Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 1967

Last updated
Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 1967
Flag of India.svg
←  1965 19671970 →
All 133 seats in the Kerala Legislative Assembly
67 seats needed for a majority
Turnout 75.67%

  First party Second party Third party
  E. M. S. Namboodiripad.jpg
Leader E. M. S. Namboodiripad
Party CPI(M) CPI SSP
Alliance United Front (Saptakakshi Munnani) United Front (Saptakakshi Munnani) United Front (Saptakakshi Munnani)
Last election 40 3 13
Seats won 52 19 19
Seat changeIncrease2.svg12Increase2.svg16Increase2.svg6
Popular vote 1,476,456 538,004 527,662
Percentage 23.51% 8.57% 14.29%
SwingIncrease2.svg3.64%Increase2.svg0.27%Increase2.svg0.27%
Chief Minister before election

Vacant
President's Rule

Chief Minister

E. M. S. Namboodiripad
CPI(M)

The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1967 was the fourth assembly election in the Indian state of Kerala. [1] [2]

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 1965 elections, no party was able to form a government in Kerala. No viable coalition took shape, and Kerala went back to President Rule for another 2 years.

Kerala again went back to the polls in 1967. Both communist parties - CPI (M) and CPI - along with smaller parties including SSP and Muslim League contested this election as a United Front. A total of seven parties contested in the front, and the front was known as Saptakakshi Munnani . Congress and Kerala Congress contested separately.

Saptakakshi Munnani or the United Front was a short-lived alliance of seven political parties in Kerala state, India, which won the 1967 Kerala Legislative Assembly election. It was led by the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the other parties in the coalition were Communist Party of India (CPI), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), Indian Socialist Party (ISP), Kerala Socialist Party (KSP) and Karshaka Thozhilali Party (KTP). The coalition had a comfortable majority of 117 members out of 133. E. M. S. Namboodiripad was sworn in as the Chief Minister for the second time on March 6, 1967. But even before completing 30 months, internal dissensions surfaced and the government fell 32 months after assuming power, on October 24, 1969. Following this, the CPI, RSP, IUML and ISP exited from the coalition and constituted a mini-front.

Total polling percentage was 75.67%.

Constituencies

There were 133 constituencies in total, out of which 120 were General Category, 11 Scheduled Castes and 2 Scheduled Tribe seats.

Political parties

The national parties contested were Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India (Marxist), Indian National Congress, Praja Socialist Party, Sanghata Socialist Party and Swatantra Party along with the state parties Indian Union Muslim League and Kerala Congress.

Results

e  •  d  Summary of results of the Kerala Legislative Assembly election, 1967

[3]

[4]
Political Party Flag Seats
Contested 		Won Net Change
in seats 		% of
Seats		 Votes Vote % Change in
vote %
Bharatiya Jana Sangh 22 0 NA 0 55,584 0.88 NA
Communist Party of India CPI-banner.svg 22 19 Increase2.svg 16 14.29 538,004 8.57 Increase2.svg 0.27
Communist Party of India (Marxist) CPI-banner.svg 59 52 Increase2.svg 12 39.10 1,476,456 23.51 Increase2.svg 3.64
Indian National Congress Flag of the Indian National Congress.svg 133 9 Decrease2.svg 27 6.77 2,789,556 35.43 Increase2.svg 1.88
Praja Socialist Party 7 0 NA 0 13,991 0.22 NA
Samyukta Socialist Party 21 19 6 14.29 527,662 8.4 Increase2.svg 0.27
Swatantra Party 6 0 NA 14.29 13,105 0.21 NA
Kerala Congress 61 5 Decrease2.svg 1 3.76 475,172 7.57 Decrease2.svg 5.01
IUML 15 14 Increase2.svg 8 10.53 424,159 6.75 Increase2.svg 2.92
Independent 75 15 Increase2.svg 3 11.28 531,783 8.47 Decrease2.svg 5.27
Total Seats 133 (Steady2.svg 0) Voters 8,613,658 Turnout 6,518,272 (75.67 %)

Government formation

The United Front performed spectacularly swept most of the seats. Congress and Kerala Congress were decimated with 9 and 5 seats respectively. E M S became the Chief Minister for the second time. Second E. M. S. Namboodiripad Ministry had 14 members. For the first time in Kerala's history, the cabinet also included members from Muslim League.

K. Karunakaran became the opposition leader in the assembly.

K. Karunakaran Indian politician

Kannoth "K." Karunakaran was an Indian politician and member of the Indian National Congress party. He served as the Chief Minister of Kerala four times: for a brief period from March 1977 to April 1977, another short term from December 1981 to March 1982, followed by a brief period of president's rule from March 1982 to May 1982, from May 1982 to May 1987, and from June 1992 to May 1995. He was admired by all political parties for his determination and political skills. He was instrumental in several massive infrastructure projects in Kerala which includes the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium (Kochi) and the Cochin International Airport. These were sanctioned during his last stint as Chief Minister of Kerala from 1992 to 1995. In his honour, a pavilion in the Cochin stadium is named after him.

Fall of EMS Government

CPI (M) and CPI continued to have suspicions with each other. Due to the alleged high-handedness of CPI (M) in governance, most smaller parties were unsatisfied. This period also was marked with series of student strikes and police firings. CPI, SSP & Muslim League eventually became a group within the front, and worked together. Many ministers from the smaller parties resigned eventually, and many parties subsequently left the front.

On October 24, 1969, EMS submitted resignation owing to the loss of majority in the assembly.

Achutha Menon Ministry

Within a week of resignation of E M S Namboothiripad, M N Govindan Nair of CPI informed the Governor that their party was ready to form an alternate government.[ citation needed ] CPI formed a government with outside support from Congress. C. Achutha Menon became the Chief Minister of Kerala on 1969, November 1. The First Achutha Menon Ministry had 8 members.

