Punjab Provincial Assembly (British India)

Last updated
British Punjab Provincial Assembly
Arms of British Punjab.jpg
Type
Type
Term limits
5 years
History
Founded5 April 1937 (1937-04-05)
Disbanded4 July 1947 (1947-07-04)
Preceded by British Punjab Legislative Council
Succeeded by
Leadership
Speaker
Sataya Prakash Singha (Last)
Deputy Speaker
Dasaundha Singh (First)
Kapur Singh (Last)
Prime Minister
Leader of Opposition
Seats175
  • Single member-159
  • Double member-8
Elections
First-past-the-post
First election
1937
Last election
1946
Meeting place
Lahore, British Punjab
Constitution
Government of India Act 1935
Punjab Assembly building in Lahore 1938. Punjan Assembly Building 1938.jpg
Punjab Assembly building in Lahore 1938.

The British Punjab Provincial Assembly, or simple the Punjab Provincial Assembly was the unicameral elected legislature of British Punjab, a province of the British Raj. Established by the British authorities under Government of India Act 1935, the assembly had executive powers and members directly elected from 175 constituencies by first past the post system.

Contents

Speakers

S. No.NameTenurePartyAssembly
1 Shahab-ud-Din Virk 6 April 193716 March 1945 Unionist Party 1st
2Sataya Prakash Singha21 March 19464 July 19472nd

Deputy Speakers

S. No.NameTenurePartyAssembly
1Dasaundha Singh6 April 19377 April 1941 Unionist Party 1st
2Gurbachan Singh22 April 194116 March 1945
3Kapur Singh26 March 19464 July 19472nd

Prime Ministers

S. No.NameTenurePartyAssembly
1 Sikandar Hayat Khan 5 April 193726 December 1942 Unionist Party 1st
2 Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana 30 December 194219 March 1945
21 March 19462 March 19472nd

Seats Distribution

All 175 constituencies were reserved on the basiss of religion. It was as follows:-

Constituency TypeUrbanRuralTotal
General83442
Muslims97584
Sikhs22931
Special^--18
Total19138175

Special constituencies (non-territory constituency) were further divided into Categories and sub-categories as follow:-

First Assembly

Members of Punjab Provincial Assembly elected in 1937 Members of Punjab Provincial Assembly 1st.jpg
Members of Punjab Provincial Assembly elected in 1937

After the passing of Government of India act 1935, Provincial assembly was set up in Punjab. It consisted 175 constituencies. Out of these 159 were single-member constituencies and 8 were double-members constituencies. In double-members constituencies one was reserved for the Schedule Caste according to Poona Pact. [1] In double constituencies each voter had two votes to cast his vote, one for SC candidate and one for general candidate but considered as one vote to calculate voter turnout.

PartySeats won
Unionist Party
(UoP)
98
Indian National Congress
(INC)
18
Khalsa National Party
(KNP)
13
Hindu Election Board
(HEB)
12
Shiromani Akali Dal
(SAD)
11
Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam
(MAI)
4
All-India Muslim League
(AIML)
2
Congress Nationalist Party
(CNP)
1
Independents
(IND)
16
Total175
Source: [2]

Second Assembly

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. [3] 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. [3] A further blow for the Unionists came with death of its leading statesman Sir Chhotu Ram in early 1945.

The Result of election was as follows:- [4]

PartySeats wonChange
All-India Muslim League 73Increase2.svg 71
Indian National Congress 51Increase2.svg 33
Shiromani Akali Dal 21Increase2.svg 10
Unionist Party 19Decrease2.svg 79
Independent 11Decrease2.svg 05
Others0Decrease2.svg 30
Total175

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elections in Pakistan</span> Political elections for public offices in Pakistan

Since its establishment in 1947, Pakistan has had a non-symmetric federal government and is a federal parliamentary democratic republic. At the national level, the people of Pakistan elect a bicameral legislature, the Parliament of Pakistan. The parliament consists of a lower house called the National Assembly, which is elected directly, and an upper house called the Senate, whose members are chosen by elected provincial legislators. The head of government, the Prime Minister, is elected by the majority members of the National Assembly and the head of state, the President, is elected by the Electoral College, which consists of both houses of Parliament together with the four provincial assemblies. In addition to the national parliament and the provincial assemblies, Pakistan also has more than five thousand elected local governments.

The National Unionist Party was a political party based in the Punjab Province during the period of British rule in India. The Unionist Party mainly represented the interests of the landed gentry and landlords of Punjab, which included Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. The Unionists dominated the political scene in Punjab from World War I to the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. The party's leaders served as Prime Minister of the Punjab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provincial Assembly of the Punjab</span> Unicameral legislature of a Pakistani province

The Provincial Assembly of the Punjab is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Punjab, which is located in Lahore, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan, having a total of 371 seats, with 297 general seats, 66 seats reserved for women and 8 reserved for non-Muslims.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa</span> Unicameral Legislature of a Pakistani province

The Provincial Assembly ofKhyber Pakhtunkhwa is a unicameral legislature of elected representatives of the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which is located in Peshawar, the provincial capital. It was established under Article 106 of the Constitution of Pakistan, having a total of 145 seats, with 115 general seats, 26 seats reserved for women and 4 reserved for non-Muslims.

