No majority in Madras State's first election
What happened
Madras State's first election ended in a hung house — a result where no single party wins enough seats to govern alone.
The Indian National Congress won the most seats, 152 of the 375 seats on offer.
That was well short of the 188-seat majority mark.
Independent was among the closest challengers, with 62 seats.
What changed
This was Madras State's first Vidhan Sabha election.
Some of that year's constituencies used a multi-member design, where the same contest sent more than one member to the assembly.
66 of the 309 constituencies worked this way.
Altogether, the assembly grew to 375 members.
Notable numbers
A few numbers from that election stand out.
The closest race was Cuddapah, Madras, decided by a margin — how far ahead the winner finished, in votes, over whoever came second — of just 53 votes.
The widest win was in Puttur, Madras, where the winner finished 53.6% ahead of the runner-up.
The highest turnout — the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot — anywhere in the state was in Narsapur, Madras, at 88.2%.
The most crowded contest was Thousand Lights, Madras, where 17 candidates stood for a single seat.
The backdrop
This took place amid India's wave of first elections after independence.
As many as 12 parties won at least one seat in Madras State alone.