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1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election

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1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election

← 1937 1946 1951 (West)
1952 (East) →

175 seats of the Punjab Provincial Assembly
88 seats needed for a majority
Turnout61.16% (Decrease 3.07%)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot Bhim Sen Sachar Master Tara Singh
Party AIML INC SAD
Leader's seat Ferozpur-Central (Muhammadan-Rural) Lahore City (General-Urban) Ferozpur-South (Sikh-Rural)
Seats won 73 51 20
Seat change Increase 71 Increase33 Increase 10

  Fourth party
 
Leader Malik Khizar Hayat
Party Unionist
Leader's seat Khushab (Muhammadans-Rural), Northern Punjab and Western Punjab (Muhammadan Landholders)
Seats won 21
Seat change 79


Premier before election

Governor Rule
-

Elected Premier

Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana
Unionist

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.

Campaign

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

Constituency Type Urban Rural Total
General 8 34 42
Muhammadans 9 75 84
Sikhs 2 29 31
Special^ - - 18
Total 19 138 175

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

  • Women - 4
    • General - 1
    • Mohammadans - 2
    • Sikhs - 1
  • European - 1
  • Anglo-Indian - 1
  • Indian Christian - 2
  • Punjab Commerce and Industry - 1
  • Landholders - 5
    • General - 1
    • Mohammadans - 3
    • Sikhs - 1
  • Trade and Labour Unions - 3
  • University - 1

Voter Statistics

[edit]
  • Total Voters = 35,50,212
  • Vote Turnout = 61.16%
  • Total Voters in Territorial Constituencies = 33,87,283
    • Highest No. of Voters - 52,009 in Ludhiana-Ferozpur (General-Rural)
    • Lowest No. of Voters = 3,210 in Tarn Taran (Muhammadan-Rural)
    • Highest Turnout = 77.56% in Shahpur (Muhammadan-Rural)
    • Lowest Turnout = 5.48% in Amritsar City (General-Urban)
  • Total Voters in Non-Territorial Constituencies = 1,62,929
    • Highest No. of Voters = 70,708 in Amritsar (Women-Sikh)
    • Lowest No. of Voters = 9 in Baluch Tumandars (Landholders)
    • Highest Turnout = 97.45% in Punjab (Commerce and Industry)
    • Lowest Turnout = 16.69% in European

Election Schedule

[edit]
Event Date
Filing of Nominations 12 December 1945
Scrutiny of Nominations 15 December 1945
Polling 1 January 1946
Counting 15 February 1946

Results

[edit]

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

Party Seats won Change
All-India Muslim League 73 Increase 71
Indian National Congress 51 Increase 33
Shiromani Akali Dal 20 Increase 10
Unionist Party 21 Decrease 79
Independent 10 Decrease 05
Others 0 Decrease 30
Total 175

Category wise result

[edit]
S. No. Party Category (Seats)
General Urban (8) General Rural (34) Muhammadans Urban (9) Muhammadans Rural (75) Sikh Urban (2) Sikh Rural (29) Special (18) Total (175)
1 All-India Muslim League - - 9 62 - - 2 73
2 Indian National Congress 8 27 - 1 1 7 7 51
3 Shiromani Akali Dal - - - - 1 19 1 21
4 Unionist Party - 5 - 10 - - 4 19
5 Independent - 2 - 2 - 3 4 11

Constituency wise result

[edit]

Color key for the Party of Candidates

Other color keys

  •   Candidate Elected Unopposed
  •   Constituency reserved for Schedule Caste

General Urban

S. No. Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
1 1 Southern Towns Shri Ram Sharma Indian National Congress
2 2 South-Eastern Towns Shanno Devi
3 3 Eastern Towns Sudarshan Seth
4 4 Lahore City Bhim Sen Sachar
5 5 Amritsar City Sant Ram Seth
6 6 North-Eastern Towns Krishan Gopal Dutt
7 7 North-Western Towns Chaman Lal
8 8 South-Western Towns Harihar Lal

