Cong continued its winning streak, won 371 seats

Jaipur: It is said that when the beginning is good, then the end is also good. The first Lok Sabha formed after independence in India successfully completed its fiveyear tenure, and the country’s second general elections were held in 1957. This was an auspicious beginning for Indian democracy.

The voting process for the formation of the second Lok Sabha was completed in about three and a half months, from February 24 to June 9, 1957. There were 489 seats in the first general election, which was increased to 494 in the second general election. There was 45.44 per cent voting in the elections. In this election also, the influence of the then PM, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, was pronounced. At that time, Congress crossed the tally of 370 seats and achieved a thumping majority by winning 371 out of 494 seats. Nehru was elected PM for the second consecutive time.

While the vote share of Congress was 45 per cent in the first elections of 1951–52, it increased to 47.8 per cent in 1957. Also, it won seven more seats in the second LS polls than the first.

There were two special things in this election. Firstly, Bharatiya Jan Sangh leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee reached Parliament for the first time. Secondly, for the first time in this election, an incident of booth capturing also occurred.

Four national parties participated: INC, CPI, Bharatiya Jan Sangh (later BJP), and Praja Socialist Party. Eleven state-level parties fielded candidates, with only two surpassing double-digit wins.

CPI fielded 111 candidates but only 27 could win. Of Praja Socialist Party’s 194 candidates, 19 won, of Bharatiya Jana Sangh’s 133 only 4 won. Gantantra Parishad Party fielded 15 but 7 won. 2 out of 5 candidates of Forward Bloc (Marxist) Party won, while Praja Socialist Party could not even open its account. All India Hindu Mahasabha won 1 seat, while Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad failed to win even a single seat.

After Congress, independents had upper hand in polls. 542 independents contested the second LS poll, of these, 42 won. In second LS election, 45 women candidates were in fray and 22 won.