1967 Kerala Legislative Assembly election


The Kerala Legislative Assembly election of 1967 was held to constitute the fourth assembly in Kerala.
This election, was held in the backdrop of the 1965 election which resulted in a hung assembly and subsequent President's rule. As a result of that, the Communist Party of India formed a seven-member coalition known as the Saptakakshi Munnani. The Indian National Congress and the Kerala Congress contested separately.
The election resulted in a landslide victory for the Saptakakshi Munnani which won a whopping 113 out 133 seats, the highest won by a coalition till date. The Indian National Congress suffered a massive debacle, being reduced to a mere 9 seats- the worst performance of the party in the state till date.
Veteran Communist Leader E. M. S. Namboothiripad was sworn in as the Chief Minister on 6 March 1967.
Congress Leader and Mala legislator K. Karunakaran took over as the new Leader of the Opposition.
Future Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan was first elected to the assembly in 1967.

Background

In the 1965 elections, no party was able to form a government in Kerala. No viable coalition took shape, and Kerala went back to President Rule for another 2 years.
Kerala again went back to the polls in 1967. Both communist parties - CPI and CPI - along with smaller parties including SSP and Muslim League contested this election as a United Front. A total of seven parties contested in the front, and the front was known as Saptakakshi Munnani. Congress and Kerala Congress contested separately. The total polling percentage was 75

Constituencies

There were 133 constituencies in total, out of which 120 were General Category, 11 Scheduled Castes, and 2 Scheduled Tribe seats.

Political parties

The national parties contested were the Communist Party of India, Communist Party of India, Indian National Congress, Praja Socialist Party, Sanghata Socialist Party, and Swatantra Party along with the state parties Indian Union Muslim League and Kerala Congress.

Results

!colspan=10|
! colspan=2|Political Party !! Flag !! Seats
Contested !! Won !! Net Change
in seats !! % of
Seats
! Votes !! Vote % !! Change in
vote %
! colspan = 3|
! style="text-align:center;" |Total Seats !! 133 !! style="text-align:center;" |Voters !! 8,613,658 !! style="text-align:center;" |Turnout !! colspan = 2|6,518,272

