This article is about the first election held in Independent India in 1955

Presidential election

The Election Commission of India held the first presidential elections of India on May 2, 1952.

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

won his first election with 670000 votes over his nearest rival K.T. Shah who got 92,827 votes.

General election

General elections to the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

since independence were held in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

between 25 October 1951 and 21 February 1952. The

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

(INC) stormed into power, winning 364 of the 489 seats. awahar lal nehrubecame the first democratically elected Prime Minister of the country. * Total Seats : 489 *

Communist Party of India Communist Party of India (CPI) is the oldest Marxist–Leninist communist party in India and one of the nine national parties in the country. The CPI was founded in modern-day Kanpur (formerly known as Cawnpore) on 26 December 1925. H ...

: 16 *

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

: 12 *

Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party The Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (''Farmer Worker People's Party'') was a political party of India. Established in 1951, it merged with the Socialist Party to form the Praja Socialist Party in the following year. History In June, 1951 Indian ...

: 9 *

Bharatiya Jana Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) (ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the pol ...

: 3

Legislative Assembly elections

Ajmer^*

^* : On 1 November 1956,

Ajmer State Ajmer State was a separate state within India from 1950 to 1956 with Ajmer as its capital. Ajmer State was formed in 1950 out of the territory of former province of Ajmer-Merwara, which became a province of the Indian Union on 15 August 1947. I ...

was merged into

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

under

States Reorganisation Act, 1956 The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...

Assam

Bhopal^*

^* : On 1 November 1956,

Bhopal State Bhopal State (pronounced ) was an Islamic principality founded in the beginning of 18th-century India by the Afghan Mughal noble Dost Muhammad Khan. It was a tributary state during 18th century, a princely salute state with 19-gun salute in a ...

was merged into

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

under

. Bhopal states 1955

Bihar^*

^* : Bihar was reduced slightly by the transfer of minor territories to

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...

in 1956 under

Bombay^*

^*: On 1 November 1956, under

Bombay state Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

was re-organized by the addition of

Saurashtra State Saurashtra, also known as United State of Kathiawar, was a State of India that existed between 1948 and 1956, on Saurashtra alias Kathiawar peninsula, with Rajkot as its capital, History Formation as United State of Kathiawar Saurashtra ...

and Kutch State, Nagpur Division of

, and

Marathwada Marathwada () is a proposed state and geographical region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It was formed during the Nizam's rule and was part of the then Hyderabad State. The region coincides with the Aurangabad division of Maharashtra. ...

region of Hyderabad. The state's southernmost districts of Bombay were transferred to

Mysore State Mysore State, colloquially Old Mysore, was a state within the Dominion of India and the later Republic of India from 1947 until 1956. The state was formed by renaming the Kingdom of Mysore, and Bangalore replaced Mysore as the state's capital. ...

while

Abu Road Abu Road is a city and sub-district in Sirohi district of Rajasthan state in western India, lies on the bank of West Banas River. It is the tehsil and sub-district headquarters. Its railway station is an important stop on the main Indian Railwa ...

taluka of the Banaskantha district was transferred to

Coorg^*

^* : On 1 November 1956,

Coorg State Coorg State was a Part-C state in India which existed from 1950 to 1956. When the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950, most of the existing provinces were reconstituted into states. Thus, Coorg Province became Coorg State. ...

was merged into

as per the

Delhi^*

^* : On 1 November 1956, under

, Delhi was made a Union Territory under the direct administration of the President of India and the

Delhi Legislative Assembly The Delhi Legislative Assembly, also known as the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consists o ...

was abolished simultaneously. Next legislative assembly elections in Delhi were held in

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

, when Union Territory of Delhi was formally declared as

National Capital Territory of Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

by the Sixty-ninth Amendment to the

Indian constitution The Constitution of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme law of India. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures, powers, and duties of government institutions and sets out fundamental r ...

Himachal Pradesh^*

^* : Under

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

became a Union Territory on 1 November 1956, under the direct administration of the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

and the

Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly The seat of the Vidhan Sabha is at Shimla, the capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha comprises 68 Members of Legislative Assembly, which include 68 members directly elected from single-seat constituency. Its term is 5 years, unless sooner dissol ...

was abolished simultaneously. Under Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966, it became a state and the next legislative elections were held in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

Hyderabad^*

^* : On 1 November 1956,

Hyderabad State Hyderabad State () was a princely state located in the south-central Deccan region of India with its capital at the city of Hyderabad. It is now divided into the present-day state of Telangana, the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka, and t ...

, except the districts of Raichur, Gulbarga, Bidar and Marathwada, was merged into

Andhra State Andhra State (IAST: ; ) was a Administrative divisions of India#States and union territories, state in India created in 1953 from the Telugu language, Telugu-speaking northern List of districts in India, districts of Madras State. The state was ...

to form a single state,

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

, under

. The districts of Raichur, Bidar and Gulbarga were transferred to the

, while the Marathwada district was merged with the

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created at the time of India's Independence, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Presidency (roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Maharashtra, excluding Sou ...

