1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election

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1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election
British Raj Red Ensign.svg
  1937 1946 1952  

175 seats of the Punjab Provincial Assembly
88 seats needed for a majority
Turnout61.16% (Decrease2.svg 3.07%)
 First partySecond partyThird party
  Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot (cropped).png Bhim Sen Sachar.png Master Tara Singh.png
Leader Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Bhim Sen Sachar Master Tara Singh
Party AIML INC SAD
Leader's seatFerozpur-Central (Muhammadan-Rural)Lahore City (General-Urban)Ferozpur-South (Sikh-Rural)
Seats won735120
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 71Increase2.svg33Increase2.svg 10

 Fourth party
  Malik Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana.png
Leader Malik Khizar Hayat
Party Unionist
Leader's seatKhushab (Muhammadans-Rural), Northern Punjab and Western Punjab (Muhammadan Landholders)
Seats won21
Seat changeDecrease2.svg 79

Punjab region.svg

Premier before election

Governor Rule
-

Elected Premier

Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana
Unionist

Punjab Assembly building in Lahore 1938. Punjan Assembly Building 1938.jpg
Punjab Assembly building in Lahore 1938.

Elections to the Punjab Provincial Assembly were held in January 1946 as part of the 1946 Indian provincial elections.

Contents

Campaign

The Unionist Party contested the election under the leadership of Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana but the party stood at fourth place. To stop the Muslim League to form the government in Punjab Indian National Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal extended their support to Unionist Party. Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana resigned on 2 March 1947 against the decision of Partition of India.

The Punjab province was a key battleground in the 1946 Indian provincial elections. The Punjab had a slight Muslim majority, and local politics had been dominated by the secular Unionist Party and its longtime leader Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan. The Unionists had built a formidable power base in the Punjabi countryside through policies of patronage allowing them to retain the loyalty of landlords and pirs who exerted significant local influence. [1] For the Muslim League to claim to represent the Muslim vote, they would need to win over the majority of the seats held by the Unionists. Following the death of Sir Sikander in 1942, and bidding to overcome their dismal showing in the elections of 1937, the Muslim League intensified campaigning throughout rural and urban Punjab. [2]

A major thrust of the Muslim's League's campaign was the increased use of religious symbolism. Activists were advised to join in communal prayers when visiting villages, and gain permission to hold meetings after the Friday prayers. [1] The Quran became a symbol of the Muslim League at rallies, and pledges to vote were made on it. [1] Students, a key component of the Muslim League's activists, were trained to appeal to the electorate on communal lines, and at the peak of student activity during the Christmas holidays of 1945, 250 students from Aligarh were invited to campaign in the province along with 1550 members of the Punjab Muslim Student's Federation. [1] A key achievement of their religious propaganda came in enticing Muslim Jats and Gujjars from their intercommunal tribal loyalties. [1] In response, the Unionists attempted to counter the growing religious appeal of the Muslim League by introducing religious symbolism into their own campaign, but with no student activists to rely upon and dwindling support amongst the landlords, their attempts met with little success.

To further their religious appeal, the Muslim League also launched efforts to entice Pirs towards their cause. Pirs dominated the religious landscape, and were individuals who claimed to inherit religious authority from Sufi Saints who had proselytised in the region since the eleventh century. [1] By the twentieth century, most Punjabi Muslims offered allegiance to a Pir as their religious guide, thus providing them considerable political influence. [1] The Unionists had successfully cultivated the support of Pirs to achieve success in the 1937 elections, and the Muslim League now attempted to replicate their method of doing so. To do so, the Muslim League created the Masheikh Committee, used Urs ceremonies and shrines for meetings and rallies and encouraged fatwas urging support for the Muslim League. [1] Reasons for the pirs switching allegiance varied. For the Gilani Pirs of Multan the over-riding factor was local longstanding factional rivalries, whilst for many others a shrines size and relationship with the government dictated its allegiance. [1]

Despite the Muslim League's aim to foster a united Muslim loyalty, it also recognised the need to better exploit the biradari network and appeal to primordial tribal loyalties. In 1946 it held a special Gujjar conference intending to appeal to all Muslim Gujjars, and lifted its ban on Jahanara Shahnawaz with the hope of appealing to Arain constituencies. [1] Appealing to biradari ties enabled the Muslim League to accelerate support amongst landlords, and in turn use the landlords client-patron economic relationship with their tenants to guarantee votes for the forthcoming election. [1]

