West Bengal

West Bengal (/wɛst bɛŋˈɡɔːl/; Bengali pronunciation: [pɔʃtʃimbɔŋɡɔ]) is a state in eastern India and is the nation's fourth-most populous state, with over 91 million inhabitants. Spread over 34,267 sq mi (88,750 km²), it is bordered by the countries of Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and the Indian states of Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar, Sikkim, and Assam. The state capital is Kolkata. Together with the neighboring nation of Bangladesh, it makes up the ethno-linguistic region of Bengal.

Ancient Bengal was the site of several major janapadas (kingdoms). It was also part of large empires such as the Maurya Empire (second century BC) and Gupta Empire (fourth century AD); and part of the regional Buddhist Pala Empire (8th to 11th century) and Sena dynasty (11th–12th century). From the 13th century onward, the region was controlled by the Bengal Sultanate, Hindu kings and Baro-Bhuyan landlords under the suzerainty of the Mughal Empire, until the British East India company took control of the region from the Mughals in the late 18th century. The company consolidated their hold on the region following the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and Battle of Buxar in 1764 and by 1793 took complete control of the region. Kolkata (or Calcutta) served for many years as the capital of British controlled territories in India. The early and prolonged exposure to British administration resulted in the expansion of Western education, culminating in development of science, institutional education, and social reforms in the region, including what became known as the Bengali renaissance. A hotbed of the Indian independence movement through the early 20th century, Bengal was divided during India's independence in 1947 along religious lines into two separate entities: West Bengal—a state of India—and East Bengal—a part of the newly created Dominion of Pakistan that later became the independent nation of Bangladesh in 1971.

West Bengal Socialist Party

West Bengal Socialist Party (WBSP) was a political party in the Indian state of West Bengal. WBSP was formed when the Bengali socialists in the then Janata Party split in the beginning of the 1980s (the other faction became the Democratic Socialist Party). WBSP was a part of Left Front. The party leader Kiranmoy Nanda was the Fisheries Minister in the West Bengal government.

The party upheld in the ideals of Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia and Narendra Dev.

In 1990s, the party merged with the Samajwadi Party of Mulayam Singh Yadav. Kiranmoy Nanda became one of the national secretaries of SP. But due to the differences between SP and the Communists in April, 1999 over supporting Congress in forming a government after the defeat of the Vajpayee government in the trust vote, WBSP was resurrected once again.

In the state assembly elections 2001 WBSP launched four candidates, supported by Left Front. All four got elected. In total the party received 246 407 votes. In 2005 municipal polls in Kolkata, WBSP contested 2 seats (ward no. 55 and 63) as a part of LF. It lost in both seats.

Socialist Party

Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of these parties advocate either democratic socialism, social democracy, or even Third Way as their ideological position. Many Socialist Parties have explicit connections to the labour movement and trade unions. See also Socialist International, list of democratic socialist parties and organizations and list of social democratic parties. A number of affiliates of the Trotskyist Committee for a Workers' International also use the name Socialist Party.

This list only includes parties that use the exact name "Socialist Party" for themselves, sometimes alongside the name of the country in which they operate. The list does not include political parties that use the word "Socialist" in addition to one or more other political adjectives in their names. For example, the numerous parties using the name "Socialist Workers' Party" are not included.

Socialist Party (India)

Socialist Party has been the name of several political parties in India, all of which have their roots in the Congress Socialist Party during the freedom struggle.

The former Congress Socialist Party

The original Socialist Party had its roots in the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), the socialist caucus of the Indian National Congress, which fused in 1948 with the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI). Hector Abhayavardhana of the BLPI became General Secretary of the new party. The Socialist Party was founded not long after India's independence when Jayprakash Narayan, Basawon Singh (Sinha), Acharya Narendra Dev led the CSP out of Congress. At the time, Congress's leader Jawaharlal Nehru held positions that were widely admired by the rank and file of the CSP.

Indian Socialist Party

Despite Jai Prakash Narayan's personal popularity, the Socialist Party won only 12 seats at the 1951 Indian general election, and its electoral fortunes did not improve. The SP merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, which had recently been formed by J.B. Kripalani, to form the Praja Socialist Party. It was led by Akula Purushotham in Andhra Pradesh.

Socialist Party (Netherlands)

The Socialist Party (Dutch: Socialistische Partij, Dutch pronunciation: [soːʃiaː'lɪstisə pɑr'tɛi]; abbreviated SP, Dutch pronunciation: [ɛs peː]) is a left-wing social-democraticpolitical party in the Netherlands. After the 2006 general election, the Socialist Party became one of the major parties of the Netherlands with 25 seats of 150, an increase of 16 seats. In the 2010 general election the party obtained 15 seats. In the 2012 general election they maintained those 15 seats. The party is in opposition against the Second Rutte cabinet.

History

Foundation until 1994

The Socialist Party was founded in October 1971 as a Maoist party named the Communist Party of the Netherlands/Marxist–Leninist (KPN/ML). This KPN/ML was formed following a split from the Communist Unity Movement of the Netherlands (Marxist-Leninist). The issue that provoked the split from KEN(ml) was an intense debate on the role of intellectuals in the class struggle. The founders of KPN/ML, with Daan Monjé in a prominent role, belonged to the 'Proletarian' wing of the KEN(ml), who did not want an organization dominated by students and intellectuals. In 1972 KPN/ML changed its name to Socialistiese Partij (Socialist Party). Even in its early years, while adhering to Maoist principles such as organizing the masses, the SP was very critical of the Communist Party of China like in condemning the support for Unita in Angola (The brochure: "Antwoord aan de dikhuiden van de KEN").