1946 Indian provincial elections


Provincial elections were held in British India in January 1946 to elect members of the legislative councils of British Indian provinces. The consummation of British rule in India were the 1945/1946 elections. As minor political parties were eliminated, the political scene became restricted to the Indian National Congress and the All-India Muslim League who were more antagonised than ever. The Congress, in a repeat of the 1937 elections, won 90 percent of the general non-Muslim seats while the Muslim League won the majority of Muslim seats in the provinces. Only 16% of Indian Muslims, mainly those from upper class, were able to vote. Nevertheless, the All India Muslim League verified its claim to be the sole representative of Muslim India. The election laid the path to Pakistan.

Background

On 19 September 1945, following negotiations between Indian leaders and members of the 1946 Cabinet Mission to India from the United Kingdom, the Viceroy Lord Wavell announced that elections to the provincial and central legislatures would be held in December 1945 to January 1946. It was also announced that an executive council would be formed and a constitution-making body would be convened after these elections. These elections were important as the provincial assemblies thus formed were to then elect a new Constituent Assembly which would begin formulating a constitution for an independent India. All contesting parties began campaigning. The Congress contended that it represented the entire Indian population while the Muslim League professed to speak for the whole Muslim population. The dominant issue of the election campaign became the issue of Pakistan.
Originally, the Muslim League had been a party which received most of its support from the Muslim-minority provinces, where fear of Hindu ‘domination’ was greater as was the sense of ‘a loss of privilege’, and to showcase its argument for Muslim nationhood the League needed support from both Muslim-majority as well as Muslim-minority provinces. In the election campaign, the League resorted to establishing networks with traditional power bases, such as landowners and the religious elite, in the Muslim-majority provinces to win support. Religious slogans were utilized and the term ‘Pakistan’ was put forward. Some scholars state that the meaning of Pakistan was kept vague so that it meant different things to different people. On the other hand, Venkat Dhulipala observes that, rather than being vague, the proposals for Pakistan were vigorously debated in public, maps printed, economic foundations analysed and Pakistan was envisioned as a modern Islamic state.
In contrast to earlier elections, religious commitment was intertwined with a declaration of Muslim communal unity. Casting the vote became an Islamic act. Consequently, for the Muslim electorate, Pakistan represented both a nation-state for India's Muslims, but one which surpassed the common state structure, and an awakening of an Islamic polity where Islam would be blended with the state's functioning.

Punjab

The Unionist Party contested election under the leadership of Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana but 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.
A key battleground during the elections was the Punjab province. 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. 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.

Results

The results were in favour of the Indian National Congress, which won 91 percent of the vote in non-Muslim constituencies, thus proving that for most Hindus it was the legitimate successor to the British rule. The acceptance of British authority by politically active Indians would be questionable had Britain intended to remain. Of the total of 1585 seats, it won 923
The All-India Muslim League won 425 seats, placing it as the second-ranking party. It captured all Muslim constituencies in the central assembly as well as most of the Muslim constituencies in the provincial legislatures. The vote opened the path to Pakistan. The system of separate electorates ensured that Muslim contestants would compete with other Muslim candidates instead of facing non-Muslim contestants. Thus, the establishment of Pakistan was debated mainly among Muslims themselves.
The Muslim League's biggest success was in Bengal where out of 119 seats for Muslims, it won 113. The League reinforced its vote in the Muslim minority provinces. It won 54 out of 64 Muslim seats in the United Provinces and 34 of Bihar's 40 Muslim seats. It captured all Muslim seats in Bombay and Madras. The party demonstrated that it was the representative of Muslim India.
The Communist Party of India had presented 108 candidates, out of whom only 8 won a seat. The set-back came as a result of the decision of the party not to support the Quit India movement of 1942. Seven out of the eight seats it won were reserved for labour representatives. All in all, the Communist Party obtained 2.5% of the popular vote. Albeit far from competing with the two main parties, the communists became the third force in terms of the popular vote. Amongst the communist candidates elected were Jyoti Basu, Ratanlal Brahman and Rupnarayan Ray.
The results for the North West Frontier Province came through in March. Congress achieved a strong majority, largely due to the personality of Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, enabling them to form a government without trouble.
In the Punjab, the concerted effort of the Muslim League led to its greatest success, winning 75 seats of the total Muslim seats and becoming the largest single party in the Assembly. The Unionist Party suffered heavy losses winning only 20 seats in total. The Congress was the second largest party, winning 43 seats, whilst the Sikh centric Akali Dal came third with 22 seats.
In Assam, Congress won all of the general seats, and most of those reserved for special interest, thus forming the local government. The Muslim League won all of the Muslim seats.
In the Muslim majority province of Sind, the Muslim League won the most seats. Congress however also achieved strong results, and initially hoped to form a coalition in government with four Muslims who had defected from the Muslim League. At the last minute, one of the four Muslim dissidents went over to the Muslim League, handing them a majority of one. Congress then lobbied three European members, who would swing the balance of power into their favour, but their overtures were rejected. The Governor of Sind therefore asked the Muslim League to form the local government.

Legislative Assemblies

Overall Muslim League Performance

In the elections, the appeal for Pakistan was crucial for the Muslim league's victory. According to Robert Stern, religious fervour played part in the league's victory. In Punjab also religious appeal was the factor in the battle between the league and the muslim members of the Unionist party who were not interested in Pakistan.
ProvinceMuslim SeatsMuslim League% Of Muslim Seats won by Muslim League
Assam343191%
Bengal11911395%
Bihar403485%
Bombay3030100%
Central Provinces141393%
Madras2929100%
North West Frontier Province361747%
Orissa44100%
Punjab867486%
Sind342882%
United Provinces665482%
Total49242987%

Aftermath

The Congress formed its ministries in Assam, Bihar, Bombay, Central Provinces, Madras, NWFP, Orissa and United Provinces. The Muslim League formed its ministries in Bengal and Sind. A coalition consisting of the Congress, Unionist Party and the Akalis was formed in Punjab.
Ishtiaq Ahmed has given a well documented account of how the Coalition Government in the United Punjab collapsed as a result of a massive campaign launched by the then Punjab Muslim League. AIML deemed the coalition government as a 'non-representative' government and thought it was their right to bring such government down. AIML called for a 'Civil Disobedience' movement. This led to bloody communal riots in Punjab during the later part of 1946. By early 1947, the 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 Mr. Khizer Haya 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-Dall Sikkhs who, with 22 seats, were major stake-holders in the coalition along with Congress and the Unionist Party, were infuriated over the dissolution of the Khizer 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 on wards, Punjab was engulfed in such bloodied communal riots that the history had never witnessed before. Eventually, Punjab had to be partitioned into the Indian and Pakistani Punjab. In the process, over a million of innocent people were massacred, millions were forced to cross-over and to become refugees while thousands of women were abducted, raped and killed, across all religious communities in Punjab.