| Election Name: | 1946 Punjab Provincial Assembly election |
| Country: | British India |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Turnout: | 61.16% (3.07%) |
| Previous Election: | 1937 Punjab Provincial Assembly election |
| Previous Year: | 1937 |
| Next Year: | 1952 (East) |
| Election Date: | 1946 |
| Seats For Election: | 175 seats of the Punjab Provincial Assembly |
| Image1: | File:Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Nawab Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot (cropped).png |
| Image1 Size: | 80x80px |
| Leader1: | Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot |
| Party1: | All-India Muslim League |
| Leaders Seat1: | Ferozpur-Central (Muhammadan-Rural) |
| Seats1: | 73 |
| Seat Change1: | 71 |
| Image2 Size: | 80x80px |
| Leader2: | Bhim Sen Sachar |
| Party2: | Indian National Congress |
| Leaders Seat2: | Lahore City (General-Urban) |
| Seats2: | 51 |
| Seat Change2: | 33 |
| Image3: | Master Tara Singh.png |
| Image3 Size: | 80x80px |
| Leader3: | Master Tara Singh |
| Leaders Seat3: | Ferozpur-South (Sikh-Rural) |
| Party3: | Shiromani Akali Dal |
| Seats3: | 20 |
| Seat Change3: | 10 |
| Image4: | File:Malik Khizar Hayat Khan Tiwana.png |
| Image4 Size: | 80x80px |
| Leader4: | Malik Khizar Hayat |
| Party4: | Unionist Party (Punjab) |
| Leaders Seat4: | Khushab (Muhammadans-Rural), Northern Punjab and Western Punjab (Muhammadan Landholders) |
| Seats4: | 21 |
| Seat Change4: | 79 |
| Majority Seats: | 88 |
| Premier | |
| Before Election: | Governor Rule |
| Before Party: | - |
| After Election: | Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana |
| After Party: | Unionist Party (Punjab) |
Elections to the Punjab Provincial Assembly were held in January 1946 as part of the 1946 Indian provincial elections.
The Unionist Party contested the election under the leadership of Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana but the 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.
The Punjab province was a key battleground in the 1946 Indian provincial elections. 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.[1] 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.[2]
A major thrust of the Muslim's League's campaign was the increased use of religious symbolism. Activists were advised to join in communal prayers when visiting villages, and gain permission to hold meetings after the Friday prayers.[1] The Quran became a symbol of the Muslim League at rallies, and pledges to vote were made on it.[1] Students, a key component of the Muslim League's activists, were trained to appeal to the electorate on communal lines, and at the peak of student activity during the Christmas holidays of 1945, 250 students from Aligarh were invited to campaign in the province along with 1550 members of the Punjab Muslim Student's Federation.[1] A key achievement of their religious propaganda came in enticing Muslim Jats and Gujjars from their intercommunal tribal loyalties.[1] In response, the Unionists attempted to counter the growing religious appeal of the Muslim League by introducing religious symbolism into their own campaign, but with no student activists to rely upon and dwindling support amongst the landlords, their attempts met with little success.
To further their religious appeal, the Muslim League also launched efforts to entice Pirs towards their cause. Pirs dominated the religious landscape, and were individuals who claimed to inherit religious authority from Sufi Saints who had proselytised in the region since the eleventh century.[1] By the twentieth century, most Punjabi Muslims offered allegiance to a Pir as their religious guide, thus providing them considerable political influence.[1] The Unionists had successfully cultivated the support of Pirs to achieve success in the 1937 elections, and the Muslim League now attempted to replicate their method of doing so. To do so, the Muslim League created the Masheikh Committee, used Urs ceremonies and shrines for meetings and rallies and encouraged fatwas urging support for the Muslim League.[1] Reasons for the pirs switching allegiance varied. For the Gilani Pirs of Multan the over-riding factor was local longstanding factional rivalries, whilst for many others a shrines size and relationship with the government dictated its allegiance.[1]
Despite the Muslim League's aim to foster a united Muslim loyalty, it also recognised the need to better exploit the biradari network and appeal to primordial tribal loyalties. In 1946 it held a special Gujjar conference intending to appeal to all Muslim Gujjars, and lifted its ban on Jahanara Shahnawaz with the hope of appealing to Arain constituencies.[1] Appealing to biradari ties enabled the Muslim League to accelerate support amongst landlords, and in turn use the landlords client-patron economic relationship with their tenants to guarantee votes for the forthcoming election.[1]
A separate strategy of the Muslim League was to exploit the economic slump suffered in the Punjab as a result of the Second World War.[1] The Punjab had supplied 27 per cent of the Indian Army recruits during the war, constituting 800,000 men, and representing a significant part of the electorate. By 1946, less than 20 per cent of those servicemen returning home had found employment.[1] This in part was exacerbated by the speedy end to the war in Asia, which caught the Unionist's by surprise, and meant their plans to deploy servicemen to work in canal colonies were not yet ready.[1] The Muslim League took advantage of this weakness and followed Congress's example of providing work to servicemen within its organisation.[1] The Muslim League's ability to offer an alternative to the Unionist government, namely the promise of Pakistan as an answer to the economic dislocation suffered by Punjabi villagers, was identified as a key issue for the election.[1]
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.[1] 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.[1] A further blow for the Unionists came with death of its leading statesman Sir Chhotu Ram in early 1945.
