Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 1960

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Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 1960
Flag of India.svg
←  1957 February 1960 1965  →
All 126 seats in the Kerala Legislative Assembly
64 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 85.72%

  First party Second party Third party
  E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg
Leader E. M. S. Namboodiripad Pattom A. Thanu Pillai
Party INC CPI Praja Socialist Party
Alliance With PSP & IUML With Congress & IUML
Leader's seat Pattambi Thiruvananthapuram-II
Last election 43 60 9
Seats won 63 29 20
Seat changeIncrease2.svg20Decrease2.svg31Increase2.svg11
Popular vote 2,789,556 3,171,732 1,146,028
Percentage 34.42% 39.14% 14.14%
SwingDecrease2.svg3.43%Increase2.svg3.86%Decrease2.svg3.38%
Chief Minister before election

Vacant
President's rule

Chief Minister

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai
Praja Socialist Party

The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1960 was the second assembly election in the Indian state of Kerala. The elections were held on 1 February 1960. [1]

Kerala State in southern India

Kerala, locally known as Keralam, is a state on the southwestern, Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions. Spread over 38,863 km2 (15,005 sq mi), Kerala is the twenty-second largest Indian state by area. It is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea and Arabian Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Kerala is the thirteenth-largest Indian state by population. It is divided into 14 districts with the capital being Thiruvananthapuram. Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state.

Contents

Background

In the 1957 elections in Kerala, the Communist Party of India formed the government with the support of five independents. [2] But in 1959, the Central Government dismissed the democratically elected government through the controversial Article 356 of the Indian Constitution following "The Liberation Struggle", [3] [4] even though the elected communist government was enjoying majority support within the legislature. [5] After a short period of the President's rule, fresh elections were called in 1960.

Communist Party of India Indian political party, established 1925

The Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest communist party in India. There are different views on exactly when it was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by the CPI is 26 December 1925. The Communist Party of India (Marxist), which separated from the CPI in 1964 following an ideological rift between China and the Soviet Union, continues to claim having been founded in 1925.

Government of India Legislative, executive and judiciary powers of India

The Government of India, often abbreviated as GoI, is the union government created by the constitution of India as the legislative, executive and judicial authority of the union of 29 states and seven union territories of a constitutionally democratic republic. It is located in New Delhi, the capital of India.

Constituencies

There were 114 legislative assembly constituencies in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, 1957. Out of these 102 were single member constituencies while the number of double member constituencies was 12. One constituency was reserved for Schedule Caste. There were 64,77,665 electors in single member constituencies, while in double member constituencies there were 15,63,333 electors. Total 312 candidates contested for the 126 seats of the 114 constituencies in the Assembly. [6] Poll percentage was 85.72%, an increase of 20.23% from 65.49% in 1957 assembly elections.

Political parties

Four national parties, Communist Party of India, Indian National Congress, Praja Socialist Party and Bharatiya Jana Sangha along with the state party Muslim League took part in the assembly election. [6] In these elections, Indian National Congress, Praja Socialist Party and Indian Union Muslim League formed a pre-poll alliance to counter the Communist Party of India. [1] Together they fielded 125 candidates and supported an independent candidate, while the Communist Party of India fielded 108 candidates and gave party support to 16 independents. [1]

Indian National Congress Major political party in India

The Indian National Congress(pronunciation ) is a broadly based political party in India. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. Congress led India to independence from Great Britain, and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.

The Praja Socialist Party (PSP) is an Indian political party. It was founded when the Socialist Party, led by Jayprakash Narayan, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party led by J.B. Kripalani.

Indian Union Muslim League political party

The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) is a political party in India. It is recognized by the Election Commission of India as a State Party in Kerala.

Results

e  •  d  Summary of results of the Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 1960 [6] [7]
Political Party Flag Seats
Contested 		Won Net Change
in seats 		% of
Seats		 Votes Vote % Change in
vote % 		Vote % in
contested seats
Bharatiya Jana Sangh 3 0 New 0 5,277 0.07 New 3.28
Communist Party of India CPI-banner.svg 108 29 Decrease2.svg 31 23.02 3,171,732 39.14 Increase2.svg 3.86 43.79
Indian National Congress Flag of the Indian National Congress.svg 80 63 Increase2.svg 20 50.00 2,789,556 34.42 Decrease2.svg 3.43 45.37
Praja Socialist Party 33 20 Increase2.svg 11 15.87 1,146,028 14.14 Decrease2.svg 3.38 38.41
IUML 12 11 New 8.73 401,925 4.96 New 47.79
Independent 61 5 Decrease2.svg 11 4.17 488,699 5.93 -5.61 13.96
Total Seats 126 (Steady2.svg 0) Voters 9,604,331 Turnout 8,232,572 (85.72 %)

Government formation

Congress and Praja Socialist Party alliance got the majority [6] in the election and hence formed the government. Pattom A. Thanu Pillai of the Praja Socialist Party became the chief minister [8] and R. Sankar of the Indian National Congress became the deputy chief minister on 22 February 1960, with eleven council ministers. [1]

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai Indian politician

Pattom Thanu Pillai was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the Chief Minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' of Kerala politics.

Pattam A. Thanu Pillai resigned on 26 September 1962 after he was appointed as the Governor of Punjab and R. Sankar became the first Congress Chief Minister of Kerala.

See also

In India, President's rule is the suspension of state government and imposition of direct Central Government rule in a state. Under Article 356 of the Constitution of India, in the event that a state government is unable to function according to constitutional provisions, the Central government can take direct control of the state machinery. Subsequently, executive authority is exercised through the centrally appointed governor, who has the authority to appoint other administrators to assist them. The administrators are usually nonpartisan retired civil servants.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "History of Kerala Legislature". Kerala Government. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ 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.
  3. ↑ "Fresh light on 'Liberation Struggle'". The Hindu. 12 February 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Visalakshi, Dr. N.R. (Jan–Mar 1966). "Presidents Rule in Kerala". The Indian Journal of Political Science. 27 (1): 55–68. JSTOR   41854147.
  5. ↑ Sethy, Rabindra Kumar (2003). Political Crisis and President's Rule in an Indian State. APH Publishing. p. 72. ISBN   9788176484633.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Statistical Report on General Election, 1960 : To the Legislative Assembly of Kerala" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
  7. ↑ Thomas Johnson Nossiter (1 January 1982). Communism in Kerala: A Study in Political Adaptation. University of California Press. p. 128. ISBN   978-0-520-04667-2.
  8. ↑ "Kerala Legislature – Chief Ministers". Kerala Government. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
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