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All 250 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly 125 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1937 Bengal Legislative Assemblyelection was held in January 1937 as part of the broader 1937 Indian provincial elections introduced under the Government of India Act 1935. It marked the establishment of the Bengal Legislative Assembly with expanded powers and provincial autonomy. The election resulted in a hung assembly, with the Krishak Praja Party, led by A. K. Fazlul Huq, forming a coalition government.
The Government of India Act 1935 introduced significant constitutional reforms, aiming to grant greater self-governance to Indians under British colonial rule. Among its most notable provisions was the establishment of provincial autonomy, replacing the dyarchy introduced by the 1919 Act. Under the 1935 Act, Indian ministers were given full control over provincial portfolios, with the exception of defense, external affairs, and certain matters related to the Governor’s discretionary powers. [1]
In the Province of Bengal, the Act established a bicameral legislature, comprising the Legislative Assembly (lower house) and the Legislative Council (upper house). The Legislative Assembly consisted of 250 members, elected through a system of separate electorates that reflected the communal and socio-economic divisions in colonial Bengal. The electorate was limited and based largely on property, income, and education qualifications, which disproportionately favored landowners, urban elites, and business interests. [2]
The 250 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly were categorized into various communal and functional constituencies. These included seats reserved for Muslims, Hindus, Scheduled Castes (Depressed Classes), Europeans, Indian Christians, Anglo-Indians, landlords, commerce and industry, and universities. Of these, 117 seats were reserved for Muslims, 78 for Hindus, and 30 for Scheduled Castes, while the remaining were distributed among other interest-based categories. [2]
The Act allowed Indian ministers to form cabinets and manage internal provincial affairs, provided they commanded the confidence of the majority in the Assembly. However, the Governor retained overriding authority in certain matters, including the power to dismiss ministries and veto legislation. This tension between Indian autonomy and colonial control remained a key political issue throughout the tenure of the provincial governments formed under the 1935 Act. [3]
The allocation of 250 seats in the assembly was based on the communal award. It is illustrated in the following. [4]
The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party overall with 54 seats, but it fell far short of a majority. The Krishak Praja Party (KPP) and Muslim League, both primarily Muslim-based parties, gained significant influence in the Muslim-majority constituencies. The Muslim League notably gained strength in urban Muslim areas, while the KPP, representing rural Muslim peasants, had success in rural constituencies. Despite the League winning fewer total seats than Congress, it secured a stronger presence in the reserved Muslim seats due to communal electorate divisions. [5]
| Party | Hindu urban | Hindu rural | Hindu women | Muslim urban | Muslim rural | Muslim women | Indian Christian | Anglo-Indian | Anglo-Indian women | European | Landholders | Commerce | Labour | Universities | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indian National Congress | 11 | 37 (inclusive of 7 seats reserved for Dalits) | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | - | 54 |
