First Punjab Legislative Assembly | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Houses | Punjab Legislative Assembly |
History | |
Founded | 3 May 1952 |
Disbanded | 31 March 1957 |
Preceded by | Interim East Punjab Assembly |
Succeeded by | Second Punjab Legislative Assembly |
Leadership | |
Satya Pal [1] (1952-1954), | |
Gurdial Singh Dhillon (1954-1957) | |
Sarup Singh (1954-1957) | |
Bhim Sen Sachar (1952-1956) | |
Pratap Singh Kairon (1956-1957) | |
Gopal Singh Khalsa (1952-1956) | |
Vacant (1956-1957) | |
Structure | |
Seats | 126 [3] [4] |
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Political groups | Government (96)
Opposition (30) |
Length of term | 1952-1957 |
Elections | |
first-past-the-post | |
Last election | 1952 |
Next election | 1957 |
The 1952 Punjab Legislative Assembly election were the First Vidhan Sabha (Legislative Assembly) elections of the state when the Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 96 seats in the 126-seat legislature in the election. The Shiromani Akali Dal became the official opposition, holding 13 seats.
During the first general election (1952) Gopichand Bhargava got sore with Congress High Command over the allotment of seats and resigned in the protest. He fought the elections as an independent, and lost. With Bhargava exit, one of the faction leaders came under eclipse. After the election with the attainment of absolute majority by the Congressmen, there was a struggle for leadership. The main aspirants for The throne were Pratap Singh Kairon, Swaran Singh and Bhimsen Sachar. Besides the Kairon group secured majority support in the Congress Party, and Nehru, the president of the Congress party claimed Kairon to be one of the "strongest pillars". Bhimsen Sachar was tipped to be the leader of the Punjab Congress assembly party in the place of Kairon. [5]
Rift in Council of Ministers
Even before Council of Ministers took oath a conflict rose as Partap Singh Kairon objected to 'Revenue' being put in the portfolio of Swaran Singh on the ground that it had been already agreed to between Nehru and him that in addition to 'Development', 'Revenue' including 'Consolidation of Holdings' would also form part of his portfolios. Sachar tried to convince Kairon to allow 'Revenue' to remain with Swaran Singh but he failed to convince him. Ultimately, the Chief Minister had to allocate the 'Revenue' portfolio to Kairon and Swaran Singh got 'Capital Project and Electricity' portfolio. [6]
Sachar v/s Sharma
Since its very inception, the Sachar Ministry did not sail smoothly. There was a rift among his Council of Ministers itself. Shri Ram Sharma was annoyed with Kairon on the pretext that he had been denied a square deal by kairon and Jagat Narain. Sharma was dead set on a final trial of strength between two factions in the organisational setup at the earliest possible opportunity. He, however, apprehended that the Chief Minister would incline in favour of Kairon and Jagat Narain which may prove detrimental to Sharma. The Chief Minister advised Sharma to sit around the table to resolve the difference in an objective manner. [7]
It was alleged by intelligence sources that on 8 April 1953 the dissident Congressmen numbering about twenty-five had a secret meeting at the residence of Dr Satyapal (then speaker of Punjab Legislative Assembly). Sachar informed Nehru and Maulana Azad about the alleged meeting of dissidents. Nehru in turn warned Shri Ram Sharma and Dr. Satyapal against their disruptionist activities Nehru good very much annoyed with these faction leaders. [8]
Sachar's Resignation
Sachar, now fed up with Sharma, to get rid from him, on 22 July 1953 (a day of dramatic events), he suddenly resigned from the Chief Ministership and wrote to Governor:
I am sorry to inform you that circumstances have arisen necessitating my resignation from the office of Chief Minister. I, therefore, beg to tender my resignation as Chief Minister. [9]
On the same day, the Governor accepted the resignation and then invited Sachar to form a new ministry. The Governor wrote to Sachar:
I have already sent you a letter accepting your resignation and, therefore, of your cabinet. As your party is the majority party in the legislature and as you are the leader of the same, I wish to invite you to come and discuss with me the possibility of forming a new cabinet. Would, you, therefore, make it convenient to me and see me at 6.45 this evening. [10]
22 July 1953, saw certain fast moving dramatic developments. Sachar resigned. His resignation accepted, and then he was then re-sworn as the Chief Minister on the same day and Sachar formed the new Council of Ministers by dropping Shri Ram Sharma this time.
