To actively participate in the planning of education, industrialization, health, and river valley development ,Saha stood as a candidate in the constituency of North-West Calcutta in the 1951 Loksabha election. He ran on the ticket of Union of Socialists and Progressives but Saha always maintained his independence. He was pitted against a powerful and well-funded candidate from Congress, Mr. Prabhu Dayal Himatsingka. Saha was not well funded for his campaign and wrote to his publisher in November 1951 to ask for a Rs 5,000 advance against the sale of his textbook, "Treatise on Heat", "because I am standing for election in the house of the people from NW Calcutta". Saha won the contest by a margin of 16%.