All 175 constituencies were reserved on the basis of religion. It was as follows:-
| Constituency Type | Urban | Rural | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | 8 | 34 | 42 | |
| Muhammadans | 9 | 75 | 84 | |
| Sikhs | 2 | 29 | 31 | |
| Special^ | - | - | 18 | |
| Total | 19 | 138 | 175 |
^Special constituencies (non-territory constituency) were further divided into Categories and sub-categories as follow:-
| Event | Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Filing of Nominations | 12 December 1945 | |
| Scrutiny of Nominations | 15 December 1945 | |
| Polling | 1 January 1946 | |
| Counting | 15 February 1946 |
The Result of election was as follow:-[3]
| Party | Seats won | Change | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All-India Muslim League | 73 | 71 | ||
| Indian National Congress | 51 | 33 | ||
| Shiromani Akali Dal | 20 | 10 | ||
| bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | 21 | 79 | |
| Independent | 10 | 05 | ||
| Others | 0 | 30 | ||
| Total | 175 | |||
| S. No. | Party | Category (Seats) | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Urban (8) | General Rural (34) | Muhammadans Urban (9) | Muhammadans Rural (75) | Sikh Urban (2) | Sikh Rural (29) | Special (18) | Total (175) | |||
| 1 | All-India Muslim League | - | - | 9 | 62 | - | - | 2 | 73 | |
| 2 | Indian National Congress | 8 | 27 | - | 1 | 1 | 7 | 7 | 51 | |
| 3 | Shiromani Akali Dal | - | - | - | - | 1 | 19 | 1 | 21 | |
| 4 | Unionist Party | - | 5 | - | 10 | - | - | 4 | 19 | |
| 5 | Independent | - | 2 | - | 2 | - | 3 | 4 | 11 | |
Color key for the Party of Candidates
Other color keys
General Urban
| S. No. | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Southern Towns | Shri Ram Sharma | Indian National Congress | |
| 2 | 2 | South-Eastern Towns | Shanno Devi | ||
| 3 | 3 | Eastern Towns | bgcolor=wheat | Sudarshan Seth | |
| 4 | 4 | Lahore City | bgcolor=wheat | Bhim Sen Sachar | |
| 5 | 5 | Amritsar City | Sant Ram Seth | ||
| 6 | 6 | North-Eastern Towns | bgcolor=wheat | Krishan Gopal Dutt | |
| 7 | 7 | North-Western Towns | Chaman Lal | ||
| 8 | 8 | South-Western Towns | bgcolor=wheat | Harihar Lal | |
General Rural
| S. No. | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 | 9 | Hissar South | Ranjit Singh | Indian National Congress | ||
| 10 | 10 | Hansi | Suraj Mal | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | |
| 11 | 11 | Hissar North | Sahib Ram | bgcolor=#0OBFFF rowspan=4 | Indian National Congress | |
| 12 | 12 | Rohtak North | Lahri Singh | |||
| 13 | 13 | Rohtak Central | Badlu Ram | |||
| 14 | 14 | Jhajjar | Sher Singh | |||
| 15 | 15 | North-western Gurgaon | Manohar Singh | bgcolor=blue rowspan=2 | Unionist Party | |
| 16 | 16 | bgcolor=lightyellow | South-Eastern Gurgaon | bgcolor=wheat | Prem Singh | |
| 17 | South-Eastern Gurgaon | Jiwan Lal | bgcolor=#00BFFF rowspan=5 | Indian National Congress | ||
| 18 | 17 | Karnal South | Chandan | |||
| 19 | 18 | Karnal North | Jagdish Chandar | |||
| 20 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Karnal North | Sundar Singh | |||
| 21 | 19 | Ambala-Simla | Ratan Singh | |||
| 22 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Ambala-Simla | Priti Singh Azad | Independent | ||
| 23 | 20 | Kangra North | Pancham Chand | Indian National Congress | ||
| 24 | 21 | Kangra South | Dalip Singh | |||
| 25 | 22 | Kangra East | Bali Ram | |||
| 26 | 23 | Kangra West | Bhagat Ram Sharma | |||
| 27 | 24 | Hoshiarpur West | Mango Ram | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | |
| 28 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Hoshiarpur West | Mehar Chand | bgcolor=#00BFFF rowspan=2 | Indian National Congress | |
| 29 | 25 | Una | Mohan Lal | |||
