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{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election
| country = Bengal Presidency
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 1937 Bengal Legislative Assembly election
| previous_year = 1937
| next_year = [[1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1954 (East Bengal)]] →
<br /><br />{{nowrap|[[1952 West Bengal Legislative Assembly election|1952 (West Bengal)]]}}
| election_date = 1946
| seats_for_election = All 250 seats in the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly (1937—1947)|Bengal Legislative Assembly]]
| image1 = File:Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy.png
| image1_size = 100px
| leader1 = [[Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy]]
| party1 = All-India Muslim League
| leaders_seat1 =
| last_election1 = 43
| seats1 = 113
| seat_change1 = {{increase}} 70
| popular_vote1 =
| percentage1 =
| swing1 =
| image2 = File:Sarat Chandra Bose.jpg
| image2_size = 100px
| leader2 = [[Sarat Chandra Bose]]
| leaders_seat2 =
| party2 = Indian National Congress
| last_election2 = 54
| seats2 = 86
| seat_change2 = {{Increase}} 32
| popular_vote2 =
| percentage2 =
| swing2 =
| title = [[Prime Minister of Bengal|Prime Minister]]
| before_election = '''[[President's rule|Governor's rule]]'''
| before_party =
| after_election = '''[[Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy]]'''
| after_party = All-India Muslim League
}}

'''The 1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election''' was held in January 1946 as part of the final British [[1946 Indian provincial elections|Indian provincial elections]] before independence. The election resulted in a decisive victory for the [[All-India Muslim League]], which formed the provincial government in the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly]] under [[Prime Minister of Bengal|Prime Minister]] [[Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy]]. The election played a crucial role in shaping the political future of Bengal, leading to the eventual [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partition]] of the province in 1947.

== Background ==
The campaign environment was heavily polarized. The All-India Muslim League, led in Bengal by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, framed the election as a referendum on the [[Pakistan Movement|demand for Pakistan]], urging Muslim voters to support the League exclusively. This strategy mobilized Muslim communities around the League’s vision for a separate Muslim homeland.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Sengupta |first=Nitish |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LC7ZDgAAQBAJ |title=Bengal Divided |date=2012-11-19 |publisher=Random House Publishers India Pvt. Limited |isbn=978-93-86495-30-3 |language=en}}</ref>

Meanwhile, the Indian National Congress, with Sarat Chandra Bose leading the charge in Bengal, emphasized unity and a united India. Congress primarily contested general and Hindu seats, positioning itself as antithetical to partition and working to hold together a composite Bengal.<ref name=":0" />

==Seats==
The allocation of 250 seats in the assembly was based on the communal award. It is illustrated in the following.<ref name="banglapedia1">{{cite book |author=Sirajul Islam |year=2012 |chapter=Bengal Legislative Assembly |chapter-url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Bengal_Legislative_Assembly |editor1-last=Islam |editor1-first=Sirajul |editor1-link=Sirajul Islam |editor2-last=Jamal |editor2-first=Ahmed A. |title=Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh |edition=Second |publisher=[[Asiatic Society of Bangladesh]]}}</ref>
{{Div col|colwidth=22em}}
* General elected seats- 78
* [[Muslim]] electorate seats- 117
** Urban seats- 6
** Rural seats- 111
* [[Anglo-Indian]] electorate seats- 3
* [[Ethnic groups in Europe|European]] electorate seats- 11
* [[Indian Christian]] electorate seats- 2
* Commerce, Industries and Planting seats- 19
** [[Port of Calcutta]]
** [[Port of Chittagong]]
** [[Bengal Chamber of Commerce]]
** [[Jute]] Interest
** Tea Interest
** Railways
** Traders Associations
** Others
* [[Zamindar]] seats- 5
* Labour representatives- 8
* Education seats- 2
** [[University of Calcutta]]- 1
** [[University of Dacca]]- 1
* Women seats- 5
** General electorate- 2
** Muslim electorate- 2
** Anglo-Indian electorate- 1
{{div col end}}

==Results==
The election resulted in a decisive victory for the All-India Muslim League, giving it a dominant position in the 250-member Assembly. The League’s success was seen as a popular endorsement of the demand for Pakistan, particularly in Bengal, where Muslims constituted a majority of the population. The Indian National Congress secured most of the general (Hindu) seats, becoming the main opposition party. Other parties and independents also won a limited number of seats but failed to challenge the Muslim League’s dominance in Muslim constituencies.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Hasan |first=Mushirul |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=B1aqNAEACAAJ |title=India Partitioned: The Other Face of Freedom |date=2012 |publisher=Roli Books Private, Limited |isbn=978-81-7436-955-0 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |title=Political parties in South Asia |date=2004 |publisher=Praeger |isbn=978-0-275-96832-8 |editor-last=Mitra |editor-first=Subrata Kumar |edition=1st publ |series=Political parties in context |location=Westport, Conn. |editor-last2=Enskat |editor-first2=Mike |editor-last3=Spieß |editor-first3=Clemens}}</ref>{{Election results
|party1=[[All-India Muslim League|Muslim League]]|seats1=114
|party2=[[Indian National Congress]]|seats2=86
|colour3=yellow|party3=[[Krishak Praja Party]]|seats3=3
|party4=[[Communist Party of India]]|seats4=3
|party5=[[Hindu Mahasabha]]|seats5=1
|party6=Independent Hindus|seats6=8
|party7=Independent Muslims|seats7=13
|party8=Others|seats8=22
}}