A separate strategy of the Muslim League was to exploit the economic slump suffered in the Punjab as a result of the Second World War. [1] The Punjab had supplied 27 per cent of the Indian Army recruits during the war, constituting 800,000 men, and representing a significant part of the electorate. By 1946, less than 20 per cent of those servicemen returning home had found employment. [1] This in part was exacerbated by the speedy end to the war in Asia, which caught the Unionist's by surprise, and meant their plans to deploy servicemen to work in canal colonies were not yet ready. [1] The Muslim League took advantage of this weakness and followed Congress's example of providing work to servicemen within its organisation. [1] The Muslim League's ability to offer an alternative to the Unionist government, namely the promise of Pakistan as an answer to the economic dislocation suffered by Punjabi villagers, was identified as a key issue for the election. [1]

On the eve of the elections, the political landscape in the Punjab was finely poised, and the Muslim League offered a credible alternative to the Unionist Party. The transformation itself had been rapid, as most landlords and pirs had not switched allegiance until after 1944. [1] The breakdown of talks between the Punjab Premier, Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in late 1944 had meant many Muslims were now forced to choose between the two parties at the forthcoming election. [1] A further blow for the Unionists came with death of its leading statesman Sir Chhotu Ram in early 1945.

Distribution of seats

All 175 constituencies were reserved on the basis of religion. It was as follows:-

Constituency TypeUrbanRuralTotal
General83442
Muhammadans97584
Sikhs22931
Special^--18
Total19138175

^Special constituencies (non-territory constituency) were further divided into Categories and sub-categories as follow:-

Voter Statistics

Election Schedule

EventDate
Filing of Nominations12 December 1945
Scrutiny of Nominations15 December 1945
Polling1 January 1946
Counting15 February 1946

Results

1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election result.svg

The Result of election was as follow:- [3]

PartySeats wonChange
All-India Muslim League 73Increase2.svg 71
Indian National Congress 51Increase2.svg 33
Shiromani Akali Dal 20Increase2.svg 10
Unionist Party 21Decrease2.svg 79
Independent 10Decrease2.svg 05
Others0Decrease2.svg 30
Total175

Category wise result

S. No.PartyCategory (Seats)
General Urban (8)General Rural (34)Muhammadans Urban (9)Muhammadans Rural (75)Sikh Urban (2)Sikh Rural (29)Special (18)Total (175)
1All-India Muslim League--962--273
2Indian National Congress827-117751
3Shiromani Akali Dal----119121
4Unionist Party-5-10--419
5Independent-2-2-3411

Constituency wise result

Color key for the Party of Candidates

Other color keys

General Urban

S. No.Cons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
11Southern TownsShri Ram SharmaIndian National Congress
22South-Eastern TownsShanno Devi
33Eastern TownsSudarshan Seth
44Lahore CityBhim Sen Sachar
55Amritsar CitySant Ram Seth
66North-Eastern TownsKrishan Gopal Dutt
77North-Western TownsChaman Lal
88South-Western TownsHarihar Lal

General Rural

S. No.Cons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
99Hissar SouthRanjit SinghIndian National Congress
1010HansiSuraj MalUnionist Party
1111Hissar NorthSahib RamIndian National Congress
1212Rohtak NorthLahri Singh
1313Rohtak CentralBadlu Ram
1414JhajjarSher Singh
1515North-western GurgaonManohar SinghUnionist Party
1616South-Eastern GurgaonPrem Singh
17South-Eastern GurgaonJiwan LalIndian National Congress
1817Karnal SouthChandan
1918Karnal NorthJagdish Chandar
20Karnal NorthSundar Singh
2119Ambala-SimlaRatan Singh
22Ambala-SimlaPriti Singh AzadIndependent
2320Kangra
North
Pancham ChandIndian National Congress
2421Kangra SouthDalip Singh
2522Kangra EastBali Ram
2623Kangra WestBhagat Ram Sharma
2724Hoshiarpur WestMango RamUnionist Party
28Hoshiarpur WestMehar ChandIndian National Congress
2925UnaMohan Lal
3026JullundharSant RamUnionist Party
31JullundharGurbanta SinghIndian National Congress
3227Ludhiana-FerozpurMatu Ram
33Ludhiana-FerozpurRanbir Singh
3428Western LahoreFakir Chand
3529Amritsar-SialkotKidar Nath Sehgal
36Amritsar-SialkotSundar Singh
3730GurdaspurPrabodh Chandra
3831RawalpindiTilak Raj Chadha
3932South-Eastern MultanBihari Lal Chanana
4033Layallpur JhangDev Raj Seth
41Layallpur JhangHarbhajan RamIndependent
4234West MultanVirendraIndian National Congress

