September 1, 1962
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
Studies
in
Voting
Behaviour
V I I T h e Decline of the Left in a Calcutta Suburb:
Behala Constituency
(Contributed)
In the
1962 general election the Behala Assembly constituency returned the Communist candidate*
Rabindra Nath Mukkerjee, for the second time in succession, but with a smaller proportion of the total
vote.
The Communist defeated his two rivals, a Congressman and an independent, but secured only 55 per
cent of the votes polled against nearly 65 per cent in 1957 and a combined leftist vote of about 62 per cent
in 1952.
The factors which contributed towards
ist candidate were :
the decline in the percentage of votes polled by the Commun-
First, the appreciation, though limited,
Government in the two five year Plans.
by the middle class voters of the achievements of the Congress
Second,
the
dormant anti-Communist
feeling on
the
Sino-lndian
border issue.
Third, the Communists' failure to make oat any popular political issue
against the
ruling party.
Their slogan of an alternative government actually created some resentment in the minds of the rnore sophisticated section of the electorate.
THE
Behala A s s e m b l y constituency
is
comprised
entirely
of the
local South Suburban Municipality.
Situated on the south-western border of
the
Calcutta
Corporation,
the 13.92 sq m i l e a r e a has a population of a p p r o x i m a t e l y
200,000
of
w h i c h a little over 50 per cent a r e
n e w settlers i n c l u d i n g a l a r g e percentage o f
refugees
from
East
Pakistan.
O v e r 70 per cent of the
population consists
of middle-class
f a m i l i e s composed o f w h i t e
collar
w o r k e r s . A little o v e r 10 per cent
are industrial
workers
of
whom
about h a l f are employed by the 50
rice m i l l s i n the a r e a a n d b y s m a l l
e n g i n e e r i n g factories.
T h e rest o f
the p o p u l a t i o n consists
of a r t i s a n s ,
agriculturists.
shop-owners
and
s m a l l businessmen.
Agitation by
the rice m i l l w o r k e r s , the m a j o r i t y
o f w h o m a r e w o m e n , a g a i n s t insec u r i t y o f service
and
very
low
wagies
organised jointly
by
the
C o m m u n i s t s a n d a m i l i t a n t splinter
left p a r t y , the Socialist U n i t y
Center, has been a constant feature of
politics in the . a r e a .
A little over 5
per cent
of the
p o p u l a t i o n are M u s l i m s w h o s o l i d l y
support the Congress p a r t y l a r g e l y
out of a f e e l i n g of
insecurity as a
result of the increased i n f l u x of refugees.
Another 5
per
cent a r e
non-Bengalis, mostly Biharis, w i t h
s t r o n g pro-Congress sympathies.
Between 1957 a n d 1962 the electorate increased from 54,000 to 94,000
(see T a b l e ) .
Although
this
was
primarily due to an almost 100 per
cent increase in population,
it also
reflected, a m o n g other things,
(1) the greater eagerness of the
electorate to register as v o t e r s ;
( 2 ) the efforts b y the C P I m a i n l y
a n d , to a lesser extent, by the Congress to enlist as voters their supporters; and
(3) greater efficiency in the prep a r a t i o n o f the voters' l i s t
In add i t i o n to extensive p u b l i c i t y u r g i n g
people to register
themselves
as
voters, the Election
authorities, in
c o l l a b o r a t i o n w i t h the local a u t h o r i ties, d i d their best to prepare comprehensive voters' lists.
In Earlier Elections
In the first g e n e r a l
election, the
constituency comprised
three r u r a l
unions besides the M u n i c i p a l
area.
T h e sent was then w o n by an I n d e pendent against the Congress a n d a
w e a k e r leftist
front
composed o f
C P I , F o r w a r d Bloc ( M a r x i s t ) , R S P
a n d other splinter left g r o u p s .
The
winning
Independent
candidate,
Biren Roy,
who
comes
from a
w e a l t h y local f a m i l y o f
landlords
w h i c h controlled the local
Municip a l i t y since its inception
in
the
mid-19th century, h a d been
Chairman
of
the
Municipality
from
1936-48. H e was also a n M L C a n d
for
some
time
a
Parliamentary
Secretary in pre-Independence days.
