UpdateBot at 18:28, 19 March 2022

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{{Short description|Indian politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2019}}
{{Use Indian English|date=November 2019}}
'''Kanai Pal''' was an Indian [[Trotskyist]] politician. A labour leader active in [[Santipur]], [[West Bengal]], he represented the area in the state legislature 1962–1969.

==Independence struggle==
As a politician, Pal was known to be self-sacrificing and sincere.<ref name="Sadasivan1977"/> He was jailed a number of times.<ref name=le>{{cite book|title=Cahiers Léon Trotsky|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kmRdAAAAMAAJ|edition=24|year=1985|publisher=Institut Léon Trotsky|page=8}}</ref> Pal took part in the struggle for Indian independence and was convicted during the 1942 [[Quit India movement]].<ref name=ls>{{cite book|title=Lok Sabha Debates|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Sk1PAQAAMAAJ|edition=6–10|volume=13|date=February 1964|publisher=Lok Sabha Secretariat|page=1071}}</ref> He played a leading role in sabotage action group in [[Nadia District]].<ref name="Sarkar1988">{{cite book|author=Kalyan Kumar Sarkar|title=The "Quit India" Movement in the District of Nadia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=uVFuAAAAMAAJ|year=1988|publisher=Barnali|pages=56, 69}}</ref> In one confrontation during the [[Quit India Movement|August Revolution]] his [[spinal cord]] was badly injured.<ref name=le/> He later lost a finger in police [[lathi charge|lathi]] charge in protest for right for refugees from the [[Partition of India]].<ref name=le/>

==1952 elections and break with the RCPI==
At the time of the [[1951 Indian general election|1951–1952 elections]], Pal was a member of the Tagore faction of the [[Revolutionary Communist Party of India]].<ref name="Sadasivan1977"/> He donated all his personal belongings, estimated at 15,000 [[Indian rupee]]s, to the party.<ref name="Sadasivan1977"/> Pal contested the [[Santipur (Vidhan Sabha constituency)|Santipur constituency]] in the [[1952 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] on a RCPI ticket and finished in second place with 4,564 votes (21.43% of the votes in the constituency).<ref name=s1951>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1951/STATISTICALREPORTS_51_WestBengal.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1951 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> He finished in fourth place with 2,920 votes (6.9%).<ref name=s1971/> However, Pal and his followers split away from the Tagore faction of RCPI in 1953.<ref name="Sadasivan1977"/> Pal was disappointed with the lack of support from the party during his election campaign.<ref name="Sadasivan1977">{{cite book|author=S. N. Sadasivan|title=Party and democracy in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lJ2KAAAAMAAJ|year=1977|publisher=Tata McGraw-Hill|pages=44–45, 89}}</ref> Pal's Santipur-based faction merged into the United Marxist League in 1954, which soon renamed itself as the Communist League.<ref name="Sadasivan1977"/>

Pal again contested the Santipur seat in the [[1957 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]], this time on an [[independent (politician)|independent]] ticket.<ref name=s1957/> He finished in second place with 13,470 votes (36.78%).<ref name=s1957>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1957/StatRep_WB_1957.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1957 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> In 1958 the Communist League merged into the [[Revolutionary Workers Party (India)|Revolutionary Workers Party]].<ref name=tr>Alexander, Robert J.. ''[https://www.marxists.org/history/etol/writers/alex/works/in_trot/india.htm Trotskyism in India]''</ref> The RWP merged into the Dasgupta-led RCPI in 1960.<ref name=tr/>

==Legislator and prisoner==
Pal won the Santipur seat in the [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly]] in the [[1962 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1962]] and [[West Bengal Legislative Assembly, 1967|1967 elections]].<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|pages=416, 496}}</ref> In 1962 he ran as an [[independent (politician)|independent]].<ref name=s1962/> With 26,553 votes (53.80%) he defeated the incumbent [[Indian National Congress]] legislator Haridas De.<ref name=s1962>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1962/StatRep_WB_1962.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1962 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> Soon after being elected, on 6 November 1962 he was jailed under the West Bengal Security Act.<ref name=ls/><ref>{{cite book|title=Intercontinental Press|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Hv5aAAAAMAAJ|volume=1|year=1963|publisher=Intercontinental Press}}</ref> He was again arrested in 1965, under the [[Defence of India act and Defence of India rules, 1962|Defense of India Rules]].<ref>''The Militant''. ''[http://www.themilitant.com/1965/2935/MIL2935.pdf Arrest Indian Trotskyists]''</ref> In December 1965 the [[Fourth International]] Congress elected Pal, along with other jailed Trotskyist leaders as member of its 'honorary presidium'.<ref>''The Militant''. ''[http://themilitant.com/1966/3001/MIL3001.pdf 4th International Holds Congress]''</ref>

In 1967 he contested on a [[Communist Party of India (Marxist)]] ticket.<ref name="Committee"/> He retained the seat, obtaining 20,695 votes (47.63%).<ref name=s1967>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1967/Statistical%20report%20WB1967.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1967 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref>

==Later years==
In the [[1969 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] Pal ran as an independent in Santipur, against the official RCPI candidate [[M. Mokshed Ali]].<ref name=s1969>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1969/StatReport_WB_69.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1969 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> He finished in third place with 3289 votes (7.15%).<ref name=s1969/>

In the [[1971 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election]] Pal ran as an independent in Santipur, against the official RCPI candidate [[Bimalananda Mukherjee]].<ref name=s1971>Election Commission of India. ''[http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/StatisticalReports/SE_1971/StatReport_WB_71.pdf STATISTICAL REPORT ON GENERAL ELECTION, 1971 TO THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF WEST BENGAL]''</ref> He finished in fourth place with 2,920 votes (6.9%).<ref name=s1971/> In 1972 he played a role building the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR) in [[Nadia District]].<ref name="Desai1991">{{cite book|author=Akshayakumar Ramanlal Desai|title=Violation of Democratic Rights in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0vekq6s2RyYC&pg=PA246|year=1991|publisher=Popular Prakashan|isbn=978-81-7154-529-2|page=246}}</ref><ref>Association for the Protection of Democratic Rights. ''[http://www.apdrwb.in/about/ About Us]''</ref>

Pal died,{{when|date=November 2016}} having suffered from kidney failure, anemia, high blood pressure and paralysis.<ref name=le/>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pal, Kanai}}
[[Category:Revolutionary Communist Party of India politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly]]

Kanai Pal - Revision history

UpdateBot at 18:28, 19 March 2022