| 30 | 26 | Jullundhar | Sant Ram | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | |
| 31 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Jullundhar | Gurbanta Singh | bgcolor=#00BFFF rowspan=10 | Indian National Congress | |
| 32 | 27 | Ludhiana-Ferozpur | Matu Ram | |||
| 33 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Ludhiana-Ferozpur | Ranbir Singh | |||
| 34 | 28 | Western Lahore | Fakir Chand | |||
| 35 | 29 | Amritsar-Sialkot | bgcolor=wheat | Kidar Nath Sehgal | ||
| 36 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Amritsar-Sialkot | Sundar Singh | |||
| 37 | 30 | Gurdaspur | Prabodh Chandra | |||
| 38 | 31 | Rawalpindi | bgcolor=wheat | Tilak Raj Chadha | ||
| 39 | 32 | South-Eastern Multan | bgcolor=wheat | Bihari Lal Chanana | ||
| 40 | 33 | Layallpur Jhang | Dev Raj Seth | |||
| 41 | bgcolor=lightyellow | Layallpur Jhang | Harbhajan Ram | Independent | ||
| 42 | 34 | West Multan | Virendra | Indian National Congress | ||
Muhammadan Urban
| S. No. | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 43 | 35 | Southern Towns | Gulam Samad | All-India Muslim League | |
| 44 | 36 | South-Eastern Towns | Shaukat Hayat Khan | ||
| 45 | 37 | Eastern Towns | Barkat Ali | ||
| 46 | 38 | Inner Lahore | Wazir Mohammed | ||
| 47 | 39 | Outer Lahore | Mohammed Rafiq | ||
| 48 | 40 | Amritsar City | Abdul Kareem Chauhan | ||
| 49 | 41 | North-Eastern Towns | Karamat Ali | ||
| 50 | 42 | Rawalpindi Towns | Firoz Khan Noon | ||
| 51 | 43 | Multan Towns | Mohammed Amin | ||
Muhammadan Rural
| S. No | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 52 | 44 | Hissar | bgcolor=wheat | Saheb daad Khan | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 53 | 45 | Rohtak | Khurshid Khan | ||||
| 54 | 46 | North-Western Gurgaon | Ahmad Jan | ||||
| 55 | 47 | South-Eastern Gurgaon | Mohtab Khan | ||||
| 56 | 48 | Karnal | Abdul Hamid Khan | ||||
| 57 | 49 | Ambala-Simla | Mohammed Hasan | ||||
| 58 | 50 | Kangra East-Hoshiarpur | Ali Akbar Khan | ||||
| 59 | 51 | Hoshiarpur West | Rana Nasrullah Khan | ||||
| 60 | 52 | Jullundur North | Abdus Salam Khan | ||||
| 61 | 53 | Jullundur South | Wali Mohammed Gohir | ||||
| 62 | 54 | Ludhiana | Iqbal Ahmed Khan | ||||
| 63 | 55 | Ferozpur Central | Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot | ||||
| 64 | 56 | Ferozpur East | Bashir Ahmed | ||||
| 65 | 57 | Fazilka | Bagh Ali Sukera | ||||
| 66 | 58 | Lahore South | Muzaffar Ali Khan Qizilibash | ||||
| 67 | 59 | Chunian | Muhammad Husain | ||||
| 68 | 60 | Kasur | Iftikhar-ud-din | ||||
| 69 | 61 | Amritsar | Nasrullah Khan | ||||
| 70 | 62 | Tarn Taran | Akram Ali Khan | ||||
| 71 | 63 | Ajanala | Zafrullah Khan Jhanian | ||||
| 72 | 64 | Gurdaspur East | Ghulam Farid | ||||
| 73 | 65 | Batala | Fateh Mohammed Sayal | Independent | |||
| 74 | 66 | Shakargarh | Abdul Ghaffar Khan | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=11 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 75 | 67 | Sialkot North | Nasar Din | ||||
| 76 | 68 | Sialkot Center | Muhammad Sarfraz Khan | ||||
| 77 | 69 | Sialkot South | Mumtaz Mohammed Khan Doultana | ||||
| 78 | 70 | Gujranwala North | Salah-ud-din Chatha | ||||
| 79 | 71 | Gujranwala East | Zafrullah Khan | ||||
| 80 | 72 | Hafizabad | Mohammed Khan Tarar | ||||
| 81 | 73 | Sheikhupura | Mohammed Husain Chatha | ||||
| 82 | 74 | Nankana Sahib | Shahadat Khan | ||||
| 83 | 75 | Shahdara | Roshan Din | ||||
| 84 | 76 | Gujarat North | Fazal Ilahi | ||||
| 85 | 77 | Gujarat East | Asghar Ali Khan | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 86 | 78 | South-Eastern Gujarat | Bahawal Bakhsh | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=3 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 87 | 79 | North-Western Gujarat | Jahan Khan | ||||