In the 1952 election he w a s elected
as a nominee of the
PSP-Forward
Bloc (Subhasist) f r o n t .
1413
S h o r t l y a f t e r the 1952
elections,
the C o m m u n i s t
Party
formed
&
U n i t e d Peoples' A s s o c i a t i o n ( U P A )
to contest the M u n i c i p a l elections in
1954. T h e U P A w o n 5 out of 23 seats,
w h i l e Independents supported by the
sitting M L A ,
Biren
Roy, won 3
seats.
T h e Congress P a r t y f o r m e d
the B o a r d w i t h S a i l e n d r a N a t h R o y ,
a cousin of B i r e n
Roy,
as C h a i r man.
Sailendra N a t h
Roy
later
contested the 1957 elections f o r the
Assembly
seat
as
the
Congress
nominee.
Communist W i n In
1957
In the 1957 elections
the
Comm u n i s t P a r t y set up its trade u n i o n
worker, Rabin Mukherjee,
f o r the
A s s e m b l y seat a n d supported I n d e pendent B i r e n R o y f o r
the P a r l i a ment seat
(Calcutta
South-West),
w h i c h includes the B e h a l a Assemb l y constituency. S h r i
Roy, it was
reported, h a d e a r l i e r
t r i e d f o r the
Congress n o m i n a t i o n
and
failed.
With Biren
Roy's
support,
and
helped b y the p r o - C o m m u n i s t s w i n g
i n greater Calcutta a r e a d u r i n g the
1957
elections,
the
Communist
Assembly
candidate
had
a comfortable victory and
for
the f i r s t
time the C a l c u t t a South West
Lok
Sabha
seat
was
lost
by
the
Congress.
T h e 1957 electoral v i c t o r y raised
B i r e n Roy's political status in
the
constituency a n d his s t a n d i n g w i t h
the C P I but it caused some misg i v i n g s a m o n g a section
of Roy's
supporters w h o were
opposed
to
September 1, 1962
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
THE
ECONOMIC
September 1, 1962
WEEKLY
electing a C o m m u n i s t . This was
soon reflected in the election of the
M a n a g i n g Committee
of
a local
H i g h Benool w h e n R a b i n M u k h e r jee w a s defeated
by Biren
Roy's
supporters.
Biren
Roy's
election w a s , t o w ever, declared v o i d b y the E l e c t i o n
Commission
i n 1959.
I n the b y election, the C o m m u n i s t trade u n i o n
leader, I n d r a j i t Gupta, w o n the seat
w i t h the f u l l support o f B i r e n R o y .
T h i s w a s at the height of the SinoI n d i a n b o r d e r tension a n d the w i n
further raised B i r e n Roy's standing
w i t h the State C P I leadership a n d
he was elected to the R a j y a S a b h a
b y the C P I f r o m West
Bengal in
1960.
Municipal Politics
I n e a r l y 1061, the C P I - l e d U P A
contested the
Municipal
elections,
this time strengthened
by the a l l i ance w i t h B i r e n R o y . T h e M u n i c i pal elections, due in 1958, w e r e
twice postponed at the i n t e r v e n t i o n
o f the H i g h C o u r t f o r w r o n g
prep a r a t i o n o f the voters' list.
Held
with limited franchise (only
those
p a y i n g t a x or license fee or a m e m ber of a taxpayer's f a m i l y h a v i n g a
m i n i m u m educational
qualification
are entitled to vote) e v e n the final
list
allegedly
contained
many
spurious
voters.
The
Congress
( t h o u g h it d i d not o f f i c i a l l y put up
candidates), w o n 12 out of 23 seats
Of the rest, 10 went
to
the U P A
( i n c l u d i n g 6 C o m m u n i s t s ) a n d one
to a
Congress-supported
Independent.
