1957 elections in India
# 1957 elections in India

## Presidential election

The Election Commission of India held the second presidential elections of India on May 6, 1957. Dr. Rajendra Prasad won his re-election with 459,698 votes over his nearest rival Chowdhry Hari Ram.

## General election

General elections to the second Lok Sabha since independence were held in India between 24 February to 14 March 1957. The Indian National Congress (INC) easily won the second term, winning 371 of the 494 seats and their vote share increased from 45.0% to 47.8%.

## Legislative Assembly elections

Legislative Assembly elections in India were conducted for Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Madras, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal legislative assemblies in 1957.

### Andhra $Pradesh^*$

Seats :

| Parties and Coalitions | Parties and Coalitions | Vote | % | Contested | Won |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Indian National Congress | 1,707,364 | 47.38% | 109 | 68 |
| | People's Democratic Front | 927,333 | 25.73% | 65 | 22 |
| | Praja Socialist Party | 203,453 | 5.65 | 29 | 1 |
| | Praja Party | 28,968 | 0.80% | 8 | 1 |
| | Others | 63,369 | 1.75% | 10 | 1 |
| | Independent | 673,098 | 18.68% | 97 | 12 |
| Source:https://eci.gov.in/files/file/4043-andhra-pradesh-1957/ ||||||||

$^*$ : On 1 November 1956, Andhra State was merged with Hyderabad State under States Reorganisation Act, 1956, to form a single state, Andhra Pradesh. The districts of Raichur, Gulbarga and the Marathwada district were detached from the Hyderabad State, while merging with Andhra State. In addition, the Siruguppa taluk, the Bellary taluk, the Hospet taluk and a small area of the Mallapuram sub-taluk were transferred from Mysore State to Andhra Pradesh.

### Assam

Summary of results of the 1957 Assam Legislative Assembly election :

| Political party | Seats Contested | Won | Net change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 101 | 71 | 5 | 65.74 | 13,21,367 | 52.35 | 8.87 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 36 | 8 | New | 7.41 | 3,21,569 | 12.74 | New |
| Communist Party of India | 22 | 4 | 3 | 3.70 | 2,04,332 | 8.10 | 5.26 |
| Independent | 153 | 25 | 11 | 23.15 | 6,76,698 | 26.81 | N/A |
| | Total seats | 108 ( 3) | Voters | 55,53,926 | Turnout | 25,23,966 (45.44%) | 25,23,966 (45.44%) |

### $Bihar^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Bihar Legislative Assembly election :

| Party | Seats Contested | Won | Net change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 312 | 210 | 29 | 66.04 | 44,55,425 | 42.09 | 0.71 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 222 | 31 | New | 9.75 | 16,94,974 | 16.01 | New |
| Chota Nagpur Santhal Parganas Janata Party | 125 | 23 | 12 | 7.23 | 8,29,195 | 7.83 | 4.67 |
| Jharkhand Party | 71 | 31 | 1 | 9.75 | 7,49,021 | 7.08 | 0.93 |
| Communist Party of India | 60 | 7 | 7 | 2.20 | 5,45,577 | 5.15 | 4.01 |
| Independent | 572 | 16 | 11 | 5.03 | 21,81,180 | 20.61 | N/A |
| | Total seats | 318 ( 12) | Voters | 2,56,21,144 | Turnout | 1,05,85,422 (41.32%) | 1,05,85,422 (41.32%) |

$^*$ : Bihar was reduced slightly by the transfer of minor territories to West Bengal in 1956 under States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

### $Bombay^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Bombay Legislative Assembly election :

| | Political party | Flag | Seats Contested | Won | Net change in seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Indian National Congress234 / 396 (59%) | | 396 | 234 | 36 | 81,31,604 | 48.66% | 1.29% |
| | Praja Socialist Party36 / 396 (9%) | | 98 | 36 | 27 (from SP) | 14,98,700 | 8.97% | 2.99% (from SP) |
| | Peasants and Workers Party of India31 / 396 (8%) | | 55 | 31 | 17 | 11,13,436 | 6.66% | 0.21% |
| | Scheduled Castes Federation13 / 396 (3%) | | 48 | 13 | 12 | 10,41,355 | 6.23% | 3.13% |
| | Communist Party of India13 / 396 (3%) | | 32 | 13 | 12 | 6,07,383 | 3.63% | 2.19% |
| | Bharatiya Jana Sangh4 / 396 (1%) | | 23 | 4 | 4 | 2,60,826 | 1.56% | 1.52% |
| | Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha1 / 396 (0.3%) | | 10 | 1 | 1 | 71,514 | 0.43% | 0.11% |
| | Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad | | 10 | 0 | | 14,794 | 0.09% | 1.03% |
| | Independent64 / 396 (16%) | | 400 | 64 | 45 | 39,72,548 | 23.77% | 7.53% |
| Total | Total | Total | 1072 | 396 | 81 | Turnout (Voters) 1,67,12,160 (3,14,40,079) | 53.16% | 2.38% |

$^*:$ On 1 November 1956, under States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Bombay state was re-organized by the addition of Saurashtra State and Kutch State, Nagpur Division of Madhya Pradesh, and Marathwada region of Hyderabad. The state's southernmost districts of Bombay were transferred to Mysore State while Abu Road taluk of the Banaskantha district was transferred to Rajasthan.