General Rural

S. No. Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
9 9 Hissar South Ranjit Singh Indian National Congress
10 10 Hansi Suraj Mal Unionist Party
11 11 Hissar North Sahib Ram Indian National Congress
12 12 Rohtak North Lahri Singh
13 13 Rohtak Central Badlu Ram
14 14 Jhajjar Sher Singh
15 15 North-western Gurgaon Manohar Singh Unionist Party
16 16 South-Eastern Gurgaon Prem Singh
17 South-Eastern Gurgaon Jiwan Lal Indian National Congress
18 17 Karnal South Chandan
19 18 Karnal North Jagdish Chandar
20 Karnal North Sundar Singh
21 19 Ambala-Simla Ratan Singh
22 Ambala-Simla Priti Singh Azad Independent
23 20 Kangra
North
Pancham Chand Indian National Congress
24 21 Kangra South Dalip Singh
25 22 Kangra East Bali Ram
26 23 Kangra West Bhagat Ram Sharma
27 24 Hoshiarpur West Mango Ram Unionist Party
28 Hoshiarpur West Mehar Chand Indian National Congress
29 25 Una Mohan Lal
30 26 Jullundhar Sant Ram Unionist Party
31 Jullundhar Gurbanta Singh Indian National Congress
32 27 Ludhiana-Ferozpur Matu Ram
33 Ludhiana-Ferozpur Ranbir Singh
34 28 Western Lahore Fakir Chand
35 29 Amritsar-Sialkot Kidar Nath Sehgal
36 Amritsar-Sialkot Sundar Singh
37 30 Gurdaspur Prabodh Chandra
38 31 Rawalpindi Tilak Raj Chadha
39 32 South-Eastern Multan Bihari Lal Chanana
40 33 Layallpur Jhang Dev Raj Seth
41 Layallpur Jhang Harbhajan Ram Independent
42 34 West Multan Virendra Indian National Congress

Muhammadan Urban

S. No. Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
43 35 Southern Towns Gulam Samad All-India Muslim League
44 36 South-Eastern Towns Shaukat Hayat Khan
45 37 Eastern Towns Barkat Ali
46 38 Inner Lahore Wazir Mohammed
47 39 Outer Lahore Mohammed Rafiq
48 40 Amritsar City Abdul Kareem Chauhan
49 41 North-Eastern Towns Karamat Ali
50 42 Rawalpindi Towns Firoz Khan Noon
51 43 Multan Towns Mohammed Amin

Muhammadan Rural

S. No Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
52 44 Hissar Saheb daad Khan All-India Muslim League
53 45 Rohtak Khurshid Khan
54 46 North-Western Gurgaon Ahmad Jan
55 47 South-Eastern Gurgaon Mohtab Khan
56 48 Karnal Abdul Hamid Khan
57 49 Ambala-Simla Mohammed Hasan
58 50 Kangra East-Hoshiarpur Ali Akbar Khan
59 51 Hoshiarpur West Rana Nasrullah Khan
60 52 Jullundur North Abdus Salam Khan
61 53 Jullundur South Wali Mohammed Gohir
62 54 Ludhiana Iqbal Ahmed Khan
63 55 Ferozpur Central Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot
64 56 Ferozpur East Bashir Ahmed
65 57 Fazilka Bagh Ali Sukera
66 58 Lahore South Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilibash
67 59 Chunian Muhammad Husain
68 60 Kasur Iftikhar-ud-din
69 61 Amritsar Nasrullah Khan
70 62 Tarn Taran Akram Ali Khan
71 63 Ajanala Zafrullah Khan Jhanian
72 64 Gurdaspur East Ghulam Farid
73 65 Batala Fateh Mohammed Sayal Independent
74 66 Shakargarh Abdul Ghaffar Khan All-India Muslim League
75 67 Sialkot North Nasar Din
76 68 Sialkot Center Muhammad Sarfraz Khan
77 69 Sialkot South Mumtaz Mohammed Khan Doultana
78 70 Gujranwala North Salah-ud-din Chatha
79 71 Gujranwala East Zafrullah Khan
80 72 Hafizabad Mohammed Khan Tarar
81 73 Sheikhupura Mohammed Husain Chatha
82 74 Nankana Sahib Shahadat Khan
83 75 Shahdara Roshan Din
84 76 Gujarat North Fazal Ilahi
85 77 Gujarat East Asghar Ali Khan Unionist Party
86 78 South-Eastern Gujarat Bahawal Bakhsh All-India Muslim League
87 79 North-Western Gujarat Jahan Khan
88 80 South-Western Gujarat Ghulam Rasul
89 81 Shahpur Sultan Ali Nangiana Unionist Party
90 82 Khushab Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana
91 83 Bhalwal Fazl Haq Piracha Indian National Congress
92 84 Sargodha Allah Baksh Tiwana Unionist Party
93 85 Jehlum Khair Mehdi Khan All-India Muslim League
94 86 Pind Dadan Khan Gazanfar Ali Khan
95 87 Chabwal Sarfraz Ali Khan
96 88 Rawalpindi Sadar Zafuul Haq
97 89 Gujar Khan Akbar Khan
98 90 Rawalpindi East Kale Khan
99 91 Attock North Mumtaz Ali Khan
100 92 Attock Central Mohammed Nawaz Khan Independent
101 93 Attock South Mohy-ud-din Lal Badshah Unionist Party
102 94 Mianwali North Abdur Sattar Khan All-India Muslim League
103 95 Mianwali South Mohammed Abdullah Khan Unionist Party
104 96 Montgomery Mohammed Khan Khatia All-India Muslim League
105 97 Okara Abdul Haq
106 98 Dipalpur Ashiq Hussain
107 99 Pakpattan Abdul Hamid Khan
108 100 Lyallpur Aziz Din
109 101 Samunduri Rai Mir Mohammed Khan
110 102 Toba Tek Singh Nurullah
111 103 Jaranwal Rai Anwar Khan
112 104 Jhang East Ghulam Mohammed Shah
113 105 Jhang Central Mubarak Ali Shah
114 106 Jhang West Mohammed Arif Khan Sial
115 107 Multan Ashiq Hussain Qureshi Unionist Party
116 108 Shujabad Mohammed Raja All-India Muslim League
117 109 Lodhran Gulam Mustafa Gilani
118 110 Mailsi Allah Yar Khan Doultana
119 111 Khanewal Budhan Shah Khagga
120 112 Kabirwala Naubahar Shah Bokhari
121 113 Muzaffargarh Sadar Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti
122 114 Alipur Mohammed Ibrahim Barq Unionist Party
123 115 Muzaffargarh North Gulam Jilani Gurmani All-India Muslim League
124 116 Dera Gaji Khan North Ata Mohammed Khan
125 117 Dera Gaji Khan Central Shah Faiz Mohammed Unionist Party
126 118 Dera Gaji Khan South Bahadur Khan Drishak All-India Muslim League