Kairon v/s Narain
One-time joint faction of Kairon-Narain, both Ministers in Sachar Cabinet showing signs of cleavage. This was mainly due to Jagat Narain's favour for nationalisation of motor transport in the State while Kairon vehemently opposed it due to the fact that this industry was mainly controlled by those who backed Kairon politically as well as financially. [11] The blame was on Kairon that he manipulate dissident Congressmen to level certain charges of corruption against Jagat Naraini in Assembly. [11]
On 22 March 1955, [12] during Assembly session, Chief Minister made an offer to opposition legislators that if they were to appoint committee of their own and could bring to his notice any specific charges against Jagat Narain. On the following day the opposition benches constituted themselves into a Committee and demanded Jagat Narain be relieved of his Education portfolio first. [12] Narain himself gave assent and Chief Minister took the same portfolio from him. On next day, opposition demanded that Narain should also be relieved from other portfolios also. [12] Narain again himself expressed his wish to be relieved. Sachar accepted Narain's resignation and took the portfolios under his charge. This was, however, an open secret that it was Kairon's strategy to weaken Narain politically. [13]
Kairon v/s Sachar
In May 1955, Akali Dal launched Agitation as imposition of restrictions on holding public meetings and organising processions. On 4 July, Police entered the precincts of a Sikh shrine Harmandir Sahib to arrest some of the agitators. The Chief Minister publicly apologised for police entry into the holy place of worship.
The lenient attitude of Sachar towards Akalis was exploited by Kairon. On 15 July, Jathedar Mohan Singh Nagoke went to Jalandhar and had a dialogue with Comrade Ram Kishan and assured that Nagoke group would help the Kairon group to oust Sachar. On this Sachar sought permission of the Congress High Command to drop Kairon from his cabinet. U. N. Dhebar, Congress National President, on 5 August blamed Sachar for the lapses and made it categorically clear that "there can be no thought of displacing Kairon or replacing him". [14] Even after initiatives by Maulana Azad the conflict between two leading leaders never resolved.
Dissidence in the Congress party continued on unabated. The decedent MLAs resentment was directed against Sachar because of two reasons. First, handling of the allegations of nepotism in corruption levelled by the opposition against Jagat Narain. Second, dissidents blamed Sachar for the lenient attitude towards the Akali's agitation. Kairon convinced the Congress High Command that Sachar was incapable of dealing with a Akali agitations in Punjab and lacked rapport with the State Congressman.
In January 1956, Sachar went to Delhi to attend the National Development Council. During this, Sachar sought an appointment from Jawahar Lal Nehru, who retorted. Sachar felt let down. On the following day, Sachar wrote his resignation letter to Nehru. In it, he stated:-
It appears to me that I have lost your confidence. I shall therefore feel grateful if you would have enclosed resignation sent to the Governor, Punjab. [15]
In an enclosed resignation to Governor C. P. N. Singh, on 7 January 1956, Sachar wrote the only line:-
I hereby tender my resignation from the office of the Chief Minister. [16]
On 14 January 1956, Bhimsen Sachar resigned from the Leadership of Punjab Congress Assembly Party. On 21 January, Partap Singh Kairon elected as new leader and on 23rd he took oath of the Office of Chief Minister.
The growing strength of Tara Singh cause a concern for the Congress Party. To counter the demand for Punjabi Suba by Akali Dal led by Tara Singh, 'Maha Punjab' campaign was started by some groups. The growing strength of Akali Dal alarmed the Congress leadership.
In 1956, an understanding was reached between ruling Congress and opposition Akali Dal, after which Akali stalwart joined Congress Party. The Akali accepted the regional plan at their meeting on 30 September 1956. Akali Dal didn't contest 1957 General election on their own. [17]
In 1955, State Reorganisation Commission recommended the merger of Punjab and Patiala and East Punjab States Union (PEPSU). PEPSU Assembly had 60 members. With its merger on 1 November 1956, the strength of Punjab Legislative Assembly increased from 126 to 186. On 6 November 1956, all members re-sworn in Punjab Legislative Assembly. [18]
The Punjabi Suba movement was a long-drawn political agitation, launched by Punjabi speaking people demanding the creation of autonomous Punjabi Suba, or Punjabi-speaking state, in the post-independence Indian state of East Punjab. The movement is defined as the forerunner of Khalistan movement.
Lala Jagat Narain was an Indian editor, member of the Punjab Legislative Assembly, Member of Parliament and founder of the Hind Samachar media group.
Although India is a parliamentary democracy, the country's politics has become dynastic or with high level of nepotism, possibly due to the absence of party organizations, independent civil-society associations which mobilize support for a party, or centralized financing of elections. The dynastic phenomenon is present at the national, state, regional, and district level. The Nehru–Gandhi family has produced three Indian prime ministers, and family members have largely led the Congress party since 1978. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has no senior dynastic leaders. In addition to the major national parties, other national and regional parties such as Shiromani Akali Dal, Shiv Sena, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal Secular, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, Kerala Congress, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference, Indian Union Muslim League, AIMIM, and the Nationalist Congress Party are all dominated by families, mostly those of the party founders.
Partap Singh Kairon was the Chief Minister of the Punjab province, and is widely acknowledged as the architect of post-Independence Punjab Province. Moreover, he was an Indian independence movement leader. He was jailed twice by the British Empire, once for five years for organizing protests against British rule. His political influence and views are still considered to dominate politics in Punjab.
