1957 Indian general election

1957 Indian general election
← outgoing members elected members →
494 of the 505 seats in the Lok Sabha; 248 seats needed for a majority
Registered	193,652,179
Turnout	45.44% ( 0.57pp)
	Results by constituency
Prime Minister before election; Jawaharlal Nehru; INC	Prime Minister after election ; Jawaharlal Nehru; INC

General elections were held in India between 24 February and 14 March 1957, the second elections to the Lok Sabha after independence. Elections to many state legislatures were held simultaneously.

Under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru, the Indian National Congress easily won a second term in power, taking 371 of the 494 seats. They gained an extra seven seats (the size of the Lok Sabha had been increased by five) and their vote share increased from 45% to 48%. The INC received nearly five times more votes than the Communist Party, the second largest party. In addition, 19% of the vote and 42 seats went to independent candidates, the highest of any Indian general election.

Electoral system

There were 494 seats elected using first past the post voting. Out of the 403 constituencies, 91 elected two members, while the remaining 312 elected a single member.^[1]^[2] The multi-seat constituencies were abolished before the next election.

The elections were overseen by Sukumar Sen, the Chief Election Commissioner, who used the existing election infrastructure to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Historian Ramachandra Guha wrote "this general election cost the exchequer Rs45 million less than the previous one. The prudent Sen had safely stored the 3.5 million ballot boxes the first time round and only half a million additional ones were required."^[3]

Results



Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	57,579,589	47.78	371	+7
	Praja Socialist Party	12,542,666	10.41	19	–2
	Communist Party of India	10,754,075	8.92	27	+11
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	7,193,267	5.97	4	+1
	Scheduled Castes Federation	2,038,890	1.69	6	+4
	All India Ganatantra Parishad	1,291,141	1.07	7	+1
	People's Democratic Front	1,044,032	0.87	2	–5
	Hindu Mahasabha	1,032,322	0.86	1	–3
	Peasants and Workers Party of India	924,832	0.77	4	+2
	Jharkhand Party	751,830	0.62	6	+3
	Forward Bloc (Marxist)	665,341	0.55	2	+1
	Chota Nagpur Santhal Parganas Janata Party	501,359	0.42	3	+2
	Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad	460,838	0.38	0	–3
	Revolutionary Socialist Party	308,742	0.26	0	–3
	Praja Party	140,742	0.12	0	0
	Independents	23,284,249	19.32	42	+5
Appointed members^[b]				11	+1
Total		120,513,915	100.00	505	+6

Registered voters/turnout		193,652,179	45.44
Source: ECI

Results by state

State	Total seats	Seats won
		INC	CPI	PSP	GP	SCF	JKP	BJS	Others	Ind.	App.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands	1										1
Andhra Pradesh	43	37	2						2	2
Assam	12	9		2						1
Bihar	53	41		2			6		3	1
Bombay	66	38	4	5		5		2	4	8
Delhi	5	5
Himachal Pradesh	4	4
Kerala	18	6	9	1						2
Jammu and Kashmir	6										6
Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindivi Islands	1										1
Madhya Pradesh	36	35							1
Madras	41	31	2							8
Manipur	2	1								1
Mysore	26	23		1		1				1
North-East Frontier Agency	1										1
Orissa	20	7	1	2	7					3
Punjab	22	21	1
Rajasthan	22	19								3
Tripura	2	1	1
Uttar Pradesh	86	70	1	4				2		9
West Bengal	36	23	6	2					2	3
Anglo-Indians	2										2
Total	505	371	27	19	7	6	6	4	12	42	11

Source: ECI

Andhra Pradesh


Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	4,906,044	51.47	37	+31
	Communist Party of India	1,144,811	12.01	2	-4
	People's Democratic Front	1,044,032	10.95	2	–
	Other parties	600,686	6.30	0	–
	Independents	1,835,800	19.26	2	-6
Total		9,531,373	100.00	43	–

Assam


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	1,184,708	51.68	+5.94	9	–2
	Praja Socialist Party	457,643	19.96	–9.23	2	+1
	Communist Party of India	235,044	10.25	New	0	New
	Independents	415,217	18.11	+4.37	1	+1
Total		2,292,612	100.00	–	12	0

