# 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election

The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1957 was the first assembly election in the Indian state of Kerala. The Communist Party of India won the election with 60 seats. The election led to the formation of first democratically elected communist government in India. The election also made Kerala as the first state to elect a Non-Congress party in the country.

## State reorganisation

On 1 November 1956, under the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Kerala was formed by the merger of Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district (including Fort Cochin and the Laccadive Islands) of Madras State, Kasaragod taluk of the South Canara district and the Amindive Islands. The southern part of Travancore-Cochin, the five taluks of Agastheeswaram, Thovala, Kalkulam, Vilavahcode, and Shencotta, were transferred from Travancore-Cochin to the Madras State. After the reorganization, the assembly constituencies increased from 106 with 117 seats in 1954 to 114 with 126 seats in 1957.

## Background

Following the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Malabar District of Madras state merged with Travancore-Cochin to form the new state of Kerala on 1 November 1956. The merger helped the Communist Party of India to increase their base in the region. The ruling Indian National Congress lost the prominence due to the factionalism within the party. Furthermore, communalism and struggles against feudalism played a major role.

## Election

The Election Commission of India conducted elections to the newly created state between 28 February – 11 March 1957. The elections were held to the 126 seats (114 constituencies) including 12 two member constituencies of which 11 and one reserved for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes respectively, in which 406 candidates were contested. The voter turnout was 65.49%.

## Results

The result of the elections listed below:
Summary of results of the 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election :
| Party | Flag | Seats Contested | Won | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Vote % in contested seats |
| Indian National Congress | | 124 | 43 | 34.13 | 2,209,251 | 37.85 | 38.1 |
| Communist Party of India | | 101 | 60 | 47.62 | 2,059,547 | 35.28 | 40.57 |
| Praja Socialist Party | | 65 | 9 | 7.14 | 628,261 | 10.76 | 17.48 |
| Revolutionary Socialist Party | | 28 | 0 | | 188,553 | 3.23 | 11.12 |
| Independent politician | | 86 | 14 | 11.11 | 751,965 | 12.88 | N/A |
| | Total seats | 126 | Voters | 89,13,247 | Turnout | 58,37,577 (65.49%) | 58,37,577 (65.49%) | 58,37,577 (65.49%) |
In the election, five women candidates were elected out of nine candidates.

