1972 elections in India

Elections in India
1972

1972 elections in India encompassed a series of state-level legislative assembly contests and by-elections held across the country, following the landmark 1971 general election, and marked continued dominance by the Indian National Congress (Indira). Key assembly elections included:

  • Andhra Pradesh: Held on 15 March, with INC(R) winning 219 of 287 seats, reaffirming its mandate under Chief Minister P. V. Narasimha Rao.
  • Maharashtra: In March, INC(R) secured 222 of 270 seats, strengthening Vasantrao Naik’s leadership.
  • Punjab: On 17 March, elections resulted in a victory for INC(R) led by Zail Singh, capturing 66 of 104 seats from President’s Rule.
  • Rajasthan: Also in March, INC(R) claimed a landslide win with 145 of 184 seats, reinstating Barkatullah Khan as Chief Minister.
  • West Bengal: Held on 11 March, the Congress (R)–CPI alliance dominated with 216 seats; opposition CPI(M) won 14 but largely boycotted the assembly citing alleged rigging.
  • Other territories, including Gujarat, Haryana, and Goa, Daman & Diu, also held elections, with INC(R) maintaining control in most regions.

Additionally, several by-elections took place (e.g., Gird, Joynagar, Murshidabad), and Rajya Sabha seats were filled throughout the year.

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Summary of Legislative Assembly elections

Date(s) State Government before election Chief Minister before election Government after election Chief Minister after election Maps
5 March 1972 Himachal Pradesh Indian National Congress Indian National Congress Indian National Congress (R) Yashwant Singh Parmar
Bihar President's Rule Indian National Congress (R) Kedar Pandey
Maharashtra Indian National Congress (R) Vasantrao Naik Indian National Congress (R) Vasantrao Naik
5 and 8 March 1972 Gujarat President's Rule Indian National Congress (R) Ghanshyam Oza
6 March 1972 Rajasthan Indian National Congress (R) Barkatullah Khan Indian National Congress (R) Barkatullah Khan
Manipur President's Rule Manipur People's Party Mohammed Alimuddin
7 March 1972 Assam Indian National Congress Mahendra Mohan Choudhry Indian National Congress (R) Sarat Chandra Singha
8 March 1972 Madhya Pradesh Indian National Congress Shyama Charan Shukla Indian National Congress Prakash Chandra Sethi
9 March 1972 Meghalaya New state was created All Party Hill Leaders Conference Williamson A. Sangma
11 March 1972 West Bengal President's Rule Indian National Congress (R) Siddhartha Shankar Ray
Haryana Indian National Congress Bansi Lal Indian National Congress (R) Bansi Lal
Tripura President's Rule Indian National Congress (R) Sukhamoy Sen Gupta
15 March 1972 Andhra Pradesh Indian National Congress (R) Kasu Brahmananda Reddy Indian National Congress (R) P. V. Narasimha Rao
8 April 1972 Mizoram New state was created Independent C. Chhunga
Mysore President's Rule Indian National Congress (R) D. Devaraj Urs
Punjab President's Rule Indian National Congress (R) Zail Singh
Goa, Daman and Diu Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Dayanand Bandodkar Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party Dayanand Bandodkar
17 June 1972 Jammu and Kashmir Indian National Congress (R) Syed Mir Qasim Indian National Congress (R) Syed Mir Qasim

Legislative Assembly elections

Assam

Main article: 1972 Assam Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress1,976,20953.2095+22
Samyukta Socialist Party214,3425.7740
Communist Party of India209,5505.643–4
Plain Tribals Council of Assam62,1081.671New
Swatantra Party21,6630.581–2
Others125,9283.3900
Independents1,104,97729.7510–16
Total3,714,777100.00114+9
Valid votes3,714,77796.47
Invalid/blank votes136,1223.53
Total votes3,850,899100.00
Registered voters/turnout6,328,53760.85
Source: ECI[1]

Andhra Pradesh

PartyVotes%+/–Seats+/–
Indian National Congress7,474,25552.29Increase6.87%219Increase54
Communist Party of India854,7425.98Decrease1.80%7Decrease4
Swatantra Party282,9491.98Decrease7.86%2Decrease27
Communist Party of India (Marxist)454,0383.18Decrease4.43%1Decrease5
Sampurna Telangana Praja Samithi237,9341.66new party1new party
Bharatiya Jana Sangh266,1921.86Decrease0.25%0Decrease3
Indian National Congress (Organisation)45,3030.32new party0new party
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam36,4660.26new party0new party
Republican Party of India (Khobragade)21,3570.15new party0new party
Samyukta Socialist Party9,9520.07Decrease0.29%0Steady
Minorities League3,5820.03new party0new party
Backward Classes Mahasabha9100.01new party0new party
Independents4,604,94332.22Increase5.81%57Decrease11
Total14,292,623100.00–287Steady
Valid votes14,292,62397.27
Invalid/blank votes400,4072.73
Total votes14,693,030100.00
Registered voters/turnout24,607,90359.71

