Chandra Bhanu Gupta, third UP CM, formidable politician

The Congress heavyweight and third chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Chandra Bhanu Gupta, became the CM four times, although he never got a full five-year tenure. His four chief ministerial stints altogether spanned about three years and ten months between 1960 and 1970.

Gupta was a minister in the cabinets of both UP’s first CM GB Pant and second CM Dr Sampurnanand. In the first UP Assembly elections in 1952, he had won from Lucknow City East but lost the seat in the 1957 polls. He also lost a bypoll from Maudaha in Bundelkhand in 1958.

However, Gupta’s hold over the UP Congress remained intact and so was his capability to destabilise Sampurnanand government through ministers like Chaudhary Charan Singh and Kamlapati Tripathi, who were his friends. With their help, he continued to put pressure on the Sampurnanand government and was appointed as the UP Congress Committee (UPCC) president in October 1960. Stung by the development, Sampurnanand resigned as the CM in November 1960. And although a majority of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) members was still with him, the Congress leadership finally decided to replace Sampurnanand with Gupta, who was sworn in as the CM on December 7, 1960.

Gupta again took oath as the CM for second time after the third UP Assembly polls, held in February 1962, in which the Congress returned to power by winning 249 seats against the BJS’s 49 seats, PSP 38, Swatantra Party 15, CPI 14, and the Socialist Party’s 24. Amid growing factionalism in the Congress and under K Kamaraj’s plan to send some leaders from the government to the party organisation, he had to resign on October 1, 1963 and was replaced by Sucheta Kriplani.

CM Kriplani did not contest the 1967 Assembly polls in which the Congress could win just 199 out of the total 425 seats, thus falling short of the majority mark. This paved the way for Gupta to make a comeback and become the leader of the single largest party. He was thus again sworn in as the CM for the third time, but his innings could last only for 19 days this time. This happened because the Congress saw its first major defection engineered by Charan Singh, who then took over as the CM as the leader of a coalition called Samyutka Vidhayak Dal (SVD). On April 1, 1967, when the Assembly was discussing the Governor’s address, Gupta suddenly stood up and said, “I just want to request that since Opposition has got majority, the House proceedings should be adjourned. I would go to Governor to submit my resignation.”

But Gupta continued to dominate the UP Congress and took over as the CM for the fourth time on February 26, 1969 after mid-term polls, which were held after a few months of President’s rule because the Charan Singh government had fallen. However, he had to resign again on February 17, 1970 as the Congress lost majority following a split in the party resulting in two outfits, the Congress (Organisation) and the Congress (Requisitionists). Gupta went with the Congress (O), which was first led by K Kamaraj and later by Morarji Desai before it was merged with the Janata Party in 1977. Gupta was then appointed the Janata Party’s treasurer.

Born in 1902 in Atrauli in Aligarh, Gupta studied law and practised as a lawyer in Lucknow. He was among the defence counsel in the Kakori case.

After becoming the CM for the first time on December 7, 1960, Gupta was first nominated to the Legislative Council on January 23, 1961 on a seat vacated by a member BB Bhatia. However, a controversy erupted as Bhatia’s resignation was submitted on January 20, 1961, but it was notified on January 28, while Gupta was nominated in his place on January 23. Gupta then decided to contest an Assembly bypoll from Ranikhet South, which was vacated by sitting MLA Jang Bahadur, and won. Later, he won from this seat in the 1967 and 1969 polls too.

On February 20, 1961, two no-confidence motions were moved against the Gupta government, one by Socialist Party leader Raj Narain and another by Triloki Singh on behalf of his PSP and three other parties (Swatantra Party, CPI and BJS). Speaker A R Kher accepted the one moved by Raj Narain, which contained 21 reasons, including “not implementing the report of Backward Commission by the government is loss of backward classes… Government ignored the demand for constituting committee to inquire allegations made in this House against ministers and senior officials…”

The discussion on the no-confidence motion was held for two days, during which Raj Narain said that Gupta should first resign from the Legislative Council and declare that if he loses bypoll he will quit. Gupta replied that the motion was “unreal, impractical and misleading”, even as his government survived the motion.

Amid growing dissension within the Congress, the Opposition was using every opportunity to dislodge the Gupta government. Swatantra Party MLA KD Paliwal brought another no-confidence motion against his government in August 1961. Paliwal initiated discussion by charging that the ruling party was in the grip of factionalism, which had left little time for it to attend to the affairs of the state, thereby resulting in the administration’s slackness and inefficiency. By putting up a brave face, Gupta replied to the motion that was again defeated.

During his second stint as the CM, Gupta again faced a no-confidence motion, which was moved in August 1962 by the BJS’s Yadavendra Dutt Dubey. It was backed by the Socialist Party, PSP, Swatantra Party, CPI and an independent MLA. His government survived again, although Gupta had to step down in October next year.

Gupta had been actively engaged in various educational, social welfare and cultural activities in Lucknow. He had played a key role in establishing hostels for students, Ravindralaya, Children Museum, Bal Vidya Mandir, Homeopathic Hospital, a public library, and a number of other educational institutions in Lucknow and other places across UP.

Gupta, a bachelor, was known for his “simple living and straightforward and helping nature”. He did not promote his family members in politics. He remained a formidable figure in UP politics until early 1970s following which his health started deteriorating. Although he was appointed Janata Party treasurer he could not play a major role in the party’s government due to his ill-health. He passed away in March 1980.