CHENNAI: Though Congress swept the polls in most parts of the country in the early years following Independence, it had a tough time in the then Madras Presidency. In the very first elections in the independent India, held in 1951-52 to both Lok Sabha and State Assemblies, the grand old party’s performance in Tamil Nadu was average.
It won just 35 of the 75 parliamentary seats in the State and failed to secure a majority in the Assembly. It’s vote share in the Lok Sabha polls was just 36.9 per cent. In the Assembly elections, it had won just 152 of the 375 seats. The party, however, formed the government by merging a few independent candidates and small parties like the Commonweal Party and taking its tally up to 167.
That’s how C Rajagopalachari became the first Chief Minister. The Madras Presidency – which comprised parts of present day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala – had 62 Lok Sabha seats. Also, as the State had 13 reserved segments, total seats was 75.
The Congress played up its role in the Independence movement ahead of the elections, which is why the results in Tamil Nadu shocked the party to a certain extent. Interestingly, the Communist Party of India had emerged as the second-largest party, winning 8 seats in Tamil Nadu in the parliamentary polls. The Kissan Mazdoor Praja Party won 6 seats, Tamil Nadu Toilers Party won 4 seats and the Commonweal Party won 3 seats. Independent candidates won as much as 15 seats.
The DMK, back then, did not contest the elections, but claimed that eight of the MPs who had won in the elections had their support. Congress became a dominant force in Tamil Nadu a bit later, after the entry of K Kamaraj as the Chief Minister in 1957. It then remained comfortably in power for a decade, till it was dethroned by the DMK in 1967.