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Journalism of Courage
Bihar boasts of one of the most fascinating political histories in India. As the state heads to Assembly polls later this month, The Indian Express brings a series of articles that tell the history of Bihar politics through the tenure of its 23 chief ministers. This article tells the story of Abdul Ghafoor, Bihar’s 13th and lone Muslim CM since Independence. You can click here to read about his predecessor, Kedar Pandey. The next edition will focus on his successor, Jagannath Mishra.
Kedar Pandey was elevated by the Congress (R) high command in March 1972 with high expectations to lead Bihar’s government, marking the party’s first full majority in the Assembly after skipping two election cycles. However, it proved a miscalculation. Following Pandey’s resignation in July 1973, the search for a successor began amid a shifting political landscape.
By then, a centralised High Command culture had solidified within Congress (R). Elections for the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) in most states had devolved into formalities, with favoured leaders “unanimously” selected. This practice has since extended beyond Congress to nearly every major party and is almost a convention today.
To find Pandey’s replacement in Bihar, central observer Siddharth Shankar Ray consulted key figures, including the outgoing Chief Minister Pandey himself and Union Minister Lalit Narain Mishra, during meetings in Patna. The CLP ultimately passed a “unanimous” resolution deferring the leadership decision to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Her choice was Abdul Ghafoor, affectionately called “chacha” by friends and supporters. At the time, he was serving as Chairman of the Bihar Legislative Council. Assembly Speaker Harinath Mishra was also in the running, but Ghafoor ultimately emerged victorious without actively campaigning.
He was sworn in as Chief Minister on July 2, 1973. Besides Mohammad Yunus’s brief tenure in 1937 under colonial rule, Ghafoor became the first—and remains the only—Muslim to hold the post in independent Bihar. Till then, he was only the second Chief Minister to assume office as a Legislative Council member, following B P Mandal.
Ghafoor’s cabinet reflected continuity and reconciliation, with former Chief Ministers Kedar Pandey and Daroga Prasad Rai serving as his ministers. Lalit Narain Mishra’s younger brother, Jagannath Mishra, and State Congress President Vidyakar Kavi, an MLA from Alamganj in Saharsa, entered the ministry. Amid repeated consultations with the central leadership, portfolio allocations dragged on till September, with the Chief Minister frequently shuttling to Delhi.
Ghafoor inherited a turbulent era. Student unrest, ignited in Gujarat, spilt into Bihar by March 1974. On March 18, thousands protested outside the state Assembly in Patna, part of a broader agitation rippling across northern India. The disturbances unnerved governments at both the central and state levels. In response, the ruling party orchestrated a cabinet overhaul. On central directives, all Ghafoor ministers tendered resignations on April 10, 1974, forcing the reconstitution of the cabinet.
The revamped cabinet was sworn in on April 18. At least 35 ministers from the old cabinet were dropped, replaced by new faces. Yet, LN Mishra’s influence persisted, mirroring the Pandey era. This alienated rival factions, notably that of Defence Minister Jagjivan Ram. His son, Suresh Ram, boycotted the reconstituted cabinet and did not join the cabinet despite the invitation.
Factionalism resurfaced swiftly within both the government and Bihar’s Congress (R) unit. Ghafoor struggled to appease all groups, while rival leaders obstructed the smooth functioning of his government. Dissidents shuttled between Patna and Delhi, lobbying central leaders and decrying the Chief Minister over several months, demanding his resignation to save the party. It would later come to light that the reshuffle of April 18, 1974, had intensified rivalries and grievances instead of stabilising matters.
Compounding these woes was the escalating Bihar Movement, spearheaded by Jayaprakash Narayan, which gained traction statewide. The dual pressures—internal discord and external protests—strained Ghafoor’s administration.
Tragedy struck on January 2, 1975, when L N Mishra was killed in a bomb blast at the Samastipur railway station. Amid increasing pressure from MLAs and leaders from the late Mishra’s camp (including from brother his brother Jagannath Mishra), the Chief Minister sought to dismiss ministers aligned with the Mishra camp. By this time, he had also signalled his own willingness to resign. Given that the Assembly was in session, the matter was delayed until the central party meeting on March 11, 1975, when they accepted Ghafoor’s offer to step down.
Initially viewed as L N Mishra’s man handpicked by Indira Gandhi, Ghafoor had diverged from the Mishra camp during his tenure. Regarded as one of Bihar’s honest politicians, he faced a fractured state unit and a cabinet where ministers often ignored his orders, issuing contradictory statements. This undermined governmental efficacy.
Ghafoor finally resigned, and on April 11, 1975, Jagannath Mishra was sworn in as his successor.
Born in 1918 in Gopalganj district, Abdul Ghafoor studied at Aligarh Muslim University. Elected to the Bihar Assembly from Barauli in 1952, 1957, 1977, and 1980, he served as a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) from 1968 to 1974, including a stint as Chairman of the Legislative Council.
Post-resignation, Ghafoor transitioned to national politics. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Siwan in 1984 and served as a Union Minister in Rajiv Gandhi’s government. He was elected from Gopalganj to the Lok Sabha in 1991 on a Janata Dal ticket and in 1998 on a Samata Party ticket. He passed away in July 2004.
Ghafoor’s 21-month tenure encapsulated Bihar’s fractious 1970s politics: high command dominance, crippling factionalism, and the rise of the JP Movement that foreshadowed the Emergency. As the state’s sole Muslim Chief Minister in the post-independence era, his legacy endures amid enduring communal underrepresentation in Bihar’s leadership.
Next – Jagannath Mishra