Pespite
the
pro-Congress
political s w i n g , there w a s
a sharp
conflict w i t h i n the l o c a l
Congress
P a r t y , T h i s , plus the
factionalism"
w i t h i n the D i s t r i c t Congress leadership, led to the f o r m a t i o n of a Progressive C o a l i t i o n B o a r d
(two offic i a l Congressmen b e l o n g i n g to the
anti-officiai f a c t i o n led by Deputy
Minister,
Maya
Banerjee,
joined
the B o a r d ) , w h i c h
elected
Biren
Roy's younger brother
and
chief
lieutenant, R a m e n
Roy,
as
the
C h a i r m a n a n d a dissident Congressmah, Sukumar Mukherjee,
a s the
Vice-Chairman.
T h e c o n t r o l o f the
Municipal administration
remained
w i t h the CPL-led U P A
bloc w h i c h
also d e r i v e d the m a i n p o l i t i c a l
adv a n t a g e f r o m the i m p r o v e d M u n i c i pal administration.
At this stage, an o f f e r
w a s reportedly m a d e t h r o u g h some M i n i star to n o m i n a t e B i r e n Roy as the
Congress
candidate
from
the
Behala Assembly
constituency
in
the
third
general
election.
The
State Congress Election Committee
however, t u r n e d d o w n the
suggest i o n . W i t h little
hope o f w i n n i n g
the seat, Congress selected
Birend r a N a t h G h a t a k , w h o d i d not
bel o n g to either of the l o c a l Congress
f a c t i o n s , as its
candidate
f o r the
Behala Assembly
seat.
Another
move,
made
simultaneously,
to
f o r m a Congress M u n i c i p a l
Board
w i t h R a m e n R o y as the
Congress
C h a i r m a n also f a i l e d . I t
m a y be
pointed out, in this
context,
that
both Biren and Ramen Roy
have
a l w a y s been denied positions by the
official Congress p a r t y because of
a f a m i l y feud
with
Sailen
Roy,
w h o g a i n e d control
of the
local
Congress o r g a n i z a t i o n s h o r t l y after
the 1959 M u n i c i p a l election.
The
Candidates
The Congress candidate, G h a t a k ,
is the son of
a political
sufferer
f r o m East Pakistan,
a n d lives i n
one o f the m a n y refugee
rehabilitation colonies
in the
area. H i s
father, a f o r m e r member
of
the
KMPP
formed
b y D r P C Ghosh
a f t e r his r e s i g n a t i o n f r o m the Chief
M i n i s t e r s h i p o f West B e n g a l ,
contested the A s s e m b l y seat in the first
g e n e r a l elections but f o r f e i t e d
his
security
money.
To contest
the
1962 election, B i r e n d r a N a t h G h a t a k
h a d t o r e s i g n his
Government job
in o r d e r to q u a l i f y as a candidate.
He was, however, reportedly assured that if he lost,
he
would
be
compensated w i t h
a similar
job
a f t e r the elections.
Young Ghatak
is an M A a n d a good speaker but
his
organizational
abilities
are
doubtful
The
Communist
candidate,
Rabindra N a t h Mukherjee,
is
the
Secretary of
the
trolled State
Federation
and Engineering
Communist-conWorkers'
of Metal
Unions.
M u k h e r j e e is also the leader of the
C o m m u n i s t g r o u p o f Commissioners
i n the l o c a l M u n i c i p a l i t y ,
controlled by a Progressive
w h i c h is
Coali-
t i o n B o a r d dominated b y the C o m munists.
Campaign : Late Beginning
T h e c a m p a i g n , u n l i k e i n the 1957
elections o r even i n the M u n i c i p a l
elections of 1961, d i d not p i c k up
u n t i l about three weeks before the
p o l l i n g w h i c h took place o n F e b r u a r y 25.
The Congress n o m i n a t i o n ,
w h i c h was first to be announced in
September 1961, d i d not arouse m u c h
e n t h u s i a s m a m o n g the l o c a l Cong r e s s m e n a n d some
o f them t r i e d
to solicit p r o m i n e n t personalities to
contest
the seat as
Independent
candidates to defeat the C o m m u n i s t
candidate. H o w e v e r , the Congress
candidate, a l m o s t unassisted by his
party
began
his
house-to-house
campaign
e a r l y i n September and
opened a C e n t r a l E l e c t i o n office in
November.
H e o r g a n i z e d a n extensive poster c a m p a i g n in late December c a l l i n g
u p o n the electorate to
ask the C P I candidate,
the sitting
M L A , a s t o w h a t h e h a d done f o r
the locality d u r i n g the five years of
h i s m e m b e r s h i p of the
Assembly.