Bihar

PartyVotes%Seats
Indian National Congress5,688,00233.12167
Samyukta Socialist Party/Socialist Party2,814,79916.3933
Indian National Congress (O)2,544,84114.8230
Bharatiya Jan Sangh2,007,31411.6925
Communist Party of India1,192,7466.9435
Communist Party of India (Marxist)276,6491.61–
Hindustani Shoshit Dal219,3411.283
Swatantra Party121,2380.711
All India Jharkhand Party149,7540.873
Jharkhand90,7170.531
Bihar Prant Hul Jharkhand90,2340.532
Socialist Unity Centre of India47,7320.28–
Progressive Hull Jharkhand Party (Shibu Group)32,6310.191
All India Forward Bloc20,5250.12–
Bharatiya Kranti Dal5,6090.03–
Indian Union Muslim League5,3170.03–
Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)4,6770.03–
Backward Classes Party of India4,3860.03–
All India Labour Party3,8590.02–
Revolutionary Socialist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)2,9680.02–
Chota Nagpur Bhumi Rakshak Party1,2740.01–
Republican Party of India9070.01–
Independent1,849,61310.7717
Total17,175,133100.00318
Valid votes17,175,13398.09
Invalid/blank votes333,5601.91
Total votes17,508,693100.00
Registered voters/turnout33,164,28652.79
Source: [1]

Goa, Daman & Diu

Main article: 1972 Goa, Daman & Diu Legislative Assembly election
Summary of results of the Goa, Daman & Diu Legislative Assembly election, 1972[2]
Political Party
 Seats contested
 Seats won
 Number of Votes
 % of Votes
 Seat change
Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party 23 18 116,855 38.30% Increase 2
United Goans Party (Superia Group) 26 10 99,156 32.50% Decrease 2
Indian National Congress 19 1 41,612 13.64% Increase 1
Independents 36 1 28,874 9.64% Decrease 1
Total 138 30 305,077

Gujarat

# Party Seats Contested Seats Won Forfeited Deposits Popular Vote Voting Percentage Vote % In Seats Contested
1 BJS 100 3 69 643032 9.29% 15.03%
2 CPI 11 1 10 32439 0.47% 7.00%
3 CPM 4 0 4 15500 0.22% 9.57%
4 INC 168 140 1 3527035 50.93% 50.93%
5 NCO 138 16 29 1626736 23.49% 28.95%
6 SOP 15 0 12 50009 0.72% 9.11%
7 SWA 47 0 42 123589 1.78% 6.32%
8 RSP 1 0 0 8649 0.12% 22.33%
9 HMS 1 0 1 136 0.00% 0.35%
10 IND 337 8 299 897584 12.96% 15.54%
Men Women Total
NO. OF ELECTORS 6370260 6137124 12507384
Votes 4020234 3246959 7267193
Percentage 63.11% 52.91% 58.10%
Valid votes 6924709
Invalid votes 342484
NO. OF POLLING STATIONS 17994
AVERAGE NO. OF ELECTORS

PER POLLING STATION

695
Men Women Total
NO. OF CONTESTANTS 852 21 873
ELECTED 167 1 168
FORFEITED DEPOSITS 0 0 0

Haryana

PartyVotes%Seats
Indian National Congress1,639,40546.9152
Indian National Congress (Organization)377,42710.8012
Vishal Haryana Party242,4446.943
Bharatiya Jana Sangh228,7616.552
Akhil Bhartiya Arya Sabha77,2342.211
Communist Party of India69,3351.980
Communist Party of India (Marxist)12,6170.360
Socialist Party8,3330.240
Republican Party of India7,4670.210
Republican Party of India (Khobragade)3,6360.100
Socialist Unity Center of India2,6400.080
Bharatiya Kranti Dal1,4860.040
Akhil Bharat Hindu Mahasabha4000.010
Independents823,61123.5711
Total3,494,796100.0081
Valid votes3,494,79679.12
Invalid/blank votes922,52020.88
Total votes4,417,316100.00
Registered voters/turnout5,091,08286.77
Source: ECI

