Communist victory in Kerala As early as in , the Congress party had the bitter taste of defeat in Kerala. In the assembly elections held in March , the Communist Party won the largest number of seats in the Kerala legislature. The party won of the seats and had the support of five independents. The governor invited E.
M. S. Namboodiripad, the leader of the Communist legislature party, to form the ministry. For the first time in the world, a Communist party government had come to power through democratic elections.
On losing power in the State, the Congress party began a ‘liberation struggle’ against the elected government. The CPI had come to power on the promise of carrying out radical and progressive policy measures. The Communists claimed that the agitation was led by vested interests and religious organisations. In the Congress government at the Centre dismissed the Communist government in Kerala under Article of the Constitution.
This decision proved very controversial and was widely cited as one of the prominent instances of the misuse of constitutional emergency powers. E.M.S. Namboodiripad, leading a procession of Communist Party workers, after his ministry was dismissed from office in Trivandrum in August . Credit: Hindu