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30   PoliticsinIndiasincIndependence appeared very bold and risky. An Indian editor called it “the biggest gamble in history”. Organiser, a magazine, wrote that Jawaharlal Nehru “would live to confess the failure of universal adult franchise in India”. A British member of the Indian Civil Service claimed that “a future and more enlightened age will view with astonishment the absurd farce of recording the votes of millions of illiterate people”. The elections had to be postponed twice and finally held from October 1951 to February 1952. But this election is referred to as the 1952 election since most parts of the Maulana Abul Kalam country voted in January 1952. It took six months for Azad (1888-1958): the campaigning, polling and counting to be completed. original name — Abul Elections were competitive – there were on an average more Kalam Mohiyuddin than four candidates for each seat. The level of participation Ahmed; scholar of was encouraging — more than half the eligible voters turned Islam; freedom fighter out to vote on the day of elections. When the results were and Congress leader; declared these were accepted as fair even by the losers. proponent of Hindu- The Indian experiment had proved the critics wrong. The Muslim unity; opposed Times of India held that the polls have “confounded all those to Partition; member of sceptics who thought the introduction of adult franchise Constituent Assembly; too risky an experiment in this country”. The Hindustan Education Minister in Times claimed that “there is universal agreement that the the first cabinet of free Indian people have conducted themselves admirably in the India. largest experiment in democratic elections in the history of the world”. Observers outside India were equally impressed. India’s general election of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. It was no longer possible to argue that democratic elections could not be held in conditions of poverty or lack of education. It proved that democracy could be practiced anywhere in the world. Congressdominanceinthefirst three generalelections The results of the first general election did not surprise anyone. The Indian National Congress was expected to win this election. The Congress party, as it was popularly known, had inherited the legacy of the national movement. It was the only party then to have an organisation spread all over the country. And finally, in Jawaharlal Nehru, the party had the most popular and charismatic leader in Indian politics. He led the Congress campaign and toured through the country. When the final results were declared, the extent of the victory of the Congress did surprise many. The party won 364 of the 489 seats in the first Lok Sabha and finished way ahead of any other challenger. The Communist Party of India that came next in terms of seats won only 16 seats. The state elections were held with the Reprint 2026-27