# 1972 Maharashtra Legislative Assembly election

The 1972 Maharashtra State Assembly election was held in March 1972 for the fourth term of the Maharashtra Vidhan Sabha. A total of 270 seats were contested.
The Indian National Congress won the largest number of seats and a majority. Vasantrao Naik, the incumbent Chief Minister was reelected. S. K. Wankhede became Speaker of the Legislative Assembly and Ramkrishna Vyankatesh Bet became Deputy Speaker. Dinkar Balu Patil became the leader of the opposition.

## List of participating political parties

| Party | Party | Abbreviation |
| National Parties |||
| | Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh | BJS |
| | Swatantra Party | SWA |
| | Indian National Congress | INC(R) |
| | Indian National Congress (Organisation) | INC(O) |
| | Socialist Party of India | SOP |
| | Communist Party of India (Marxist) | CPM |
| | Communist Party of India | CPI |
| State Parties |||
| | Indian Union Muslim League | IUML |
| | Bharatiya Kranti Dal | BKD |
| | Peasants and Workers Party | PWP |
| | All India Forward Bloc | AIFB |
| | Republican Party of India | RPI |
| Registered (Unrecognised) Parties |||
| | Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha | HMS |
| | Shiv Sena | SHS |
| | Republican Party of India (Khobragade) | RPK/RPI(K) |

## Results
### Party results

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 Congress222 / 270 (82%) | 271 | 222 | 19 | 8,535,832 | 56.36% | 9.33% |
| Peasants and Workers Party of India7 / 270 (3%) | 58 | 7 | 12 | 856,986 | 5.66% | 2.14% |
| Bharatiya Jana Sangh5 / 270 (2%) | 122 | 5 | 1 | 947,266 | 6.25% | 1.92% |
| Samyukta Socialist Party/Socialist Party3 / 270 (1%) | 52 | 3 | 1 | 693,797 | 4.58% | 0.03% |
| Republican Party of India2 / 270 (0.7%) | 118 | 2 | 3 | 570,533 | 3.77% | 2.89% |
| Communist Party of India2 / 270 (0.7%) | 44 | 2 | 8 | 412,857 | 2.73% | 2.14% |
| All India Forward Bloc2 / 270 (0.7%) | 26 | 2 | 2 | 363,547 | 2.40% | 2.40% (New Party) |
| Shiv Sena1 / 270 (0.4%) | 26 | 1 | 1 | 279,210 | 1.84% | 1.84% (New Party) |
| Communist Party of India (Marxist)1 / 270 (0.4%) | 20 | 1 | | 117,134 | 0.77% | 0.31% |
| Bharatiya Kranti Dal1 / 270 (0.4%) | 2 | 1 | 1 | 31,508 | 0.21% | 0.21% (New Party) |
| Indian Union Muslim League1 / 270 (0.4%) | 1 | 1 | 1 | 27,138 | 0.18% | 0.18% (New Party) |
| Republican Party of India (Khobragade) | 56 | 0 | (New Party) | 202,935 | 1.34% | 1.34% (New Party) |
| Indian National Congress (Organisation) | 49 | 0 | (Split in INC) | 162,433 | 1.07% | (Split in INC) |
| Swatantra Party | 5 | 0 | | 14,269 | 0.09% | 1.03% |
| Independents23 / 270 (9%) | 343 | 23 | 7 | 1,920,667 | 12.68% | 1.89% |
| Total | 1196 | 270 | | 15,146,171 | 60.63% | 4.21% |

### Winning candidates

The following is a partial list of winning candidates.
| Constituency Name | Member of Legislative Assembly | Political party |
| Teosa | Sharad Tasre | Indian National Congress |
| Achalpur | N S Deshmukh | Indian National Congress |
| Amgaon | Swarupchand Ajmera | Indian National Congress |
| Dhobi Talav | Mohanlal Popat | Indian National Congress |
| Girgaon | Pramod Navalkar | Shiv Sena, w Indian National Congress support |
| Guhagar | Shridhar Natu | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
| Khetwadi | Anant Namjoshi | Indian National Congress |
| Malad | Mrinal Gore | Socialist Party (India) |
| Malkapur | Arjun Wankhede | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
| Maval | Krishnarao Bhegade | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
| Nagpur Central | Navalchand Toksiya | Indian National Congress |
| Nagpur West | Sushila Balraj | Indian National Congress |
| Pusad | Vasantrao Naik | Indian National Congress |
| Sakoli | Martand Kapgate | Indian National Congress |
| Shrivardhan | A R Antulay | Indian National Congress |
| Shukrawar Peth | Rambhau Mhalgi | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
| Talode | Dilwar Singh Padawi | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
| Walva | Rajaram-bapu Patil | Indian National Congress |

### Results by region

| Region | Total seats | Indian National Congress | Peasants and Workers Party of India | Bharatiya Jana Sangh |
| Western Maharashtra | 70 | 70 | - | - |
| Vidarbha | 62 | 60 | 1 | 1 |
| Marathwada | 46 | 31 | 3 | 3 |
| Thane+Konkan | 39 | 37 | 1 | - |
| Mumbai | 36 | 14 | - | - |
| North Maharashtra | 35 | 14 | 2 | 1 |
| Total | 288 | 222 | 7 | 5 |