By constituency

A. C. NO.Assembly Constituency NameCategoryWinner Candidates NameGenderPartyVoteRunner-up Candidates NameGenderPartyvote
1ManjeshwarGENK.M.BhandaryMIND23471M.R.RaiMCPM18690
2KasaragodGENU.P.KunikullayaMIND20635H.A.SchemnadMMUL20540
3HosdrugGENN.K.BalakrishnanMSSP25717M.N.NambiarMINC16056
4NileswarGENV.V.KunhambuMCPM34496T.P.G.NamboodiriMINC12909
5EdakkadGENC.KannanMCPM32563P.P.LakshmananMINC22125
6CannanoreGENE.AhamedMMUL35261N.K.KumaranMINC26997
7MadayiGENM.ManjuranMIND32974P.KrishnanMINC13862
8PayyannurGENA.V.KunhabguMCPM29835V.T.N.PoduvalMINC14774
9TaliparambaGENK.P.R.PoduvalMCPM31508N.C.VargheseMINC22233
10IrikkurGENE.P.K.NambiarMCPM31590K.R. KarunakaranMINC16679
11KuthuparambaGENK.K.AbeeMSSP28449M.K.KrishnanMINC17797
12TellicherryGENK.P.R.GopalanMCPM34612P.NanooMINC21772
13PeringalamGENP.R.KurupMSSP38701N.M.NambiarMINC13034
14North WynadK.K.AnnanMCPM19983C.M.KulianMINC14970
15BadagaraGENM.KrishnanMSSP37488M.VenugopalMINC12977
16NadapuramGENE.V.KumaranMCPM31395P.BalakrishnanMINC14936
17MeppayurGENM.K.KeluMCPM33365C.K.KurupMINC15639
18QuilandyGENP.K.KidaveMSSP32390K.GopalanMINC23375
19PermbraGENV.V.D.MoorthyMCPM30307K.T.K.NairMINC18784
20BalusseriGENA.K.AppuMSSP29069O.K.GovindanMINC22491
21KunnamangalamGENV.K.NairMSSP28773K.P.PadmanabhanMINC13171
22KalpettaGENB.WellingdonMIND23510A.V.R.G.MenonMINC11960
23South WynadM.RamunniMSSP20220M.C.MaruMINC14610
24Calicut- IGENP.C.R.NairMCPM32794M.KamalamFINC27710
25Calicut- IIGENP.M.AbubackerMMUL32415V.ZubairMINC21859
26BeyporeGENK.C.MasterMCPM33479I.P.KrishnanMINC14947
27TirurangadiGENA.K.N.LajiMMUL29267T.P.K.KuttyMINC19599
28TanurGENM.M.K.HajiMMUL29219T.A.KuttyMINC10491
29TirurGENK.M.K.HajiMMUL28558R.MuhamedMINC18527
30KuttippuramGENC.M.KuttyMMUL28245P.R.MenonMINC10968
31KondottyGENS.U.BafakihMMUL33166M.P.GangadharanMINC13874
32MalappuramGENM.P.M.A.KurikkelMMUL32813A.C.ShanmughadasMINC12094
33ManjeriM.ChadayanMMUL23752S.MariappanMINC12636
34NilamburGENK.KunhaliMCPM25215A.MohamedMINC15426
35PonnaniGENV. P. C ThangalMMUL30251K.G.K.MenonMINC16430
36ThrithalaE.T.KunhanMCPM24119K.KunhambuMINC14485
37PattambiGENE. M. S. NamboothiripadMCPM23955K.G.MenonMINC11838
38OttapalamGENP.P.KrishnanMCPM21086M.N.KurupMINC13123
39SreekrishnapuramGENC.G.PanickerMCPM18762K.R.NairMINC9510
40MankadaGENC. H. Muhammad KoyaMMUL29503V.S.A.C.K.ThangalMINC4986
41PerinthalmannaGENP.M.KuttyMCPM24285P.M.SadioMINC7513
42MannarghatGENE.K.I.BavaMCPM20504N.BalasubramanyanMINC8608
43PalghatGENR.KrishnanMCPM24627K. SankaranarayananMINC14996
44MalampuzhaGENM.P.KunhiramanMCPM27454A.NarayananMINC11585
45ChitturGENK.A.S.BharathyMSSP23985A.S.SahibMINC17174
46KollengodeGENC.V.MenonMCPM19779GangadharanMINC14370
47AlathurGENR.KrishnanMCPM25467SaradaFINC13630
48KuzhalmannamO.KoranMSSP19138E.KonthaMINC11452
49ChelakaraP.KunhanMCPM21175K.K.BalakrishnanMINC19123
50WadakkancheryGENN.K.SeshanMSSP23857K.S.N.NamboodiriMINC22173
51KunnamkulamGENA.S.N.NambissanMCPM27014A.K.KunhunnyMINC24930
52ManalurGENN.I.DevassykuttyMINC26523V.MecheriMIND26374