See also

Related Research Articles

Communist Party of India (Marxist) political party

The Communist Party of India (Marxist) is the largest communist party in India. The party emerged from a split from the Communist Party of India in 1964. The CPI(M) was formed at the Seventh Congress of the Communist Party of India held in Calcutta from 31 October to 7 November 1964. As of 2018, CPI(M) is leading the state government in Kerala and having elected members in 8 state legislative assemblies including Kerala, West Bengal, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jammu & Kashmir, and Rajasthan. It also leads the West Bengal Left Front. As of 2016, CPI(M) claimed to have 1,048,678 members. The highest body of the party is the Politburo.

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.

Left Democratic Front (Kerala) political parties in Kerala

Left Democratic Front (LDF) is a coalition of left-wing political parties in the state of Kerala, India. It is one of the two major political coalitions in Kerala, the other being the United Democratic Front each of which have been in power alternatively for the last two decades. LDF won the May 2016 election, and is now in power. The coalition consists of Communist Party of India (CPI), Communist Party of India (Marxist) and variety of other smaller parties.

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.

C. Achutha Menon Indian politician

Chelat Achutha Menon was the Chief Minister of Kerala state for two terms. The first term was from 1 November 1969 to 1 August 1970 and the second 4 October 1970 to 25 March 1977. He was instrumental in starting number of institutions and development projects in Kerala. Achutha Menon was the only politician who adorned the chief minister ship of Kerala for two consecutive terms. He led the then United Front to a thumping electoral victory in Kerala when Congress party was routed in elections in other parts of India.

Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan Indian politician

Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan is an Indian politician. From 13 April 2012 to 1 January 2014 he was the Home Minister in Oommen Chandy Ministry, Government of Kerala. He held the Vigilance Portfolio, handed over from then Chief Minister Oommen Chandy. He handed over the charges of Home Ministry to Ramesh Chennithala from 1 January 2014, and took the Forest, Transport, Sports, Cinema & Environment portfolios.

1996 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election

The eleventh legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 2 May 1996. The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) led front won the election and its leader M. Karunanidhi, became the chief minister.This was his fourth term in office. S.Balakrishnan, also known as So.Balakrishnan, of Tamil Maanila Congress (TMC) became the Leader of the Opposition. The incumbent Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (ADMK) government was defeated in a landslide with its leader and outgoing chief minister J. Jayalalitha losing the election from the Bargur constituency.

1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election

The first legislative assembly Election to the Madras state on the basis of universal adult suffrage was held in March 1952. This was the first election held in Madras state after the Indian Independence. This election was officially known as 1951 Madras State Election, even though through delays, actual voting didn't take place until early 1952.

M. N. Govindan Nair, popularly known as MN, was born in Pandalam, in Pathanamthitta District, India.

P.K. Raghavan is the former Minister of Kerala State. He came to active politics through the Student movement of the Communist Party.

Paloli Mohammed Kutty is an Indian politician, social worker, the former Minister for Local Administration in the Government of Kerala and a member of both State and Central Committee of Communist Party of India (Marxist). He represented the Ponnani constituency in Malappuram district in the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2006-2011.

E. Chandrasekharan Nair was an Indian politician, Minister of Kerala and leader of the Communist Party of India.

Aryadan Muhammed Indian politician

Aryadan Muhammed is a veteran Indian National Congress party leader and the former Minister for Electricity and Transport in the Oommen Chandy Ministry. He represented the Nilambur constituency in Kerala after winning in the 2011 State Election.

G. Karthikeyan Indian politician

G. Karthikeyan was an Indian politician and the speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly. He was the Member of the Legislative Assembly (M.L.A) from Aruvikkara, Thiruvananthapuram, who represented the Indian National Congress party.

N. Sakthan is an Indian politician who was Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2016. He was also the Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Kattakada, Thiruvananthapuram, from 2011 to 2016.

The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1965 was the third assembly election in the Indian state of Kerala.

Left Front (West Bengal)

The Left Front is an alliance of political parties in the Indian state of West Bengal. It was formed in January 1977, the founding parties being the Communist Party of India (Marxist), All India Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Socialist Party, the Marxist Forward Bloc, the Revolutionary Communist Party of India and the Biplabi Bangla Congress. Other parties joined in later years, most notably the Communist Party of India.

T. V. Thomas Indian politician

T. V. Thomas was an Indian communist leader from Alleppey, Kerala. He was the Minister for Labour and Transport in the First E. M. S. Namboodiripad ministry, Minister for Industries in the Second E. M. S. Namboodiripad Ministry and in the Second Achutha Menon Ministry. He was also the Opposition Leader in the Travancore-Cochin Legislative Assembly (1954-56).

United Front or Aikya Munnani was a coalition of political parties in Kerala state, India, which was the ruling combine in the state from 1970 to 1979. The front was formed by five political parties, viz. Communist Party of India (CPI), Indian National Congress (INC), Revolutionary Socialist Party (RSP), Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and Praja Socialist Party (PSP), immediately before the 1970 Kerala Legislative Assembly election. The alliance saw the inclusion a few other parties in the following years. United Front dissolved in 1979 after the constituent parties left the alliance in order to form new political alliances, viz. the Left Democratic Front and the United Democratic Front.

References

  1. ↑ "History of Kerala Legislature". Kerala Government. Retrieved July 30, 2015.
  2. ↑ http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/pdf/KLA/KL_1965_ST_REP.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.ceo.kerala.gov.in/pdf/KLA/KL_1967_ST_REP.pdf
  4. ↑ 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.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.