1952 Madras State Legislative Assembly election

1952 Madras Legislative Assembly election

← 1946 27 March 1952 (1952-03-27) 1957 (Madras) → 1955 (Andhra) → 1957 (Kerala) → 1957 (Mysore) →
All 375 seats in the Legislature of Madras State 188 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader C. Rajagopalachari M. Kalyanasundaram Party INC CPI Leader's seat MLC Tiruchirappalli North Seats won 152 62 Popular vote 6,988,701 2,640,337 Percentage 34.88 13.18
Chief Minister before election P.S. Kumaraswamy Raja INC Elected Chief Minister C. Rajagopalachari INC

The first legislative assembly Election to the Madras state based on universal adult suffrage was held in 27 March 1952. This was the first election held in Madras state after the Indian Independence. This election was officially known as the 1951 Madras State Election, even though through delays, actual voting didn't take place until early 1952.

No single party obtained a simple majority to form an independent government. C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) of the Indian National Congress became the Chief Minister after a series of re-alignments among various political parties and Independents. The Telugu speaking regions of Madras state split to form the Andhra state in 1953, leading to the consolidation of the non-Brahmin Congress faction under the leadership of K. Kamaraj. Faced with internal dissent and heavy opposition to his Hereditary education policy, Rajaji resigned in 1954. In the ensuing leadership struggle, Kamaraj defeated Rajaji's chosen successor C. Subramaniam and became the Chief Minister on 31 March 1954.