equally dangerous. RCPI fielded a single candidate; Shamsul Huda in the Kaliabor constituency. He finished in third place with 45,047 votes (15.63%). In the subsequent 1977 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election RCPI fielded 4 candidates. Three of the candidates won their seats; Bimalananda Mukherjee was elected from Santipur, Trilochan Mal from Hansan and Sudhindranath Kumar from Howrah Central. Malati Bhusan Hazra finished in third place in Pingla. In total the party obtained 75,156 votes (0.52% of the statewide vote). Left Front era After the 1977 election, Kumar was named Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the first Left Front cabinet. RCPI fielded three candidates in the 1982 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election; Mukherjee in Santipur, Kumar in Howrah Central and Mal in Hansan. In total the three candidates obtained 106,973 votes (0.48% of the statewide vote). Mukherjee and Mal retained their seats. Kumar lost the Howrah Central seat to Congress(I) candidate Ambica Banerjee. Kumar finished in second place with 29,785 votes (43.34%). After having lost his assembly seat, Kumar lost his post as minister. Bimalananda Mukherjee replaced him as the RCPI representative in the Left Front government. However, whilst Kumar had been a cabinet minister Mukherjee was named Minister of State (for Excise). In 1984 CPI(M) wanted to nominate Kumar for a Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament of India) seat, but that proposal met resistance from other Left Front partners. Kumar died in 1984. In 1985 a by-election was held in the Hansan (SC) constituency, after the death of incumbent legislator Trilochan Mal. RCPI candidate Umakanta Roy won the by-election. RCPI contested 8 out of 1111 seats in the West Bengal municipal elections of 1986. RCPI fielded three candidates in the 1987 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election; Sankar Mondol in Howrah Central, Bimalananda Mukherjee in Santipur and Trilochan Das in Hansan. In total the RCPI candidates obtained 118,985 votes (0.42% of the statewide vote). Mukherjee was the sole RCPI candidate elected. RCPI contested two seats in the 1991 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election; Trilochan Das in Hansan and Asim Ghosh in Santipur. Das won the Hansan seat. In the 1996 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election RCPI fielded Bimalananda Mukherjee in Santipur and Mihir Bain in Hansan. Both finished in second place in their respective constituencies. The two RCPI candidates obtained 105,366 votes (0.29% of the statewide vote). RCPI failed to regain its presence in the assembly in