CHENNAI: The country’s second general elections held in 1957, just a year after the reorganisation of States on linguistic lines, announced the arrival of the DMK as a mainstream political force to reckon with. The reorganisation saw Tamil-speaking areas being carved out of the Madras State.
The results of the elections were a resounding assertion of the stature that K Kamaraj had attained, just three years after taking over as the Chief Minister. The Congress swept the elections, winning three-fourths of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies. The DMK, which till then was considered a fringe outfit known for its fierce protests, emerged as the third-largest party.
The 1957 polls also marked the decline of the Communists in Tamil Nadu, a space that was increasingly being occupied by the DMK. The CPI, which sent 8 MPs from Tamil Nadu in 1952, got a mere two seats in 1957. On the other hand, the DMK, which was contesting elections for the first time, won 15 Assembly seats and 2 Lok Sabha seats.
The Congress’ mandate was so massive that these developments got hardly noticed. The grand old party had won 31 of the 41 Parliamentary seats and 151 of the 205 Assembly seats. This massive victory was despite a splinter group from Congress, under the leadership of SS Karaiyalar, forming a new party named ‘Congress Reformation Committee’ and contesting polls. In fact, the splinter group emerged as the second-largest party in the State Assembly, winning 16 seats.
Even though Kamaraj’s popularity was immense, he is understood to have sensed the threat posed by DMK under CN Annadurai, which was growing fast in the State. Back then, the Dravidian major was not even a recognised party. It did not have a common symbol though many leaders, including M Karunanidhi, were allotted the ‘rising sun’.
The vote share secured in 1957 elections helped DMK get recognition as a political party, much to the surprise of many in the Congress who had considered it just as a fringe outfit that is unlikely to taste electoral success.