Patna: Between 1967 and 1972, Bihar’s political scene was in complete turmoil. In just five years, the state saw nine governments come and go. No one could hold the Chief Minister’s chair for long, and power kept changing hands like a game of musical chairs. The Congress, which had ruled Bihar unchallenged for years, suddenly lost its grip. New alliances were made and broken within months, friends turned into enemies, and for the first time, Bihar became known as the birthplace of defection politics.
During this period, Bhola Paswan Shastri became Chief Minister three times, a rare record in Indian politics. Other leaders who briefly held power included Mahamaya Prasad Sinha, Satish Prasad Singh, BP Mandal, Sardar Harihar Singh, Daroga Prasad Rai and Karpoori Thakur. Political instability was at its peak, and governments rarely lasted long enough to make a difference. In 1969, the first mid-term assembly elections were held in Bihar — proof that no government could complete its term. Satish Prasad Singh was even made Chief Minister for a short while only to help nominate BP Mandal to the Legislative Council, showing how fragile and temporary power had become.
The year 1967 was a major turning point. That was when the Congress party’s long rule in Bihar finally ended. Both Lok Sabha and Assembly elections were held at the same time, but this time, people voted differently. Congress managed to win 34 of the 53 Lok Sabha seats, but it lost control of the state. People were angry over corruption and the government’s failure to handle drought and famine. This public anger led to the formation of the first non-Congress government in Bihar, changing the state’s political history forever.
That government, led by Mahamaya Prasad Sinha, was unique because it brought together two completely opposite parties — the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Communist Party of India. This strange alliance happened after socialist leader Dr Ram Manohar Lohia convinced both sides to work together. It was the first and only time in India when the Jana Sangh and the Communists shared power. But their unity did not last long. Within a few months, political defections began. Around three dozen MLAs, mostly from the Socialist Party, switched sides, toppling the government. All of them were later made ministers in the BP Mandal cabinet, showing how openly politics had become about power and not principles. At that time, India did not yet have an anti-defection law, so changing sides carried no punishment.
Mahamaya’s government had also done something bold — it set up a judicial commission to investigate corruption charges against six former Congress leaders. This move was seen as a brave attempt to clean up politics, but it also made many powerful enemies. Soon after, the government collapsed. These five years — from 1967 to 1972 — became one of the most unstable periods in Bihar’s history. It was a time when loyalty shifted easily, alliances broke quickly, and governments were built on fragile foundations. The political chaos of those years changed Bihar’s politics forever and gave the country its first lessons in the dangers of defection politics.
