Legislative Assembly elections were held in the

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

n state of

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

on March 11, 1972.

Background

The election was the 4th assembly election in West Bengal within six years. In the previous assembly election held last year, Ajoy Mukherjee of Bangla Congress became the chief minister with support of the INC(R) & the United Left Democratic Front (an alliance of CPI, AIFB, SSP rebels, PSP, BPI - Barada Mukutmoni faction, RCPI - Anadi Das faction & AIGL). President's Rule had been introduced on 29 June 1971 due to fallout of the Congress(R) (with which the Bangla Congress had merged) with the ULDF.

Contenders

There were two main fronts in the election; the alliance between the Congress(R) and CPI and the alliance led by CPI(M). The Congress(R)-CPI alliance was known as the Progressive Democratic Alliance. The PDA had a seven-point programme. At the time of the election Indira Gandhi's popularity peaked, with the victory in the

Bangladesh Liberation War The Bangladesh Liberation War (, ), also known as the Bangladesh War of Independence, was an War, armed conflict sparked by the rise of the Bengali nationalism, Bengali nationalist and self-determination movement in East Pakistan, which res ...

and electoral promises of land reform. The CPI had also gained significant prestige in West Bengal due to the Soviet support to the Bangladeshi cause in the war. The CPI(M)-led alliance included RSP, SUCI, RCPI, MFB, WPI, the Biplobi Bangla Congress and some independents. Just before the vote there was a seat-sharing arrangement between the CPI(M)-led alliance and the AIFB. A minor third front, the West Bengal Democratic Alliance, was led by the Congress (O) and included Sushil Kumar Dhara's Bangla Congress faction, the SSP rebels and the Indian Awami League.

Results

The Congress(R)-CPI alliance won an overwhelming majority in the assembly and formed a new state government, led by Siddhartha Shankar Ray. Several Indian Youth Congress leaders were found among the newly elected legislators. 14 CPI(M) candidates were declared elected, but they refused to participate in the Legislative Assembly during the period of 1972-1977 as they accused that the elections had been rigged.

Results by constituency

Reception

While there were several killings during the election campaign, electoral violence had declined compared to previous elections in West Bengal. The elections were marred by accusations of rigging. CPI(M) and its allies refused to accept the election result. The left parties argued that in 172 constituencies the election had not been free and fair, accusing the Congress(R) of letting loose 'semi-fascist terror' in West Bengal. They protested by interrupting the President's speech in the

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

and in the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

. The Congress(O) also made accusations of rigging. The former Chief Minister Prafulla Chandra Sen on the other hand alleged that the election had been rigged in at least 45 constituencies.

References

{{West Bengal assembly elections

State Assembly elections in West Bengal 1970s in West Bengal