Bihar


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	4,450,208	44.47	–1.30	41	–4
	Jharkhand Party	751,830	7.51	+0.10	6	+3
	Chota Nagpur Santhal Parganas Janata Party	501,359	5.01	+2.65	3	+2
	Praja Socialist Party	2,165,462	21.64	–2.83	2	–1
	Communist Party of India	502,707	5.02	+4.62	0	0
	Other parties	51,416	0.51	–6.00	0	–2
	Independents	1,584,894	15.84	+2.76	1	0
Total		10,007,876	100.00	–	53	–2

Bombay


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	8,156,272	48.66	–1.49	38	–2
	Praja Socialist Party	1,457,203	8.69	–11.45	5	+5
	Scheduled Caste Federation	1,354,475	8.08	+3.65	5	+4
	Communist Party of India	1,055,013	6.29	+4.95	4	+4
	Peasants and Workers Party of India	924,832	5.52	–1.48	4	+3
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	566,008	3.38	New	2	New
	Other parties	136,749	0.82	–4.14	0	0
	Independents	3,109,733	18.55	+6.58	8	+5
Total		16,760,285	100.00	–	66	+21

Kerala


Party		Votes	%	Seats
	Communist Party of India	2,267,888	37.48	9
	Indian National Congress	2,102,883	34.76	6
	Praja Socialist Party	438,459	7.25	1
	Revolutionary Socialist Party	308,742	5.10	0
	Independents	932,274	15.41	2
Total		6,050,246	100.00	18

Madhya Pradesh


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	3,967,199	52.10	+0.47	35	+8
	Hindu Mahasabha	373,503	4.91	+4.60	1	+1
	Praja Socialist Party	1,225,735	16.10	–2.38	0	0
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	1,062,936	13.96	+9.02	0	0
	Other parties	376,441	4.94	–7.77	0	0
	Independents	608,408	7.99	–3.94	0	–2
Total		7,614,222	100.00	–	36	+7

Madras


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	5,094,552	46.52	+10.13	31	+7
	Communist Party of India	1,101,338	10.06	+1.11	2	–1
	Praja Socialist Party	399,789	3.65	–11.43	0	+0
	Independents	4,355,162	39.77	+16.62	8	+8
Total		10,950,841	100.00	–	41	–34

Mysore


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	3,219,014	55.52	–13.42	23	+13
	Praja Socialist Party	1,082,698	18.67	–10.79	1	0
	Scheduled Caste Federation	115,214	1.99	New	1	New
	Other parties	228,979	3.95		0	0
	Independents	1,152,535	19.88	+9.52	1	+1
Total		5,798,440	100.00	–	26	+15

Orissa


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	1,776,767	40.01	–2.50	7	–4
	All India Ganatantra Parishad	1,291,141	29.08	+2.85	7	+1
	Praja Socialist Party	684,023	15.40	–1.44	2	+1
	Communist Party of India	214,903	4.84	–0.93	1	0
	Independents	473,656	10.67	+2.02	3	+2
Total		4,440,490	100.00	–	20	0

Punjab


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	3,682,219	51.26	+8.50	21	+5
	Communist Party of India	1,207,600	16.81	+11.77	1	+1
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	1,152,672	16.05	+10.45	0	0
	Other parties	333,630	4.64	–23.32	0	–2
	Independents	807,709	11.24	–7.40	0	0
Total		7,183,830	100.00	–	22	+4

Rajasthan


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	2,494,094	53.65	+12.23	19	+10
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	518,355	11.15	+8.11	0	–1
	Other parties	356,278	7.66	–18.72	0	–4
	Independents	1,280,356	27.54	–1.62	3	–3
Total		4,649,083	100.00	–	22	+2

Uttar Pradesh


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	10,599,639	46.29	–6.70	70	–11
	Praja Socialist Party	3,511,157	15.34	–2.50	4	+2
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	3,385,247	14.79	+7.50	2	+2
	Communist Party of India	383,509	1.67	+1.32	1	+1
	Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad	98,138	0.43	–3.12	0	0
	Independents	4,918,413	21.48	+10.14	9	+7
Total		22,896,103	100.00	–	86	0

