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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2019}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1930 Madras Presidency legislative council election
| country = British Raj
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1926 Madras Presidency legislative council election
| previous_year = '''1926'''
| next_election = 1934 Madras Presidency legislative council election
| next_year = '''1934'''
| election_date = September 1930
| seats_for_election = 98 seats in [[Madras Legislative Council]]
| image1 = [[File:B.muniswaminaidu.jpg|130x130px]]
| leader1 = [[P. Munuswamy Naidu]]
| party1 = Justice Party (India)
| leaders_seat1 =
| seats1 = 35
| seat_change1 =
| popular_vote1 =
| percentage1 =
| swing1 =
| image2 = [[File:P_Subbarayan_1989_stamp_of_India.jpg|130x130px]]
| leader2 = [[P. Subbarayan]]
| party2 = Independent Nationalist Party
| leaders_seat2 =
| seats2 =
| seat_change2 =
| popular_vote2 =
| percentage2 =
| swing2 =
| title = [[Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu|Chief Minister]]
| before_election = [[P. Subbarayan]]
| before_party = Nonpartisan
| after_election = [[P. Munuswamy Naidu]]
| after_party = Justice Party (India)
| majority_seats = 50
}}
The '''fourth legislative council election''' to [[Madras Presidency]] after the establishment of [[Diarchy in Madras Presidency|dyarchical]] system of government by the [[Government of India Act 1919|Government of India Act, 1919]] in September 1930. [[Justice Party (India)|Justice party]] won the election and [[P. Munuswamy Naidu]] became the first Chief Minister. The main opposition party - [[Swaraj Party]] did not contest the elections due to its participation in the [[Salt Satyagraha|Civil Disobedience Movement]].

== Background ==
The election was held amid the severe world economic depression. Justice party decided to open its doors for [[Brahmin|Brahmans]] after a resolution made in the executive committee meeting held on 15 June 1930. Congress decided to boycott the election again in a meeting held in [[Lahore]] in 1929. 17 of its council members including [[Sathyamurthy]], resigned their membership. Though the Congress did not participate in the election, it allowed its individual members like Swami Venkatachalam Chettiar and [[R. K. Shanmugam Chettiar]] to contest as Independents. Therefore, the contest was solely between the Justice Party and what was called Independent Nationalist party (former ministerialists) headed by [[P. Subbarayan]]. Justice party's leader, [[Raja of Panagal]] had died on 16 December 1928 and it was led by [[P. Munuswamy Naidu]]. It had a tumultuous relationship with Subbarayan's Independent Nationalists - cooperating in some issues and openly quarreling on some other.<ref name="Krishnaswamy">{{cite book | title=The role of Madras Legislature in the freedom struggle, 1861-1947| author=S. Krishnaswamy| year=1989| pages=215–219| publisher=People's Pub. House (New Delhi) }}</ref><ref name="Saroja">{{cite book | title=March to freedom in Madras Presidency, 1916-1947| author=Saroja Sundararajan| year=1989| pages=347–350| publisher=Madras : Lalitha Publications}}</ref><ref name="rajaraman2">{{cite book | title=The Justice Party: a historical perspective, 1916-37| last=Rajaraman| first=P. | year=1988| pages=212–220| publisher=Poompozhil Publishers|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GGMmAAAAMAAJ}}</ref>

== Constituencies ==
The [[Madras Legislative Council]] had a total of 132 members in addition to the [[ex officio member]]s of the Governor's Executive Council. Out of the 132, 98 were elected from 61 constituencies of the presidency. The constituencies comprised three arbitrary divisions - 1)communal constituencies such as non-Muhammadan urban, non-Muhammadan rural, non-Brahman urban, [[Islam in India|Mohamaddan]] urban, Mohamaddan rural, Indian Christian, European and Anglo-Indian 2)special constituencies such as landholders, Universities, planters and trade associations (South India Chamber of Commerce & Nattukottai Nagarathar Association) and 3) territorial constituencies. 28 of the constituencies were reserved for non-[[Brahmin|Brahmans]]. 29 members were nominated, out of whom a maximum of 19 would be government officials, 5 would represent women, 5 would represent the [[Paraiyar]], [[Pallar]], [[Valluvar]], [[Mala (caste)|Mala]], [[Madiga]], [[Sakkiliar]], Thottiyar, Cheruman and [[Chalavadi|Holeya]] communities and 1 would represent the "backward tracts". Including the Executive Council members, the total strength of the legislature was 134.<ref name="Krishnaswamy"/><ref name="act1919">{{cite book | title=The Govt of India ACT 1919 Rules Thereunder and Govt Reports 1920| first=H.N.|last=Mithra| year=2009| pages=186–199| publisher=BiblioBazaar|isbn=978-1-113-74177-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aw5r4QyRijMC&pg=RA2-PA186}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Hodges|first=Sarah|title=Contraception, colonialism and commerce: birth control in South India, 1920-1940|publisher=Ashgate Publishing|year=2008|pages=28–29|isbn=978-0-7546-3809-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6H2NTD9g_rgC&pg=PA28}}</ref>

