mayuram (SC)	DMK	K. Subravelu	INC(O)	K. Rajangam
31	Nagapattinam	CPI	M. Kathamuthu	INC(O)	V. Sabasivam
32	Thanjavur	DMK	S. D. Somasundaram	INC(O)	R. Krishnasamy Gopalar
33	Sivaganga	DMK	Tha Kiruttinan	INC(O)	Kannappa Valliappan
34	Ramanathapuram	AIFB	P. K. Mookkiah Thevar	INC(O)	S. Balakrishnan
35	Sivakasi	INC(R)	V. Jeyalakshmi	SWA	R. Gopalakrishnan
36	Tirunelveli	CPI	S. A. Muruganantham	SWA	S. Palaniswaminathan
37	Tenkasi (SC)	INC(R)	A. M. Cnellachami	INC(O)	R. S. Arumugam
38	Tiruchendur	DMK	M. S. Sivasamy	SWA	M. Mathias
39	Nagercoil	DMK	M. C. Balan	INC(O)	K. Kamaraj Nadar

Voting and results

Alliance			Popular Vote	Percentage	Swing	Seats won	Seat Change
	Progressive Front	Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam	5,622,758	35.25%	0.53%	23	2
		Indian National Congress (Requistionist)	1,995,567	12.51%	29.18%	9	6
		Communist Party of India	866,399	5.43%	3.74%	4	4
		All India Forward Bloc	208,431	1.31%		1
		Independents	175,940	1.10%	0.07%	1
		Total	8,869,095	55.60%	24.73%	38	9
	Democratic Front	Indian National Congress (Organisation)	4,853,534	30.43%	new party	1	new party
		Swatantra Party	1,479,693	9.28%	0.12%	0	6
		Samyukta Socialist Party	141,605	0.89%	new party	0	new party
		Total	6,474,832	40.60%	31.44%	1	5
	Communist Party of India (Marxist)		260,833	1.64%	5.21%	0	4
	Independents		344,452	2.16%	1.00%	0
Total			15,949,212	100.00%		39
Valid Votes			15,949,212	96.28%
Invalid Votes			616,437	3.72%
Total Votes			16,565,649	100.00%
Registered Voters/Turnout			23,064,983	71.82%	4.74%

