This study of West Bengal since the Partition in 1947 is not a theoretical discourse on politics intertwined with socio-cultural issues and political economy. The present study is a historical narrative and a modest attempt to trace the historico-political process of a truncated state over the last sixty-four years.There are various stages of development to this history. From 1947 to 1966 there was a dominant party i.e. Congress rule, which electorally reappeared in 1972. During the intervening period the idea of a United Front of the Left parties was experimented with. Finally, the Left Front of the same parties ruled the state for 34 years from 1977 till May 20, 2011. Electorally the Left Front coalition seemed to be a permanent fixture but was demolished in 2011 by the Trinamool Congress led by Mamata Banerjee. Over this period, the unique electoral process in the state, its mode of politics and the ensuing process of governance came to play a significant role, as traced in this book