== Results ==
About 43% of the electorate comprising about 4% of the Presidency's population voted in the election. (The franchise was limited based on property qualifications.<ref name="act1919"/>) Justice party won 35 seats out of the 45 it contested in the election. Independent Nationalist party and Liberals together won less 10 seats. Most of the other seats were won by independents. 35 of the 98 elective seats were won without any contest.<ref name="Krishnaswamy"/><ref name="Saroja"/><ref name="rajaraman2"/>

== Government formation ==
{{see also|B. Munuswamy Naidu#As Chief Minister of Madras Presidency}}
The Governor of Madras, [[George Frederick Stanley]], nominated 32 non-elected members including officials immediately after the election and invited the Justice Party form the Government. [[B. Ramachandra Reddy]] was elected as the President of the council. On 27 October 1930, [[B. Munuswami Naidu]] took charge as Chief Minister. [[P. T. Rajan]] and [[S. Kumaraswami Reddiar]] became the other two members of the Justice ministry. [[P. Subbarayan]], former Chief Minister became opposition leader.<ref name="Krishnaswamy"/><ref name="Saroja"/>
Soon after Munuswamy Naidu formed the government, the Justice Party was torn apart by factionalism.<ref name="ralhan"/> The Zamindars who had supported the Justice Party were disgruntled at the fact that two of the foremost landlords of the Presidency, the Raja of Bobbili and the Kumara Raja of Venkatagiri had not been included in the Cabinet.<ref name="ralhan">{{cite book | title=Encyclopaedia of Political Parties| last=Ralhan| first=O. P. | year=2002| pages=196–198| publisher=Anmol Publications PVT. LTD| isbn=978-81-7488-865-5}}</ref> In November 1930, the disgruntled Zamindars formed a faction "ginger group" under the leadership of [[Rajah Muthiah Chettiar|M. A. Muthiah Chettiar]]. This faction succeeded in forcing Naidu's resignation as party leader and as chief minister. On 5 November 1932, the [[Raja of Bobbili]] took over as chief minister.<ref name="rajaraman2"/><ref name="ralhan" />

==Impact==
This was the last election won by the Justice party. Intra party factionalism, unpopular policies, resurgence of the Congress with rising nationalism among the people all combined to ensure that it would never win another election during its existence. The party was split between the Zamindari and the non-Zamindari factions which struggled for power. The Zamindari faction eventually won and its leader the Raja of Bobbili became the chief minister. His pro-land owner economic policies amidst the [[Great Depression]] were hugely unpopular and contributed to the party's defeat in the [[1934 Madras Presidency legislative council election|1934]] and [[1937 Madras Presidency legislative assembly election|1937]] elections.<ref name="rajaraman2"/><ref name="Manikumar2">{{Cite book| last =Manikumar| first =K. A.| title = A colonial economy in the Great Depression, Madras (1929-1937)| publisher = Orient Blackswan| year = 2003| pages = 185–198| url =https://books.google.com/books?id=8eWkmxJRnoAC&pg=PA185 |isbn=978-81-250-2456-9}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101127041000/http://periyardk.org/PHP/Details.php?key1=Kudiyarasu&key2=1930&fileName=Sep&cCount=10 ''Kudi Arasu'' editorial on the election results (September 1930); written by Periyar E. V. Ramasamy]

{{Tamil Nadu assembly elections|state=expanded}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=Provincial Assembly elections in British India
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[[Category:Elections in Madras Presidency|1930]]
[[Category:1930 elections in India|Madras]]
[[Category:Provincial Assembly elections in British India]]

1930 Madras Presidency Legislative Council election - Revision history

MetaBOT at 13:54, 8 July 2023