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{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1991 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
| country = India
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1987 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
| previous_year = 1987
| next_election = 1996 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election
| next_year = 1996
| election_date = 24 April 1991
| seats_for_election = All 294 seats in the [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]]
| turnout= 76.80%
| image1 = [[File:Jyoti Basu - Calcutta 1996-12-21 089 Cropped.png|100x100px]]
| leader1 = [[Jyoti Basu]]
| party1 = Communist Party of India (Marxist)
| alliance1 = Left Front (West Bengal)
| leaders_seat1 = [[Satgachhia (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Satgachhia]]
| seats1 = 189
| seat_change1 = {{increase}}2
| popular_vote1 = 11,418,822
| percentage1 = 36.87%
| swing1 = {{decrease}}2.43%
| image2 =
| leader2 =
| leaders_seat2 =
| party2 = Indian National Congress
| alliance2 =
| seats2 = 43
| seat_change2 = {{increase}}3
| popular_vote2 = 10,875,834
| percentage2 = 35.12%
| swing2 = {{decrease}}6.69%
| map_image =
| map_size =
| map_caption =
| title = [[Chief Minister of West Bengal|Chief Minister]]
| posttitle = [[Chief Minister of West Bengal|Chief Minister]]
| before_election = [[Jyoti Basu]]
| before_party = Left Front (West Bengal)
| after_election = [[Jyoti Basu]]
| after_party = Left Front (West Bengal)
| majority_seats = 148
}}
'''[[Vidhan Sabha|Legislative Assembly]] elections''' were held in the [[India]]n state of [[West Bengal]] in 1991. The election took place simultaneously with the [[1991 Indian general election]].<ref name="Ahuja2000">{{cite book|author=M. L. Ahuja|title=Handbook of General Elections and Electoral Reforms in India, 1952–1999|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PCrZLq_gEcUC&pg=PA49|year=2000|publisher=Mittal Publications|isbn=978-81-7099-766-5|page=49}}</ref><ref>''The Hindu''. ''[http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/jagdeep-s-chhokar-and-sanjay-kumar-write-on-concurrent-elections-to-state-and-lok-sabha-elections-the-case-against-simultaneous-polls/article9150753.ece The case against simultaneous polls]''</ref> The term of the assembly elected in 1987 lasted until February 1992, but the West Bengal government asked the [[Election Commission of India]] to arrange the election at an earlier date.<ref name="Krishna2011">{{cite book|author=Ananth V. Krishna|title=India Since Independence: Making Sense of Indian Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8v7Vr2iQUHkC&pg=PA385|date=1 September 2011|publisher=Pearson Education India|isbn=978-81-317-3465-0|page=385}}</ref>

==Parties contesting the election==
===Left Front===
The campaign of the [[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]] focused on issues relating to secularism, communal harmony and the [[Mandal Commission]].<ref name=in1991/><ref name=in1991b/>

The [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]], the dominant partner in the Left Front, opted to deny reelection to 23 incumbent legislators, including one minister (Abdul Bari).<ref name=in1991b/> In total CPI(M) fielded 204 candidates, [[All India Forward Bloc]] 34, RSP 23, CPI 12, [[West Bengal Socialist Party]] 4, [[Marxist Forward Bloc]] 2, DSP 2, RCPI 2, CRLI 1, JD 8 and the [[Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League]] 1.<ref name=s1991/><ref name="Committee">{{cite book|author=Communist Party of India (Marxist). West Bengal State Committee|title=Election results of West Bengal: statistics & analysis, 1952–1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNeNAAAAMAAJ|publisher=The Committee|page=4}}</ref>

===Congress===
The Indian National Congress had seat-sharing arrangement, whereby INC contested 285 seats, the Jharkhand Party 4, the GNLF 3, UCPI 1 and 1 independent.<ref name="Committee"/>

Ahead of the 1991 elections, the [[Indian National Congress]] brought back former Chief Minister [[Siddhartha Shankar Ray]] into the party and appointed him head of the West Bengal party unit.<ref name=in1991b>''India Today''. ''[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/up-tamil-nadu-west-bengal-kerala-and-pondicherry-set-to-elect-their-assemblies/1/318247.html Assembly elections: Seeking a separate strategy]''</ref> Whilst the Indian National Congress was keen to exploit Ray's popularity, the CPI(M) organ ''[[Ganashakti]]'' published articles on a daily basis reminding voters of Ray's role during the [[Emergency (India)|Emergency]].<ref name=in1991b/>

