Provincial and General Elections [1945-46]
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Quaid-i-Azam urged the Muslims to vote for the Muslim League |
With the failure of the Simla Conference, Lord Wavell announced that the elections of central and provincial legislature would be held in the winter of 1945 and after the elections a constitution making body would be set up. He also announced that after the elections Viceroy would set an Executive Council, which would have the support of the main Indian Political Parties. The proposal was opposed by both Muslim League and Congress. Quaid-i-Azam declared that Muslims were not ready to accept any settlement less than a separate homeland for them and the All India Congress Committee characterized the proposal as vague, inadequate and unsatisfactory because it was not talking about independence. Yet the two parties launched huge election campaigns. They knew that the elections would be crucial for the future of India, as the results were to play an important role in determining their standing. The League wanted to sweep the Muslim constituencies so as to prove that they were the sole representatives of the Muslims of Sub-continent, while Congress wanted to prove that, irrespective of religion, they represent all the Indians. Both Muslim League and Congress rose opposite slogans during their campaign. Muslim League presented one point manifesto; if you want Pakistan vote for Muslim League. Congress on the other hand stood for United India. Quaid-i-Azam himself toured the length and breadth of India and tried to bridge up all the factions of the Muslim community under the banner of Muslim League.
To counter his move Congress press abused the Quaid and termed his demand for Pakistan as ‘vivisection of Mother India’, ‘reactionary primitivism’ and ‘religious barbarism’. Congress tried to brand Muslim League as an ultra-conservative clique of Knights, Khan Bahadurs, toadies and Government pensioners. Congress also tried to get the support of all the provincial and central Muslim parties who had some differences with the League, and backed them in the elections. Elections for the Central Legislature were held in December 1945. Though the franchise was limited, the turnover was extra ordinary.
Congress was able to sweep the pools for the non-Muslim seats as they managed to win more then 80 percent of the general seats and about 91.3 percent of the total general votes. However, Leagues performance was even more impressive as it managed to win all the 30 seats reserved for the Muslims. The results of the provincial election held in early 1946 were not different. Congress won most of the non-Muslim seats while Muslim League captured approximately 95 percent of the Muslim seats. The Central Election Board of the Congress in a bulletin issued on January 6, 1946 claimed that the election results have vindicated the party as the biggest, strongest and the most representative organization in the country. On the other hand League celebrated January 11, 1946 as the Day of victory and declared that the election results were enough to prove that Muslim League under the leadership of Quaid-i-Azam was the sole representative of the Muslims of the region.
