1951–52 Indian general election in Bihar

The 1951–52 Indian general election in Bihar was held as part of the first general election in independent India to elect members to the 1st Lok Sabha. Polling was conducted between 1951 and 1952 under the supervision of the Election Commission of India using the first-past-the-post electoral system.

The undivided state of Bihar elected 55 members to the 1st Lok Sabha from 44 parliamentary constituencies, comprising 31 single-member, 11 double-member and two single-member Scheduled Tribe constituencies. The Indian National Congress (INC) secured a decisive victory in the state, winning 45 of the 55 seats.

Background

The election was the first parliamentary election held after the Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950. It marked the introduction of universal adult suffrage, allowing every Indian citizen aged 21 years or above to vote regardless of religion, caste, gender or property qualifications.

The election in Bihar was conducted in both single-member and double-member parliamentary constituencies. Double-member constituencies returned two representatives, generally one from the general category and one from a reserved category, a system that remained in use until it was abolished before the 1962 Indian general election.

Electoral system

Bihar elected 55 members to the 1st Lok Sabha from 44 parliamentary constituencies.

+ Election Statistics Members elected 55 Parliamentary constituencies 44Single-member constituencies 31Double-member constituencies 11Single-member Scheduled Tribe constituencies 2Total electors 18,080.181Votes polled 9,992,451Voter turnout 40.35%Total candidates 198Average candidates per constituency 5Candidates forfeiting deposits 67

Results

A total of 55 members were elected from 44 parliamentary constituencies. The Indian National Congress won 45 seats, securing an overwhelming majority in Bihar. The Socialist Party, Jharkhand Party, Lok Sevak Sangh, Chota Nagpur Santhal Parganas Janta Party and an Independent candidate won the remaining seats.

