In 1957, the Congress party had the bitter taste of defeat in Kerala. In the assembly elections held in March 1957, the Communist Party won the largest number of seats in the Kerala legislature. The party won 60 of the 126 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 organizations. In 1959 the Congress government at the Centre dismissed the Communist government in Kerala under Article 356 of the Constitution. This decision proved very controversial and was widely cited as the first instance of the misuse of constitutional emergency powers.

Socialist Party

The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was formed within Congress in 1934 by a group of young leaders who wanted a more radical and egalitarian Congress. In 1948, Congress amended its constitution to prevent its members from having a dual party membership. This forced the Socialists to form a separate Socialist Party in 1948. But party could achieve electoral success only in a few pockets. Socialists believed in ideology of democratic socialism which distinguished them both from Congress as well as from Communists.

They criticized Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords and for ignoring the workers and the peasants. But the socialists faced a dilemma when in 1955 Congress declared its goal to be the socialist pattern of society. Thus it became difficult for the socialists to present themselves as an effective alternative to Congress. Some of them, led by Rammanohar Lohia, increased their distance from and criticism of the Congress party. Some others like Asoka Mehta advocated limited cooperation with Congress. Socialist Party went through many splits and reunions leading to formation of many socialist parties. These included Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, the Praja Socialist Party, and Samyukta Socialist Party. Jayaprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Asoka Mehta, Acharya Narendra Dev, Rammanohar Lohia, and S.M. Joshi were among the leaders of the socialist parties. Many parties in contemporary India, like the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United), and Janata Dal (Secular) trace their origins to the Socialist Party.