Muhammadan Urban

S. No.Cons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
4335Southern TownsGulam SamadAll-India Muslim League
4436South-Eastern TownsShaukat Hayat Khan
4537Eastern TownsBarkat Ali
4638Inner LahoreWazir Mohammed
4739Outer LahoreMohammed Rafiq
4840Amritsar CityAbdul Kareem Chauhan
4941North-Eastern TownsKaramat Ali
5042Rawalpindi TownsFiroz Khan Noon
5143Multan TownsMohammed Amin

Muhammadan Rural

S. NoCons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
5244HissarSaheb daad KhanAll-India Muslim League
5345RohtakKhurshid Khan
5446North-Western GurgaonAhmad Jan
5547South-Eastern GurgaonMohtab Khan
5648KarnalAbdul Hamid Khan
5749Ambala-SimlaMohammed Hasan
5850Kangra East-HoshiarpurAli Akbar Khan
5951Hoshiarpur WestRana Nasrullah Khan
6052Jullundur NorthAbdus Salam Khan
6153Jullundur SouthWali Mohammed Gohir
6254LudhianaIqbal Ahmed Khan
6355Ferozpur CentralIftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot
6456Ferozpur EastBashir Ahmed
6557FazilkaBagh Ali Sukera
6658Lahore SouthMuzaffar Ali Khan Qizilibash
6759ChunianMuhammad Husain
6860KasurIftikhar-ud-din
6961AmritsarNasrullah Khan
7062Tarn TaranAkram Ali Khan
7163AjanalaZafrullah Khan Jhanian
7264Gurdaspur EastGhulam Farid
7365BatalaFateh Mohammed SayalIndependent
7466ShakargarhAbdul Ghaffar KhanAll-India Muslim League
7567Sialkot NorthNasar Din
7668Sialkot CenterMuhammad Sarfraz Khan
7769Sialkot SouthMumtaz Mohammed Khan Doultana
7870Gujranwala NorthSalah-ud-din Chatha
7971Gujranwala EastZafrullah Khan
8072HafizabadMohammed Khan Tarar
8173SheikhupuraMohammed Husain Chatha
8274Nankana SahibShahadat Khan
8375ShahdaraRoshan Din
8476Gujarat NorthFazal Ilahi
8577Gujarat EastAsghar Ali KhanUnionist Party
8678South-Eastern GujaratBahawal BakhshAll-India Muslim League
8779North-Western GujaratJahan Khan
8880South-Western GujaratGhulam Rasul
8981ShahpurSultan Ali NangianaUnionist Party
9082KhushabMalik Khizar Hayat Tiwana
9183BhalwalFazl Haq PirachaIndian National Congress
9284SargodhaAllah Baksh TiwanaUnionist Party
9385JehlumKhair Mehdi KhanAll-India Muslim League
9486Pind Dadan KhanGazanfar Ali Khan
9587ChabwalSarfraz Ali Khan
9688Rawalpindi SadarZafuul Haq
9789Gujar KhanAkbar Khan
9890Rawalpindi EastKale Khan
9991Attock NorthMumtaz Ali Khan
10092Attock CentralMohammed Nawaz KhanIndependent
10193Attock South Mohy-ud-din Lal BadshahUnionist Party
10294Mianwali NorthAbdur Sattar KhanAll-India Muslim League
10395Mianwali SouthMohammed Abdullah KhanUnionist Party
10496MontgomeryMohammed Khan KhatiaAll-India Muslim League
10597OkaraAbdul Haq
10698DipalpurAshiq Hussain
10799PakpattanAbdul Hamid Khan
108100LyallpurAziz Din
109101SamunduriRai Mir Mohammed Khan
110102Toba Tek SinghNurullah
111103JaranwalRai Anwar Khan
112104Jhang EastGhulam Mohammed Shah
113105Jhang CentralMubarak Ali Shah
114106Jhang WestMohammed Arif Khan Sial
115107MultanAshiq Hussain QureshiUnionist Party
116108ShujabadMohammed RajaAll-India Muslim League
117109LodhranGulam Mustafa Gilani
118110MailsiAllah Yar Khan Doultana
119111KhanewalBudhan Shah Khagga
120112KabirwalaNaubahar Shah Bokhari
121113Muzaffargarh SadarAbdul Hamid Khan Dasti
122114AlipurMohammed Ibrahim BarqUnionist Party
123115Muzaffargarh NorthGulam Jilani GurmaniAll-India Muslim League
124116Dera Gaji Khan NorthAta Mohammed Khan
125117Dera Gaji Khan CentralShah Faiz MohammedUnionist Party
126118Dera Gaji Khan SouthBahadur Khan DrishakAll-India Muslim League