The Indian National Congress was suffering from internal divisions in West Bengal at the time of the election.<ref name=in1991>''India Today''. ''[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/campaigning-for-five-state-assemblies-one-union-territory-reaches-fever-pitch/1/319366.html State assemblies: Of crucial importance]''</ref> The West Bengal state party HQ was attacked by disgruntled Congressmen.<ref name=in1991/> In the midst of a rally in [[Diamond Harbour (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Diamond Harbour]], with [[Rajiv Gandhi]] as speaker, rival Congress factions clashed.<ref name=in1991/>

At the time, the [[United Communist Party of India]] was a Congress ally.<ref name="Krishna2011"/> UCPI fielded a single candidate in [[Chandrakona (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Chandrakona constituency]], who finished in second place.<ref name=s1991/>

===Bharatiya Janata Party===
The [[Bharatiya Janata Party]] fielded 291 candidates across the state, and managed to increase its share of votes from 0.51% in 1987 to 11.34%.<ref name=s1991/><ref name="Swain2001">{{cite book|author=Pratap Chandra Swain|title=Bharatiya Janata Party: Profile and Performance|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7Gk1Wz4k_xUC&pg=PA214|year=2001|publisher=APH Publishing|isbn=978-81-7648-257-8|page=214}}</ref> This was the first time BJP fielded such a large number of candidates in West Bengal assembly elections.<ref name="Swain2001"/> Rather than focusing primarily on the [[Ayodhya]] issue, which was highlighted in the BJP campaigns across the country, the West Bengal BJP campaign concentrated on agitations against immigration from [[Bangladesh]].<ref name="Jaffrelot1999">{{cite book|author=Christophe Jaffrelot|title=The Hindu Nationalist Movement and Indian Politics: 1925 to the 1990s : Strategies of Identity-building, Implantation and Mobilisation (with Special Reference to Central India)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iVsfVOTUnYEC&pg=PA441|year=1999|publisher=Penguin Books India|isbn=978-0-14-024602-5|page=441}}</ref> The campaign sought to invoke Bengali memories of [[Partition of India|Partition]].<ref name="Jaffrelot1999"/> Whilst support for BJP increased amongst Bengali communities, its main stronghold in the state remained non-Bengali populations in [[Calcutta]] ([[Marwari people|Marwaris]] and [[Gujarati people|Gujaratis]]).<ref name="Jaffrelot1999"/>

===Socialist Unity Centre of India===
The [[Socialist Unity Centre of India]] fielded 59 candidates, contesting as independents.<ref name="Committee"/> It had launched an electoral front ahead of the polls, along with some [[Naxalite]] factions, the [[Workers Party of India]], a RCPI faction and the [[Bolshevik Party of India]].<ref name="Lal1992">{{cite book|author=Shiv Lal|title=Election Archives and International Politics|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyIvAAAAYAAJ|edition=191–196|year=1992|publisher=Shiv Lal|page=194}}</ref> SUCI won two seats.<ref name="Committee"/>