== Aftermath ==

=== Government Formation ===
Following the election, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy of the Muslim League was invited to form the [[Suhrawardy ministry|government]]. He became the Chief Minister of Bengal in April 1946 and led a Muslim League-only ministry, one of the few provinces to be governed solely by the League during this period.<ref name=":1" />

Suhrawardy’s government functioned during a period of intense political negotiations over the future of India. His administration promoted provincial autonomy, economic reform aimed at Muslim-majority rural areas and furthered the League’s vision of Pakistan. The strong electoral mandate in Bengal was later used by Muslim League leaders to argue that Muslims in eastern India supported partition.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last=Bennell |first=A. S. |date=April 1983 |title=Escape from empire: the Attlee government and the Indian problem. By R. J. Moore, pp. xii, 376, front. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1983. £19.50. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-royal-asiatic-society/article/abs/escape-from-empire-the-attlee-government-and-the-indian-problem-by-r-j-moore-pp-xii-376-front-oxford-clarendon-press-1983-1950/DD8C595231BE9C58E6B530D8F9B3DF4F?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark |journal=Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society |language=en |volume=115 |issue=2 |pages=329–331 |doi=10.1017/S0035869X00137955 |issn=2051-2066|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

=== United Bengal Plan ===
In the months leading up to Partition, a proposal emerged to create an independent, undivided Bengal, separate from both India and Pakistan. This initiative, known as the [[United Bengal|United Bengal Plan]], was spearheaded by Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, the then Chief Minister of Bengal, and Sarat Chandra Bose, a prominent Congress leader and elder brother of [[Subhas Chandra Bose]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chatterji |first=Joya |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/bengal-divided/9B7D8CFAD7BCB416739BF9B5553E02EE |title=Bengal Divided: Hindu Communalism and Partition, 1932–1947 |date=1994 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-52328-8 |series=Cambridge South Asian Studies |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511563256}}</ref>

The plan envisioned Bengal as a sovereign nation-state, free from communal division, where Hindus and Muslims would co-govern a pluralistic society. Proponents argued that Bengal's unique cultural and economic unity should not be destroyed by partition. They emphasized Bengal's interdependent religious communities and sought to avoid the displacement and violence that partition would likely bring.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jalal |first=Ayesha |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/sole-spokesman/53629540A69011A6E2719E347AA80E91 |title=The Sole Spokesman: Jinnah, the Muslim League and the Demand for Pakistan |date=1985 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-45850-4 |series=Cambridge South Asian Studies |location=Cambridge |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511558856}}</ref>

At the same time, constitutional negotiations were underway at the national level. The Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946 proposed a federal structure for India, grouping provinces into sections with significant autonomy, leaving open the possibility for provinces like Bengal to choose their political future. The United Bengal Plan was thus seen by its advocates as a practical response aligned with the Cabinet Mission’s emphasis on provincial autonomy and regional grouping.<ref name=":2" />

Suhrawardy and Bose received some backing from other political figures, including Kiran Shankar Roy and Abul Hashim, then Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League. They also sought support from Mahatma Gandhi and the British Cabinet Mission, both of whom showed some interest in the idea as a potential solution to the communal deadlock.<ref name=":3" />

However, the proposal faced strong resistance from both the Indian National Congress and the Hindu Mahasabha, particularly in western Bengal. Many Hindu leaders feared that an independent Bengal with a Muslim majority would marginalize Hindu interests and effectively align Bengal with Pakistan. The All-India Muslim League, while initially cautious, ultimately supported partition along religious lines, consistent with its wider campaign for Pakistan.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Chatterji |first=Joya |date=1 January 1999 |title=The Fashioning of a Frontier: The Radcliffe Line and Bengal's Border Landscape, 1947–52 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/modern-asian-studies/article/abs/fashioning-of-a-frontier-the-radcliffe-line-and-bengals-border-landscape-194752/7DE26E8605CFB3DE9E7BF829D9C33C3B?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark |journal=Modern Asian Studies |language=en |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=185–242 |doi=10.1017/S0026749X99003066 |issn=1469-8099|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

On 20 June 1947, in a special session of the Bengal Legislative Assembly, members voted on the issue of partition. The Muslim-majority legislators voted for joining Pakistan, while non-Muslim members voted for remaining in India. This resulted in the partition of Bengal under the Indian Independence Act 1947, forming East Bengal (Pakistan) and West Bengal (India) on 15 August 1947. The Suhrawardy ministry came to an end with the dissolution of the United Bengal Assembly.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Menon |first=V. P. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FY5gI7SGU20C |title=The Transfer of Power in India |date=1997 |publisher=Orient Blackswan |isbn=978-81-250-0884-2 |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further sources==
*Shila Sen: ''Muslim Politics in Bengal 1937-47''. Impex India: New Delhi, 1976 ([https://www.1947partitionarchive.org/node/344 online summary])
* ''Assembly Proceedings Official Report Bengal Legislative Assembly Second Session 1946 The 17th 24th 25th 26th 27th 30th and 31st July and 1st August 1946'' ([https://southasiacommons.net/artifacts/2333450/assembly-proceedings-official-report-bengal-legislative-assembly-second-session-1946-the-17th-24th-25th-26th-27th-30th-and-31st-july-and-1st-august-1946/3095538/ online version])
* [https://advocatetanmoy.com/history-of-west-bengal-legislative-assembly-from-1861/ AdvocateTanmoy.com: History of West Bengal Legislative Assembly from 1861]

[[Category:1946 elections in India]]
[[Category:State Assembly elections in the Bengal Presidency]]

1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election - Revision history

Robctr at 23:04, 3 May 2026