[Letter from Mr Minoo Masani]

Summary

This single-page Swatantra Party office communication, dated 4 March 1971 and signed by M. R. Masani, records the party’s position regarding the South Bombay election campaign. Masani states that, after considering all relevant circumstances, the party had decided not to participate or intervene as a party in the campaign and therefore had not endorsed George Fernandes or any other candidate.

The letter consequently leaves individual Swatantra Party members free to vote according to their own preferences. A handwritten annotation appears below the typed text, but its cursive wording is not sufficiently legible to summarize reliably.

Key points

• M. R. Masani issued the communication on 4 March 1971 from the Swatantra Party’s national headquarters.
• The statement concerns the party’s position in the South Bombay election campaign.
• The party had decided not to participate or intervene as a party in that campaign.
• The Swatantra Party had not endorsed George Fernandes or any other candidate.
• Individual party members were free to vote as they pleased.
• A handwritten annotation is present but cannot be read with sufficient confidence.