1946 Punjab Legislative Assembly election

Punjab Assembly Election of 1946 1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election British India parliamentary no 61.16% ( 3.07%) 1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly election 1937 1951 (West) →1952 (East) 1946 175 seats of the Punjab Provincial Assembly Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot (cropped).png 105 105 115 0 03 center 80x80px Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot All-India Muslim League Ferozpur-Central (Muhammadan-Rural) 73 71 680,823 Jalal A. 1985 The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan 83 32.8% Bhim Sen Sachar.png 105 105 115 0 03 center 80x80px Bhim Sen Sachar Indian National Congress Lahore City (General-Urban) 51 33 477,765 23.1% Master Tara Singh.png 105 105 115 0 0 center 80x80px Master Tara Singh Ferozpur-South (Sikh-Rural) Shiromani Akali Dal 20 10 160,763 7.8% Malik Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana.png 105 105 115 0 0 center 80x80px Malik Khizar Hayat Unionist Party (Punjab) Khushab (Muhammadans-Rural), Northern Punjab and Western Punjab (Muhammadan Landholders) 21 79 419,231 20.2% 250px 88 Premier Governor Rule - Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana Unionist Party (Punjab) thumb|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 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.Talbot I. A. 1980 The 1946 Punjab Elections Modern Asian Studies 14 1 65–91 312214 10.1017/s0026749x00012178 145320008 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.W. W. J. 1946 The Indian Elections – 1946 The World Today 2 4 167–175 40391905 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. The Quran became a symbol of the Muslim League at rallies, and pledges to vote were made on it. 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. A key achievement of their religious propaganda came in enticing Muslim Jats and Gujjars from their intercommunal tribal loyalties. 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. By the twentieth century, most Punjabi Muslims offered allegiance to a Pir as their religious guide, thus providing them considerable political influence. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. The Muslim League took advantage of this weakness and followed Congress's example of providing work to servicemen within its organisation. 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. 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. 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. 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 TypeUrbanRuralTotalNon-Muhammadan 83442Muhammadans97584Sikhs22931Special^ - -18Total 19138175 ^Special constituencies (non-territory constituency) were further divided into Categories and sub-categories as follow:- Women - 4 Non-Muhammadan - 1 Mohammadans - 2 Sikhs - 1 European - 1 Anglo-Indian - 1 Indian Christian - 2 Punjab Commerce and Industry - 1 Landholders - 5 Non-Muhammadan - 1 Mohammadans - 3 Sikhs - 1 Trade and Labour Unions - 3 University - 1 Voter Statistics Total Electorate = 3,550,212 Total Voters = 2,073,336 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 Event DateFiling of Nominations 12 December 1945Scrutiny of Nominations 15 December 1945Polling 1 January 1946Counting 15 February 1946 Results thumb|320px The Result of election was as follow:-Korson J. Henry Contemporary Problems of Pakistan BRILL 1974 978-90-04-47468-0 https://books.google.com/books?id=uJxjEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA20 20 PartySeats wonChangeVotesAll-India Muslim League73 71680,823Indian National Congress51 33477,765Unionist Party21 79419,231Shiromani Akali Dal20 10160,763Communist Party of India0 -39,516Independent10 05295,238Others0 30Total1752,073,336 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 - -2732Indian National Congress827 -1177513Shiromani Akali Dal - - - -1191214Unionist Party -5 -10 - -4195Independent -2 -2 -3411 Constituency wise result Color key for the Party of Candidates #256520 All-India Muslim League 1px solid black Indian National Congress Indian National Congress 1px solid black #FF9933 Shiromani Akali Dal 1px solid black blue Unionist Party 1px solid black #DDDDDD Independent 1px solid black Other color keys wheat Candidate Elected Unopposed 1px solid black lightyellow Constituency reserved for Schedule Caste 1px solid black General Urban S. No.Cons. No.Constituency WinnerParty11Southern TownsShri Ram SharmaIndian National Congress 22South-Eastern TownsShanno Devi33Eastern TownsSudarshan