First Kerala Ministry | ഒന്നാം കേരള മന്ത്രിസഭ

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ഒന്നാം കേരള മന്ത്രിസഭ

(5th April 1957 – 31st July 1959)
Total No. of Members – 127

The First General Election to the Kerala Assembly was held from February 28 to March 11, 1957, across 114 constituencies of Kerala. 

Out of the 7,514,626 voters, only 5,837,577 were valid and the Communist party under E.M.S. Namboodiripad gained 60 seats + 5 Independents in the election and become the first elected government in the state of Kerala.



List of Ministers in the First Kerala Legislative Assembly


The members of the First Kerala Ministry are as follows:

MinisterDepartment
E.M.S. NamboodiripadChief Minister
C. Achutha MenonFinance
T.V. ThomasTransport & Labor
K.C. GeorgeFood & Forests
K.P. GopalanIndustries
T.A. MajeedPublic Works
P.K. ChathanLocal Self Government & Welfare of SC, ST & Backward Classes
Joseph MundasseryEducation & Co-operation
K.R. GouriLand Revenue
V.R. Krishna IyerLaw, Electricity
Dr. A.R. MenonHealth
P.T. ChackoOpposition Leader
R. Sankaranarayanan ThampiSpeaker
Rosamma PunnoosePro-term Speaker

*In the beginning, V.R. Krishna Iyer was in charge of the Home department but later during Vimochana Samaram, it was C. Achutha Menon who assumed the charge.


 Basic Facts


  • First Democratically Elected Communist Government in India.
  • First Election of Kerala Legislative Assembly was held on – February 28 - March 11, 1957.
  • First Constituency in India to have maximum polling rate in the very first election – Kottayam (80.9%).
  • The first ministry of Kerala came into power on – April 5, 1957.
  • First Kerala Ministry – 
    • Total No. of Members – 127 +1 (nominated Anglo-Indian).
    • Total No. of Women Members – 6.
    • No. of Ministers – 11.
    • No. of Woman Ministers – 1.
    • 11 seats were reserved for SC/ST.

  • First Person to be sworn in as a member of the First Kerala Legislative Assembly – Rosamma Punnoose.
    • First Person to lose membership of Kerala legislative assembly under the court order – Rosamma Punnoose.

  • First meeting of the legislative assembly was held on  – 27th April 1957.
  • Kerala Governor at the time of First Kerala Ministry – Burgula Ramakrishna Rao.
  • First Speaker of the Kerala Legislative Assembly – R. Sankara Narayanan Thampi.
  • First & Only Woman Minister – K.R. Gouri (Land Revenue).
  • First Anglo-Indian Member – William Hamilton D'Cruz.
  • First Minister from the Dalit Community in Kerala – P.K. Chathan.
  • The (only) member who has been elected to the Assembly unopposed – M. Umesh Rao  (Manjeswaram constituency).
  • Oldest Person in the First Kerala Legislative Assembly – Pattom A. Thanu Pillai (71 years & 8 months old).
  • Oldest Person in the First Kerala Ministry – Dr. A.R. Menon (70 years old).
  • The only member of the first EMS ministry who had prior experience as a minister – Dr. A.R. Menon.
  • The Married Minister Couple of the First Kerala Ministry – T.V. Thomas & K.R. Gouri.
  • Legislative Constituency of EMS in the First General Election – Neeleswaram (Kasarcode).
  • Introduced Land Reform Ordinance & the Education Bill.
    • Budget – C. Achutha Menon.
    • Land Reform Ordinance – K.R. Gouri.
    • Education Bill – Joseph Mundassery.

  • The incident which led to the overthrow of the first Kerala Ministry – Vimochana Samaram or The Liberation Struggle 1959.
  • The Liberation Struggle began on – June 12, 1959.
  • The Leader of the Liberation Struggle – Mannath Padmanabhan.
  • First Indian Ministry that was dismissed as per President's Rule (via Article 356) in Kerala – EMS Ministry.
  • Th tenure of the first cabinet in Kerala – 847 days (`28 months).

The former US Ambassador to India, Daniel Patrick Moynihan in his 1978 memoir, A Dangerous Place, admitted that the CIA provided financial backing to the Vimochana Samaram or The Liberation Struggle. By which the Indian National Congress was able to overthrew the Communist government in Kerala. 



A Brief Summary of First Kerala Ministry

Further Reading:

📝SideNotes:


  • First Democratically Elected Communist Government in the World – San Marino, Italy (1942-1947).
  • How many times Kerala came under Presidential rule – 7.
    • First Presidential rule in Kerala – 1956 March 23 - 1957 April 4.
    • Last Presidential rule in Kerala – 1982 March 17 - 1982 May 23.
  • First Constituency to hold by-elections – Devikulam.
  • First State in India to introduce ballot paper – Kerala (Devikulam by-election of 1957).
  • First State in India to electronic voting machine – Kerala (Paravoor, 1982).
  • First Malayali to contest in Presidential Election – Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer (against R. Venkataraman, 1987, lost by 458598 votes).
  • The First Prime Minister of Travancore – Pattom A. Thanu Pillai.
  • The Second Chief Minister of Kerala – Pattom A. Thanu Pillai.
  • First Person to become member of Kerala legislative assembly through court order – Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer.
  • Autobiography – 
    • E.M.S. – Atmakadha.
    • C. Achutha Menon – Ente Baalyakala Smaranakal.
    • Joseph Mundassery – Kozinga Elagal.
    • K.R. Gouri – Atmakadha.
    • Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer – Wandering in Many Worlds.


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