| 88 | 80 | South-Western Gujarat | Ghulam Rasul | ||||
| 89 | 81 | Shahpur | Sultan Ali Nangiana | bgcolor=blue rowspan=2 | Unionist Party | ||
| 90 | 82 | Khushab | Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana | ||||
| 91 | 83 | Bhalwal | Fazl Haq Piracha | bgcolor=#00BFFF | Indian National Congress | ||
| 92 | 84 | Sargodha | Allah Baksh Tiwana | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 93 | 85 | Jehlum | Khair Mehdi Khan | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=7 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 94 | 86 | Pind Dadan Khan | Gazanfar Ali Khan | ||||
| 95 | 87 | Chabwal | Sarfraz Ali Khan | ||||
| 96 | 88 | Rawalpindi Sadar | Zafuul Haq | ||||
| 97 | 89 | Gujar Khan | Akbar Khan | ||||
| 98 | 90 | Rawalpindi East | Kale Khan | ||||
| 99 | 91 | Attock North | Mumtaz Ali Khan | ||||
| 100 | 92 | Attock Central | bgcolor=wheat | Mohammed Nawaz Khan | Independent | ||
| 101 | 93 | Attock South | Mohy-ud-din Lal Badshah | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 102 | 94 | Mianwali North | Abdur Sattar Khan | bgcolor=#256520 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 103 | 95 | Mianwali South | Mohammed Abdullah Khan | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 104 | 96 | Montgomery | Mohammed Khan Khatia | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=11 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 105 | 97 | Okara | Abdul Haq | ||||
| 106 | 98 | Dipalpur | Ashiq Hussain | ||||
| 107 | 99 | Pakpattan | Abdul Hamid Khan | ||||
| 108 | 100 | Lyallpur | Aziz Din | ||||
| 109 | 101 | Samunduri | Rai Mir Mohammed Khan | ||||
| 110 | 102 | Toba Tek Singh | Nurullah | ||||
| 111 | 103 | Jaranwal | Rai Anwar Khan | ||||
| 112 | 104 | Jhang East | Ghulam Mohammed Shah | ||||
| 113 | 105 | Jhang Central | Mubarak Ali Shah | ||||
| 114 | 106 | Jhang West | Mohammed Arif Khan Sial | ||||
| 115 | 107 | Multan | Ashiq Hussain Qureshi | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 116 | 108 | Shujabad | Mohammed Raja | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=6 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 117 | 109 | Lodhran | Gulam Mustafa Gilani | ||||
| 118 | 110 | Mailsi | Allah Yar Khan Doultana | ||||
| 119 | 111 | Khanewal | Budhan Shah Khagga | ||||
| 120 | 112 | Kabirwala | Naubahar Shah Bokhari | ||||
| 121 | 113 | Muzaffargarh Sadar | Abdul Hamid Khan Dasti | ||||
| 122 | 114 | Alipur | Mohammed Ibrahim Barq | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 123 | 115 | Muzaffargarh North | Gulam Jilani Gurmani | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=2 | All-India Muslim League | ||
| 124 | 116 | Dera Gaji Khan North | bgcolor=wheat | Ata Mohammed Khan | |||
| 125 | 117 | Dera Gaji Khan Central | Shah Faiz Mohammed | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | ||
| 126 | 118 | Dera Gaji Khan South | Bahadur Khan Drishak | bgcolor=#256520 | All-India Muslim League | ||
Sikh Urban
| S. No. | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 127 | 119 | Eastern Towns | Inder Singh | bgcolor=#FF9933 rowspan=2 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 128 | 120 | Western Towns | Ujjal Singh | |||
Sikh Rural
| S. No. | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 129 | 121 | South-Eastern Punjab | Narotam Singh | bgcolor=#FF9933 rowspan=5 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 130 | 122 | Ambala North | Baldev Singh | |||
| 131 | 123 | Kangara North-Hoshiarpur | Shiv Saran Singh | |||
| 132 | 124 | Hoshiarpur South | Piara Singh | |||
| 133 | 125 | Jullundur West | Swaran Singh | |||
| 134 | 126 | Jullundur East | Kabul Singh | bgcolor=#00BFFF | Indian National Congress | |
