Simple Majority Was Not So Simple

Why Congress, even with a legacy of Independence, couldn’t earn a simple majority in 1952

- S Kumaresan

The years after Independence were heady for the Congress, but not heady enough that the first elections in the Madras Presidency in 1952 were a cakewalk. In fact, the party did not even win a simple majority, having to resort to wheeler-dealing, reportedly along with some Central government support to form its government that year.

The Madras Presidency, with 375 Assembly constituencies, covered Tamil Nadu and parts of Kerala, Karnataka and undivided Andhra. The Congress entered the election seeking votes on the basis of its role in the freedom struggle. The results, then, proved a shock to the party. Although it emerged the single largest political party in Assembly, winning 152 of 375 seats, it did not secure a simple majority that would allow it to form a government.

The Communist Party of India emerged as the second-largest party with 62 seats (13.18% votes) while the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party came third with 35 seats (9% votes), followed by the Tamil Nadu Toilers Party with 19 seats (4.25%) and the Commonweal Party with six seats (1.09%). Independents and other smaller parties won in a whopping 68 seats.