Himachal Pradesh

Main article: 1972 Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress467,59253.2453+19
Bharatiya Jana Sangh68,0327.755New
Lok Raj Party Himachal Pradesh44,0675.022–9
Communist Party of India (Marxist)9,6541.101–3
Others40,5904.6200
Independents248,31028.277–9
Total878,245100.0068+8
Valid votes878,24597.39
Invalid/blank votes23,5062.61
Total votes901,751100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,805,44849.95
Source: ECI[3]

Jammu and Kashmir

Main article: 1972 Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress764,49255.4458–3
Bharatiya Jana Sangh135,7789.8530
Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir98,9857.185New
Others10,6890.7800
Independents369,06226.769–6
Total1,379,006100.00750
Valid votes1,379,00696.52
Invalid/blank votes49,6893.48
Total votes1,428,695100.00
Registered voters/turnout2,297,95162.17
Source: ECI[4]

Madhya Pradesh

# Party Seats
Contested 		Seats
won 		Seats
Changed 		%
Votes
1 Indian National Congress 289 220 Increase53 47.93%
1 Bharatiya Jana Sangh 260 48 Decrease30 28.64%
3 Samyukta Socialist Party/Socialist Party 172 7 N/A 6.24%
4 Communist Party of India 30 3 Increase2 1.02%
7 Independent 296 18 Decrease4 14.73%
Total 296

Maharashtra

Summary of results of the Maharashtra State Assembly election, 1972
Political Party
 No. of candidates
 No. of elected
 Seat change
 Number of Votes
 % of Votes
 Change in
vote %
Indian National Congress
222 / 270 (82%)
 271 222 Increase 19 8,535,832 56.36% Increase 9.33%
Peasants and Workers Party of India
7 / 270 (3%)
 58 7 Decrease 12 856,986 5.66% Decrease 2.14%
Bharatiya Jana Sangh
5 / 270 (2%)
 122 5 Increase 1 947,266 6.25% Decrease 1.92%
Samyukta Socialist Party/Socialist Party
3 / 270 (1%)
 52 3 Decrease 1 693,797 4.58% Decrease 0.03%
Republican Party of India
2 / 270 (0.7%)
 118 2 Decrease 3 570,533 3.77% Decrease 2.89%
Communist Party of India
2 / 270 (0.7%)
 44 2 Decrease 8 412,857 2.73% Decrease 2.14%
All India Forward Bloc
2 / 270 (0.7%)
 26 2 Increase 2 363,547 2.40% Increase 2.40% (New Party)
Shiv Sena
1 / 270 (0.4%)
 26 1 Increase 1 279,210 1.84% Increase 1.84% (New Party)
Communist Party of India (Marxist)
1 / 270 (0.4%)
 20 1 Steady 117,134 0.77% Decrease 0.31%
Bharatiya Kranti Dal
1 / 270 (0.4%)
 2 1 Increase 1 31,508 0.21% Increase 0.21% (New Party)
Indian Union Muslim League
1 / 270 (0.4%)
 1 1 Increase 1 27,138 0.18% Increase 0.18% (New Party)
Republican Party of India (Khobragade) 56 0 (New Party) 202,935 1.34% Increase 1.34% (New Party)
Indian National Congress (Organisation) 49 0 (Split in INC) 162,433 1.07% (Split in INC)
Swatantra Party 5 0 Steady 14,269 0.09% Decrease 1.03%
Independents
23 / 270 (9%)
 343 23 Increase 7 1,920,667 12.68% Decrease 1.89%
Total 1196 270 Steady 15,146,171 60.63% Decrease 4.21%

Manipur

Main article: 1972 Manipur Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress135,67830.0217+1
Manipur Peoples Party91,14820.1715New
Communist Party of India45,76510.135+4
Socialist Party (India)24,1955.353New
Indian National Congress (Organisation)10,6992.371New
Communist Party of India (Marxist)2,9880.660–
Bharatiya Jana Sangh1,0040.220New
Independents140,47131.0819+10
Total451,948100.0060+30
Valid votes451,94897.89
Invalid/blank votes9,7442.11
Total votes461,692100.00
Registered voters/turnout608,40375.89
Source: ECI[5]

Meghalaya

Party Votes % Seats
All Party Hill Leaders Conference (AHL) 73,851 35.67 32
Indian National Congress (INC) 20,474 9.89 9
Communist Party of India (CPI) 1,182 0.57 0
Independents (IND) 111,506 53.86 19[a]
Total 207,013 100.00 60
Source: Election Commission of India[6]