Sikh Urban

S. No.Cons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
127119Eastern TownsInder SinghShiromani Akali Dal
128120Western TownsUjjal Singh

Sikh Rural

S. No.Cons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
129121South-Eastern PunjabNarotam SinghShiromani Akali Dal
130122Ambala NorthBaldev Singh
131123Kangara North-HoshiarpurShiv Saran Singh
132124Hoshiarpur SouthPiara Singh
133125Jullundur WestSwaran Singh
134126Jullundur EastKabul SinghIndian National Congress
135127Ludhiana EastKapur SinghShiromani Akali Dal
136128Ludhiana CentralBachan SinghIndian National Congress
137129JagraonKehar Singh
138130Ferozpur NorthRattan SinghShiromani Akali Dal
139131Ferozpur EastRur SinghIndian National Congress
140132Ferozpur WestGurbachan SinghShiromani Akali Dal
141133Ferozpur SouthTara Singh
142134Lahore WestSardul SinghIndependent
143135KasurSajjan SinghIndian National Congress
144136Amritsar NorthIshar Singh MajhailShiromani Akali Dal
145137Amritsar CentralUdham Singh Nagoke
146138Amritsar SouthPartap Singh KaironIndian National Congress
147139Gurdaspur NorthShiv Singh
148140BatalaWaryam SinghShiromani Akali Dal
149141SialkotGurbachan Singh BajwaIndependent
150142Gujranwala-ShahadaraJoginder Singh MannShiromani Akali Dal
151143Sheikhupura WestMaan Singh
152144Gujarat ShahpurPrem SinghIndependent
153145North-Western PunjabJaswant Singh DuggalShiromani Akali Dal
154146Montgomery EastNarinder Singh
155147Lyallpur WestGiani Kartar Singh
156148Lyallpur EastDalip Singh Kang
157149South-Western PunjabAjit Singh

Special

S. NoCons. No.ConstituencyWinnerParty
Women
158150Lahore City (General)Rameshwari NehruIndian National Congress
159151Inner Lahore (Muhammadan)Begum Tassadaq HusainAll-India Muslim League
160152Outer Lahore (Muhammadan)Jahagira Shah Nawaz
161153Amritsar South (Sikh)Raghbir KaurIndian National Congress
Anglo-Indian
162154Punjab Anglo-IndianP. ManuelIndependent
European
163155EuropeanP. H. GuestIndependent
Indian Christian
164156East-Central PunjabFazal IlahiIndependent
165157West-Central PunjabS. P. SanghaUnionist Party
Commerce and Industry
166158Punjab Commerce and IndustryBhagwan DasIndian National Congress
Landholders
167159Eastern Punjab (General)Durga Chand KaushikIndian National Congress
168160Central Punjab (Sikh)Jagjit SinghShiromani Akali Dal
169161Northern Punjab (Muhammadan)Malik Khizar Hayat TiwanaUnionist Party
170162Western Punjab (Muhammadan)Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana
171163Baluch Tumandars (Muhammadan)Jamal Khan Leghari
Trade and Labour Unions
172164Punjab Trade and Labour UnionsGanga SaranIndian National Congress
173165Eastern PunjabDaud Ghaznavi
174166Northern PunjabBarkat Hayat KhanIndependent
University
175167Punjab UniversitiesGopi Chand BhargavaIndian National Congress

Government formation

A coalition consisting of the Congress, Unionist Party and the Akalis was formed in Punjab. [4]

