On 4 November 1973 Chelvayakam wrote to the Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, assuring her that the election would be held without violent disturbances.

As the election continued to be postponed, the Tamil movement grew more and more restless and gradually lost faith in the parliamentary process.

[5] In the election campaign Chelvanayakam argued in favour of the Six Point Plan proposed by the Federal Party in 1972.

[7] In 1974 forty-one Tamil youths, detained under emergency regulations, were released from jail in the run-up to the by-election.

[10] The statement made by Chelvanayakam on 7 February 1975 would mark a turning point in the history of the country, in which he justified the call for Tamil sovereignty.

However the vote for Ponnambalam was substantial, compared to the popular rejection in the area of Bandaranaike's government at time.