1960 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

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]

1960 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

February 1960
All 126 seats in the Kerala Legislative Assembly 64 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	85.72%
First party Second party Third party   Leader R. Sankar E. M. S. Namboodiripad Pattom A. Thanu Pillai Party INC CPI PSP Alliance With PSP & IUML With Congress & IUML Leader's seat Cannanore-I Pattambi Trivandrum-II Last election 43 60 9 Seats won 63 29 20 Seat change 20 31 11 Popular vote 2,789,556 3,171,732 1,146,028 Percentage 34.42% 39.14% 14.14% Swing 3.43% 3.86% 3.38%
Chief Minister before election Vacant President's rule Chief Minister Pattom A. Thanu Pillai PSP

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.

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]

Results

 Summary of results of the 1960 Kerala Legislative Assembly election [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		108	29	31	23.02	3,171,732	39.14	3.86	43.79
	Indian National Congress		80	63	20	50.00	2,789,556	34.42	3.43	45.37
	Praja Socialist Party		33	20	11	15.87	1,146,028	14.14	3.38	38.41
	IUML		12	11	New	8.73	401,925	4.96	New	47.79
	Independent		61	5	11	4.17	488,699	5.93	-5.61	13.96
			Total Seats	126 ( 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]

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

• The Liberation Struggle
• President's rule
• 1960 elections in India
• Pattom Thanupillai Ministry
• R. Sankar Ministry
• 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

References

1. "History of Kerala Legislature". Kerala Government. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014. Retrieved 30 July 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. (January–March 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. "Statistical Report on General Election, 1960 : To the Legislative Assembly of Kerala" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
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 30 July 2015.