Politics in reorganised present-day Punjab is dominated by mainly three parties – Indian National Congress, Aam Aadmi Party and Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal). Since 1967, Chief Minister of Punjab has been predominantly from Jat Sikh community despite its 21 percent state population. Exceptions are Giani Zail Singh, the Chief Minister of Punjab from 17 March 1972 to 30 April 1977 belonging to Ramgarhia community that has population of 6 percent and is a part of significant OBC community having population of 31.3 percent in the state and Charanjit Singh Channi who held the position for 111 days from 20 September 2021 to 16 March 2022 and was from Scheduled Caste(Dalit) who have 32 percent population in the state. Other prominent party is Bahujan Samaj Party especially in Doaba region founded by Kanshi Ram of Rupnagar district. In 1992 BSP won 9 seats Vidhan Sabha elections. Also BSP won 3 lok sabha seats from Punjab in 1996 general elections and only Garhshanker seat in 1997 Vidhan Sabha elections. Communist parties too have some influence in the Malwa area. In the 2014 general elections, the first-time contesting Aam Aadmi Party got 4 out of 13 seats in Punjab by winning 34 of the total 117 assembly segments, coming second in 7, third in 73 and fourth in the rest 3 segments. The support for the Aam Aadmi Party increased later in Punjab. The current Government was elected in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections and the AAP won 92 out of 117 Assembly seats with Bhagwant Mann as the Chief Minister. The Congress flows down to get only 18 seats.
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Parminder Singh Dhindsa is an Indian politician and belongs to the Shiromani Akali Dal (Sanyukt) Political Party. He was a member of the Shiromani Akali Dal until late 2019. He is currently MLA from Lehra and was leader of Shiromani Akali Dal Legislature group in Punjab Legislative Assembly until he quit. He was Minister for Finance & Planning (2012-2017) and Minister for Public Works (B&R) (2007-2012) in the previous Punjab Government. He is son of Rajya Sabha member Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa. He was first elected as MLA of Sunam in September 2000 by defeating Parmeshwari Devi of Congress during the by-election. He was re-elected as an MLA for the fifth consecutive term in 2017 with his tenure since 2000 to 2012 from Sunam and from 2017 onwards from Lehra Constituency. He is triumphant in his entire career since 2000.
Ajit Singh Kohar was an Indian politician and a member of Shiromani Akali Dal. He was the Minister of Transport, Legal & Legislative Affairs and Elections in the Punjab Government.
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Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria is an Indian politician and from the Indian National Congress. He is a member of Punjab Legislative Assembly and represents Raja Sansi. He is a Punjab state cabinet minister holding the charges of the ministries of Revenue, Rehabilitation & Disaster Management and Water Resources.
The list of members of political families of Punjab, India
Parkash Singh Badal was an Indian politician who served as the 8th Chief Minister of Punjab from 1970 to 1971, from 1977 to 1980, from 1997 to 2002, and from 2007 to 2017. He was also Leader of the Opposition in the Punjab Legislative Assembly from 1972 to 1977, 1980 to 1983 and from 2002 to 2007 and the 11th Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare in the Morarji Desai ministry from 1977 to 1977. He was the patron of Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), a Sikh-centered regional political party, and the president of the party from 1995 to 2008, when he was replaced by his son Sukhbir Singh Badal. As the patron of SAD he exercised a strong influence on the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee and Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee. The Government of India awarded him the second-highest civilian award, the Padma Vibhushan, in 2015.
Elections to the Punjab Provincial Assembly were held in January 1946 as part of the 1946 Indian provincial elections.
The Interim East Punjab Assembly was a unicameral governing and law making body of the newly formed Indian state of East Punjab.
The 1957 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the Second Vidhan Sabha election of the state when the Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 120 seats in the 154-seat legislature in the election. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh became the official opposition, holding 9 seats.
The 1962 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the Third Vidhan Sabha election of the state when the Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 90 seats in the 154-seat legislature in the election. The Shiromani Akali Dal became the official opposition, holding 16 seats. From 5 July 1966 to 1 November 1966, Assembly was under suspension.
The 1967 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the Fourth Vidhan Sabha election of the state. This was the first hung assembly. Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party with 48 seats in the 104-seat legislature in the election. The Akali Dal - Sant Fateh Singh became the second, holding 24 seats. On 28 August 1968, Assembly dissolved prematurely and president rule was imposed.
The 1969 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the fifth Vidhan Sabha election of the state. This was the second hung assembly. Shiromani Akali Dal emerged as the largest party with 43 seats in the 104-seat legislature in the election. The Indian National Congress became the second, holding 38 seats. On 13 June 1971, Assembly dissolved prematurely and president rule was imposed.
The 1972 Punjab Legislative Assembly election was the sixth Vidhan Sabha election of the state. Indian National Congress emerged as the victorious party with 66 seats in the 104-seat legislature in the election. The Shiromani Akali Dal became the official opposition, holding 24 seats. On 30 April 1977, Assembly dissolved and president rule was imposed.