Maharashtra Assembly Election Results in 1972

The elections to the fourth term of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly were held in March 1972. A total of 270 Assembly constituencies were formed in the 1967 polls, out of which 239 were General Assembly constituencies, 15 constituencies were reserved for the Scheduled Castes and 16 were reserved for the Scheduled Tribes. The Congress, which contested in all the Assembly constituencies, won as many as 222 seats, dwarfing all the other national or regional parties. In fact, the PWP, which performed very well in the previous assembly elections in 1967, did poorly in comparison. S. K. Wankhede of the Indian National Congress became the speaker of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha, and remained in office from March 1972 to April 1977, before he was replaced as speaker by Balasaheb Desai of the Congress. Ali Yavar Jung was the governor during this period. Vasantrao Naik continued as chief minister from 1972 to 1975, before he was replaced by Shankarrao Chavan and Vasantdada Patil successively. All the chief ministers serving their tenure in the 4th Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha played a significant role to redress the conditions of the famine-struck population of the state. Some of the significant bills passed during this tenure of the Congress rule in Maharashtra were Debt Relief Act of 1975, Casions (Control and Tax) Act of 1976, Cooperative Societies Act of 1972, Cooperative Sugar Factories Act of 1977, and most importantly, the Employment of Guarantee Act of 1977 and the Irrigation Act of 1977.

List of Successful Candidates in Maharashtra Assembly Election in 1972

List of Participating Political Parties in Maharashtra Assembly Election in 1972