Mizoram

Main article: 1972 Mizoram Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats
Indian National Congress34,42130.916
Samyukta Socialist Party1,7131.540
Independents75,22467.5524
Total111,358100.0030
Valid votes111,35897.35
Invalid/blank votes3,0282.65
Total votes114,386100.00
Registered voters/turnout156,90172.90
Source: ECI[7]

Mysore

Main article: 1972 Mysore Legislative Assembly election
Summary of results of the Mysore Legislative Assembly election, 1972
Political Party
 Contestants
 Seats won
 Seat change
 Votes
 Vote share
 Net change
Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) 212 165 Increase 39 4,698,824 52.17% Increase 3.74%
Indian National Congress (Organisation) 176 24 2,361,308 26.22% Increase 26.22%
Communist Party of India 4 3 88,978 0.99%
Samyukta Socialist Party 29 3 Decrease 3 152,556 1.69% Decrease 0.78%
Janata Paksha Party 2 1 14,390 0.16%
Independents 20 Decrease 21 1,159,383 12.87%
Total 216

Punjab

Main article: 1972 Punjab Legislative Assembly election
Result of Punjab Legislative Assembly Election 1972
Party Seats contested Seats won Change in seats Popular vote %
Indian National Congress 89 66 Increase 28 20,83,390 42.84
Shiromani Akali Dal 72 24 Decrease 19 13,44,437 27.64
Communist Party of India 13 10 Increase 6 3,16,722 6.51
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 17 1 Decrease 1 1,58,309 3.26
Independents 205 3 Decrease 1 5,97,917 12.29
Others 72 0 - 3,62,783 7.47
Total 468 104 48,63,558

Rajasthan

Main article: 1972 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress3,976,15751.13145+56
Swatantra Party958,09712.3211–37
Bharatiya Jana Sangh948,92812.208–14
Socialist Party189,8512.444New
Communist Party of India121,5911.564+3
Indian National Congress (Organisation)104,3981.341New
Communist Party of India (Marxist)74,5140.9600
Vishal Haryana Party50,2290.650New
Republican Party of India2,1370.0300
Independents1,350,01217.3611–5
Total7,775,914100.001840
Valid votes7,775,91496.77
Invalid/blank votes259,3133.23
Total votes8,035,227100.00
Registered voters/turnout13,910,55357.76
Source: ECI[8]

Tripura

Main article: 1972 Tripura Legislative Assembly election
Party Seats Contested Seats Won No. of Votes % of Votes 1967 Seats
Bharatiya Jana Sangh 3 0 345 0.07% 0
Communist Party of India 11 1 15,226 3.04% 1
Communist Party of India (Marxist) 57 16 189,667 37.82% 2
Indian National Congress 59 41 224,821 44.83% 27
All India Forward Bloc 9 0 5,739 1.14% -
Tripura Upajati Juba Samiti 10 0 5,883 1.17% -
Independents 85 2 59,792 11.92% 0
Total 234 60 501,473
Source: ECI[9]

West Bengal

Main article: 1972 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
PartyVotes%Seats+/–
Indian National Congress6,543,25149.08216–
Communist Party of India1,110,5798.3335–
Communist Party of India (Marxist)3,659,80827.4514–
Revolutionary Socialist Party284,6432.143–
Indian National Congress (Organisation)196,0441.472–
All India Gorkha League35,8020.272–
Socialist Unity Centre238,2761.791–
Indian Union Muslim League121,2080.911–
Workers Party of India63,6730.481–
Others605,6774.5400
Independents472,5563.545–
Total13,331,517100.002800
Valid votes13,331,51797.18
Invalid/blank votes387,0182.82
Total votes13,718,535100.00
Registered voters/turnout22,554,54560.82
Source: ECI[10]

References

  1. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1972 to the Legislative Assembly of Assam". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1971 to the Legislative Assembly of Goa, Daman and Diu" (PDF). Election Commission of India.
  3. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1972 to the Legislative Assembly of Himachal Pradesh". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1972 to the Legislative Assembly of Jammu and Kashmir". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1967 to the Legislative Assembly of Manipur". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 20 October 2021.
  6. ^ "Meghalaya 1972". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  7. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1972 to the Legislative Assembly of Mizoram". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  8. ^ "Statistical Report on General Election, 1972 to the Legislative Assembly of Rajasthan". Election Commission of India. Retrieved 22 December 2021.
  9. ^ "1972 Tripura Election result".
  10. ^ "West Bengal Legislative Assembly Election, 1972". Election Commission of India. 14 August 2018. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
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