53TrichurGENK.S.NairMCPM26149T.P.SeetharamanMINC25547
54OllurGENA.V.AryanMCPM24569P.P.FrancisMINC24421
55IrinjalakudaGENC.K.RajanMCPI27151R.PozhekadavilMINC23515
56KodakaraGENP.S. NamboodiriMCPI24265P.R. KrishnanMINC15680
57ChalakudiGENP.P. GeorgeMINC26568P.K. ChathanMCPI23107
58MalaGENK. KarunakaranMINC23563K.A.ThomasMCPI23199
59GuruvayoorGENB.V.S.ThangalMMUL20986A.A.KochunnyMINC20523
60NattikaGENT. K. KrishnanMCPM27635K. K. ViswanathanMINC24634
61CranganoreGENP. K. GopalakrishnanMCPI26536M. SagirMINC23221
62AnkamaliGENA. P. KurianMCPM21427A. C. GeorgeMINC15237
63VadakkekaraGENE. BalanandanMCPM28234K. R. VijayanMINC27601
64ParurGENK. T. GeorgeMINC17418V. PainadanMIND13719
65NarakkalGENA. S. PurushothamanMCPM24616K. C. AbrahamMINC23474
66MattancherryGENM. P. M. JafferkhanMMUL28175P. T. JacobMINC21763
67PalluruthyGENP. GangadharanMCPM24779A. L. JacobMINC23395
68ThrippunithuraGENT. K. RamakrishnanMCPM27435P. P. ManiMINC25976
69ErnakulamGENA. ParambitharaMINC23270K. A. RajanMCPI22973
70AlwayeGENM. K. A. HameedMIND29978V. P. MarakkarMINC20360
71PerumbavoorGENP. G. PillaiMCPM23161K. G. R. KarthaMINC17996
72KunnathunadM. K. KrishnanMCPM28083K. K. MadhavanMINC21203
73KothamangalamGENT. M. MeethiyanMCPM21210M. I. MarkoseMKEC14822
74MuvattupuzhaGENP. V. AbrahamMCPI21333K. C. PailyMINC15400
75ThodupuzhaGENK. C. ZachariahMIND18780E. M. JosephMKEC17286
76KarimannoorGENM. M. ThomasMIND19070A. C. ChackoMKEC12870
77DevicolamN. GanapathyMINC15895G. VarathanMCPM15607
78UdumbancholaGENK. T. JacobMCPI28085MathachanMKEC19021
79PeermadeK. I. RajanMCPM18934RamiahMINC12199
80KanjirappallyGENM. KamalMCPM22681C. J. AntonyMKEC14335
81VazhoorGENK. P. PillaiMCPI19789K. N. KurupMKEC14760
82ChanganacherryGENK.G. N. NambudiripadMCPI21278K. J. ChackoMKEC15353
83PuthuppallyGENE. M. GeorgeMCPM22589P. C. CheriyanMINC17037
84KottayamGENM. K. GeorgeMCPM25298M. P. G. NairMINC16188
85EttumanoorGENP. P. WilsonMSSP20248M. M. JosephMKEC16213
86AkalakunnamGENJ. A. ChackoMKEC18049M. G. K. NairMCPM15770
87PoonjarGENK. M. GeorgeMKEC19944K. K. MenonMCPM16386
88PalaiGENK. M. ManiMKEC19118V. T. ThomasMIND16407
89KaduthuruthyGENJ. ChazhikattuMKEC18719K. K. JosephMCPM16581
90VaikomGENP. S. SrinivasanMCPI28502P. ParameswaranMINC19043
91AroorGENK. R. Gowri AmmaFCPM28274K. BhasiMINC21097
92SherthalaGENN. P. ThandarMCPM23350K. R. DamodaranMINC15491
93MararikulamGENS. DamodaranMCPM30277D. KrishnanFINC18246
94AlleppeyGENT. V. ThomasMCPI28880G. C. IyerMINC15554
95AmbalapuzhaGENV. S. AchuthanandanMCPM26627A. AchyuthanMINC17112
96KuttanadGENK. K. K. PillaiMIND23797T. JohnMKEC16633
97HaripadGENC. B. C. WarrierMCPM28199K. P. R. NairMINC27079
98KayamkulamGENP. K. KunguMSSP27227T. PrabhakaranMINC23446
99ThiruvallaGENE. J. JacobMKEC18970P. K. MathewMSSP16992
100KalloopparaGENG.ThomasMINC17267N. T. GeorgeMCPM13668
101AranmulaGENP.N. ChandrasenanMSSP19665K. V. NairMINC16743
102ChengannurGENP.G.P. PillaiMCPM17524N.S.K. PillaiMINC16004
103MavelikaraGENG. G. PillaiMSSP26669K. K. C. PillaiMINC23226
104PandalamP. K. KunjachanMCPM27740T. K. KaliMINC22825
