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Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Election Results 1971

The 1971 Lok Sabha (Parliament) election in Tamil Nadu was held to elect Members of Parliament (MPs) from 39 parliamentary constituencies in the state. Dravida Munetra Kazhagam emerged as the leading party, winning 23 seats. Indian National Congress came second with 9 seats.

A total of 23,064,983 electors were registered to vote across the state. Of these, 16,565,649 votes were polled, resulting in an overall voter turnout of 71.8%. The average victory margin across all constituencies was 66,548 votes, with the closest contest decided by just 26 votes and the largest margin reaching 126,206 votes.

A total of 6 political parties won at least one seat in this election. India's Lok Sabha elections use the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) system, where the candidate with the most votes in each constituency wins the seat. The party or coalition winning a majority of Lok Sabha seats forms the central government and appoints the Prime Minister.

Party-wise Seat Distribution - Tamil Nadu 1971

Seat data is not available for this selection.

Seat breakdown: Dravida Munetra Kazhagam (23), Indian National Congress (9), Communist Party Of India (4), Forward Bloc (1), Independent (1) and 1 other parties.

Election Summary

  • State: Tamil Nadu
  • Election Year: 1971
  • Total Constituencies: 39
  • Total Electors: 23,064,983
  • Votes Polled: 16,565,649
  • Turnout: 71.8%
  • Parties with Seats: 6
  • Avg. Victory Margin: 66,548 votes
  • By Type: GEN (32), SC (7)

Constituency-wise Results: Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha 1971

Click on any constituency name to view the full candidate-wise breakdown with individual vote counts, vote share percentages, and party affiliations.

Sno. Constituency Type State Winner Party Electors Votes Turnout Margin Margin% Year
1 347-Chennai North GEN Tamil Nadu K. Manoharan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 691938 457154 66.10% 51594 11.30% 1971
2 348-Chennai South GEN Tamil Nadu Murasoli Naran Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 741660 499274 67.30% 20341 4.10% 1971
3 350-Sriperumbudur SC Tamil Nadu T. S. Latchumanan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 730302 514879 70.50% 100046 19.40% 1971
4 353-Vellore SC Tamil Nadu R. P. Ulaganambi Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 559646 400538 71.60% 85321 21.30% 1971
5 354-Krishnagiri GEN Tamil Nadu T. Thirthagiri Gounder Indian National Congress 549124 356423 64.90% 34920 9.80% 1971
6 359-Kallakurichi GEN Tamil Nadu M. Devekan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 558064 404015 72.40% 21976 5.40% 1971
7 360-Salem GEN Tamil Nadu E. R. Krishnan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 596531 422782 70.90% 54796 13.00% 1971
8 364-Nilgiris GEN Tamil Nadu J. Matha Gowder Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 553870 385628 69.60% 61094 15.80% 1971
9 365-Coimbatore GEN Tamil Nadu K. Balathandayutham Communist Party Of India 631568 426188 67.50% 77053 18.10% 1971
10 366-Pollachi GEN Tamil Nadu Narayanan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 604191 431388 71.40% 126206 29.30% 1971
11 367-Dindigul GEN Tamil Nadu M. Rajangam Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 619290 439408 71.00% 97635 22.20% 1971
12 368-Karur GEN Tamil Nadu Gopal Indian National Congress 593409 422396 71.20% 73293 17.40% 1971
13 369-Tiruchirappalli GEN Tamil Nadu M. Kalyanasundaram Communist Party Of India 621540 457136 73.60% 20550 4.50% 1971
14 370-Perambalur SC Tamil Nadu A. Durairasu Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 590866 468629 79.30% 61569 13.10% 1971
15 371-Cuddalore GEN Tamil Nadu S. Radhakrishnan Indian National Congress 591447 442672 74.90% 36487 8.20% 1971
16 372-Chidambaram SC Tamil Nadu V. Mayavan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 554449 410311 74.00% 22398 5.50% 1971
17 374-Nagapattinam GEN Tamil Nadu M. Kathamuthu Communist Party Of India 517251 416846 80.60% 87727 21.00% 1971
18 375-Thanjavur GEN Tamil Nadu S. D. Somasundaram Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 596459 485480 81.40% 100008 20.60% 1971
19 376-Sivaganga GEN Tamil Nadu Tha Kiruttinan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 614497 456191 74.20% 100088 21.90% 1971
20 377-Madurai GEN Tamil Nadu R. V. Swaminathan Indian National Congress 657203 468822 71.30% 72359 15.40% 1971
21 380-Ramanathapuram GEN Tamil Nadu P. K. Mookkiah Thevar Forward Bloc 570111 371556 65.20% 69155 18.60% 1971
22 382-Tenkasi SC Tamil Nadu A. M. Cnellachami Indian National Congress 571197 416501 72.90% 68910 16.50% 1971
23 383-Tirunelveli GEN Tamil Nadu S. A Muruganantham Communist Party Of India 584445 400324 68.50% 59937 15.00% 1971
24 614-Gobichettipalayam GEN Tamil Nadu P. A. Saminathan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 565827 389907 68.90% 60492 15.50% 1971
25 615-Nagercoil GEN Tamil Nadu K. Kamaraj Nadar Indian National Congress (ORGANISATION) 553220 376278 68.00% 100553 26.70% 1971
26 617-Sivakasi GEN Tamil Nadu V. Jeyalakshmi Indian National Congress 573405 415649 72.50% 85662 20.60% 1971
27 618-Tindivanam GEN Tamil Nadu M .R. Lakshminarayanan Indian National Congress 574806 412411 71.80% 61475 14.90% 1971
28 619-Tiruchendur GEN Tamil Nadu M. S. Sivasamy Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 589553 425649 72.20% 26 0.00% 1971
29 620-Tiruchengode GEN Tamil Nadu M. Muthusami Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 637099 437815 68.70% 60047 13.70% 1971
30 621-Tirupattur GEN Tamil Nadu C. K. Chinnaraji Gounder Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 516063 375354 72.70% 55063 14.70% 1971
31 622-Vandavasi GEN Tamil Nadu G. Viswanathan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 539245 411640 76.30% 87955 21.40% 1971
32 644-Periyakulam GEN Tamil Nadu S. M. Mohammed Sheriff Independent 589743 418710 71.00% 41925 10.00% 1971
33 645-Pudukottai GEN Tamil Nadu K. Veeriah Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 604445 467404 77.30% 48395 10.40% 1971
34 656-Dharapuram SC Tamil Nadu C. T. Dhandapani Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 606592 416568 68.70% 116186 27.90% 1971
35 667-Kumbakonam GEN Tamil Nadu Era Sezhiyan Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 572159 457883 80.00% 38753 8.50% 1971
36 668-Mayuram SC Tamil Nadu K. Subravelu Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 503830 399879 79.40% 66373 16.60% 1971
37 669-Mettur GEN Tamil Nadu G. Bhuvarahan Indian National Congress 593427 351437 59.20% 66140 18.80% 1971
38 675-Tiruttani GEN Tamil Nadu O. V. Alagesa Mudaliar Indian National Congress 565715 420590 74.40% 84105 20.00% 1971
39 696-Chingleput GEN Tamil Nadu C. Chittibabu Dravida Munetra Kazhagam 580796 433934 74.70% 118756 27.40% 1971