West Bengal


Party		Votes	%	+/–	Seats	+/–
	Indian National Congress	5,031,696	48.20	+6.10	23	–1
	Communist Party of India	1,985,181	19.01	+9.55	6	+1
	Marxist Forward Bloc	665,341	6.37	+1.85	2	+2
	Praja Socialist Party	590,692	5.66	–5.26	2	+2
	Hindu Mahasabha	561,741	5.38	+1.11	0	–1
	Bharatiya Jana Sangh	149,351	1.43	–4.51	0	–2
	Independents	1,456,098	13.95	–4.51	3	+3
Total		10,440,100	100.00	–	36	+2

Women performance in elections

Based on the published data from the Election Commission of India (ECI) website.^[4]

Participation

State/UT	Total seats	Women contestants		Elected	Women contestants (%)	Elected (%)
State/UT	Total seats	Women	Seats	Elected	Women contestants (%)	Elected (%)
Andhra Pradesh	43	4	3	3	3.5%	6.9%
Assam	12	2	2	2	6.5%	14.3%
Bihar	53	7	7	5	3.7%	9.4%
Bombay	66	5	5	3	3.11%	4.5%
Kerala	18	1	1	0	1.7%	0
Madhya Pradesh	36	8	6	3	6.6%	8.3%
Madras	41	2	2	1	3.2%	2.4%
Mysore	26	0	0	0	0	0
Manipur	2	0	0	0	0	0
Orissa	20	0	0	0	0	0
Punjab	22	1	1	1	1.3%	4.5%
Rajasthan	22	0	0	0	0	0
Tripura	1	0	0	0	0	0
Uttar Pradesh	86	6	4	1	2.05%	13.75%
West Bengal	36	5	4	2	11.59%	1.1%
Delhi	5	4	2	1	14.8%	20%
Himachal Pradesh	4	0	0	0	0	0
India	494	45	37	22	2.96%	4.45%

Voting

The first instance of booth capturing in India was recorded in 1957 in the General Elections of that year in Rachiyahi, in Begusarai's Matihani assembly seat.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Notes

^ Eleven members were appointed, including six representing Jammu and Kashmir, two representing Anglo-Indians, one representing Part B Tribal Areas in Assam, one representing the Amindive, Laccadive and Minicoy Islands and one representing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
^ Six representing Jammu and Kashmir, two representing Anglo-Indians, one representing Part B Tribal Areas in Assam, one representing the Amindive, Laccadive and Minicoy Islands and one representing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

References

^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Second Lok Sabha Volume-I" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Second Lok Sabha Volume-II" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
^ Guha, Ramachandra (2022). India after Gandhi: the history of the world's largest democracy (10th anniversary edition, updated and expanded, first published in hardcover ed.). New Delhi: Picador India. ISBN 978-93-82616-97-9.
^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Second Lok Sabha Volume-I" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2015.
^ "Where booth capturing was born". Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
^ "In central Bihar, development runs into caste wall". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
^ "Empty words in legend's forgotten village". Archived from the original on 13 October 2015.
^ "The myth of history's first booth capturing taking place in Begusarai's Rachiyahi". Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[1] Eleven members were appointed, including six representing Jammu and Kashmir, two representing Anglo-Indians, one representing Part B Tribal Areas in Assam, one representing the Amindive, Laccadive and Minicoy Islands and one representing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

[5] Six representing Jammu and Kashmir, two representing Anglo-Indians, one representing Part B Tribal Areas in Assam, one representing the Amindive, Laccadive and Minicoy Islands and one representing the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

[GE1957V1-2] "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Second Lok Sabha Volume-I" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2015.

[GE1957V2-3] "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Second Lok Sabha Volume-II" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2015.

[4] Guha, Ramachandra (2022). India after Gandhi: the history of the world's largest democracy (10th anniversary edition, updated and expanded, first published in hardcover ed.). New Delhi: Picador India. ISBN 978-93-82616-97-9.

[6] "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Second Lok Sabha Volume-I" (PDF). Election Commission of India. p. 5. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 11 July 2015.

[7] "Where booth capturing was born". Archived from the original on 20 June 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2015.

[8] "In central Bihar, development runs into caste wall". Archived from the original on 30 July 2018. Retrieved 21 September 2015.

[9] "Empty words in legend's forgotten village". Archived from the original on 13 October 2015.

[10] "The myth of history's first booth capturing taking place in Begusarai's Rachiyahi". Archived from the original on 12 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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