Party-wise results

Elected members

By constituency

ConstituencyTurnoutSeat No.WinnerRunner-upCandidatePartyCandidateParty 1 Pataliputra 1Sarangdhar SinhaINCGyan Chand SP 2 Patna Central 2 Kailash Pati Sinha INC Chandrika Singh IND 3 Patna East 3 Tarkeshwari Devi INC B. P. Jawahar SP 4 Patna cum Shahabad 4 Bali Ram Bhagat INC Devendra Prasad Singh SP 5 Gaya East5 Brajeshwar Prasad INC Raksha Ram SP6Ramdhari DasINCGopal Krishna MahajanSP 6 Gaya North 7 Bigeshwar Missir SP Jagannath Prasad Sinha INC 7 Gaya West 8 Satyendra Narayan Sinha INC Bilash Singh SP 8 Shahabad South9 Ram Subhag Singh INC Radha Mohan Singh SP10 Jagjivan RamINCChhattu Dusadh SP 9 Shahabad North West 11 Kamal Singh IND Kalawati INC 10 Saran North 12 Jhulan Sinha INC Vidyabhushan Shukla IND 11 Saran Central 13 Mahendra Nath Singh INC Sukdeo Prasad SP 12 Saran East 14 Satya Narain Singh INC Kanhaiya Prasad Verma SP 13 Saran South 15 Dwarka Nath Tiwary INC Rajendra Singh SP 14 Saran cum Champaran16 Bibhuti Mishra INC Jagat Nath SP17Bhola RautINCShatrughan RamSP 15 Champaran North 18 Bipin Bihari Verma INC Shattru Mardan Sah IND 16 Champaran East 19 Syed Mahmood Inc Jai Gopal Sinha SP 17 Muzaffarpur North West 20 Chandeswar Narain Prasad Sinha INC Baijnath Pd. Verma SP 18 Muzaffarpur North East 21 Digvijay Narain Singh INC Ram Bahadur Lal SP 19 Muzaffarpur Central 22 Shyam Nandan Sahay INC Radha Mohan Shukla SP 20 Muzafarpur East 23 Awadeshwar Prasad Sinha INC Ram Janam Ojha SP 21 Muzaffarpur cum Darbhanga24 Rameshwar Sahu INC UNOPPOSED N/A25Rajeshwar PatelINCRam Chander SharmaSP 22 Samastipur East 26 Satya Narain Sinha INC Badri Narain Sinha SP 23 Darbhanga Central 27 Narayan Das INC Ramnandan Mishra SP 24 Darbhanga East 28 Aniruydh Sinha INC Lakshman Jha SP 25 Darbhanga North 29 Shyam Nandan Prasad INC Kameshwar Singh IND 26 Darbhanga cum Bhagalpur 30 Lalit Narayan Mishra INC Tapeshwari Mandal SP 27 Monghyr Sadar cum Jamui31 Banarsi Prasad Sinha INC Ram Kishun Lal SP32Nayan Tara DasINCRameshwar YadavSP 28 Monghyr North West 33 Mathura Prasad Mishra INC Brahamdeo Pd. Sinha SP 29 Monghyr North East 34 Suresh Chandra Mishra SP Rajendra Prasad Yadav INC 30 Bhagalpur cum Purnea35 Anup Lal Mehta INC Murlidhari Singh SP36Kirai MushaharSPMahabir DasINC 31 Bhagalpur Central 37 Banarshi Prasad Jhunjhunwala INC Sahajanand Kumar SP 32 Bhagalpur South 38 Susama Sen INC Baijnath Prasad Singh SP 33 Purnea North East 39 Muhammad Islamuddin INC Krishna Lal Therari IND 34 Purnea Central 40 Phani Gopal Sen Gupta INC Durga Prasad IND 35 Purnea cum Santal Parganas41 Jughar Soren Paul JHP Narayan Soren INC42 Bhagat Jha (Azad)INCSudhir HasdaJHP 36 Santal Parganas cum Hazaribagh43 Lal Hembrom INC Bariar Hembrom IND44Ram Raj JajwareINCSuresh Chandra ChowdhryIND 37 Hazaribhag East 45 Nageshwar Prasad Sinha INC Tara Kishore Prasad CNSPJP 38 Hazaribhag West 46 Ram Narayan Singh CNSPJP Jhani Ram INC 39 Ranchi North East 47 Abdul Ibrahim INC Ajit Nath Banerjee SP 40 Ranchi West (ST) 48 Jaipal Singh JHP Jagannath Singh Manki INC 41 Palamau cum Hazaribagh cum Ranchi49 Gajendra Prasad Sinha INC Alis Kujur JHP50Jithan Kherwar INC Jhawan Singh JHP 42 Manbhum North51 Prabhat Chandra Bose INC Nakul Sahis LSS52Mohan HariINCGupta Bibhuti Bhushan Das LSS 43 Manbhum South cum Dhalbhum53 Bhajahari Mahato LSS Dasarath Murmu JHP54Chaitan Manjhi LSSM. John INC 44 Chailbassa (ST) 55 Kanu Ram Deogam JHP Purno Chandra Birua IND

Source: ECI

Aftermath

The members elected in the 1951–52 general election constituted Bihar's representation in the 1st Lok Sabha, which sat from 17 April 1952 until its dissolution on 4 April 1957. The next general election in the state was held in 1957. During the First Lok Sabha, Socialist Party MP Bigeshwar Missir moved the first no-confidence motion against the Speaker of the Lok Sabha, G. V. Mavalankar, in 1954. Jharkhand Party leader Jaipal Singh Munda continued to advocate the creation of a separate Jharkhand state comprising the tribal-majority areas of southern Bihar. During the First Lok Sabha, he repeatedly raised the issue in Parliament, bringing the regional statehood movement to national attention.

Following the delimitation carried out during 1952-53 on the basis of the 1951 Census, Bihar's parliamentary constituencies were extensively reorganised for the before the 1957 general election. The state's representation in the Lok Sabha was reduced from 55 to 53, while several constituency boundaries and names were revised, replacing many of the parliamentary constituencies used in the 1951–52 election.

1951–52 Indian general election in Bihar

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