Seth44Lahore CityBhim Sen Sachar55Amritsar CitySant Ram Seth66North-Eastern TownsKrishan Gopal Dutt77North-Western TownsChaman Lal88South-Western TownsHarihar Lal General Rural S. No.Cons. No.Constituency WinnerParty99Hissar SouthRanjit SinghIndian National Congress 1010HansiSuraj MalUnionist Party 1111Hissar NorthSahib RamIndian National Congress 1212Rohtak North Lahri Singh1313Rohtak Central Badlu Ram1414JhajjarSher Singh1515North-western GurgaonManohar SinghUnionist Party 16 16South-Eastern GurgaonPrem Singh17South-Eastern GurgaonJiwan LalIndian National Congress 1817Karnal South Chandan19 18Karnal NorthJagdish Chandar20Karnal NorthSundar Singh21 19Ambala-SimlaRatan Singh22Ambala-SimlaPriti Singh AzadIndependent 2320Kangra NorthPancham Chand Indian National Congress 2421Kangra SouthDalip Singh2522Kangra EastBali Ram2623Kangra WestBhagat Ram Sharma27 24Hoshiarpur WestMangu Ram MuggowaliaUnionist Party 28Hoshiarpur WestMehar ChandIndian National Congress 2925UnaMohan Lal30 26JullundharSant RamUnionist Party 31JullundharGurbanta SinghIndian National Congress 32 27Ludhiana-FerozpurMatu Ram33Ludhiana-FerozpurRanbir Singh3428Western LahoreFakir Chand35 29Amritsar-SialkotKidar Nath Sehgal36Amritsar-SialkotSundar Singh3730Gurdaspur Prabodh Chandra3831RawalpindiTilak Raj Chadha3932South-Eastern Multan Bihari Lal Chanana40 33Layallpur JhangDev Raj Seth41Layallpur JhangHarbhajan RamIndependent 4234West MultanVirendraIndian National Congress Muhammadan Urban S. No.Cons. No.ConstituencyWinner Party4335Southern TownsGulam Samad All-India Muslim League 4436South-Eastern TownsShaukat Hayat Khan4537Eastern TownsBarkat Ali 4638Inner LahoreWazir Mohammed 4739Outer LahoreMohammed Rafiq4840Amritsar CityAbdul Kareem Chohan4941North-Eastern TownsKaramat Ali5042Rawalpindi TownsFiroz Khan Noon 5143Multan TownsMohammed Amin Muhammadan Rural S. NoCons. No.Constituency WinnerParty5244HissarSaheb daad Khan All-India Muslim League 5345RohtakKhurshid Khan5446North-Western GurgaonAhmad Jan5547South-Eastern GurgaonMohtab Khan5648KarnalAbdul Hamid Khan5749Ambala-SimlaMohammed Hasan5850Kangra East-HoshiarpurAli Akbar Khan5951Hoshiarpur WestRana Nasrullah Khan6052Jullundur NorthAbdus Salam Khan6153Jullundur SouthWali Mohammed Gohir6254LudhianaIqbal Ahmed Khan6355Ferozpur CentralIftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot 6456Ferozpur EastBashir Ahmed6557FazilkaBagh Ali Sukera6658Lahore SouthMuzaffar Ali Khan Qizilibash6759ChunianMuhammad Husain6860KasurIftikhar-ud-din6961Amritsar Nasrullah Khan 7062Tarn TaranAkram Ali Khan 7163AjanalaZafrullah Khan Jhanian7264Gurdaspur EastGhulam Farid7365BatalaFateh Mohammed SayalIndependent 7466ShakargarhAbdul Ghaffar KhanAll-India Muslim League 7567Sialkot NorthNasar Din7668Sialkot CenterMuhammad Sarfraz Khan7769Sialkot South Mumtaz Mohammed Khan Doultana 7870Gujranwala NorthSalah-ud-din Chatha7971Gujranwala EastZafrullah Khan 8072HafizabadMohammed Khan Tarar8173SheikhupuraMohammed Husain Chatha8274Nankana SahibShahadat Khan8375ShahdaraRoshan Din8476Gujarat NorthFazal Ilahi8577Gujarat EastAsghar Ali Khan Unionist Party 8678South-Eastern Gujarat Bahawal BakhshAll-India Muslim League 8779North-Western Gujarat Jahan Khan Busal8880South-Western Gujarat Ghulam Rasul8981ShahpurSultan Ali NangianaUnionist Party 9082KhushabMalik Khizar Hayat Tiwana 9183BhalwalFazl Haq PirachaIndian National Congress 9284Sargodha Allah Baksh TiwanaUnionist Party 9385JehlumKhair Mehdi KhanAll-India Muslim League 9486Pind Dadan KhanRaja Ghazanfar Ali Khan 9587ChakwalRaja Muhammed Sarfraz Khan 9688Rawalpindi SadarZafuul Haq9789Gujar KhanAkbar Khan9890Rawalpindi EastKale Khan 9991Attock NorthMumtaz Ali Khan 100 92Attock Central Mohammed Nawaz KhanIndependent 10193Attock South Mohy-ud-din Lal BadshahUnionist Party 10294Mianwali NorthAbdur Sattar Khan All-India Muslim League 10395Mianwali SouthMohammed Abdullah KhanUnionist Party 10496MontgomeryMohammed Khan KhatiaAll-India Muslim League 10597OkaraAbdul Haq10698DipalpurAshiq Hussain 10799PakpattanAbdul Hamid Khan 108100LyallpurAziz Din109101SamunduriRai Mir Mohammed Khan 110102Toba Tek SinghNurullah 111103JaranwalRai Anwar Khan 112104Jhang EastGhulam Mohammed Shah113105Jhang CentralMubarak Ali Shah114106Jhang WestMohammed Arif Khan Sial115107MultanAshiq Hussain QureshiUnionist Party 116108ShujabadMohammed RajaAll-India Muslim League 117109LodhranGulam Mustafa Gilani 118110MailsiAllah Yar Khan Doultana119111KhanewalBudhan Shah Khagga120112KabirwalaNaubahar Shah Bokhari121113Muzaffargarh SadarAbdul Hamid Khan Dasti122114AlipurMohammed Ibrahim BarqUnionist