105RanniGENM. K. DivakaranMCPI18628N. J. MathewsMINC12795
106PathanamthittaGENK. K. NairMIND26351V. IdiculaMKEC16208
107KonniGENP. P. R. M. PillaiMCPI24775P. J. ThomasMINC21733
108PathanapuramP. K. RaghwanMCPI23401P. K. RamachandradasMINC11520
109PunalurGENM. N. Govindan NairMCPI23931P. C. BabyMINC18794
110ChadayamangalamGEND. D. PottiMSSP29980B. PillaiMINC18122
111KottarakkaraGENE. C. NairMCPI24672R. B. PillaiMKEC23112
112KunnathurK. C. S. SastryMIND26510T. KesavanMINC13559
113AdoorGENRamalingomMCPI25804P. RaghavanMIND12970
114KrishnapuramGENP. U. PillaiMCPI29134M. K. HemachandranMINC18810
115KarunagappallyGENBaby JohnMIND32227K. V. S. PannikarMINC20184
116QuilonGENT. K. DivakaranMIND29075H. AustinMINC19324
117KundaraGENP. K. SukumaranMCPM28882V. S. PillaiMINC23288
118EravipuramGENR. S. UnniMIND31083K. K. KrishnanMINC17935
119ChathannoorGENP. RavindranMCPI27181S. T. PillaiMKEC15972
120VarkalaGENA. MajidMCPI24796S. HameedMINC17885
121AttingalGENK.P.K.DasMCPM26871Vakkom PurushothamanMINC21826
122KilimanoorC.K.BalakrishnanMCPM25932K.P.MadhavanMINC19422
123VamanapuramGENN.V.PillaiMCPM24270M.K.PillaiMINC16305
124AryanadGENM.MajeedMSSP18350V.SankaranMINC14749
125NedumangadGENK.G.K.PallaiMCPI20584S.V.NairMINC14931
126KazhakuttamGENM.H.SahibMMUL22008N.L.VaidyanMINC20694
127Trivandrum IGENB.M.NairMSSP22152M.N.G.NairMINC19931
128Trivandrum I IGENK.C.VamadevanMIND27806W.SebastianMINC21744
129NemomGENM.SadasivanMCPM22800P.N.NairMINC19764
130KovalamGENJ.C.MoraesMIND18588M.K.NadarMINC18191
131VilappilGENC.S.N.NairMSSP25104M.B.NairMINC21128
132NeyyattinkaraGENR.G.NairMINC24038M.SathianesanMCPM22839
133ParassalaGENN.GamalielMINC23299V.TitusMIND17095

Government formation

The United Front performed spectacularly swept most of the seats. Congress and Kerala Congress were decimated with 9 and 5 seats respectively. E M S became the Chief Minister for the second time. Second E. M. S. Namboodiripad Ministry had 14 members. For the first time in Kerala's history, the cabinet also included members from Muslim League. K. Karunakaran became the opposition leader in the assembly.

Fall of EMS Government

CPI and CPI continued to have suspicions with each other. Due to the alleged high-handedness of CPI in governance, most smaller parties were unsatisfied. This period also was marked by a series of student strikes and police firings. CPI, SSP & Muslim League eventually became a group within the front and worked together. Many ministers from the smaller parties resigned eventually, and many parties subsequently left the front. On 24 October 1969, EMS submitted resignation owing to the loss of majority in the assembly.

Achutha Menon Ministry

Within a week of the resignation of E M S Namboothiripad, M N Govindan Nair of CPI informed the Governor that their party was ready to form an alternate government. CPI formed a government with outside support from Congress. C. Achutha Menon became the Chief Minister of Kerala on 1969, 1 November. The First Achutha Menon Ministry had 8 members.