Sikh Urban

S. No. Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
127 119 Eastern Towns Inder Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
128 120 Western Towns Ujjal Singh

Sikh Rural

S. No. Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
129 121 South-Eastern Punjab Narotam Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
130 122 Ambala North Baldev Singh
131 123 Kangara North-Hoshiarpur Shiv Saran Singh
132 124 Hoshiarpur South Piara Singh
133 125 Jullundur West Swaran Singh
134 126 Jullundur East Kabul Singh Indian National Congress
135 127 Ludhiana East Kapur Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
136 128 Ludhiana Central Bachan Singh Indian National Congress
137 129 Jagraon Kehar Singh
138 130 Ferozpur North Rattan Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
139 131 Ferozpur East Rur Singh Indian National Congress
140 132 Ferozpur West Gurbachan Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
141 133 Ferozpur South Tara Singh
142 134 Lahore West Sardul Singh Independent
143 135 Kasur Sajjan Singh Indian National Congress
144 136 Amritsar North Ishar Singh Majhail Shiromani Akali Dal
145 137 Amritsar Central Udham Singh Nagoke
146 138 Amritsar South Partap Singh Kairon Indian National Congress
147 139 Gurdaspur North Shiv Singh
148 140 Batala Waryam Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
149 141 Sialkot Gurbachan Singh Bajwa Independent
150 142 Gujranwala-Shahadara Joginder Singh Mann Shiromani Akali Dal
151 143 Sheikhupura West Maan Singh
152 144 Gujarat Shahpur Prem Singh Independent
153 145 North-Western Punjab Jaswant Singh Duggal Shiromani Akali Dal
154 146 Montgomery East Narinder Singh
155 147 Lyallpur West Giani Kartar Singh
156 148 Lyallpur East Dalip Singh Kang
157 149 South-Western Punjab Ajit Singh

Special

S. No Cons. No. Constituency Winner Party
Women
158 150 Lahore City (General) Rameshwari Nehru Indian National Congress
159 151 Inner Lahore (Muhammadan) Begum Tassadaq Husain All-India Muslim League
160 152 Outer Lahore (Muhammadan) Jahagira Shah Nawaz
161 153 Amritsar South (Sikh) Raghbir Kaur Indian National Congress
Anglo-Indian
162 154 Punjab Anglo-Indian P. Manuel Independent
European
163 155 European P. H. Guest Independent
Indian Christian
164 156 East-Central Punjab Fazal Ilahi Independent
165 157 West-Central Punjab S. P. Sangha Unionist Party
Commerce and Industry
166 158 Punjab Commerce and Industry Bhagwan Das Indian National Congress
Landholders
167 159 Eastern Punjab (General) Durga Chand Kaushik Indian National Congress
168 160 Central Punjab (Sikh) Jagjit Singh Shiromani Akali Dal
169 161 Northern Punjab (Muhammadan) Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana Unionist Party
170 162 Western Punjab (Muhammadan) Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana
171 163 Baluch Tumandars (Muhammadan) Jamal Khan Leghari
Trade and Labour Unions
172 164 Punjab Trade and Labour Unions Ganga Saran Indian National Congress
173 165 Eastern Punjab Daud Ghaznavi
174 166 Northern Punjab Barkat Hayat Khan Independent
University
175 167 Punjab Universities Gopi Chand Bhargava Indian National Congress

Government formation

[edit]

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)

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

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

See also

[edit]

Zimni elections in Pakistan

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r 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