List of Elected MPs

Constituency		Winner					Runner-up					Margin
Constituency		Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Candidate	Party		Votes	%	Votes	%
1	Madras North	K. Manoharan		DMK	2,45,401	55.03	S. G. Vinayagamoorthy		INC(O)	1,93,807	43.46	51,594	11.57
2	Madras South	Murasoli Naran		DMK	2,53,626	52.09	Nara Simhan		SWA	2,33,285	47.91	20,341	4.18
3	Sriperumbudur (SC)	T. S. Latchumanan		DMK	3,00,663	59.98	P. Kakkan		INC(O)	2,00,617	40.02	1,00,046	19.96
4	Chingleput	C. Chittibabu		DMK	2,51,687	60.02	P. M. Muthukumarappa		INC(O)	1,32,931	31.70	1,18,756	28.32
5	Tiruttani	O. V. Alagesa Mudaliar		INC	2,41,418	60.55	P. Ramachandran		INC(O)	1,57,313	39.45	84,105	21.10
6	Vellore (SC)	R. P. Ulaganambi		DMK	2,21,512	57.13	T. Manavalan		INC(O)	1,36,191	35.12	85,321	22.01
7	Tiruppattur	C. K. Chinnaraji Gounder		DMK	2,07,562	57.65	N. Parthasarathy		SWA	1,52,499	42.35	55,063	15.30
8	Wandiwash	G. Viswanathan		DMK	2,30,003	57.49	A. Krishnaswamy		INC(O)	1,42,048	35.51	87,955	21.98
9	Tindivanam	M. R. Lakshminarayanan		INC	2,12,309	55.92	M. P. Radhakrishnan		SWA	1,50,834	39.73	61,475	16.19
10	Cuddalore	S. Radhakrishnan		INC	2,29,934	54.31	R. Muthukumaran		INC(O)	1,93,447	45.69	36,487	8.62
11	Chidambaram (SC)	V. Mayavan		DMK	2,03,059	51.09	L. Elayaperumal		INC(O)	1,80,661	45.46	22,398	5.63
12	Kallakurichi	M. Devekan		DMK	2,07,721	52.79	K. Veerasamy		INC(O)	1,85,745	47.21	21,976	5.58
13	Krishnagiri	T. Thirthagiri Gounder		INC	1,86,114	55.18	T. M. Thirupathy		SWA	1,51,194	44.82	34,920	10.36
14	Salem	E. R. Krishnan		DMK	2,30,736	55.87	M. P. Subramanyam		INC(O)	1,75,940	42.60	54,796	13.27
15	Mettur	G. Bhuvarahan		INC	2,01,744	59.80	K. Ramamurthy		INC(O)	1,35,604	40.20	66,140	19.60
16	Tiruchengode	M. Muthusami		DMK	2,38,746	55.83	T. M. Kaliyannan		INC(O)	1,78,699	41.79	60,047	14.04
17	Nilgiris	J. Matha Gowder		DMK	2,15,654	58.25	Akkamma Devi		INC(O)	1,54,560	41.75	61,094	16.50
18	Coimbatore	K. Balathandayutham		CPI	2,14,824	53.05	Ramaswamy		INC(O)	1,37,771	34.02	77,053	19.03
19	Pollachi	Narayanan		DMK	2,67,811	64.66	K. R. Nallasivam		SSP	1,41,605	34.19	1,26,206	30.47
20	Dharapuram (SC)	C. T. Dhandapani		DMK	2,60,113	64.38	K. Paramalai		INC(O)	1,43,927	35.62	1,16,186	28.76
21	Gobichettipalayam	P. A. Saminathan		DMK	2,19,662	57.98	E. V. K. Sampath		INC(O)	1,59,170	42.02	60,492	15.96
22	Periakulam	S. M. Mohammed Sheriff		IND	1,75,940	45.29	Ajmalkhan		SWA	1,34,015	34.50	41,925	10.79
23	Dindigul	M. Rajangam		DMK	2,48,638	59.88	K. Chemachamy		SWA	1,51,003	36.36	97,635	23.52
24	Madurai	R. V. Swaminathan		INC	2,27,060	51.04	S. Chinna Karuppa Thevar		INC(O)	1,54,701	34.77	72,359	16.27
25	Karur	Gopal		INC	2,38,315	59.09	V. Ramanathan		INC(O)	1,65,022	40.91	73,293	18.18
26	Tiruchirappalli	M. Kalyanasundaram		CPI	2,17,677	49.34	S. P. Thangavelu		INC(O)	1,97,127	44.69	20,550	4.65
27	Perambalur (SC)	A. Durairasu		DMK	2,58,724	56.75	M. Ayyakunnu		INC(O)	1,97,155	43.25	61,569	13.50
28	Pudukkottai	K. Veeriah		DMK	2,51,861	55.31	R. Vijaya Reghunatha Thondaiman		INC(O)	2,03,466	44.69	48,395	10.62
29	Kumbakonam	Era Sezhiyan		DMK	2,42,547	54.34	C. R. Ramasamy		INC(O)	2,03,794	45.66	38,753	8.68
30	Mayuram (SC)	K. Subravelu		DMK	2,07,304	53.84	K. Rajangam		INC(O)	1,40,931	36.60	66,373	17.24
31	Nagapattinam	M. Kathamuthu		CPI	2,19,684	54.95	V. Sabasivam		INC(O)	1,31,957	33.00	87,727	21.95
32	Thanjavur	S. D. Somasundaram		DMK	2,68,980	57.31	R. Krishnasamy Gopalar		INC(O)	1,68,972	36.00	1,00,008	21.31
33	Sivaganga	Tha Kiruttinan		DMK	2,73,194	61.21	Kannappa Valliappan		INC(O)	1,73,106	38.79	1,00,088	22.42
34	Ramanathapuram	P. K. Mookkiah Thevar		FBL	2,08,431	58.16	S. Balakrishnan		INC(O)	1,39,276	38.87	69,155	19.29
35	Sivakasi	V. Jeyalakshmi		INC	2,35,491	59.67	R. Gopalakrishnan		SWA	1,49,829	37.96	85,662	21.71
36	Tirunelveli	S. A. Muruganantham		CPI	2,14,214	56.26	S. Palaniswaminathan		SWA	1,54,277	40.52	59,937	15.74
37	Tenkasi (SC)	A. M. Cnellachami		INC	2,23,182	55.48	R. S. Arumugam		INC(O)	1,54,272	38.35	68,910	17.13
38	Tiruchendur	M. S. Sivasamy		DMK	2,02,783	49.29	M. Mathias		SWA	2,02,757	49.29	26	0.00
39	Nagercoil	K. Kamaraj Nadar		INC(O)	2,15,324	58.37	M. C. Balan		DMK	1,14,771	31.11	1,00,553	27.26

Bibliography

Footnotes

↑ Krishna, Sankaran (1999). Postcolonial insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the question of nationhood. University of Minnesota Press. p. 87. ISBN 9781452903873.

External links

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[A-1] Krishna, Sankaran (1999). Postcolonial insecurities: India, Sri Lanka, and the question of nationhood. University of Minnesota Press. p. 87. ISBN 9781452903873.

[1]