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 area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

. It was founded in 1952 when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party led by J. B. Kripalani (former president of the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and a close associate of

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

). The PSP led the cabinet under Pattom A. Thanu Pillai as chief minister of State of Travancore-Cochin from March 1954 to February 1955. In 1955 a faction led by Ram Manohar Lohia broke from the party, reusing the name "Socialist Party". The PSP again came to power in the new state of

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, 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 ...

under Pattom A. Thanu Pillai 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 (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

leader George Fernandes, broke off to join the Samyukta Socialist Party in 1967. In 1972, a section merged with Fernandes's party to become the Socialist Party once more, before becoming part of the Janata coalition in 1977 following the proclamation of Emergency by Indira Gandhi.

Formation

In September 1952, the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party merged with the Socialist Party 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, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

. 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