### By Constituency

| Assembly Constituency | Assembly Constituency | Assembly Constituency | Winner | Winner | Winner | Winner | Runner | Runner | Runner | Runner |
| No. | Constituency Name | Category | Name | Party | Party | Vote | Name | Party | Party | Vote |
| 1 | Parassala | GEN | Kunjukrishnan Nadar M. | | INC | 16,742 | Krishna Pillai K | | PSP | 8,338 |
| 2 | Neyyattinkara | GEN | Janardhanan Nair O. | | CPI | 18,812 | Krishna Pillai N. K. | | PSP | 16,558 |
| 3 | Vilappil | GEN | Sreedhar G. Ponnara | | PSP | 18,221 | Surendranath K. V. | | CPI | 14,278 |
| 4 | Nemom | GEN | Sadasivan A. | | CPI | 15,998 | Viswambharan P. | | PSP | 14,159 |
| 5 | Trivandrum I | GEN | Eapan E. P. | | PSP | 15,466 | Krishnan Nair K. | | Independent | 13,418 |
| 6 | Trivandrum II | GEN | Thanu Pillai A. | | PSP | 21,816 | Anirudhan K. | | CPI | 17,082 |
| 7 | Ullur | GEN | Sreedharan V. | | CPI | 16,904 | Alikunju Sastri M. | | PSP | 14,182 |
| 8 | Arianad | GEN | Balakrishna Pillai R. | | CPI | 16,728 | Kesavan Nair R. | | INC | 6,987 |
| 9 | Nedumangad | GEN | Neelakandaru Pandarathil N. | | CPI | 20,553 | Somasekharan Nair K | | PSP | 7,888 |
| 10 | Attingal | GEN | Prakasam R. | | CPI | 24,328 | Gopala Pillai | | PSP | 11,151 |
| 11 | Varkala | (SC) | Abdul Majeed T. A. | | CPI | 41,683 | Sivadasan K. | | CPI | 31,454 |
| 12 | Eravipuram | GEN | Raveendran | | CPI | 19,122 | Kunju Sankara Pillai V. | | PSP | 8,762 |
| 13 | Quilon | GEN | A. A. Rahim | | INC | 20,367 | Divakaran T. K | | RSP | 12,571 |
| 14 | Thrikkadavur | (SC) | Karunakaran K. | | CPI | 33,782 | T. Krishnan | | INC | 32,596 |
| 15 | Karunagappally | GEN | Kunjukrishnan P. | | INC | 13,709 | P. K. Kunju | | PSP | 13,063 |
| 16 | Krishnapuram | GEN | Karthikeyan G. | | CPI | 23,963 | Sekhara Panicker K. | | INC | 14,493 |
| 17 | Kayamkulam | GEN | Aysha Bai K. O. | | CPI | 27,067 | Sarojini | | INC | 13,138 |
| 18 | Karthigapally | GEN | Sugathan R. | | CPI | 20,978 | Velu Pillai G. | | INC | 14,887 |
| 19 | Haripad | GEN | Ramakrishna Pillai V. | | Independent | 20,184 | K. Balagangadharan | | INC | 15,812 |
| 20 | Mavelikara | GEN | Kunjachan P. K. | | CPI | 44,630 | K. C. George | | CPI | 39,617 |
| 21 | Kunnathur | (SC) | Madhavan Pillai P. R. | | CPI | 41,569 | Govindan R. | | CPI | 37,321 |
| 22 | Kottarakkara | (SC) | Chandrasekharan Nair E. | | CPI | 23,298 | Ramachandran Nair K. | | INC | 14,307 |
| 23 | Chadayamangalam | GEN | Bhargavan K. | | CPI | 19,375 | Abdul Majeed M. | | PSP | 9,143 |
| 24 | Pathanapuram | GEN | Rajagopalan Nair | | CPI | 24,499 | Kuttan Pillai K. | | INC | 14,440 |
| 25 | Punalur | GEN | Gopalan P. | | CPI | 20,455 | Kunjuraman Assan K. | | INC | 16,366 |
| 26 | Ranni | GEN | Idicula | | INC | 23,308 | Thomas Mathew | | Independent | 20,722 |
| 27 | Pathanamthitta | GEN | Bhaskara Pillai P. | | CPI | 29,001 | Chacko (Geevarghese) N. G. | | INC | 21,353 |
| 28 | Aranmula | GEN | Gopinathan Pillai K. | | INC | 18,895 | Vasudevan N. C. | | CPI | 18,630 |
