1969 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election

In the previous assembly election, the Indian National Congress was defeated due to unpopularity of state PCC chief Bijoy Singh Nahar's autocratic style of functioning & chief minister Prafulla Chandra Sen's unpopular decision of implementing food rationing in the state to handle the food crisis caused by famine in the state. The first non-Congress government was formed on 1 March 1967 with Ajoy Mukherjee of Bangla Congress from the United Front (also consisting of CPI, AIFB & BPI) as the chief-minister & Jyoti Basu of CPI(M) from the United Left Front (also consisting of RSP, SUCI(C), SSP, MFB, WPI & RCPI) as the deputy chief minister. However, the coalition government soon fell apart due to the demand of land reforms raised by the Land Minister, CPI(M) leader Hare Krishna Konar, which threatened the rural landed-gentry support-base of the Bangla Congress & legalisation of gherao policy by Labour Minister, SUCI(C) leader Subodh Banerjee. Frequent strikes & assaulting of big businessmen and industrialists by Communist labour unions was causing them to gradually shift their operations out of the state. In spite of requests from industries minister, Bangla Congress leader Sushil Kumar Dhara, deputy chief-minister Basu refused to remove Banerjee from the labour ministry on grounds of CPI(M)'s ideological similarities with SUCI(C). So, Mukherjee himself sat on a hunger strike at Curzon Park (renamed as Surendranath Park) just in front of Writer's Building, the state secretariat building, demanding Banerjee's resignation. However, there he was heckled by cadres of CPI(M) & SUCI(C).{{Cite web|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/north/story/president-pranab-mukherjee-as-rajya-sabha-lok-sabha-mp-110881-2012-07-23|title=As a debutant MP, Pranab quickly earned the respect of his Rajya Sabha colleagues}}

There were further differences within the government over CPI(M)'s initial soft approach towards Naxalbari uprising on grounds of CPI(M)'s ideological similarities & shared adoration for Mao Zedong with the rebels. CPI(M) also organised strikes demanding the resignation of the Food Minister, independent MLA Prafulla Chandra Ghosh over his poor handling of the food crisis.

In midst of these events, Ghosh formed his own party 'Progressive Democratic Front' with 16 elected members of the Bangla Congress & sent a letter to the Governor Dharma Vira laying claim to the government with the support of the Congress. The Governor dissolved the Ajoy Mukherjee-Jyoti Basu led government without conducting a no-trust vote in the Legislative Assembly & sworn in Ghosh as the new chief minister on 21 November 1967. Mukherjee & Basu put aside their differences & together organised protests against Ghosh's government, leading to increasing political violence between the cadres of CPI(M) & Congress. In midst of the food crisis & escalating political violence among political parties and that between Naxalites & others in the state, President's Rule had to be introduced on 20 February 1968, following which, the previous legislative assembly was dissolved.{{cite book|author=Ramashray Roy|title=The Uncertain Verdict: A Study of the 1969 Elections in Four Indian States|url=https://archive.org/details/uncertainverdict0000royr|url-access=registration|year=1975|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-02475-5|page=[https://archive.org/details/uncertainverdict0000royr/page/33 33]}}

{{Election results

|image=File:India West Bengal Legislative Assembly 1969.svg

|party1=Communist Party of India (Marxist)|votes1=2676981|seats1=80|sc1= {{increase}} 37

|party2=Indian National Congress|votes2=5538622|seats2=55|sc2= {{decrease}} 72

|party3=Bangla Congress|votes3=1094654|seats3=33|sc3= {{decrease}} 1

|party4=Communist Party of India|votes4=938472|seats4=30|sc4= {{increase}} 14

|party5=All India Forward Bloc|votes5=671664|seats5=21|sc5= {{increase}} 8

|party6=Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|votes6=375983|seats6=12|sc6= {{increase}} 6

|party7=Samyukta Socialist Party|votes7=249362|seats7=9|sc7= {{increase}} 2

|party8=Socialist Unity Centre of India|votes8=202721|seats8=7|sc8= {{increase}} 3

|party9=Praja Socialist Party|votes9=175890|seats9=5|sc9= {{decrease}} 2

|party10=Lok Sewak Sangh|votes10=99844|seats10=4|sc10= NA

|party11=Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League|votes11=71665|seats11=4|sc11= NA

|party12=Progressive Muslim League (West Bengal)|votes12=208574|seats12=3|sc12= NA

|party13=Revolutionary Communist Party of India|votes13=51181|seats13=2|sc13= NA

|party14=Workers Party of India|votes14=47391|seats14=2|sc14= NA

|party15=Indian National Democratic Front|votes15=118650|seats15=1|sc15= NA

|party16=Marxist Forward Bloc|votes16=27143|seats16=1|sc16= NA

|party20=Others|votes20=374421|seats20=0|sc20=0

|party21=Independents|votes21=481092|seats21=11|sc21= {{decrease}} 20

|total_sc=0

|invalid=353762

|electorate=20685110

|source=ECI{{cite web |url=https://old.eci.gov.in/files/file/3185-west-bengal-1969/ |title=West Bengal Legislative Assembly Election, 1969 |date=14 August 2018 |publisher=Election Commission of India |access-date=24 February 2023}}

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{{West Bengal assembly elections}}

Category:State Assembly elections in West Bengal

Category:1960s in West Bengal

West Bengal