The Constitution provided the guidelines, but the necessary machinery had to be put in place. So, in January 1950, the Election Commission of India was established. Sukumar Sen became the first Chief Election Commissioner. The first general elections in the country were anticipated to take place in 1950 itself. However, the elections were postponed twice and ultimately held from October 1951 to February 1952. As most parts of the country had cast their vote in January 1952, therefore, India’s first general election is often referred to as the 1952 elections. Not once but twice the elections were postponed & were eventually held from October 1951 to February 1952.The election is referred to as the 1952 election as most parts of the country voted in January 1952. In 1957, the Communist Party emerged victorious in the assembly elections in Kerala, winning the largest number of seats. E. M. S. Namboodiripad, the leader of the Communist Legislature party, was invited by the governor to form the ministry. This marked the first instance of a Communist party government coming to power through democratic method of elections. In 1959, the Congress government at the Center dismissed the Communist government in Kerala using Article 356 of the Constitution, sparking controversy. This event was widely considered the first instance of the misuse of constitutional emergency powers. Elections were held again in 1960. |