Party 123115Muzaffargarh NorthGulam Jilani GurmaniAll-India Muslim League 124116Dera Gaji Khan NorthAta Mohammed Khan 125117Dera Gaji Khan Central Shah Faiz Mohammed Unionist Party 126118Dera Gaji Khan SouthBahadur Khan DrishakAll-India Muslim League Sikh Urban S. No.Cons. No.Constituency WinnerParty127119Eastern TownsInder Singh Shiromani Akali Dal 128120Western TownsUjjal Singh Sikh Rural S. No.Cons. No.Constituency WinnerParty129121South-Eastern PunjabNarotam Singh Shiromani Akali Dal130122Ambala NorthBaldev Singh131123Kangara North-Hoshiarpur Shiv Saran Singh 132124Hoshiarpur SouthPiara Singh133125Jullundur WestSwaran Singh134126Jullundur EastKabul SinghIndian National Congress 135127Ludhiana EastKapur SinghShiromani Akali Dal 136128Ludhiana CentralBachan SinghIndian National Congress 137129Jagraon Kehar Singh138130Ferozpur NorthRattan SinghShiromani Akali Dal 139131Ferozpur EastRur SinghIndian National Congress 140132Ferozpur WestGurbachan SinghShiromani Akali Dal 141133Ferozpur SouthTara Singh142134Lahore WestSardul SinghIndependent 143135KasurSajjan SinghIndian National Congress 144136Amritsar NorthIshar Singh Majhail Shiromani Akali Dal 145137Amritsar CentralUdham Singh Nagoke146138Amritsar SouthPartap Singh KaironIndian National Congress 147139Gurdaspur NorthShiv Singh 148140BatalaWaryam SinghShiromani Akali Dal 149141SialkotGurbachan Singh BajwaIndependent 150142Gujranwala-ShahadaraJoginder Singh Mann Shiromani Akali Dal 151143Sheikhupura WestMaan Singh 152144Gujarat ShahpurPrem Singh Independent 153145North-Western Punjab Jaswant Singh DuggalShiromani Akali Dal 154146Montgomery EastNarinder Singh 155147Lyallpur WestGiani Kartar Singh156148Lyallpur EastDalip Singh Kang157149South-Western Punjab Ajit Singh Special S. NoCons. No.Constituency WinnerPartyWomen158150Lahore City (General)Rameshwari NehruIndian National Congress 159151Inner Lahore (Muhammadan)Begum Tassadaq Husain All-India Muslim League 160152Outer Lahore (Muhammadan)Jahagira Shah Nawaz161153Amritsar South (Sikh)Raghbir KaurIndian National Congress Anglo-Indian162154Punjab Anglo-IndianP. ManuelIndependent European 163155European P. H. GuestIndependentIndian Christian 164156East-Central Punjab Fazal Ilahi Independent 165157West-Central PunjabS. P. SanghaUnionist Party Commerce and Industry 166158Punjab Commerce and Industry Bhagwan DasIndian National Congress Landholders167159Eastern Punjab (General)Durga Chand KaushikIndian National Congress 168160Central Punjab (Sikh)Jagjit SinghShiromani Akali Dal 169161Northern Punjab (Muhammadan)Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana Unionist Party170162Western Punjab (Muhammadan) Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana 171163Baluch Tumandars (Muhammadan)Jamal Khan LeghariTrade and Labour Unions 172164Punjab Trade and Labour Unions Ganga SaranIndian National Congress 173165Eastern Punjab Daud Ghaznavi174166Northern Punjab Barkat Hayat Khan Independent University175167Punjab UniversitiesGopi Chand Bhargava Indian National Congress Government formation A coalition consisting of the Congress, Unionist Party and the Akalis was formed in Punjab.https://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=260&view=text Schwartzberg Atlas A Historical Atlas of South Asia Joseph E. Schwartzberg 10 February 2017 12 July 2022 https://web.archive.org/web/20220712174110/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/reference/schwartzberg/pager.html?object=260&view=text dead Ishtiaq Ahmed has given an accountIshtiaq Ahmed 2018 The Punjab Bloodied, Partitioned and Cleansed: Unraveling the 1947 Tragedy through Secret British Reports and First Person Accounts Oxford University Press 978-0-19-940659-3 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.page xxviii-xxix of Punjab Vidhan Sabha Compendium https://web.archive.org/web/20180925104313/http://www.punjabassembly.nic.in/images/docs/compendium_doc.pdf 2018-09-25 . Retrieved on 12 January 2019. 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.Turmoil in Punjab Politics. pp.27 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 Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot#Chief Minister of West Punjab On 15 August 1947, Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot was elected Chief minister by members of the newly elected West Punjab Assembly. References Category:Pakistan Movement Category:Political history of India Category:Political history of Pakistan Category:1946 elections in India Category:1946 in British India Category:State Assembly elections in Punjab, India Punjab