Kerala was formed. Under State Reorganisation Act of 1956, the four southern taluks of Travancore, namely Thovalai, Agasteeswaram, Kalkulam and Vilavancode and a part of the Chencotta Taluk was merged with Madras State. On 1 November 1956 Travancore-Cochin was joined with Malabar District of Madras State, the taluk of Kasaragod and South Kanara to form the new state of Kerala. After the first ever elections to the Kerala Legislative Assembly in 1957, the Communist Party of India emerged as the single largest party. E M S Namboodiripad formed the first elected government with the support of 5 independent legislators. The government was not able to complete its full 5 year term. The Communist-led government was dissolved as a consequence of the movement known as the Vimochana Samaram (Liberation Struggle). The Communist government was dismissed on 31 July 1959 and President's rule was imposed in the state, under Article 356 of the constitution. Fresh elections were held in 1960 and Pattom A. Thanu Pillai became the second Chief Minister of Kerala, as head of a PSP-Congress-Muslim League coalition administration. He assumed office on 22 February 1960. However, he resigned as chief minister of Kerala on 26 September 1962 to make way for R. Sankar of the Indian National Congress as the next Chief Minister of the state. He was appointed Governor of Punjab on 1 October 1962 by the Central Government headed by Jawaharlal Nehru. Later he became Governor of Andhra Pradesh on 4 May 1964 and remained in office till 11 April 1968. Resignation and death Two years after resigning as Governor of Andhra Pradesh, Pattom Thanu Pillai died on 27 July 1970, at the ripe old age of 85. His death occurred at his home in Thiruvananthapuram. He was cremated with full state honours at the premises of his home. References Further reading 1885 births 1970 deaths People of the Kingdom of Travancore Indian independence activists from Kerala Indian National Congress politicians from Kerala Chief Ministers of Kerala Members of the Constituent Assembly of India Governors of Andhra Pradesh Governors of Punjab, India Politicians from Thiruvananthapuram Malayali politicians Chief ministers from Indian National Congress Kerala MLAs 1957–1959 19th-century Indian politicians Members of the Travancore–Cochin Legislative Assembly Praja Socialist Party politicians Kerala MLAs 1960–1964