Sir Mian Fazl-i-Husain, KCSI was an influential politician during the British Raj and a founding member of the Unionist Party of the Punjab.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Punjab Muslim League</span> Branch of the Muslim League in Punjab, Pakistan

When the All-India Muslim League was founded at Dacca, on 30 December 1906 at the occasion of the annual All India Muhammadan Educational Conference, It was participated by the Muslim leaders from Punjab, i.e., Sir Mian Muhammad Shafi, Mian Fazl-i-Hussain, Abdul Aziz, Khawaja Yusuf Shah and Sh. Ghulam Sadiq. Earlier Mian Muhammad Shafi organised a Muslim Association in early 1906, but when the All-India Muslim League was formed, he established its powerful branch in the Punjab of which he became the general secretary. Shah Din was elected as its first president. This branch, organised in November 1907, was known as the Punjab Provincial Muslim League.

Qazi Mazhar Qayyum 'Raees-Azam Naushera', is a Pakistani politician. He came from a qadi's family that had been prominent among the landed aristocracy of the Soon Valley since the 16th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1937 Indian provincial elections</span> Provincial elections held in British India in the winter of 1936-37

Provincial elections were held in British India in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935. Elections were held in eleven provinces - Madras, Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa, the United Provinces, the Bombay Presidency, Assam, the North-West Frontier Province, Bengal, Punjab and Sind.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Indian provincial elections</span> Elections held in British India to elect members of legislative councils of provinces

Provincial elections were held in British India in January 1946 to elect members of the legislative councils of the 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 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 (87%) in the provinces. Nevertheless, the All India Muslim League verified its claim to be the sole representative of Muslim India. The election laid the path to Pakistan.

Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition United Front led by the Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide victory with 223 of the 309 seats. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shiromani Akali Dal</span> Political party in India

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) is a centre-right Sikh-centric state political party in Punjab, India. The party is the second-oldest in India, after Congress, being founded in 1920. Although there are many parties with the description Akali Dal, the party that is recognized as "Shiromani Akali Dal" by the Election Commission of India is the one led by Sukhbir Singh Badal. The party has a moderate Punjabi agenda. On 26 September 2020, they left the NDA over the farm bills.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election</span> Punjab Assembly Election of 1946

Elections to the Punjab Provincial Assembly were held in January 1946 as part of the 1946 Indian provincial elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly election</span> Punjab Assembly Election of 1937

First Provincial assembly election was held in Punjab in the winter of 1936-37 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1935.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1926 Punjab Legislative Council election</span>

Legislative Council elections were held in Punjab Province in British India in late 1926. They were the third legislative council elections held in the province under the Government of India Act 1919. The newly elected Council was constituted on 3 January 1927 when its first meeting was held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1930 Punjab Legislative Council election</span>

Legislative Council elections were held in Punjab Province in British India in 1930. They were the fourth and last legislative council elections held in the province under the Government of India Act 1919. The newly elected Council was constituted on 24 October 1930 when its first meeting was held.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">July 2022 Punjab provincial by-election</span> Elections in Pakistan

By-elections were held in Punjab, Pakistan on 17 July 2022 to elect 20 members of the Provincial Assembly of the Punjab. The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf won a landslide victory on 15 of those 20 seats, leading to the collapse of Chief Minister Hamza Shahbaz's PML(N)-led coalition government, as it became 7 seats short of a majority.

Rai Bahadur Ganga Saran was an Indian trade unionist and politician from Punjab. He was a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly and both the Constituent Assembly of India and the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan.

Shaikh Karamat Ali was a Pakistani Muslim League politician from Punjab, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial election</span>

Provincial elections were held in the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on 8 February 2024 to elect members of the 12th Provincial Assembly of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. On 5 August 2023, the results of the 2023 digital census were approved by the Council of Common Interests headed by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. Therefore, elections have been delayed for several months, as new delimitations will be published on 14 December 2023, as announced by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP). On 2 November 2023, the ECP announced, in agreement with the President of Pakistan, Arif Alvi, that the elections would be held on 8 February 2024. This election was held concurrently with nationwide general elections and other provincial elections.

References

  1. Elections in Punjab 1920-1947 (Pdf),(p. 16), Book by Kirpal C. Yadav. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  2. Political Development and Political Parties in Punjan 1849-1948 (Pdf), (p. 74), Pakistan Journal of Social Science Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2009) pp. 65-78. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  3. 1 2 Talbot, I. A. (1980). "The 1946 Punjab Elections". Modern Asian Studies. 14 (1): 65–91. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00012178. JSTOR   312214. S2CID   145320008.
  4. Political Development and Political Parties in Punjan 1849-1948 (Pdf), (p. 74), Pakistan Journal of Social Science Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2009) pp. 65-78. Retrieved 14 May 2021.