How to Read This Data

Column Definitions

Constituency
The parliamentary constituency name. Click to view the full candidate-wise results.
Type
GEN (General/Unreserved), SC (Reserved for Scheduled Castes), ST (Reserved for Scheduled Tribes).
Electors
Total registered voters eligible to vote on polling day.
Turnout
Percentage of registered electors who actually cast their vote.

 

Votes Polled
Total votes cast, including valid and rejected ballots.
Margin
Vote difference between first and second-place candidates.
Margin %
Margin as a percentage of total votes polled.
Party
The political party that won the constituency.

Tamil Nadu 1971 Lok Sabha Election Analysis

Data-driven analysis of the 1971 Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha election results, covering competitiveness, candidate performance, and voter behaviour.

Victory Margin Distribution

The victory margin is the difference in votes between the winning candidate and the runner-up. A constituency with a margin under 5,000 votes is considered closely fought. The average margin in Tamil Nadu 1971 was 66,548 votes.

Closest Contests

The 10 parliamentary constituencies decided by the narrowest margins.

ConstituencyWinnerPartyMargin

Deposit Forfeiture by Party

Candidates receiving less than one-sixth (16.67%) of valid votes forfeit their security deposit. A high forfeiture rate indicates a party fielded candidates in constituencies with little voter support.

NOTA Analysis

NOTA (None of the Above) allows voters to reject all candidates. When NOTA votes exceed the victory margin, it signals significant voter dissatisfaction.

ConstituencyNOTA VotesWin MarginNOTA > Margin?

How Lok Sabha Elections Work in Tamil Nadu

The Lok Sabha (House of the People) is the lower house of India's Parliament. Members of Parliament (MPs) are directly elected by voters in their respective parliamentary constituencies through universal adult suffrage.

Tamil Nadu is divided into 39 parliamentary constituencies. The constituencies are categorized as: GEN (32 seats), SC (7 seats). SC and ST reserved constituencies ensure representation for historically marginalized communities.

India follows the First-Past-The-Post (FPTP) electoral system. The candidate who receives the highest number of votes wins the seat. Elections are conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) using Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT).

Tamil Nadu Lok Sabha Results in Other Years
2024 2019 2014 2009 2004 1999 1998 1996 1991 1989 1984 1980 1977 1967 1962
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