==Results==
The election was won by the Left Front, marking its fourth consecutive assembly election victory.<ref name="Bose2013">{{cite book|author=Sumantra Bose|title=Transforming India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=reiwAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA138|date=16 September 2013|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-72819-6|page=138}}</ref> The Left Front and allies won 245 out of the 294 seats.<ref name=s1991>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1991/StatisticalReport-West%20Bengal91.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1991 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref><ref name="Bose2013"/>
{| class=wikitable style=text-align:right
!colspan=2|Party
!Candidates
!Seats
!Votes
!%
|-
|rowspan=12 align=left|[[Left Front (West Bengal)|Left Front]] & allies
|align=left|[[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]]<br />
|204
|182
|10,954,379
|35.37
|-
|align=left|[[All India Forward Bloc]]
|34
|29
|1,707,676
|5.51
|-
|align=left|[[Revolutionary Socialist Party (India)|Revolutionary Socialist Party]]
|23
|18
|1,073,445
|3.47
|-
|align=left|[[Communist Party of India]]
|12
|6
|542,964
|1.75
|-
|align=left|[[West Bengal Socialist Party]]
|4
|4
|208,147
|0.67
|-
|align=left|[[Marxist Forward Bloc]]
|2
|2
|130,454
|0.42
|-
|align=left|[[Democratic Socialist Party (Prabodh Chandra)]]
|2
|2
|98,905
|0.39
|-
|align=left|[[Revolutionary Communist Party of India]]
|2
|1
|92,544
|0.30
|-
|align=left|[[Biplobi Bangla Congress]]
|1
|0
|50,414
|0.16
|-
|align=left|[[Janata Dal]]
|8
|1
|208,951
|0.67
|-
|align=left|[[Akhil Bharatiya Gorkha League]]
|1
|0
|35,489
|0.11
|-
|align=left|[[Communist Revolutionary League of India]]
|1
|0
|22,716
|0.07
|-
|rowspan=5 align=left|Congress & allies
|align=left|[[Indian National Congress]]
|284
|43
|10,875,834
|35.12
|-
|align=left|[[Gorkha National Liberation Front]]
|3
|3
|146,541
|0.47
|-
|align=left|[[Jharkhand Party]]
|6
|1
|140,391
|0.45
|-
|align=left|[[United Communist Party of India]]
|1
|0
|40,806
|0.13
|-
|align=left|Congress-supported independent
|1
|0
|40,426
|0.13
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Bharatiya Janata Party]]
|291
|0
|3,513,121
|11.34
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Jharkhand Mukti Morcha]]
|23
|0
|95,038
|0.31
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Bahujan Samaj Party]]
|97
|0
|88,836
|0.29
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Janata Party]]
|78
|0
|50,037
|0.16
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Provisional Central Committee, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)|Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist)]]
|18
|0
|41,828
|0.14
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Indian People's Front]]
|23
|0
|39,004
|0.13
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Indian Union Muslim League]]
|28
|0
|28,156
|0.09
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Amra Bangalee]]
|60
|0
|22,295
|0.07
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Workers Party of India]]
|6
|0
|10,670
|0.03
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Hul Jharkhand Party]]
|3
|0
|9,239
|0.03
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|Doordashti Party
|26
|0
|4,980
|0.02
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Marxist Communist Party of India]]
|5
|0
|3,804
|0.01
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha]]
|5
|0
|1,553
|0.01
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|Akhil Bharatiya Jan Sangh
|6
|0
|1,485
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Indian National Congress (O) Anti Merger Group]]
|5
|0
|1,309
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|All India Dalit Muslim Minorities Suraksha Mahasangh
|2
|0
|988
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|Revolutionary Communist Party of India (Gouranga Sit)
|1
|0
|983
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Shiv Sena]]
|1
|0
|880
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Indian Congress (Socialist-Sarat Chandra Sinha)]]
|1
|0
|876
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Bolshevik Party of India]]
|1
|0
|335
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|Bharat Dal
|1
|0
|203
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|[[Lok Dal]]
|1
|0
|121
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|Bidhan Dal
|1
|0
|92
|0.00
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|Independents<br /><small>Including [[Socialist Unity Centre of India]] candidates</small>
|631
|2
|684,130
|2.21%
|-
|colspan=2 align=left|'''Total'''
|'''1,903'''
|'''294'''
|'''30,970,045'''
|'''100'''
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source: [http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1991/StatisticalReport-West%20Bengal91.pdf Election Commission of India]<ref name="Committee69">{{cite book|author=Communist Party of India (Marxist). West Bengal State Committee|title=Election results of West Bengal: statistics & analysis, 1952–1991|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CNeNAAAAMAAJ|publisher=The Committee|pages=4, 69}}</ref>
|}

== See also ==
* [[1991 Kandua hand-chopping]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://eci.gov.in/files/category/94-west-bengal/ West Bangal General Legislative Election Results] at the ''[[Election Commission of India]]''

{{West Bengal assembly elections}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=State Assembly elections in West Bengal, 1990s in West Bengal
|description=
}}

[[Category:State Assembly elections in West Bengal]]
[[Category:1990s in West Bengal]]
[[Category:1991 State Assembly elections in India|West Bengal]]

1991 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election - Revision history

MetaBOT at 15:35, 8 July 2023