The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

. It was founded when the

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 ...

, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri,

Acharya Narendra Deva Acharya Narendra Deva (; also Dev; 30 October 1889 – 19 February 1956) was one of the leading theorists of the Congress Socialist Party in India. His democratic socialism renounced violent means as a matter of principle and embraced the ''saty ...

and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the

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 N ...

led by

J. B. Kripalani Jivatram Bhagwandas Kripalani (11 November 1888 – 19 March 1982), popularly known as Acharya Kripalani, was an Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in ...

(former president of 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 E ...

and a close associate of

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian Anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India du ...

). It led the cabinet under

Pattom A. Thanu Pillai Raja Shri Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (15 July 188527 July 1970) was a participant in the Indian independence movement who later served as the chief minister of Kerala from 22 February 1960 to 25 September 1962. He was known as the 'Bhishmacharya' o ...

as chief minister of State of Travancore-Cochin from March 1954 to February 1955. A section led by

Rammanohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ; (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader. During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast ...

broke from the party in 1955, resuming the name "Socialist Party". It again came to power in 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 Ca ...

under

from February 1960 to September 1962. In 1960, Kripalani left the party and in 1964, Asoka Mehta joined Congress after his expulsion from the party. Another section of the party, led by the

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

leader George Fernandes, broke off to become the

Samyukta Socialist Party Samyukta Socialist Party (; SSP), was a political party in India from 1964 to 1972. SSP was formed through a split in the Praja Socialist Party (PSP) in 1964. In 1972, SSP was reunited with PSP, forming the Socialist Party. The General Secre ...

in 1969. In 1972, a section merged with Fernandes' party to become the Samyukta Socialist Party/Socialist Party once more, before becoming part of the Janata coalition in 1977 following the Emergency.

Formation

In September 1952, the

merged with the

with J. B. Kriplani as the chairman and Asoka Mehta as the general secretary.Chandra, Bipan & others (2000). ''India after Independence 1947–2000'', Neu Delhi:Penguin Books, , pp. 201–2

Elections

At the party's first general election in 1957, the PSP won 10.41% of the total votes and 19 seats in the

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-p ...

. However, the party's vote share continued to decline over the next few elections. It won 6.81% of the total votes and 12 seats in the

in 1962, 3.06% of the total votes and 13 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1967 and only 1.04% of the total votes and only 2 seats in the Lok Sabha in 1971.

References

1952 establishments in India 1972 disestablishments in India Defunct political parties in India Political parties established in 1952 Political parties disestablished in 1972 {{India-party-stub

Formation

Elections

See also

References