1957 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

1957 West Bengal state assembly election
All 252 seats in the West Bengal state assembly; 127 seats needed for a majority
Chief Minister before election; Bidhan Chandra Roy; INC	Chief Minister ; Bidhan Chandra Roy; INC

West Bengal, India

The West Bengal state assembly election of 1957 was part of a series of state assembly elections in 1957.

State Reorganization[]

On 1 November 1956, under States Reorganisation Act, 1956, a portion of the Purnea district east of the river Mahananda and the Purulia sub-district of the Manbhum district in the south (except Char Thana) were transferred from Bihar to West Bengal.^[1] Thus, assembly constituencies in West Bengal increased from 187 (238 seats) to 195 (252 seats) during 1957 assembly elections.

Alliances[]

On the political left two alliances had emerged; the United Left Election Committee (an alliance between the Communist Party of India, the Praja Socialist Party, the Forward Bloc, Marxist Forward Bloc and the Revolutionary Socialist Party) and the United Left Front (comprising the Socialist Unity Centre of India, the Bolshevik Party of India, the and the Democratic Vanguard). A third alliance was the United Democratic People's Front, consisting of Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Hindu Mahasabha and the Revolutionary Communist Party of India.^[2]

Results[]

Alliance wise result[]

The election was won by the Indian National Congress, who got a majority of its own in the assembly. The communists became the largest opposition party.

ULFC	SEATS	ULF	SEATS	INC+	SEATS	UDPF	SEATS	OTHERS	SEATS
CPI	46	SUCI	0	INC	152	BJS	0	IND	25
PSP	21	BPI	0			ABHM	0
AIFB	8					RCPI
MFB		DV
RSP
TOTAL (1957)	75	TOTAL (1957)	0	TOTAL (1957)	152	TOTAL (1957)	0	TOTAL (1957)	0
TOTAL (1952)	39	TOTAL (1952)	2	TOTAL (1952)	150	TOTAL (1952)	13	TOTAL (1952)	34

Party/Alliance	Own	%
Indian National Congress	152	46.14%
United Left Election Committee	80	33.6%
United Left Front (1957)	2	2.45%
United Democratic People's Front	0	3.44%

Summary of results of the 1957 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election^[3]
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

^[4]

References[]

^ "Reorganisation of States, 1955" (PDF). The Economic Weekly. October 15, 1955. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
^ M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. Communist Parties and United Front - Experience in Kerala and West Bengal. Hyderabad: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 216.
^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved July 11, 2015.
^ "List Of Political Parties" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-01-02.

[1955ReorgStates-1] "Reorganisation of States, 1955" (PDF). The Economic Weekly. October 15, 1955. Retrieved July 25, 2015.

[2] M.V.S. Koteswara Rao. Communist Parties and United Front - Experience in Kerala and West Bengal. Hyderabad: Prajasakti Book House, 2003. p. 216.

[WBECI1957-3] "Statistical Report on General Election, 1957 : To the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal" (PDF). Election Commission of India. Retrieved July 11, 2015.

[4] "List Of Political Parties" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-02-28. Retrieved 2008-01-02.

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