Madhya Bharat^*

^* : On 1 November 1956, under

Madhya Bharat Madhya Bharat, also known as Malwa Union, was an Indian state in west-central India, created on 28 May 1948 from twenty-five princely states which until 1947 had been part of the Central India Agency, with Jiwajirao Scindia as its Rajpramukh. ...

(except the Sunel enclave of the Mandsaur district) was merged into

and the Sunel enclave of the Mandsaur district of Madhya Bharat was merged in

Madhya Pradesh^*

^* : On 1 November 1956, under

(except the Sunel enclave of the Mandsaur district),

Vindhya Pradesh Vindhya Pradesh was a former state of India. It occupied an area of 23,603 sq. miles. It was created in 1948 as Union of Baghelkhand and Bundelkhand States, shortly after Indian independence, from the territories of the princely states in the e ...

and the Sironj sub-division of the Kota district of

were merged into Madhya Pradesh while the Nagpur Division was transferred to Bombay State.

Madras^*

^* : On 1 November 1956, the southern part of Travancore-Cochin (

Kanyakumari district Kanniyakumari district is one of the 38 districts in Tamil Nadu state and the southernmost district in mainland India. It stands second in terms of population density among the districts of Tamil Nadu. It is also the richest district in Tamil Nad ...

) was added to the

Madras State Madras State was a state of India during the mid-20th century. At the time of its formation in 1950, it included the whole of present-day Tamil Nadu (except Kanyakumari district), Coastal Andhra, Rayalaseema, the Malabar region of North and c ...

while the

Malabar district Malabar District, also known as Malayalam District, was an administrative district on the southwestern Malabar Coast of Bombay Presidency (1792-1800) and Madras Presidency (1800-1947) in British India, and independent India's Madras State (19 ...

of the state was transferred to the new state of

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, and a new union territory, Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands, was created.

Mysore^*

^* : On 1 November 1956, Mysore state was enlarged by the addition of

, the

Kollegal Kollegal is one of the major taluks in the Chamarajanagara District of Karnataka State in the south of India. It is also the largest taluk in Karnataka, Kollegal is well known for its silk industry which attracts traders from all over the stat ...

taluk of the Coimbatore district and the

South Kanara South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...

district (except the

Kasaragod Kasaragod () is a municipal town and administrative headquarters of Kasaragod district in the state of Kerala, India. Established in 1966, Kasaragod was the first municipal town in the district. It is the northernmost district of Kerala and ...

taluk) of

, and the

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

speaking districts from southern Bombay state and western

under

. The Siruguppa taluk, the Bellary taluk, the Hospet taluk and a small area of the Mallapuram sub-taluk were detached from the Mysore State.

Orissa

Patiala & East Punjab States Union

Punjab^*

^* :

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

was enlarged by the addition of

Patiala & East Punjab States Union Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak'' (the 'Fortunate Castle') constructe ...

in 1956 under

States Reorganisation Act of 1956 The States Reorganisation act, 1956 was a major reform of the boundaries of India's states and territories, organising them along linguistic lines. Although additional changes to India's state boundaries have been made since 1956, the States ...

Rajasthan^*

Saurashtra^*

^* : On 1 November 1956,

was merged into

as per the

Travancore-Cochin

^$ : In 1952 elections of legislative assembly, no party found the majority.

formed a coalition government with the help of

Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress The Travancore Tamil Nadu Congress (TTNC) was a political party in the Indian state of Travancore-Cochin. The party was led by A. Nesamony. History The Kingdom of Travancore was a princely state of India. Its population included an ethnic M ...

Kerala Socialist Party Kerala Socialist Party (KSP) is a political party in India founded under the leadership of Mathai Manjooran on 21 September 1947 at Kozhikode. It began as a small party, but its front-line leaders compelled the party deep into the public imagina ...

and a nominated member.

Uttar Pradesh

Vindhya Pradesh^*

^* : On 1 November 1956,

was merged into

under

West Bengal^*

^* : West Bengal was enlarged slightly by the transfer of minor territories from

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

in 1956 under

References

External links

Election Commission of India
{{DEFAULTSORT:1951-52 elections in India 1951 elections in India 1952 elections in India

1951 in India 1952 in India Elections in India by year

Presidential election

General election

Legislative Assembly elections

Ajmer*

Assam

Bhopal*

Bihar*

Bombay*

Coorg*

Delhi*

Himachal Pradesh*

Hyderabad*

Madhya Bharat*

Madhya Pradesh*

Madras*

Mysore*

Orissa

Patiala & East Punjab States Union

Punjab*

Rajasthan*

Saurashtra*

Travancore-Cochin

Uttar Pradesh

Vindhya Pradesh*

West Bengal*

See also

References

External links

Ajmer^*

Bhopal^*

Bihar^*

Bombay^*

Coorg^*

Delhi^*

Himachal Pradesh^*

Hyderabad^*

Madhya Bharat^*

Madhya Pradesh^*

Madras^*

Mysore^*

Punjab^*

Rajasthan^*

Saurashtra^*

Vindhya Pradesh^*

West Bengal^*