General Elections (1946)
March 30th, 2008 | by Raja Ghias |The Simla conference had failed, at least in part, because both the Congress and the Muslim League had made claims about their representative standing unsupported by electoral evidence. No general election had been held since 1934 to the Central Legislature and since 1937 to the Provincial Assemblies. The balance of political power had shifted so much in ten years that new elections were imperative. On 21 August 1945, therefore, the viceroy announced that elections to the central and provincial legislatures would hold in the following winter.
These elections were fought on the simplest conceivable programmers. The Muslim League contested to vindicate two elementary points: that it represented all India Muslims and that Pakistan was the only solution of the India problem. The Congress, on the other hand stood on two exactly opposed slogans that Congress represents all Indians and that India will remain undivided country. In short, the election was fought on the crystal-clear issue of Pakistan versus united Hindustan.
The election was held in two stages. In December 1945, the Central Legislative Assembly was elected. The results showed how finely the assembly was divided between the League and the Congress. The Muslim League won every single Muslim seat. The Congress success in the non-Muslim constituencies was equal spectacular. The League won 86.6% of the total Muslim votes and the Congress 91.13% of the total general votes.
Provincial elections were holding on 22 February 1946, and here again the two main parties swept respective constituencies. The Congress won total of 930 seats, gaining an absolute majority in eight provinces. The Muslim League captures 440 out of the possible 429 Muslim seats.
The result of the elections showed that Muslim League passed the test for its claim as the only representative body of the Muslims: while the lofty of the Congress that it equally represented the Muslim as its represented the Hindus was belied.