The
official
late
as
1415
an Independent
Congress
election
m a c h i n e r y was set up o n l y in m i d January
boss
following
Atulya
State
Ghosh's
Congress
intervention.
A poorly organized central
election
r a l l y was addressed, a m o n g others,
b y M r s Sucheta K r i p a l a n i , Minister
in the U t t a r
leaflet
P r a d e s h Cabinet.
introducing
the
A
Congress
candidate,
which
high-lighted
the
sufferings
of
family
the
the
for
cause of the n a t i o n a l f r e e d o m movement,
was
about the o n l y special
p r o p a g a n d a leaflet published
besides
the
All-India
locally
and
State
Congress brochures on the Congress
Government's
The
achievements.
Congress
picked up
campaign
tempo o n l y
before the election
rally
three days
w h e n the then
State Chief Minister, the late Dr B C
R o y , a n d the State Congress President,
A t u l y a Ghosh, Jointly addres-
sed a b i g public m e e t i n g on F e b r u a r y 22.
C o m m i n i s t ' s Superior Organisation
The
hand,
Communists, on the
depended
organizational
A t h i r d candidate w h o entered the
field r a t h e r
was D r Ramesh C h a n d r a M a j u m dar, the eminent I n d i a n h i s t o r i a n .
the
mainly
machinery
time the Congress
c e n t r a l election
office
other
on
and
their
by
opened its
the C o m m u -
September 1, 1962
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
nists h a d a l r e a d y set up l o c a l offices
in a i l the 23 w a r d s of the M u n i c i pality.
In reply to Congress charges
the C P I candidate published a biographic
leaflet
highlighting
his
c o n t r i b u t i o n to the i m p r o v e d M u n i c i pal a d m i n i s t r a t i o n , as
w e l l as to
r o a d development a n d other projects
in the area.
T h e C P I opened its c a m p a i g n w i t h
a b i g r a l l y — w i t h a l a r g e procession o f rice m i l l a n d other w o r k e r s
addressed b y the C P I candidates f o r
the A s s e m b l y a n d L o k Sabha as
w e l l as the C P I leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, J y o t i
Basu,
T h e r e was
however,
little
evidence of active
support
from
middle-class educated sections outside the periphery of the p a r t y f o r
the C P I .
About a week before the
elections,
when the prospects of its
candidates
f o r the A s s e m b l y
and
L o k Sabha seemed
uncertain,
the
CPI
succeeded
in
getting
Biren
R o y to address
some f o u r of
its
public meetings.
The R o y brothers
also realized that the C h a i r m a n s h i p
of the M u n i c i p a l i t y m a y be endangered if they lost C P I support.
The
C P I used the support of the M u n i c i pal
Chairman,
R a m e n R o y , to
counteract a leaflet issued by supporters of the Independent candidate,
D r R a m e s h M a j u m d a r , questioning
C P I c l a i m s o f h a v i n g i m p r o v e d the
Municipal
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d the
CPI
MLA's
c o n t r i b u t i o n t o the
Government's r o a d development a n d
other projects.
P S P Ineffective
Dr
Ramesh
announced
his
Majumdar,
decision
to
who
contest
the election at a s m a l l g a t h e r i n g of
l o c a l educationists a n d a n t i - C o m m u nist political
w o r k e r s on December
30, w a s the last entrant in the field.
He
h a d to depend
m a i n l y on the
support of the educated sections of
the
electorate
local
of his
PSP
and
the
workers.
candidature
ineffective
T h e sponsors
b a n k e d heavily
on three factors, almost a l l of w h i c h
ultimately
failed
them.
These
were:
(1) Support f r o m
voters.
ever, f o r t h c o m i n g
vely
pro-Biren Roy
T h i s support was not, howsupported
campaign.
since
the
R o y acti-
C P I election
(2) Support
Congressmen
Majumdar
from
a
who
favoured
as
a
section
more
of
of
Dr
a n i n i t i a l boost b y the
effective
educated
voters,
He received
f r o n t page
p u b l i c i t y in a w i d e l y c i r c u l a t e d v e r .
candidate to defeat the C o m m u n i s t s .
nacular
These Congressmen,
meetings in w h i c h he castigated the
mately
however, u l t i -
supported the official Con-
gress nominee f o l l o w i n g
the
Chief
Minister's public meeting.