| 135 | 127 | Ludhiana East | Kapur Singh | Shiromani Akali Dal | ||
| 136 | 128 | Ludhiana Central | Bachan Singh | bgcolor=00BFFF rowspan=2 | Indian National Congress | |
| 137 | 129 | Jagraon | Kehar Singh | |||
| 138 | 130 | Ferozpur North | Rattan Singh | Shiromani Akali Dal | ||
| 139 | 131 | Ferozpur East | Rur Singh | bgcolor=#00BFFF | Indian National Congress | |
| 140 | 132 | Ferozpur West | Gurbachan Singh | bgcolor=#FF9944 rowspan=2 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 141 | 133 | Ferozpur South | Tara Singh | |||
| 142 | 134 | Lahore West | Sardul Singh | bgcolor=#DDDDDD | Independent | |
| 143 | 135 | Kasur | Sajjan Singh | Indian National Congress | ||
| 144 | 136 | Amritsar North | Ishar Singh Majhail | bgcolor=#FF9933 rowspan=2 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 145 | 137 | Amritsar Central | Udham Singh Nagoke | |||
| 146 | 138 | Amritsar South | Partap Singh Kairon | bgcolor=#00BFFF rowspan=2 | Indian National Congress | |
| 147 | 139 | Gurdaspur North | Shiv Singh | |||
| 148 | 140 | Batala | Waryam Singh | bgcolor=#FF9933 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 149 | 141 | Sialkot | Gurbachan Singh Bajwa | Independent | ||
| 150 | 142 | Gujranwala-Shahadara | Joginder Singh Mann | bgcolor=#FF9933 rowspan=2 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 151 | 143 | Sheikhupura West | Maan Singh | |||
| 152 | 144 | Gujarat Shahpur | Prem Singh | Independent | ||
| 153 | 145 | North-Western Punjab | Jaswant Singh Duggal | bgcolor=#FF9933 rowspan=5 | Shiromani Akali Dal | |
| 154 | 146 | Montgomery East | Narinder Singh | |||
| 155 | 147 | Lyallpur West | Giani Kartar Singh | |||
| 156 | 148 | Lyallpur East | Dalip Singh Kang | |||
| 157 | 149 | South-Western Punjab | Ajit Singh | |||
Special
| S. No | Cons. No. | Constituency | Winner | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | ||||||
| 158 | 150 | Lahore City (General) | bgcolor=wheat | Rameshwari Nehru | Indian National Congress | |
| 159 | 151 | Inner Lahore (Muhammadan) | Begum Tassadaq Husain | bgcolor=#256520 rowspan=2 | All-India Muslim League | |
| 160 | 152 | Outer Lahore (Muhammadan) | Jahagira Shah Nawaz | |||
| 161 | 153 | Amritsar South (Sikh) | Raghbir Kaur | Indian National Congress | ||
| Anglo-Indian | ||||||
| 162 | 154 | Punjab Anglo-Indian | bgcolo=wheat | P. Manuel | Independent | |
| European | ||||||
| 163 | 155 | European | P. H. Guest | Independent | ||
| Indian Christian | ||||||
| 164 | 156 | East-Central Punjab | Fazal Ilahi | Independent | ||
| 165 | 157 | West-Central Punjab | S. P. Sangha | bgcolor=blue | Unionist Party | |
| Commerce and Industry | ||||||
| 166 | 158 | Punjab Commerce and Industry | Bhagwan Das | Indian National Congress | ||
| Landholders | ||||||
| 167 | 159 | Eastern Punjab (General) | Durga Chand Kaushik | Indian National Congress | ||
| 168 | 160 | Central Punjab (Sikh) | Jagjit Singh | Shiromani Akali Dal | ||
| 169 | 161 | Northern Punjab (Muhammadan) | Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana | bgcolor=blue rowspan=3 | Unionist Party | |
| 170 | 162 | Western Punjab (Muhammadan) | Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana | |||
| 171 | 163 | Baluch Tumandars (Muhammadan) | bgcolor=wheat | Jamal Khan Leghari | ||
| Trade and Labour Unions | ||||||
| 172 | 164 | Punjab Trade and Labour Unions | Ganga Saran | bgcolor=#00BFFF rowspan=2 | Indian National Congress | |
| 173 | 165 | Eastern Punjab | Daud Ghaznavi | |||
| 174 | 166 | Northern Punjab | Barkat Hayat Khan | Independent | ||
| University | ||||||
| 175 | 167 | Punjab Universities | Gopi Chand Bhargava | Indian National Congress | ||
A coalition consisting of the Congress, Unionist Party and the Akalis was formed in Punjab.[4]