| 29 | Kallooppara | GEN | M. M. Mathai | | INC | 17,874 | N. T. George | | CPI | 10,843 |
| 30 | Thiruvalla | GEN | G. Padmanabhan Thampi | | CPI | 22,978 | Kuruvila Thomas T. | | INC | 20,347 |
| 31 | Chengannur | GEN | Sankaranarayanan Thampi R. | | CPI | 19,538 | Saraswathi Amma K. | | INC | 13,546 |
| 32 | Alleppey | GEN | Thomas T. V. | | CPI | 26,542 | Nafeesa Beevi A. | | INC | 22,278 |
| 33 | Mararikulam | GEN | Sadasivan C. G. | | CPI | 28,153 | Joseph Mathen | | INC | 18,350 |
| 34 | Sherthala | GEN | K. R. Gouri | | CPI | 26,088 | A. Subramonian Pillai | | INC | 22,756 |
| 35 | Aroor | GEN | P. S. Karthikeyan | | INC | 23,956 | Avira Tharakan | | Independent | 22,296 |
| 36 | Thakazhi | GEN | Thomas John | | INC | 21,940 | Varghese Vaidlian T. K. | | CPI | 16,480 |
| 37 | Changanacherry | GEN | Kalyanakrishnan Nair M. | | CPI | 22,539 | Raghavan Pillai P. | | INC | 19,693 |
| 38 | Vazhoor | GEN | Chacko P. T. | | INC | 20,102 | Raghava Kurup N. | | CPI | 20,022 |
| 39 | Kanjirappally | GEN | Thomas K. T. | | INC | 14,896 | Joseph | | PSP | 12,893 |
| 40 | Puthuppally | GEN | P. C. Cherian | | INC | 20,396 | George E. M. | | CPI | 19,000 |
| 41 | Kottayam | GEN | Bhaskaran Nair P. | | CPI | 23,021 | Govindhan Nair M. P. | | INC | 20,750 |
| 42 | Ettumanoor | GEN | Joseph George | | INC | 21,423 | Gopala Pillai C. S. | | CPI | 19,930 |
| 43 | Meenachil | GEN | Joseph P. M. | | INC | 20,126 | Thomas Mathai | | Independent | 13,462 |
| 44 | Vaikom | GEN | K. R. Narayanan | | INC | 25,818 | C. K. Viswanathan | | CPI | 25,164 |
| 45 | Kaduthuruthy | GEN | M. C. Abraham | | INC | 22,365 | Kurian Kurian | | Independent | 13,552 |
| 46 | Ramamangalam | GEN | E. P. Poulose | | INC | 20,086 | Parameswaran Nair | | CPI | 13,588 |
| 47 | Muvattupuzha | GEN | K. M. George | | INC | 16,820 | Kuruvilla Mattai (Mathew) | | CPI | 14,993 |
| 48 | Devicolam | (SC) | Rosamma Punnose | | CPI | 33,809 | Ganapathy N. | | INC | 31,887 |
| | Bye Polls in 1958 | Bye Polls in 1958 | R. Punnose | | COM | 55,819 | B. Nair | | INC | 48,730 |
| 49 | Thodupuzha | GEN | Mathew C. A. | | INC | 22,149 | Narayanan Nair K | | CPI | 11,680 |
| 50 | Karikode | GEN | Kusuman Joseph | | INC | 14,669 | Augustine Ouseph | | Independent | 12,084 |
| 51 | Poonjar | GEN | Thomman T. A. | | INC | 21,279 | Chacko Vallikkappan (Jocob) | | CPI | 9,045 |
| 52 | Puliyannur | GEN | K. M. Joseph Chazhicatt | | PSP | 18,605 | Prof.K.MChandy | | INC | 17,915 |
| 53 | Palluruthy | GEN | Alexander Parambithar | | INC | 23,666 | Gangadharan P. | | CPI | 19,848 |
| 54 | Mattancherry | GEN | Viswanathan K. K. | | INC | 19,106 | Aboo T. M | | CPI | 13,046 |
| 55 | Narakkal | GEN | K. C. Abraham | | INC | 24,253 | K. K. Ramakrishnan | | CPI | 22,321 |
| 56 | Ernakulam | GEN | Jacob A. L. | | INC | 23,857 | V. Ramankutty Menon | | CPI | 18,172 |
| 57 | Kanayannur | GEN | Ramakrishnan T. K. | | CPI | 21,292 | Joseph A. V. | | INC | 17,506 |
| 58 | Alwaye | GEN | T. O. Bava | | INC | 23,707 | Varkey M. C. | | Independent | 21,142 |
