Madras Presidency legislative council election, 1937
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The first legislative council election for the Madras Presidency after the establishment of a bicameral legislature by the Government of India Act of 1935 was held in February 1937. The Indian National Congress obtained a majority by winning 27 out of 46 seats in the Legislative Council for which the elections were held. This was the first electoral victory for the Congress in the presidency since elections were first conducted for the Council in 1920 and C. Rajagopalachari (Rajaji) became the Chief Minister. The Justice Party which had ruled the presidency for most of the previous 17 years was voted out of power. Congress also won the Legislative assembly election held simultaneously.
The Government of India Act of 1935 established a bicameral legislature in the Madras province. The Legislature consisted of the Governor and two Legislative bodies - a Legislative Assembly and a Legislative Council. The Legislative Council consisted of a minimum of 54 and a maximum of 56 members. It was a permanent body not subject to dissolution by the Governor and one-third of its members retired every three years. 46 of its members were elected directly by the electorate while the Governor could nominate 8 to 10 members. The breakdown of seats in the Council was as follows:
The Act provided for a limited adult franchise based on property qualifications. Seven million people, roughly 15% of the Madras people holding land or paying urban taxes were qualified to be the electorate.
The Justice Party had been in power in Madras for 17 years since 1920. Its hold on power was briefly interrupted only once in 1926-28 when P. Subbarayan was a non-affiliated Chief Minister.
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