| All India Muslim League | - | - | - | 6 | 30 | 2 | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | 1 | 40 |
| Krishak Praja Party | - | - | - | - | 36 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 36 |
| Tripura Krishak Samiti | - | - | - | - | 5 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 5 |
| Akhil Bharatiya Hindu Mahasabha | 1 | 2 (both reserved for Dalits) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 | - | - | - | 4 |
| Congress Nationalist Party | - | 1 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 1 |
| Independent Hindus | - | 26 (inclusive of 21 seats reserved for Dalits) | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 37 |
| Independent Muslims | - | - | - | - | 40 | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | - | 42 |
| Unaligned | - | - | - | - | - | - | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | - | 14 | - | - | 31 |
| Total | 12 | 66 (inclusive of 30 seats reserved for Dalits) | 2 | 6 | 111 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 11 | 5 | 19 | 8 | 2 | 250 |
| Reservation | Constituency | Member |
|---|---|---|
| Hindu | Calcutta North | Jatindranath Basu |
| Calcutta East | Santoshkumar Basu | |
| Calcutta West | Prabhudayal Himmatsinghka | |
| Calcutta Central | J. M. Dasgupta | |
| Calcutta South Central | Jogeshchandra Gupta | |
| Calcutta South | Saratchandra Basu | |
| 24 Parganas North West | P. Banerjee | |
| 24 Parganas North West (Depressed Classes) | Anukulchandra Das | |
| 24 Parganas South East | Ray Bahadur Jogeshchandra Sen | |
| 24 Parganas South East (Depressed Classes) | Hemchandra Naskar | |
| 24 Parganas Municipal | Rai Harendranath Choudhury | |
| Nadiya | Haripada Chattopadhyay | |
| Nadiya (Depressed Classes) | Lakshminarayan Biswas | |
| Murshidabad | Sasankasekhar Sanyal | |
| Murshidabad (Depressed Classes) | Kiritbhushan Das | |
| Jessore | Atulkrishna Ghosh | |
| Jessore (Depressed Classes) | Rasiklal Biswas | |
| Khulna | Nagendranath Sen | |
| Khulna (Depressed Classes) | Patiram Ray | |
| Mukundabihari Mullick | ||
| Presidency Division Municipal | Dr. Nalinaksha Sanyal | |
| Hooghly North East | Dhirendranarayan Mukherjee | |
| Hooghly North East (Depressed Classes) | Radhanath Das | |
| Hooghly South West | Sukumar Dutta | |
| Howrah | Manmathanath Ray | |
| Howrah (Depressed Classes) | Pulinbihari Mullick | |
| Hooghly-cum-Howrah Municipal | Baradaprasanna Pyne | |
| Burdwan Central | Maharaja Kumar Udaychand Mahtab of Bardhaman | |
| Burdwan Central (Depressed Classes) | Advaitakumar Majhi | |
| Burdwan North West | Pramathanath Banerjee | |
| Burdwan North West (Depressed Classes) | Bankubihari Mandal | |
| Birbhum | Saratchandra Mukherjee | |
| Birbhum (Depressed Classes) | Debendranath Das | |
| Bankura West | Manindrabhushan Singha | |
| Bankura West (Depressed Classes) | Ashutosh Mullick | |
| Bankura East | Kamalkrishna Ray | |
| Midnapore Central | Debendralal Khan | |
| Midnapore Central (Depressed Classes) | Krishnaprasad Mandal | |
| Midnapore East | Dr. Gobindachandra Bhaumik | |
| Midnapore South West | Ishwarchandra Mal | |
| Midnapore South East | Nikunjabihari Maiti | |
| Jhargram-cum-Ghatal | Kishoripati Ray | |
| Jhargram-cum-Ghatal (Depressed Classes) | Harendra Dolui | |
| Burdwan Division North Municipal | Tulshichandra Goswami | |
| Rajshahi | Satyapriya Banerjee | |
| Malda | Atulchandra Kumar | |
| Malda (Depressed Classes) | Tarinicharan Pramanik | |
| Dinajpur | Nisithanath Kundu | |
| Dinajpur (Depressed Classes) | Premhari Barma | |