### $Kerala^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Kerala Legislative Assembly election :

| Political 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 | | 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 1956, under States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Kerala was formed by the merger of Travancore-Cochin state with the Malabar district of Madras State, Kasaragod taluk of the South Canara district and the Amindive Islands. The southern part of Travancore-Cochin, Kanyakumari district was transferred to Madras State.

### Madhya $Pradesh^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly election :

| Political party | Seats Contested | Won | Net change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 288 | 232 | 38 | 40.74 | 36,91,999 | 49.83 | 0.76 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 163 | 12 | New | 9.09 | 9,76,021 | 13.17 | New |
| Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 133 | 10 | 10 | 1.01 | 7,33,315 | 9.90 | 6.32 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad | 53 | 5 | 2 | 1.29 | 2,29,010 | 3.09 | 0.58 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha | 48 | 7 | 7 | 0.25 | 3,45,122 | 4.66 | 4.56 |
| Communist Party of India | 25 | 2 | 2 | 3.28 | 1,20,549 | 1.63 | 4.66 |
| Independent | 372 | 20 | 3 | 34.26 | 12,22,003 | 16.49 | N/A |
| | Total Seats | 288 ( 56) | Voters | 1,99,31,685 | Turnout | 74,08,768 (37.17%) | 74,08,768 (37.17%) |

$^*$ : On 1 November 1956, under States Reorganisation Act, 1956, Madhya Bharat (except the Sunel enclave of the Mandsaur district), Vindhya Pradesh, Bhopal state and the Sironj sub-division of the Kota district of Rajasthan were merged into Madhya Pradesh while the Nagpur Division was transferred to Bombay State.

### $Madras^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Madras Legislative Assembly election :

| Political party | Seats Contested | Won | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 204 | 151 (1) | 73.66 | 50,46,576 | 45.34 | 10.46 |
| Communist Party of India | 58 | 4 (58) | 1.95 | 8,23,582 | 7.40 | 5.78 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 23 | 2 (New) | 0.98 | 2,93,778 | 2.64 | New |
| Independent | 602 | 48 ( 14) | 23.41 | 49,67,060 | 44.62 | N/A |
| | Total Seats | 205 (170) | Voters | 2,39,05,575 | Turnout | 1,11,30,996 (46.56%) | 1,11,30,996 (46.56%) |

$^*$ : On 1 November 1956, the southern part of Travancore-Cochin (Kanyakumari district) was added to the Madras State while the Malabar district of the state was transferred to the new state of Kerala, and a new union territory, Laccadive, Minicoy and Amindivi Islands, was created.

### $Mysore^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Mysore Legislative Assembly election :

| Political party | Seats Contested | Won | Net change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 207 | 150 | 76 | 72.12 | 33,43,839 | 52.08 | 5.73 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 79 | 18 | New | 8.65 | 9,02,373 | 14.06 | New |
| Communist Party of India | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0.48 | 1,23,403 | 1.92 | 1.01 |
| Scheduled Caste Federation | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0.96 | 83,542 | 1.30 | 0.44 |
| Peasants and Workers Party of India | 2 | 2 | New | 0.96 | 35,462 | 0.55 | New |
| Independent | 251 | 35 | 11 | 16.83 | 18,45,456 | 28.74 | N/A |
| | Total Seats | 208 ( 109) | Voters | 1,25,15,312 | Turnout | 64,20,159 (51.3%) | 64,20,159 (51.3%) |

$^*$ : On 1 November 1956, Mysore state was enlarged by the addition of Coorg State, the Kollegal taluk of the Coimbatore district and the South Kanara district (except the Kasaragod taluk) of Madras State, and the Kannada speaking districts from southern Bombay state and western Hyderabad State under States Reorganisation Act, 1956. The Siruguppa taluk, the Bellary taluk, the Hospet taluk and a small area of the Mallapuram sub-taluk were detached from the Mysore State.

