With the parliamentary elections approaching, the state’s key political parties have started issuing electoral guarantees, which they say will form part of their manifestos to be released later. These days, all components of one political formation or the other, regardless of their level of influence, are coming up with their own manifestos. But in the 1950s, when the Lok Sabha elections were held simultaneously with the parliamentary elections, all the important parties always came with relevant documents that were prepared for the entire country. There were no state manifestos.
In the first elections held in 1951–52 after the country became a republic with universal adult suffrage, the main candidates were the Congress and the Communist Party of India (CPI). In fact, the CPI ban has just been lifted in many parts of South India. Still, many party leaders were in custody. It was in this context that the communists took part in the elections. Congress and CPI framed their documents keeping national issues in mind. However, the most important issue that mattered to the people of the southern region was the creation of states on linguistic lines. At the time of the election, Madras State comprised most parts of South India.
Despite the Congress having its state-level units based on linguistic lines, such as the Andhra Committee and the Kerala Committee for over 20 years, Andhra State has yet to come into existence. However, the Congress leadership, which was in favor of the idea of states on linguistic lines, did not categorically comment on it. This was seen in the party’s manifesto, which states: “The decision on this issue ultimately depends on the wishes of the people concerned. While linguistic reasons undoubtedly have some cultural and other significance, there are other factors such as economic, administrative and financial that need to be taken into account. If such a demand represents the agreed views of the people concerned, the necessary steps prescribed by the constitution should be taken, including the appointment of a binding commission.”
Leaders including C. Rajagopalachari or Rajaji were against this idea as they were of the opinion that it would lead to divisive tendencies in the country which would find it extremely difficult to cope with the post-partition reality. Rajaji argued that the “mixture of languages and cultures” was the strength of Tamil Nadu (then called Madras), and if divided on the basis of language, the province, “once so large, important and progressive, will henceforth be narrow-minded and strongly anti-cultural”, as The Rajaji Story (1937-72) by Rajmohan Gandhi puts it.
It was in Chennai that the CPI announced its decision to contest the elections and AK Gopalan, one of the top leaders of the Left movement, made the announcement according to a report in The Hindu published on 12 June 1951. Explaining the reasons behind the party’s opposition to the Congress, he observed that even veteran Congressmen were disillusioned and disappointed with the functioning of their party. He called for a united struggle. Two months later, the party released a 7,000-word manifesto with a 15-point program and Jyoti Basu, who became West Bengal’s chief minister in 1977 and held the post for 23 years, unveiled the document in Calcutta. It called for the establishment of a people’s democratic government that would include democratic parties, groups, peasants, the middle class and the national bourgeoisie, which would mean the “real industrialization” of the country.
Calling for a “complete break” with the British Empire, the party advocated the confiscation and nationalization of all British capital, the abolition of landed property without compensation and the transfer of all land to tillers and the provision of a living wage to laborers and employees, this newspaper reported on August 16, 1951.
In the run-up to the elections, the ruling Congress heavily criticized Tanguturi Prakasam, a long-time Congress member and former chief minister of the state. He founded the Praja Party in May 1951 and later joined forces with JB Kripalani to form the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party (KMPP). In his speech at Conran Smith Nagar, Chennai, Prakasam hit out at the Congress regime, which he claimed failed to provide people with the necessities of life like food and clothing. Referring to food imports from abroad, he said spending ₹1,000 crore on food imports should be condemned; it would not be tolerated in any other country. The food problem could not be solved unless the government policy was modified, according to a report in The Hindu dated 16 July 1951. His reference to the food question assumed importance as the state was in the midst of an acute shortage of food grains.
The Socialist Party, which had Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) and Asoka Mehta as its leading lights, adopted a program of 12,000 words. Among the assurances given by the party were support for the formation of states on linguistic lines, abolition of zamindari without compensation and nationalization of banks and insurance companies. On July 6, 1951, this daily found fault with the Congress government for failing to handle the problem of inflation.
The assembly election results were overwhelming as incumbent Chief Minister PS Kumaraswami Raja and most of his ministers lost. A suspended assembly appeared. In the 375-member House, the Congress won only 152 seats but remained the single largest party. The CPI, which finished second, won 62 seats; KMPP – 35 and Socialist Party – 13. However, the Congress Party managed to have its representative – Rajaji – as Chief Minister despite not getting a majority of its own. Already in the first elections it was quite clear that the manifestos themselves were not “magic lanterns”.
Published – 11 March 2026 07:00 IST
