1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election

First provincial legislative assembly election of East Bengal in Pakistan February 2025 Pakistan parliamentary 1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election 1946 1962 East Pakistan Provincial Assembly election 1962 All 309 seats in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly 156 8–12 March 1954 A k fazlul hoque.jpg A. K. Fazlul Huq United Front (East Pakistan) 223 Nurul Amin Muslim League (Pakistan) 9 3x4.svg Rasaraj Mandal East Bengal Scheduled Castes Federation 0000ff 27 Basanta Kumar Das Pakistan National Congress 24 Prime Minister Nurul Amin Muslim League (Pakistan) A. K. Fazlul Huq United Front (East Pakistan) List of members of the 2nd Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan List of members of the 1st Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947.Nair 1990 137 The opposition United Front, led by the Awami Muslim League and Krishak Sramik Party, won a landslide victory with 223 of the 309 seats.Nair 1990 165 The Muslim League Chief Minister of East Pakistan, Nurul Amin, was defeated in his own constituency by Khaleque Nawaz Khan by over 7,000 votes, with all the Muslim League ministers losing their seats.Nair 1990 167 Background The Bengal Legislative Assembly had been elected as part of the provincial elections in 1946 in British Bengal. Following the partition of Bengal, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly was created, consisting of all Muslim members and some Hindu members of the former Assembly, alongside members representing Sylhet in the Assam Legislative Assembly (as the region had voted to join Pakistan). Due to delays in implementing the constitution of Pakistan, its term was extended several times, with around 34 seats (reserved for Hindus living in East Bengal) left vacant as the Hindu members elected from East Bengal in 1946 had migrated to West Bengal (where they became the members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly) to escape the communal riots unleashed by the partition and the 1950 East Pakistan riots, with by-elections not held by the Pakistani administration to replace them.Nair 1990 136 Muslim League was the de facto political party in East Bengal before the partition of India and won the 1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election. It paved the way for them in succeeding the Pakistan movement which led to the creation of Pakistan. During the movement, the Muslim majority of East Bengal came under one political umbrella of the Muslim League in favor of an independent Muslim majority state. In order to achieve this solitary goal of Pakistan, they have avoided any other internal issues between them and promised themselves to mitigate the concerns after the partition. But after independence, several unsatisfied factions inside Muslim League have found their issues neglected by the central leaders. As a result, many leaders of Muslim League who demanded internal changes in the party supported independent candidate Shamsul Huq in the Tangail South by-election against the party nominee Khurram Khan Panni.Ghosh 2007 3 Shamsul Huq's victory in that election and the subsequent cancellation of the result encouraged him along with other leaders like Maulana Bhashani to form Awami Muslim League in June 1949.Nair 1990 126-140Ghosh 2007 4 The executive leaders of the Muslim League focused more on their feudal interest instead of fulfilling the demand of the common people. Their popularity took a serious blow when president of the provincial party and the Chief minster of East Bengal Nurul Amin tried to suppress Bengali language movement in the form of violence. Even though some of the executive roles of the party were occupied by the leaders born in East Bengal, these leaders were unable to reflect the socio-economic needs of the eastern part of Pakistan. Unemployment and communal conflicts have exposed the existing leadership's inexperience and lack of clear policies in governing a new state. The Muslim League was also accused of not contemplating on the proposals of their own party members and thus failed to stop them from forming new political identities.Nair 1990 126-140 Electoral system Under the Government of India Act of 1935, which was the main law of the Dominion of Pakistan until the constitution of Pakistan came into effect in 1956, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly consisted of 309 seats, of which 228 were reserved for Muslims, 36 for scheduled castes, 12 for women (nine Muslims, one Hindu, and two scheduled castes), two for Buddhists, and one for Christians.Nair 1990 166 There were also 30 'general' seats for Hindus.Nair 1990 166 A total of 19,541,563 voters were registered for the elections, of which 9,239,720 were women.Nair 1990 166 Of the total voters, 15,159,825 were able to vote in the Muslim seats, 2,303,578 in the scheduled caste seats, 2,095,355 in the Hindu seats, 136,417 in the Buddhist seats, and 43,911 for the Christian seat.Nair 1990 166 Campaign The Muslim League published its manifesto on 13 December 1953, calling for Bengali to be made an official state language, reform in agriculture and education, and improvements in healthcare,Nair 1990 137-138 and began its campaign in January 1954.Nair 1990 156 The Awami Muslim League published a 41-point manifesto focusing on autonomy, political reform, and nationalisation.Nair 1990 139 The Communists published a 22-point manifesto on 2 December, calling for them to be the leading party in a united front against the Muslim League, as well as promoting autonomy and the recognition of Bengali.Nair 1990 145 Several opposition parties called for the creation of an opposition front, with agreement reached between the Awami Muslim League and the Krishak Sramik Party on 4 December.Nair 1990 148 The Front was later joined by the Nizam-e-Islam Party and Ganatantri Dal.Nair 1990 149 A total of 1,285 candidates contested the elections: 986 for the 228 Muslim seats, 151 for the 36 scheduled caste seats, 103 for the 30 Hindu seats, 37 for the women's seats, and 12 for the two Buddhist seats. The Christian seat had only one candidate, as did the Hindu women's seat and one of the scheduled caste seats. Two Hindu seats also had one candidate who was returned unopposed.Nair 1990 166 The Muslim League and United Front ran candidates in all 237 Muslim seats.Nair 1990 137 