Ishtiaq Ahmed has given an account[5] of how the Coalition Government in the United Punjab collapsed as a result of a massive campaign launched by the then Punjab Muslim League(the largest party in Punjab assembly at that time with 73 seats). AIML (Punjab) deemed the coalition government as a 'non-representative' government and thought it was their right to bring such government down (notwithstanding the fact that it was a legal and democratically elected government). AIML (P) called for a 'Civil Disobedience' movement (which was fully backed by Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Liaqat Ali Khan, after they had failed to enlist Sikh's support to help form an AIML led government in Punjab). This led to bloody communal riots in Punjab during the later part of 1946. By early 1947, 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 (Chief Minister) Khizar Hayat 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 Dal sikhs who, with 22 seats, were major stake-holders in the coalition government along with Congress(51) and the Unionist Party (20), were infuriated over the dissolution of the Khizar 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: From this day onward, Punjab was engulfed in such bloodied communal riots that the history had never witnessed before. Eventually, Punjab had to be partitioned into the Indian Punjab and Pakistani Punjab. In the process, over a million people were massacred, millions more were forced to cross-over and to become refugees while thousands of women were abducted, raped and killed, across all religious communities in Punjab.
On 3 June 1947 the assembly which was elected in 1946 divided into two parts. One was West Punjab Assembly and other was East Punjab Assembly to decide whether or not the province of Punjab be partitioned. After voting on both sides, partition was decided. Consequently, the existing Punjab Legislative Assembly was also divided into West Punjab Legislative Assembly and the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. The sitting members belonging to the Western Section subsequently became the members of the new Assembly renamed as the West Punjab Legislative Assembly.
The sitting members belonging to the Eastern Section subsequently became the members of the new Assembly renamed as the East Punjab Legislative Assembly. The members which were elected in 1946 election on the ticket of Shiromani Akali Dal and Unionist Party after Partition all joined the Indian National Congress. There were a total of 79 members.[6]
On 15 August 1947 Gopi Chand Bhargava was elected the Chief Minister of East Punjab by the members of the interim assembly.
On 1 November 1947, the interim assembly sat for the first time. Kapur Singh was elected Speaker on the same day and 2 days later (on 3 November), Thakur Panchan Chand was elected Deputy Speaker.
On 6 April 1949 Bhim Sen Sachar and Pratap Singh Kairon with other members moved Motion of no confidence against Gopi Chand Bhargava. Dr. Bhargava failed to secure motion by one vote. No confidence motion was carried by 40 votes in favour and 39 against.[7]
On the same day Bhim Sen Sachar elected the leader of congress assembly party. He took the oath of Chief Minister of Punjab on 13 April 1949. On the issue of corruption Sachar resigned from the post and on next day on 18 October 1949, Bhargava took charge of Chief Minister of Punjab.
Thakur Panchan Chand resigned from the post of Deputy Speaker on 20 March 1951. On 26 March 1951 Smt. Shanno Devi elected Deputy Speaker. Interim Assembly was dissolved on 20 June 1951.
On 15 August 1947, Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot was elected Chief minister by members of the newly elected West Punjab Assembly.
Zimni elections in Pakistan