Punjab's governments and President's rule, 1966 to 1983

Who: Punjab's Chief Ministers and Governors from 1 November 1966, when the Punjabi-speaking state came into being, to 6 October 1983, when President's rule began for the fifth time since then: the Akali Dal and its partners, the Congress, and the Government of India.

What: In those years Punjab had eight ministries and four spells of President's rule, and a fifth spell began on 6 October 1983. Where sources give different dates, both are shown.

• 1 November 1966 to 8 March 1967: Giani Gurmukh Singh Musafir of the Congress, who replaced Ram Kishen. President's rule under Governor Dharma Vira had run while the boundaries were drawn.
• 8 March to 22 November 1967: Justice Gurnam Singh's United Front, the first non-Congress ministry, formed after the February 1967 election left no party with a majority. It fell when Lachhman Singh Gill defected on 22 November.
• 25 November 1967 to 23 August 1968: Gill, with Congress support (Khushwant Singh dates his swearing-in 27 November). The Congress withdrew its support on 20 August, according to the Encyclopaedia of Sikhism, or 23 August, according to Gurmit Singh and Grewal. President's rule followed until 17 February 1969, and Khushwant Singh starts it on 13 August.
• 17 February 1969 to 27 March 1970: Gurnam Singh again, with the Akali Dal and the Jana Sangh in coalition after the mid-term poll of February 1969. Khushwant Singh dates the defeat of his ministry 25 March 1970.
• 27 March 1970 to June 1971: Parkash Singh Badal, with the Jana Sangh until it left in June 1970 (20 June in Grewal, 30 June in Gurmit Singh). After the Akalis won one of 13 Lok Sabha seats in March 1971, Badal advised the Governor to dissolve the Assembly. President's rule began on 13 June 1971 (Grewal and Khushwant Singh; Wikipedia's list has 14 June) and ran to 17 March 1972.
• 17 March 1972 to 30 April 1977: Giani Zail Singh of the Congress, allied with the CPI, the longest ministry of the period at 5 years 44 days. After the Congress was routed in the Lok Sabha elections of March 1977, the Acting President dissolved the assemblies of nine states, Punjab's among them, on 30 April. President's rule lasted until 20 June.
• 20 June 1977 to 17 February 1980: Badal again, leading an alliance of the Akali Dal, the Janata Party and the CPM that won 91 seats against the Congress's 17; the Akalis alone won 58 of 117. Indira Gandhi's Government dismissed it after her return to power, and President's rule ran to 6 June 1980.
• 6 June 1980 to 6 October 1983: Darbara Singh of the Congress. His government was dismissed on 6 October 1983, and Punjab was declared a disturbed area the next day. Governor B. D. Pande was sent to Punjab, and President's rule lasted until 29 September 1985.

Where: Chandigarh, the capital of the reorganised state.

Why it mattered: No Akali-led ministry lasted three years. The four are Gurnam Singh's two ministries and Badal's two; Gill's Congress-backed ministry is not counted among them (Wikipedia lists it under his Punjab Janata Party, at 272 days). Wikipedia's list gives 262 days, 1 year 38 days, 1 year 79 days and 2 years 242 days for the four (its 262 days run to 25 November 1967, while the account above ends the first ministry on 22 November, after 259 days), against 5 years 44 days for Zail Singh and 3 years 122 days for Darbara Singh. Grewal quotes an Akali minister who said the Akalis faced “interference in the very continuance of the Akali Ministry”. Grewal writes that the fall of two Akali ministries in under nineteen months obliged the Akali leaders to review their position, and that the Akali ministers' experience of tension with the Centre led to the Anandpur Sahib Resolution.