### Odisha

Summary of results of the 1957 Odisha Legislative Assembly election :

| Party | Seats Contested | Won | Net Change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 140 | 56 | 11 | 40.00 | 16,28,180 | 38.26 | 0.39 |
| Ganatantra Parishad | 109 | 51 | 20 | 36.43 | 12,23,014 | 28.74 | 8.24 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 46 | 11 | New | 7.86 | 4,42,508 | 10.40 | New |
| Communist Party of India | 43 | 9 | 2 | 6.43 | 3,57,659 | 8.40 | 2.78 |
| Independent politician | 179 | 13 | 11 | 9.29 | 6,04,652 | 14.21 | N/A |
| | Total Seats | 140 ( 0) | Voters | 1,24,67,800 | Turnout | 42,56,013 (34.14%) | 42,56,013 (34.14%) |

### $Punjab^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Punjab Legislative Assembly election :

| Political Party | Seats Contested | Won | Net Change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 154 | 120 | 24 | 77.92 | 36,12,709 | 47.51 | 10.82 |
| Communist Party of India | 72 | 6 | 2 | 3.90 | 10,30,898 | 13.56 | 9.67 |
| Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 72 | 9 | 9 | 5.84 | 6,54,395 | 8.61 | 3.05 |
| Scheduled Caste Federation | 24 | 5 | 5 | 3.25 | 4,10,364 | 5.40 | 3.43 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 19 | 1 | New | 0.65 | 94,564 | 1.24 | New |
| Independent | 319 | 13 | 4 | 8.44 | 18,00,960 | 23.69 | N/A |
| | Total Seats | 154 ( 28) | Voters | 1,31,72,945 | Turnout | 76,03,890 (57.72%) | 76,03,890 (57.72%) |

$^*$ : Punjab was enlarged by the addition of Patiala & East Punjab States Union in 1956 under States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

### $Rajasthan^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election :

| Party | Seats Contested | Won | Net Change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 176 | 119 | 37 | 67.61 | 21,41,931 | 45.13 | 5.67 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad | 60 | 17 | 7 | 9.66 | 4,69,540 | 9.89 | 2.37 |
| Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 51 | 6 | 2 | 3.41 | 2,63,443 | 5.55 | 0.38 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 27 | 1 | New | 0.57 | 1,17,532 | 2.48 | New |
| Communist Party of India | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0.57 | 1,43,547 | 3.02 | 2.49 |
| Independent | 399 | 32 | 3 | 18.18 | 16,10,465 | 33.93 | N/A |
| | Total Seats | 176 ( 16) | Voters | 1,24,37,064 | Turnout | 47,46,458 (38.16%) | 47,46,458 (38.16%) |

$^*$ : On 1 November 1956, under States Reorganisation Act, 1956, the Ajmer State, the Abu Road taluk of the Banaskantha district of Bombay State, the Sunel enclave of the Mandsaur district and the Lohara sub-tehsil of the Hissar district of the Punjab was merged with Rajasthan while the Sironj sub-division of the Kota district of Rajasthan was transferred to Madhya Pradesh.

### Uttar Pradesh

Summary of results of the 1957 Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly election :

| Political party | Seats Contested | Won | Net change in seats | % of Seats | Votes | Vote % | Change in vote % |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 430 | 286 | 102 | 66.51 | 92,98,382 | 42.42 | 5.51 |
| Praja Socialist Party | 262 | 44 | New | 10.23 | 31,70,865 | 14.47 | New |
| Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 243 | 17 | 15 | 3.95 | 21,57,881 | 9.84 | 3.39 |
| Communist Party of India | 91 | 9 | 9 | 2.09 | 8,40,348 | 3.83 | 2.90 |
| Independent | 399 | 74 | 59 | 17.21 | 62,85,457 | 28.68 | N/A |
| | Total seats | 430 ( 0) | Voters | 4,89,53,427 | Turnout | 2,19,18,604 (44.77%) | 2,19,18,604 (44.77%) |

### West $Bengal^*$

Summary of results of the 1957 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election :

| Party | No. of candidates | No. of elected | No. of votes | % |
| - | - | - | - | - |
| Indian National Congress | 251 | 152 | 4,830,992 | 46.14% |
| Communist Party of India | 103 | 46 | 1,865,106 | 17.81% |
| Praja Socialist Party | 67 | 21 | 1,031,392 | 9.85% |
| Forward Bloc | 26 | 8 | 425,318 | 4.06% |
| Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha | 37 | 25 | 225,126 | 2.15% |
| Bharatiya Jana Sangh | 33 | 0 | 102,477 | 0.98% |
| Independents | 418 | 22 | 1,989,392 | 19.00% |
| Total: | 935 | 252 | 10,469,803 | |

$^*$ : West Bengal was enlarged by the addition of minor territories from Bihar in 1956 under States Reorganisation Act, 1956.