| 59 | Perumbavoor | GEN | Govinda Pillai P. | | CPI | 21,679 | K. A. Damodara Menon | | INC | 20,780 |
| 60 | Kothakulangara | GEN | Anthony M. A. | | INC | 24,133 | A. P. Kurian | | CPI | 15,246 |
| 61 | Parur | GEN | Sivan Pillai N. | | CPI | 19,997 | K. I. Mathew | | INC | 17,909 |
| 62 | Vadakkekara | GEN | Balan K. A. | | CPI | 23,385 | Vijayan K. R. | | INC | 17,844 |
| 63 | Cranganore | GEN | E. Gopalakrishna Menon | | CPI | 20,385 | Kunju Moideen A. K. | | INC | 18,894 |
| 64 | Chalakkudy | (SC) | P. K. Chathan | | CPI | 43,454 | C. J. Jenardhanan | | PSP | 42,997 |
| 65 | Irinjalakuda | GEN | Achutha Menon C. | | CPI | 24,140 | K. T. Achuthan | | INC | 21,480 |
| 66 | Manalur | GEN | Mundassery Joseph | | CPI | 23,350 | Sukumaran | | INC | 21,355 |
| 67 | Trichur | GEN | A. R. Menon | | Independent | 23,531 | Karunakaran K. | | INC | 21,045 |
| 68 | Ollur | GEN | Paranchu R. | | INC | 15,994 | Raghavan V. | | CPI | 15,915 |
| 69 | Kunnamkulam | GEN | Krishnan T. K. | | CPI | 21,161 | Velayudhan K. I. | | INC | 18,788 |
| 70 | Wadakkanchery | (SC) | Ayyappan C. C. | | CPI | 33,161 | Kochukuttan K | | INC | 28,895 |
| 71 | Nattika | GEN | Achuthan K. S. | | INC | 23,594 | Gopalakrishnan P. K. | | CPI | 22,039 |
| 72 | Guruvayoor | GEN | Koru Kooliyat | | Independent | 16,722 | Abubaker M. V. | | INC | 14,087 |
| 73 | Andathodu | GEN | Kolady Govindan Kutty Menon | | CPI | 14,229 | Karunakara Menon K. G. | | INC | 12,495 |
| 74 | Ponnani | (SC) | Kunhambu Kallayan | | INC | 22,784 | Kunhan Eliyath Tharayil | | CPI | 20,535 |
| 75 | Kuzhalmannam | GEN | John Kuduvakkotte | | Independent | 19,437 | Kesava Menon T.P. | | INC | 14,689 |
| 76 | Alathur | GEN | Krishnan R. | | CPI | 19,203 | Vaitheeswara Iyer P. S. | | INC | 13,317 |
| 77 | Chittur | (SC) | Balachandra Menon P. | | CPI | 23,995 | Eacharan K. | | INC | 22,062 |
| 78 | Elapully | GEN | Ramankutty A. K. | | CPI | 16,768 | Sankaran C. C. | | INC | 11,560 |
| 79 | Palghat | GEN | Raghava Menon R. | | INC | 14,873 | Kunhiraman M. P. | | CPI | 14,248 |
| 80 | Parli | GEN | Narayanakutty C. K. | | CPI | 21,627 | Gopalakrishnan Nair K. | | INC | 13,996 |
| 81 | Mannarghat | GEN | Krishna Menon K. | | CPI | 13,375 | Kochunny Nair K. C. | | INC | 9,665 |
| 82 | Perinthalmanna | GEN | Govindan Nambiar | | CPI | 13,248 | Pookoya Thangal Haji P. V. | | Independent | 9,398 |
| 83 | Ottapalam | GEN | Kunhunni Nayar | | CPI | 16,157 | Sundara Iyer N. | | INC | 15,248 |
| 84 | Pattambi | GEN | Gopalan Erasseri Patinharethil | | CPI | 17,447 | Padamanabha Menon K. P. | | INC | 9,793 |
| 85 | Mankada | GEN | Mohammad Kodur Valia Peedikakkal | | Independent | 11,854 | Mohammad Malavattath | | INC | 8,338 |
| 86 | Tirur | GEN | Moideenkutty Hajee K. | | Independent | 15,404 | Alikutty P. P. | | INC | 13,231 |
| 87 | Tanur | GEN | Muhammed Koya C. H. | | Independent | 16,787 | Assanar Kutty T. | | INC | 11,520 |
| 88 | Kuttippuram | GEN | Ahamedkutty C. | | Independent | 15,495 | Moideenkutty P. K. | | INC | 10,424 |