| Shyamaprasad Barman | ||
| Jalpaiguri-cum-Siliguri | Khagendranath Dasgupta | |
| Jalpaiguri-cum-Siliguri (Depressed Classes) | Upendranath Barman | |
| Prasannadeb Raikut | ||
| Darjeeling | Damber Singh Gurung | |
| Rangpur | Jatindranath Chakraborty | |
| Rangpur (Depressed Classes) | Pushpajit Barma | |
| Kshetranath Singha | ||
| Bogra-cum-Pabna | Narendranarayan Chakraborty | |
| Bogra-cum-Pabna (Depressed Classes) | Madhusudan Sarkar | |
| North Bengal Municipal | Surendramohan Maitra | |
| Dacca East | Manoranjan Banerjee | |
| Dacca East (Depressed Classes) | Dhananjay Ray | |
| Dacca West | Kiranshankar Ray | |
| Mymensingh West | Charuchandra Ray | |
| Mymensingh West (Depressed Classes) | Amritalal Mandal | |
| Mymensingh East | Birendrakishore Roychoudhuri | |
| Mymensingh East (Depressed Classes) | Monomohan Das | |
| Faridpur | Surendranath Biswas | |
| Faridpur (Depressed Classes) | Biratchandra Mandal | |
| Pramatharanjan Thakur | ||
| Bakharganj South West | Narendranath Dasgupta | |
| Bakharganj South West (Depressed Classes) | Upendranath Edbar | |
| Bakharganj North East | Jogendranath Mandal | |
| Tipperah | Dhirendranath Dutta | |
| Tipperah (Depressed Classes) | Jagatchandra Mandal | |
| Noakhali | Harendrakumar Sur | |
| Chittagong | Mahimchandra Das | |
| East Bengal Municipal | Birendranath Majumdar | |
| Calcutta women | Miss Mira Dutta Gupta | |
| Dacca women | Mrs Hemaprabha Majumdar | |
| Muslim | Calcutta North | Sir Khawaja Nazimuddin |
| Calcutta South | M. A. H. Ispahani | |
| Barrackpore Municipal | Md. Solaiman | |
| Bongaon | Serajul Islam | |
| 24 Parganas North East | Khan Bahadur A. F. M. Abdur Rahman | |
| 24 Parganas Central | Quara Yousuf Mirza | |
| 24 Parganas South | Jashimuddin Ahmed | |
| 24 Parganas Municipal | H. S. Suhrawardy | |
| Nadiya East | Aftab Hossain Joardar | |
| Nadia West | Khan Bahadur Azizul Huq | |
| Kusthia | M. Shamsuddin Ahmed | |
| Meherpur | Muhammad Mohsin Ali | |
| Berhampore | Abdul Bari | |
| Murshidabad South West | Sahibzada Kawan Jah Syed Kazem Ali Mirza (son of Wasif Ali Mirza) | |
| Jangipur | M. Farhad Raza Choudhury | |
| Jessore Sadar | Syed Nausher Ali | |
| Jessore East | Waliur Rahman | |
| Jhenaidah | Khan Sahib Maulana Ahmed Ali Enayetpuri | |
| Khulna | Abdul Hakim | |
| Satkhira | Syed Jalaluddin Hashemi | |
| Bagerhat | Syed Mustagaswal Haq | |
| Burdwan | Abul Hashim | |
| Birbhum | Muhammad Abdul Rashid | |
| Bankura | Dr. Syed Muhammad Siddiq | |
| Midnapore | Khan Bahadur Alfazuddin Ahmed | |
| Hooghly | Abul Qasem | |
| Howrah | Khan Sahib Syed Abdur Rouf | |
| Hooghly-cum-Howrah Municipal | K. Nooruddin | |
| Rajshahi North | Maniruddin Akhund | |
| Rajshahi Central | Moslem Ali Mollah | |
| Rajshahi South | Muhammad Amir Ali Mia | |
| Natore | Muhammad Ashraf Ali | |
| Balurghat | Mafizuddin Choudhury | |
| Thakurgaon | Hafizuddin Choudhury | |
| Dinajpur Central East | Abdul Jabbar | |
| Dinajpur Central West | Khan Bahadur Mehtabuddin Ahmed | |
| Nilphamari | Khan Bahadur A. M. L. Rahman | |
| Rangpur North | Haji Safiruddin Ahmed | |
| Rangpur South | Shah Abdur Rouf | |
| Kurigram North | Kazi Emdadul Huq | |
| Kurigram South | Abdul Hafiz | |
| Gaibandha North | Abu Hossain Sarkar | |
| Gaibandha South | Ahmed Hossain | |
| Bogra East | Rajibuddin Tarafdar | |
| Bogra South | Muhammad Ishaq | |
| Bogra North | Dr. Mafizuddin Ahmed | |
| Pabna East | Azhar Ali | |
| Pabna West | A. M. Abdul Hamid | |
| Serajganj South | Abdur Rashid | |
| Serajganj North | Abdullah al-Mahmud | |
| Serajganj Central | Muhammad Barat Ali | |
| Malda North | Zahur Ahmed Choudhury | |
