Elections in West Bengal

West Bengal

West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...

, a state in India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

 are conducted in accordance with the Constitution of India. The Assembly of West Bengal creates laws regarding the conduct of local body elections unilaterally while any changes by the state legislature to the conduct of state level elections need to be approved by the Parliament of India. In addition, the state legislature may be dismissed by the Parliament according to Article 356 of the Indian Constitution and President's rule may be imposed.

Lok Sabha elections

Year	Lok Sabha Election		Winning Party/Coalition
1951	First Lok Sabha		Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...
1957	Second Lok Sabha		Indian National Congress
1962	Third Lok Sabha		Indian National Congress
1967	Fourth Lok Sabha		Indian National Congress
1971	Fifth Lok Sabha		Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...
1977	Sixth Lok Sabha		Janata Party Janata Party The Janata Party was an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the state of emergency imposed by the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Indian National Congress...  (CPI(M), BLD Bharatiya Lok Dal Bharatiya Lok Dal was a political party in India. The BLD was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the autocratic rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Party, the Utkal Congress, the Bharatiya Kranti Dal, and the Socialist Party... , RSP, FBL All India Forward Bloc The All India Forward Bloc is a leftwing nationalist political party in India. It emerged as a faction within the Indian National Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose. The party re-established as an independent political party after the independence of India... )
1980	Seventh Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI Communist Party of India The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925... , RSP, FBL)
1984	Eighth Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
1989	Ninth Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
1991	Tenth Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
1996	Eleventh Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
1998	Twelfth Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
1999	Thirteenth Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
2004	Fourteenth Lok Sabha		Left Front Left Front The Left Front is an alliance of Indian leftist parties. After a 34-year reign in West Bengal, the Left Front was swept from power in the 2011 election...  (CPI(M), CPI, RSP, FBL)
2009	Fifteenth Lok Sabha Indian general election in West Bengal, 2009 The Indian general election, 2009 in West Bengal were held for 42 seats with the state going to polls in the last three phases of the general elections. There was pre-poll alliance in the state between the Indian National Congress and the Trinamool Congress against the Left Front...		United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance The United Progressive Alliance is a ruling coalition of center-left political parties heading the government of India. The coalition is led by the Indian National Congress , which is currently the single largest political party in the Lok Sabha...  (TMC, INC Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian... )

Assembly elections

Year	Election	Winning Party/Coalition	Chief Minister
1952	First Assembly West Bengal state assembly election, 1952 The West Bengal state assembly election of 1952, part of a series of state assembly elections in 1952.-Alliances:On the political left, two alliances had emered the United Socialist Organisation of India and the People's United Socialist Front The West Bengal state assembly election of 1952,...	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy, M.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as a Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter...
1957	Second Assembly West Bengal state assembly election, 1957 The West Bengal state assembly election of 1957, part of a series of state assembly elections in 1957.-Alliances:On the political left two alliances had emered; the United Left Election Committee and the United Left Front...	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy Bidhan Chandra Roy, M.R.C.P., F.R.C.S. was the second Chief Minister of West Bengal in India. He remained in his post for 14 years as a Indian National Congress candidate, from 1948 until his death in 1962. He was a highly respected physician and a renowned freedom fighter...
1962	Third Assembly West Bengal state assembly election, 1962 The West Bengal state assembly election of 1962 was a part of a series of state assembly elections in 1962.-Alliances:On the political left two alliances had emered; the United Left Election Committee and the United Left Front...	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	Prafulla Chandra Sen Prafulla Chandra Sen Prafulla Chandra Sen was a Bengali Indian politician and freedom fighter. He was the Chief Minister of West Bengal during the period 1961–1967.-Background:...
1967	Fourth Assembly	United Front (1967) United Front (1967) The United Front was a political coalition in West Bengal, India, formed shortly after the 1967 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election. It was conceived on February 25, 1967, through the joining together of the United Left Front and the People's United Left Front, along with other parties...	Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee
1969	Fifth Assembly	United Front (1967) United Front (1967) The United Front was a political coalition in West Bengal, India, formed shortly after the 1967 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election. It was conceived on February 25, 1967, through the joining together of the United Left Front and the People's United Left Front, along with other parties...	Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee
1971	Sixth Assembly	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Prafulla Chandra Ghosh Dr. Prafulla Chandra Ghosh was the first Chief Minister of West Bengal, India. He was Chief Minister in three West Bengal governments, first in the Indian National Congress government from August 15, 1947 to August 14, 1948, then in the Progressive Democratic Alliance Front government from...
1972	Seventh Assembly	Indian National Congress Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. It is the largest and one of the oldest democratic political parties in the world. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the Indian...	Siddhartha Shankar Ray Siddhartha Shankar Ray Siddhartha Shankar Ray was an Indian politician belonging to the Indian National Congress. He was a prominent barrister, Punjab Governor and Education minister of India...
1977	Eighth Assembly	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
1982	Ninth Assembly	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
1987	Tenth Assembly	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
1991	Eleventh Assembly	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
1996	Twelfth Assembly	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician belonging to the Communist Party of India from West Bengal, India. He served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal from 1977 to 2000, making him the longest-serving Chief Minister of any Indian state. Basu was a member of the CPI Politburo from the time of the...
2001	Thirteenth Assembly	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
2006	Fourteenth Assembly West Bengal state assembly election, 2006 The West Bengal state assembly election of 2006, part of a series of state assembly elections in 2006, was scheduled to occur in five phases. The election took place in the following manner — for 45 assembly constituency s occurred on April 17, 2006; 66 ACs on April 22, 77 ACs on April 27, 57 ACs...	Communist Party of India (Marxist) Communist Party of India (Marxist) The Communist Party of India is a political party in India. It has a strong presence in the states of Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura. As of 2011, CPI is leading the state government in Tripura. It leads the Left Front coalition of leftist parties in various states and the national parliament of...	Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee
2011	Fifteenth Assembly West Bengal state assembly election, 2011 The West Bengal state assembly election, 2011 was held in six phases between 18 April and 10 May 2011 for all the 294 seats of the Vidhan Sabha in the state of West Bengal in India. The Trinamool Congress won an absolute majority of seats. Swami Ramdev backed Mamta and actively campaigned with his...	All India Trinamool Congress All India Trinamool Congress The All India Trinamool Congress is a state political party in West Bengal. Founded in 1 January 1998, the party is led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. Trinamool Congress is currently the second largest member of the ruling United Progressive Alliance coalition...	Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee Mamata Banerjee is the 11th and current chief minister of the Indian state of West Bengal. She is the first woman to hold the office. Banerjee founded All India Trinamool Congress in 1997 and became chairperson, after separating from the Indian National Congress...

External links

• Election Commission of India