| 89 | Thirurangady | GEN | Ayukkadarkutty Nahak | | Independent | 17,622 | Kunhalikutty Haji A. | | INC | 16,670 |
| 90 | Malappuram | GEN | Hassan Gani K. | | Independent | 17,214 | Saidalavi P. | | INC | 12,243 |
| 91 | Manjeri | (SC) | Ummer Koya P. P. | | INC | 30,860 | Chadayan M. | | Independent | 29,101 |
| 92 | Kondotty | GEN | Ahammad Kurikkal M. P. M. | | Independent | 18,981 | Abubakar Kolakadan | | INC | 11,866 |
| 93 | Kozhikode I | GEN | Sarada Krishnan | | INC | 17,388 | Manjunatha Rao H. | | CPI | 16,079 |
| 94 | Kozhikode I I | GEN | Kumaran P. | | INC | 18,586 | E. Janardhanan | | Independent | 11,211 |
| 95 | Chevayur | GEN | Balagopalan A. | | INC | 20,683 | Raghavan Nair | | CPI | 17,319 |
| 96 | Kunnamangalam | GEN | Leela Damodara Menon | | INC | 13,598 | Chathunni Ottayil K. | | CPI | 11,814 |
| 97 | Koduvally | GEN | Gopalankutty Nair M. | | INC | 19,377 | Muhammedkutty C. | | Independent | 15,950 |
| 98 | Balusseri | GEN | Narayana Kurup M. | | PSP | 15,789 | Raghavan Nair E. | | INC | 11,536 |
| 99 | Quilandy | GEN | Kunhiraman Nambiar | | PSP | 19,668 | Achuthan Nair P. | | INC | 16,622 |
| 100 | Perambra | GEN | Kumaran Madathil | | CPI | 17,838 | Madhavan Nair T K. | | INC | 15,827 |
| 101 | Badagara | GEN | Kelu Mandoti Kuniyil | | CPI | 17,123 | Krishnan | | PSP | 15,448 |
| 102 | Nadapuram | GEN | Kanaran C. H. | | CPI | 18,533 | Kunhammad Haji V. K. | | INC | 15,177 |
| 103 | Wynad | (SC) | Kunjikrishnan Nair N. K. | | INC | 31,993 | Madura | | INC | 29,296 |
| 104 | Kuthuparamba | GEN | Ramunny Kurup | | PSP | 21,540 | Madhavan P. K. | | CPI | 14,858 |
| 105 | Mattannur | GEN | Balaram N. E. | | CPI | 23,540 | Kunhiraman Nair | | INC | 13,089 |
| 106 | Tellicherry | GEN | Krishna Iyer V. R. | | Independent | 27,318 | Kunhiraman P. | | INC | 15,234 |
| 107 | Cannanore I | GEN | Kannan Chaliyoth | | CPI | 17,464 | Gopalan Othayoth | | INC | 17,413 |
| 108 | Cannanore II | GEN | Gopalan K. P. | | CPI | 21,493 | Madhavan Pamban | | INC | 18,776 |
| 109 | Madayi | GEN | Gopalan Nambiar K. P. R. | | CPI | 24,390 | T. Narayanan Nambiar | | INC | 12,169 |
| 110 | Rikkur | GEN | Narayanan Nambiar T. C. | | CPI | 24,518 | Narayanan Nambissan | | INC | 11,052 |
| 111 | Nileswar | (SC) | Kallalan | | CPI | 44,754 | Namboodiripad E. M. S. | | CPI | 38,090 |
| 112 | Hosdrug | GEN | Chandraskharan K. | | PSP | 14,150 | Madhavan K. | | CPI | 11,209 |
| 113 | Kasaragod | GEN | Kunhikrishan Nair Cheripady | | INC | 10,290 | Narayanan Nambiar | | PSP | 10,096 |
| 114 | Manjeshwar | GEN | M. Umesh Rao | | Independent | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested | Uncontested |

## Government formation

Communist Party of India formed the government with the support of five independents. On 5 April 1957, E. M. S. Namboodiripad became the chief minister of Kerala and first non–Congress chief minister of the country (PSP ruled Travencore Cochin state before). But the government was dismissed in 1959 by the central government following the Liberation Struggle.