| Malda South | Idris Ahmed Mia | |
| Jalpaiguri-cum-Darjeeling | Khan Bahadur Nawab Musharraf Hossain | |
| Dacca Central | Khan Bahadur Syed Abdul Hafiz | |
| Dacca North Central | Muhammad Abdus Shahid | |
| Dacca South Central | Razaur Rahman Khan | |
| Dacca Municipal | Khan Bahadur Nawab Khwaja Habibullah of Dhaka | |
| Narayanganj North | S. A. Salim | |
| Narayanganj East | Muhammad Abdul Aziz | |
| Narayanganj South | Khawaja Shahabuddin | |
| Munshiganj | Muhammad Abdul Hakim Bikrampuri | |
| Manikganj East | Aulad Hossain Khan | |
| Manikganj West | Abdul Latif Biswas | |
| Jamalpur East | Fazlur Rahman | |
| Jamalpur North | Muhammad Abdul Jabbar Palowan | |
| Jamalpur West | Ghiyasuddin Ahmed | |
| Jamalpur-cum-Muktagacha | Abdul Karim | |
| Mymensingh North | Abdul Majid | |
| Mymensingh East | Abdul Wahed | |
| Mymensingh South | Shamsul Huda | |
| Mymensingh West | Abdul Hakim | |
| Tangail North | Syed Hasan Ali Choudhury | |
| Tangail West | Mirza Abdul Hafiz | |
| Tangail South | Masud Ali Khan Panni | |
| Netrakona North | Abul Hossain Ahmed | |
| Netrakona South | Khan Sahib Kabiruddin Khan | |
| Kishoreganj North | Abdul Hamid Shah | |
| Kishoreganj East | Khan Sahib Hamiduddin Ahmed | |
| Kishoreganj South | Muhammad Israil | |
| Gopalganj | Shamsuddin Ahmed Khondkar | |
| Goalundo | Ahmed Ali Mridha | |
| Faridpur East | Yusuf Ali Choudhury | |
| Faridpur West | Tamizuddin Khan | |
| Madaripur East | Ghiyasuddin Ahmed Choudhury | |
| Madaripur West | Muhammad Abul Fazal | |
| Patuakhali North | A. K. Fazlul Huq | |
| Patuakhali South | Abdul Kader | |
| Pirojpur North | Khan Sahib Syed Muhammad Afzal | |
| Pirojpur South | Khan Sahib Hatem Ali Jamadar | |
| Bakharganj North | Khan Bahadur Hashem Ali Khan | |
| Bakharganj West | Abdul Wahab Khan | |
| Bakharganj South | Sadaruddin Ahmed | |
| Bhola North | Muhammad Mozammel Huq | |
| Bhola South | Haji Tofel Ahmed Choudhury | |
| Brahmanbaria North | Dewan Mustafa Ali | |
| Brahmanbaria South | Nawabzada Khwaja Nasarullah | |
| Tipperah North | Nawab Sir Mohiuddin Faruqi of Ratanpur | |
| Tipperah North East | Maqbul Hossain | |
| Tipperah South | Muhammad Hassanuzzaam | |
| Tipperah West | Ramizuddin Ahmed | |
| Tipperah Central | Asimuddin Ahmed | |
| Chandpur East | Janab Ali Majumdar | |
| Chandpur West | Khan Bahadur Abidur Reza Choudhury | |
| Matiabazar | Shahed Ali | |
| Ramganj-cum-Raipur | Shah Syed Golam Sarwar Hossaini | |
| Noakhali North | Muhammad Ibrahim | |
| Noakhali West | Syed Ahmed Khan | |
| Noakhali South | Syed Abdul Majid | |
| Noakhali Central | Aminullah | |
| Feni | Abdur Razzak | |
| Cox's Bazar | Khan Bahadur Jalaluddin Ahmed | |
| Chittagong North East | Al-Haj Maulana Dr. Sanaullah | |
| Chittagong North West | Khan Bahadur Fazlul Qudir | |
| Chittagong South | Ahmed Kabir Choudhury | |
| Chittagong South Central | Muhammad Maniruzzaman Islamabadi | |
| Calcutta women | Mrs Hasina Murshed | |
| Dacca women | Begum Farhat Bano Khanam | |
| Indian Christian | Calcutta-cum-Presidency Division | Dr. H. C. Mukherjee |
| Dacca Division | S. A. Gomes | |
| Anglo-Indian | J. W. Chippendale | |
| L. T. Maguire | ||
| C. Griffiths | ||
| Anglo-Indian women | Miss P. B. Bell Hart | |
| European | Calcutta and suburbs | F. C. Brasher |
| C. Miller | ||
| A. O. Brown | ||
| R. J. Hawkings | ||
| Presidency Division | G. Morgan | |
| Hooghly-cum-Howrah | Baronet Sir Henry Birkmyre | |
| Burdwan Division | I. A. Clark | |
| Darjeeling | W. C. Patton | |
| Rajshahi Division | H. Brabant Smith | |
| Dacca Division | J. W. R. Steven | |
| Chittagong Division | F. J. Marindin | |
