Fifth General Elections to Lok Sabha were held in February 1971. The electoral contest appeared to be loaded against Congress R (requisionist). To make matters worst for Indira Gandhi, all the major non-communist, non-Congress opposition parties formed an electoral alliance known as ‘Grand Alliance’. This comprised of SSP, PSP, Bhartiya Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party and Bhartiya Kranti Dal who joined hands and came under one umbrella.