(3) The
which
any
local
however,
Government of I n d i a
leadership
to
build
up
n a t i o n against B e n g a l i s in the comFreedom
Movement.
Board
There was noticeable middle-class
on
and
the
a n t i p a t h y t o w a r d s the PSP, a n d the
the
most
Communist
from
Majumdar
that
he was
PSP-sponsored
against
virtually a
candidate
affected
his prospects to a large extent.
fact, D r M a j u m d a r
Dr
had to
n u a l l y refute this C P I charge
In
contithat
he was a PSP-sponsored candidate.
F o r more t h a n a m o n t h D r M a j u mdar's
campaign
consisted
mainly
of local indoor meetings w i t h groups
He disclosed
at the meeting that he resigned f r o m
the directorship
organization.
campaign
for discrimi-
p i l a t i o n of a H i s t o r y of the I n d i a n
PSP
failed
d a i l y o f one o f his earlier
of
that
fact
that
he
prominent
East
Bengal
remembered
that
one
should
from
over 50 per
electorate)
leaflets,
This,
one of
educationists
(it
be
East
cent
f o r m e d the m a i n
p l a n k of his c a m p a i g n .
two
Editorial
is
people
Bengal, formed
of the
the
ground.
an
He issued
appeal
to
the
electorate e x p l a i n i n g the need f o r a
non-party
leadership
the interests of
the
to
safeguard
Bengalis.
The
other was an appeal in his f a v o u r by
September 1, 1962
THE ECONOMIC WEEKLY
distinguished
leaders
of
West
B e n g a l i n c l u d i n g the N a t i o n a l P r o fessor, B r Satyen
Bose,
eminent
Jurist Dr R B P a l , f o r m e r
Hindu
Mahasabha
leader N C Chatterjee
a n d a f e w others, Several meetings
organized 2-3 days p r i o r to the date
o f p o l l i n g a n d his w a l k i n g tours i n
some areas gave the appearance
of a spontaneous local
upsurge in
support of his candidature.
So it
appeared on p o l l i n g
day
that a
strong t r i a n g u l a r contest w a s t a k i n g
place, w h i c h was also the impression
created by reports
in
newspapers,
i n c l u d i n g the S t a t e s m a n .
Congress Success among Refugees
A booth-wise analysis of v o t i n g
revealed that out of 101 booths,
Congress obtained a m a j o r i t y in 17
a n d the Communists in the rest.
T h i s w a s in s h a r p
contrast to the
s m a l l Congress m a j o r i t y in just one
booth in 1957,
Congress did
best
in the refugee areas a n d the
two
M u n i c i p a l w a r d s held by the dissident Congress Commissioners w h o
joined
the
Progressive
Coalition
B o a r d . These areas were inhabited
by rural
agriculturists, s m a l l a r t i sans a n d middle-class
employees.
The returns also showed that the
Communists failed to poll an absolute
m a j o r i t y in 11 more
booths
with
an
upper income
educated
population
where
the
combined
votes of the Congress a n d the I n d e pendent
candidate
were
greater
then the C P I
vote.
In about 20
more booths the Communist v i c t o r y
over the combined
Congress-Independent votes was m a r g i n a l .
The booth-wise
returns f u r t h e r
showed
that
Communist
performance w a s at its best in the w o r k i n g class
areas
and
to a lesser
extent, a m o n g
the
educated
sections of the o r i g i n a l settlers of the
area.
Reasons for Pro-Congress Swing
The
election
revealed that
the
organizational
machinery
of
the
parties played a m u c h greater role
in the outcome t h a n the personality
of the
candidates.
T h i s , a n d the
impact of the
general pre-election
s w i n g in f a v o u r of the Congress In
Calcutta a r e a were a m p l y reflected
in the v o t i n g in B e h a l a where the
election was
h e l d simultaneously
w i t h the Calcutta district.