| Landholders | Presidency Division | Maharaja Srishchandra Nandi of Kashimbazar |
| Burdwan Division | Sir Bijoy Prasad Singh Roy | |
| Rajshahi Division | Kumar Shibshekhareshwar Roy of Tahirpur | |
| Dacca Division | Maharaja Shashikanta Acharya Choudhury of Muktagacha | |
| Chittagong Division | Ray Bahadur Khirod Chandra Roy | |
| Commerce | Bengal Chamber of Commerce | P. F. S. Warren |
| L. M. Blomenstock | ||
| M. A. F. Hirtzel | ||
| F. H. French | ||
| R. M. Sassoon | ||
| David Hendry | ||
| W. C. Wordsworth | ||
| Calcutta Trades Association | K. A. Hamilton | |
| H. R. Norton | ||
| Indian Jute Mills Association | W. A. M. Walker | |
| I. G. Kennedy | ||
| Indian Tea Association | G. G. MacGregor | |
| C. W. Miles | ||
| Indian Mining Association | E. A. Paterson | |
| Bengal National Chamber of Commerce | Naliniranjan Sarkar | |
| Sir Harishankar Pal | ||
| Indian Chamber of Commerce | Debiprasad Khaitan | |
| Marwari Association | Rai Bahadur Mantulal Tapuria | |
| Muslim Chamber of Commerce | Abdur Rahman Siddiqi | |
| Labour | Railway Trade Union | J. N. Gupta |
| Water Transport Trade Union | Aftab Ali | |
| Registered factories - Calcutta and suburbs | Sureshchandra Banerjee | |
| Registered factories - Barrackpore | Niharendu Dutta Majumdar | |
| Registered factories - Howrah | Shibnath Banerjee | |
| Registered factories - Hooghly-cum-Serampore | A. M. A. Zaman | |
| Coalmines | B. Mukherjee | |
| Tea gardens | Litta Munda Sirdar | |
| Universities | Calcutta University | Shyamaprasad Mukherjee |
| Dacca University | Fazlur Rahman | |
Following the 1937 elections, no single party secured an outright majority in the 250-member Bengal Legislative Assembly. The Indian National Congress, although the largest single party with 52 seats, chose not to form a government in Bengal, partly due to its national policy of avoiding coalition governments in provinces where it lacked a clear majority. [7]
Instead, A.K. Fazlul Huq, leader of the Krishak Praja Party (KPP), succeeded in forming a coalition ministry. The KPP had won 36 seats, mostly in rural Muslim constituencies. To secure a working majority, Huq entered into an alliance with the All-India Muslim League, which had won 39 seats, particularly from urban Muslim areas and elite Muslim voters. The coalition also included support from independent Muslim legislators, some Scheduled Caste leaders, and Hindu Mahasabha members. On April 1, 1937, Fazlul Huq was sworn in as the first Prime Minister of Bengal, under the provisions of the Government of India Act 1935 [2] [3]
Despite initially cooperating with the Muslim League, Huq maintained a degree of independence from its central leadership, which led to increasing tension. [8] Huq prioritized regional and economic issues over communal ones, advocating land reforms and peasant welfare, often in opposition to the elite Muslim landlords who supported the League. [2]
By 1941, the tensions had grown severe, and Huq broke away from the Muslim League. He later joined hands with the Hindu Mahasabha in a controversial move that further alienated both Muslim and Hindu hardliners. [9]
The collapse of trust among coalition partners, widespread food shortages, inflation caused by World War II, and mounting communal tensions gradually eroded the legitimacy of Huq’s government. In March 1943, the Governor of Bengal, exercising his authority under the Government of India Act 1935, dismissed Huq’s ministry on grounds of political instability and loss of Assembly support. Huq’s dismissal marked the end of Bengal’s first elected provincial government. [10]
