1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1957 was the first assembly election in the Indian state of Kerala. The Communist Party of India won the election with 60 seats. The election led to the formation of first democratically elected communist government in India.^[1] The election also made Kerala as the first state to elect a Non-Congress party in the country.^[1]

State reorganisation

On 1 November 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Kerala was formed by the merger of Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district (including Fort Cochin and the Laccadive Islands) of Madras State, Kasaragod taluk of the South Canara district and the Amindive Islands. The southern part of Travancore-Cochin, the five taluks of Agastheeswaram, Thovala, Kalkulam, Vilavahcode, and Shencotta, were transferred from Travancore-Cochin to the Madras State.^[2] After the reorganization, the assembly constituencies increased from 106 with 117 seats in 1954 to 114 with 126 seats in 1957.

Background

Following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Malabar District of Madras state merged with Travancore-Cochin to form the new state of Kerala on 1 November 1956. The merger helped the Communist Party of India to increase their base in the region.^[3] The ruling Indian National Congress lost the prominence due to the factionalism within the party.^{[citation needed]} Furthermore, communalism and struggles against feudalism played a major role.^[3][4]

Election

The Election Commission of India conducted elections to the newly created state between 28 February – 11 March 1957.^[5] The elections were held to the 126 seats (114 constituencies) including 12 two member constituencies of which 11 and one reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively, in which 406 candidates were contested. The voter turnout was 65.49%.^[6]

Results

The result of the elections listed below: <section begin=Results /> !colspan=10| |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9; text-align:center;" ! colspan=2|Party !! Flag !! Seats
Contested !! Won !! % of
Seats ! Votes !! Vote % !! Vote % in
contested seats |- style="background: #90EE90;" | | | 101 || 60 || 47.62 || 2,059,547 || 35.28 || 40.57 |- | | | 124 || 43 || 34.13 || 2,209,251 || 37.85 || 38.1 |- | | | 65 || 9 || 7.14 || 628,261 || 10.76 || 17.48 |- | | | 28 || 0 || || 188,553 || 3.23 || 11.12 |- | | | 86 || 14 || 11.11 || 751,965 || 12.88 || N/A |- class="unsortable" style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! colspan = 2| ! style="text-align:center;" |Total seats !! 126 !! style="text-align:center;" |Voters !! 89,13,247 !! style="text-align:center;" |Turnout !! colspan = 3|58,37,577 (65.49%) |}<section end=Results />

In the election, five women candidates were elected out of nine candidates.^[6][7]

By Constituency

^[8]

Government formation

Communist Party of India formed the government with the support of five independents.^[9] On 5 April 1957, E. M. S. Namboodiripad became the chief minister of Kerala and first non–Congress chief minister of the country (PSP ruled Travencore Cochin state before). But the government was dismissed in 1959 by the central government following the Liberation struggle led by Syro-Malabar Church and Hindu caste organisations such as the Nair Service Society headed by Mannathu Padmanabha Pillai.^[10]

See also

• First Namboodiripad ministry
• 1957 elections in India
• 1954 Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly election

References

1. ^ James Manor (1994). Nehru to the Nineties: The Changing Office of Prime Minister in India. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 210. ISBN 978-1-85065-180-2.
2. ^ "Reorganisation of States - The Approach and Arrangements". The Economic Weekly. 7 (42). 1955-10-15. Retrieved 2024-06-26.
3. ^ P Radhakrishnan. Peasant Struggles, Land Reforms and Social Change: Malabar 1836–1982. Radhakrishnan. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-906083-16-8.
4. ^ Communal Road to a Secular Kerala. Concept Publishing Company. 1 January 1989. p. 145. ISBN 978-81-7022-282-8.
5. ^ "History of Kerala Legislature". kerala.gov.in. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
6. ^ "Key highlights of General election, 1957 to the legislative assembly of Kerala" (pdf). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 8 April 2014.
7. ^ "Only 7 women make it to Kerala state Assembly". Economic Times. 16 May 2011. Archived from the original on 25 September 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
8. ^ "Kerala Assembly Election Results in 1957". www.elections.in. Retrieved 2020-09-06.
9. ^ Thomas Johnson Nossiter (1 January 1982). Communism in Kerala: A Study in Political Adaptation. University of California Press. pp. 122–123. ISBN 978-0-520-04667-2.
10. ^ "Fresh light on 'Liberation Struggle'". The Hindu. 12 February 2008. Archived from the original on 2 March 2008. Retrieved 9 April 2014.