A general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.

In India, the elections held to elect the members of the Lok Sabha after expiry of the normal term of five years are called the General Elections. Elections to some State Legislative Assemblies may be held along with the Parliamentary Elections. Earlier up to 1957, simultaneous elections were held for both the Lok Sabha and the State Assemblies. However, on account of early dismissal and mid-term elections the two got separated.

- extracted from General Election, Wikipedia as on 22nd December 2017

1957 should actually be 1967, as per several sources.

In 1969, there was a split in the Indian National Congress, leading to [midterm] elections in 1971. In 1975, 'The Emergency' was declared. It ended in 1977.

The Lok Sabha and State elections had, thus, been separated.

The last General Election in India was held in 2014.