Ishtiaq Ahmed has given an account [5] of how the Coalition Government in the United Punjab collapsed as a result of a massive campaign launched by the then Punjab Muslim League(the largest party in Punjab assembly at that time with 73 seats). AIML (Punjab) deemed the coalition government as a 'non-representative' government and thought it was their right to bring such government down (notwithstanding the fact that it was a legal and democratically elected government). AIML (P) called for a 'Civil Disobedience' movement (which was fully backed by Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan, after they had failed to enlist Sikh's support to help form an AIML led government in Punjab). This led to bloody communal riots in Punjab during the later part of 1946. By early 1947, Law and order situation in the Province came to such a point where civil life was utterly paralysed. It was under such circumstances that the coalition Punjab Premier (Chief Minister) Khizar Hayat Tiwana was forced to resign, on 2 March 1947. His cabinet was dissolved the same day. As there was no hope left for any other government to be formed to take the place of the Khizer government, the then Punjab Governor Sir Evan Jenkins imposed Governor's rule in Punjab on 5 March which continued up to the partition day, that is 15 August 1947. Akali Dal sikhs who, with 22 seats, were major stake-holders in the coalition government along with Congress(51) and the Unionist Party (20), were infuriated over the dissolution of the Khizar Government. It was in this backdrop that on 3 March 1947, Akali Sikh leader Master Tara Singh brandished his Kirpan outside Punjab Assembly saying openly:

Down with Pakistan and blood be to the one who demands it.

From this day onward, Punjab was engulfed in such bloodied communal riots that the history had never witnessed before. Eventually, Punjab had to be partitioned into the Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab. In the process, over a million people were massacred, millions more were forced to cross-over and to become refugees while thousands of women were abducted, raped and killed, across all religious communities in Punjab.

Interim Assembly (1947–1951)

On 3 June 1947 the assembly which was elected in 1946 divided into two parts. One was West Punjab Assembly and other was East Punjab Assembly to decide whether or not the province of Punjab be partitioned. After voting on both sides, partition was decided. Consequently, the existing Punjab Legislative Assembly was also divided into West Punjab Legislative Assembly and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. The sitting members belonging to the Western Section subsequently became the members of the new Assembly renamed as the West Punjab Legislative Assembly.

East Punjab

The sitting members belonging to the Eastern Section subsequently became the members of the new Assembly renamed as the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. The members which were elected in 1946 election on the ticket of Shiromani Akali Dal and Unionist Party after Partition all joined the Indian National Congress. There were a total of 79 members. [6]

On 15 August 1947 Gopi Chand Bhargava was elected the Chief Minister of East Punjab by the members of the interim assembly.

On 1 November 1947, the interim assembly sat for the first time. Kapur Singh was elected Speaker on the same day and 2 days later (on 3 November), Thakur Panchan Chand was elected Deputy Speaker.

On 6 April 1949 Bhim Sen Sachar and Pratap Singh Kairon with other members moved Motion of no confidence against Gopi Chand Bhargava. Dr. Bhargava failed to secure motion by one vote. No confidence motion was carried by 40 votes in favour and 39 against. [7]

On the same day Bhim Sen Sachar elected the leader of congress assembly party. He took the oath of Chief Minister of Punjab on 13 April 1949. On the issue of corruption Sachar resigned from the post and on next day on 18 October 1949, Bhargava took charge of Chief Minister of Punjab.

Thakur Panchan Chand resigned from the post of Deputy Speaker on 20 March 1951. On 26 March 1951 Smt. Shanno Devi elected Deputy Speaker. Interim Assembly was dissolved on 20 June 1951.

West Punjab

On 15 August 1947, Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot was elected Chief minister by members of the newly elected West Punjab Assembly.

See also

Zimni elections in Pakistan

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The British Punjab Provincial Assembly, or simple the Punjab Provincial Assembly was the unicameral elected legislature of British Punjab, a province of the British Raj. Established by the British authorities under Government of India Act 1935, the assembly had executive powers and members directly elected from 175 constituencies by first past the post system.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Talbot, I. A. (1980). "The 1946 Punjab Elections". Modern Asian Studies. 14 (1): 65–91. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00012178. JSTOR   312214. S2CID   145320008.
  2. W. W. J. (1946). "The Indian Elections – 1946". The World Today. 2 (4): 167–175. JSTOR   40391905.
  3. Korson, J. Henry (1974). Contemporary Problems of Pakistan. BRILL. p. 20. ISBN   978-90-04-47468-0.
  4. Joseph E. Schwartzberg. "Schwartzberg Atlas". A Historical Atlas of South Asia. Retrieved 10 February 2017.
  5. Ishtiaq Ahmed (2018). The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unraveling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First Person Accounts. Oxford University Press. ISBN   978-0-19-940659-3.
  6. page xxviii-xxix of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium Archived 2018-09-25 at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved on 12 January 2019.
  7. Turmoil in Punjab Politics. pp.27