Results List of members of the 2nd Provincial Assembly of East Pakistan The results were conclusive; with 7,344,216 votes being cast, voter turnout was around 37%, with Muslim turnout being around 38% and non-Muslim turnout around 35%. Various causes for such a low output have been suggested, including disenfranchisement of Muslim women by their conservative male family members and poor infrastructure and communications in rural areas.Elections 1954 https://en.banglapedia.org/index.php/Elections_1954 2025-01-14 Banglapedia The United Front won 223 of the 237 Muslim seats in the provincial assembly and obtained nearly 64% of the vote. In contrast, the Muslim League won only nine seats and secured less than 27% of the vote in the contested constituencies. Nair 1990 165-166 Among the most exciting aspects of the election was the defeat of several ministers, including Nurul Amin, the Muslim League Chief Minister.Rashiduzzaman, M. (1970). The Awami League in the political development of Pakistan. Asian Survey, 10(7), 574-587. A. K. Fazlul Huq was elected in two constituencies,Nair 1990 137 forcing a by-election in one of them. The Khilafat-i-Rabbani Party of AKM Rafiq Ullah Choudhury, which had also participated in the Bengali language movement, won one Muslim seat. The East Bengal Scheduled Castes Federation (the East Bengal unit of the SCF founded by B. R. Ambedkar) won the most seats reserved for scheduled castes, while the Pakistan National Congress (the Pakistani unit of the Indian National Congress) won the most Hindu seats. The Minority United Front, consisting of Pakistan Gana Samiti, Pakistan Socialist Party, and Abhay Ashram, contested both scheduled caste and Hindu seats. The Communist Party of Pakistan won four Hindu seats but failed to win any Muslim seats. The Ganatantri Dal was the only party to win both Hindu and Muslim seats. United Front 4 All-Pakistan Awami League(Awami Muslim League) 143 #FF0000 Krishak Sramik Party 48 Nizam-e-Islam Party 19 Ganatantri Dal 13 Muslim League 9 #006600 Khilafat-i-Rabbani Party 1 Independents 4 Muslim seats 5760179 237 #EAECF0 Scheduled Caste Federation 27 #000080 Pakistan National Congress 24 #00BFFF Minority United Front 10 Communist Party 4 Ganatantri Dal 3 Buddhists 2 Christian 1 Independent Hindu 1 Non-Muslim seats 1584037 72 #EAECF0 7344216 19541563 Nair Cabinet Third Huq ministry Members of the newly elected Legislative Assembly were sworn in on 25 March 1954. The United Front cabinet was initially sworn in on 3 April 1954, with the fully expanded cabinet sworn in on 15 May 1954 under the leadership of Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq.Trivedi, Rabindra Nath bn bn:বাংলাদেশের ঐতিহাসিক সংগ্রাম ও মুক্তিযুদ্ধঃ প্রাসঙ্গিক দলিলপত্র Chief Minister Sher-e-BanglaAbul Kasem Fazlul Huq Krishak Sramik Party 3 April 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Civil Supplies Ataur Rahman Khan All-Pakistan Awami League 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Finance Abu Hussain Sarkar Krishak Sramik Party 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Law and Justice Kafiluddin Chowdhury Krishak Sramik Party 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Public Health Abul Mansur Ahmad All-Pakistan Awami League 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Education Syed Azizul Huq Krishak Sramik Party 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Industries and Labour Abdus Salam Khan All-Pakistan Awami League 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Rural Development and Co-operatives Sheikh Mujibur Rahman All-Pakistan Awami League 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Revenue and Land Reform Abdul Latif Biswas 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of State Acquisition Moazzam Uddin Hussain 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Commerce and Power Development Hamid Uddin 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Agriculture, Forest and Jute Yusuf Ali Chowdhury Krishak Sramik Party 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Medical and Jail Razzaqul Haider Chowdhury Krishak Sramik Party 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Minister of Roads and Housing Ashrafuddin Chowdhury Nizam-e-Islam Party 15 May 1954 29 May 1954 Aftermath Following the elections, independent Assembly member Fazlal Qadir Chowdhury joined the Muslim League to give them ten seats, allowing the party to form a parliamentary group.Nair 1990 137 On 15 May 1954, when Haq expanded the cabinet to include members of the Awami League, deadly clashes broke out between the Bengali-speaking Bengali Muslim and Urdu-speaking Bihari Muslim labourers at the Adamjee Jute Mills, leaving around 1,500 dead. The Communist Party of Pakistan was blamed for inciting the violence. On 30 May, Haq was put under house arrest, the United Front ministry and the Legislative Assembly were dissolved, and East Bengal was put under governor's rule by Governor-General Malik Ghulam Muhammad. 1,600 United Front workers, including 30 MLAs, were imprisoned on charges of fomenting dissent. Legacy The defeat of the Muslim League created an idiom in the Bengali language, "Hate Hariken Dhoriye Deya" (bn হাতে হারিকেন ধরিয়ে দেয়া Hand over the lantern) as the party's election symbol was the lantern (hariken in Bengali).https://www.tbsnews.net/features/panorama/origins-electoral-symbols-749946 The origins of electoral symbols 2 December 2023 The Business Standard Soon after the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, the Pakistani government implemented its One Unit Scheme, under which East Bengal became East Pakistan. This move was not supported by the masses and increased hostility towards the Punjabi-dominated central government.February 2025 The United Front promoted the idea of regional autonomy, which eventually led to the independence of Bangladesh.Nair 1990 126 Bibliography Nair M Bhaskaran Politics in Bangladesh: A Study of Awami League, 1949-58 English Northern Book Centre (New Delhi) India 81-85119-79-1 https://web.archive.org/web/20170917171607/http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/67065/8/08_chapter%204.pdf 1990 Ghosh Shyamali আওয়ামী লীগ: ১৯৪৯-১৯৭১ AWAMI LEAGUE 1949-1971 Bengali The University Press Limited Bangladesh 9840502840 2007 References East Bengal Category:1950s in East Pakistan Category:Elections in East Pakistan Category:Muslim League (1947–1958)