The
factors that
contributed tow a r d s this pro-Congress s w i n g were:
(1) The
appreciation,
though
l i m i t e d , by the educated middle-class
of the
achievements
of the Congress Government in the two F i v e
Year Plans despite the much-publi
cized c o r r u p t i o n ;
(2) The d o r m a n t anti-Communist
feeling on the S i n o - I n d i a n issue
w h i c h p a r t l y alienated a section of
the middle-class; and
(3) The Communists'
f a i l u r e to
m a k e out a n y popular political issue
against the r u l i n g party. T h e i r slog a n f o r a n alternative government
apparently created some resentment
in the m i n d s of the m o r e sophisticated section of the electorate w h o
were p r o v o k e d by it to come out in
l a r g e r n u m b e r s to cast their votes.
The l a r g e r turnout in this election
was p a r t l y the result of the determin a t i o n of this
section — usually
careless
about
exercising
their
franchise - to prevent the election
of an alternative government, and
the Communists' efforts to counteract
the pro-Congress
s w i n g and
retain their seat.
One t h i n g w h i c h helped the proCongress s w i n g
in Behala
at the
last stage of the campaign was the
leaflet brought out by Dr Ma Jumdar's sponsors
which
successfully
refuted the Communist
candidate's
claims to take credit
f o r the local
development plans.
It gave the
credit to the Congress
Government
and the personal efforts of the
State Chief Minister, Dr Roy.
The
leaflet w a s
extensively
quoted in
the last Congress election
meeting
addressed
by
the
State
Chief
Minister.
'Alternative
Government'
Mistires
In the face of this ultimate polarization of forces a n d the vast mobilization of resources
by
the two
organized parties, the m a c h i n e r y of
the Independent
candidate v i r t u a l l y
broke down.
Despite its large vote, the
Communists seem
worried
about
the
future while Congressmen seem to
have realised the
need
to reorganize their p a r t y apparatus.
In
a
post-election evaluation,
local Congressmen have reportedly recognized the need to revitalize
the party
and f o r m a United Congress g r o u p
in the local m u n i c i p a l i t y .
It is
therefore possible that
the hey-day
of the Communists, now deprived of
the support of a large section of
educated m i d d l e class,
is over despite their w i n in the 1962 election.
The elections, in the final analysis,
have brought about a new confidence
in the local Congress, a n d Congressmen no longer consider the area as
lost — as they were wont to do at
the time of selection of the c a n d i dates f o r the last general election.
Slogan
On the other h a n d , the Communist threat to f o r m an
alternative government
a n d some
newspapers' c o l o u r f u l
account of Communist a n d L e f t i s t prospects brought
about a change in the
complacent
attitude
of
the
State
Congress
leadership a n d resulted i n a n a l l out Congress effort
to
defeat the
Leftist opposition.
A n intensive political
campaign
bv the Congress in w h i c h the State
Chief M i n i s t e r Dr B C R o y took a
l e a d i n g part, resulted in a favour1417
able s w i n g towards
the
Congress
P a r t y a n d a l a r g e turnout
of the
electorate.
In Behala, the factionridden Congress o r g a n i z a t i o n failed,
however, to derive f u l l
advantage
of this pro-Congress s w i n g because
o f internal
disunity
and
rivalry,
w h i l e the Communists mustered a l l
their strength. It has been suggested by neutral
observers
that the
Communists,
besides
mobilizing
about 3,000 volunteers, the m a j o r i t y
of w h o m
were
brought
f r o m the
r u r a l areas outside the constituency.
spent a considerable sum of money,
on the p o l l i n g day,
only
a small
part of w h i c h was locally raised.
Protection to Antimony
Industry
THE
Government of I n d i a
accepted
the
Tariff
sion's recommendation
protection to crude
have
Commisto continue
antimony
and
a n t i m o n y metal at the existing rate
of protection
granted
till
to the a n d
mony
industry
December 3 1 ,
1963.
The existing rates of protec-
tive duty are 25 per cent ad valorem
in the case of crude a n t i m o n y and
45 per cent ad v a l o r e m or Rs 83.60
per q u i n t a l ,
which-ever
is higher,
in the case of a n t i m o n y metal.