Advsalahuddinahmed at 01:39, 30 April 2026

2026-04-30T01:39:45Z

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{{Short description|1947 indirect election in British India}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}}
{{Infobox Election
| election_name = 1947 Pakistan Constituent Assembly election
| country = Pakistan
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| turnout =
| previous_election = 1946 Indian Constituent Assembly election
| previous_year = 1946
| outgoing_members =
| next_election = 1955 Pakistani Constituent Assembly election
| next_year = 1955
| elected_members = List of members of the 1st Constituent Assembly of Pakistan
| election_date = {{Start date|1947|07}}
| seats_for_election = 69 seats in the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]
| registered = 425
| majority_seats = 35
| image1 = {{CSS image crop|Image=Jinnah1945c.jpg|bSize=70|cWidth=70|cHeight=100|oLeft=|oTop=0}}
| leader1 = [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]]
| leader_since1 = 1937
| party1 = All-India Muslim League
| leaders_seat1 =
| last_election1 = 73
| seats1 = '''59'''
| popular_vote1 =
| percentage1 =
| seat_change1 = {{decrease}} 14
| image2 = {{CSS image crop|Image=Kiran Shankar Roy.jpg|bSize=75|cWidth=70|cHeight=100|oLeft=|oTop=0}}
| leader2 = [[Kiran Shankar Roy]]
| leader_since2 = 1947
| colour2 =
| party2 = Indian National Congress
| leaders_seat2 =
| seats2 = 9
| last_election2 = 208
| popular_vote2 =
| percentage2 =
| seat_change2 = {{decrease}} 199
| title = Head of the [[Interim Government of India|Interim Government of British India]]
| posttitle = [[Prime Minister of Pakistan]]
| before_election = [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]
| before_party = Indian National Congress
| after_election = [[Liaquat Ali Khan]]
| after_party = All-India Muslim League
}}
Before the [[independence of Pakistan]] in 1947, members of the first term of the [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]] were elected through an [[indirect election]] held after June by the votes of the members of the legislative assemblies of [[Assam Province|Assam]], [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal]], and [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab]]. Representatives from [[Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Baluchistan]], the [[North-West Frontier Province|North-West Frontier]], and [[Sind Province (1936–1955)|Sind]] were taken directly through the earlier [[1946 Indian Constituent Assembly election|1946 Constituent Assembly elections]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=Second Constituent Assembly of Pakistan: Politics for Dissolution of Former Assembly and Electoral Regulations for New Assembly|page=49–57|year=2020|volume=3|issue=3|issn=27066525|doi=10.36902/sjesr-vol3-iss3-2020(49-57)|first1=Rizwan Ullah|last1=Kokab|first2=Ali Shan|last2=Shah|first3=Tariq|last3=Aziz|journal=Sir Syed Journal of Education & Social Research|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==Background==
{{See also|Pakistan Movement}}
In 1946, after the [[1946 Indian provincial elections|provincial elections]] were held in [[British India]], the [[British government]] sent a [[1946 Cabinet Mission to India|Cabinet Mission]] to the colony. The mission proposed the formation of an Indian confederacy, where autonomous states would have the authority to frame their own constitutions in unitary groups. Following the [[1946 Indian Constituent Assembly election|Constituent Assembly election]] later that year, the [[Constituent Assembly of India]] was formed. [[Indian National Congress]], the largest member party, initially accepted the mission's proposal but later the party's leader [[Jawaharlal Nehru]] rejected it.<ref name=b>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Pakistan}}</ref> As a result, the Muslim nationalist [[All-India Muslim League]] boycotted the assembly sessions,<ref>M. Lakshmikanth, ''Indian Polity for Civil Services Examinations'', 3rd ed., (New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited, 2011), p. 2.3</ref> and its leader [[Muhammad Ali Jinnah]] refused to participate in the assembly.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44141168|title=THE MUSLIM LEAGUE AND THE CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY OF INDIA|first=Sangam|last=Lal|journal=Proceedings of the Indian History Congress|year=1981|volume=42|page=495|publisher=[[Indian History Congress]]}}</ref> On 3 June 1947, the then British prime minister [[Clement Attlee]] announced the plan for the transfer of power and proposed the formation of [[Constituent Assembly of Pakistan|a separate Constituent Assembly]] for the [[Dominion of Pakistan|proposed state for Indian Muslims]]. He also declared that members of the proposed assembly would be elected by the votes of provincial legislative assembly members.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1947/jun/03/india-transfer-of-power|title=INDIA (TRANSFER OF POWER)|date=3 June 1947|publisher=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]}}</ref>

==Planning==
After the vote by members of the [[Bengal Legislative Assembly (1937—1947)|Bengal Legislative Assembly]] on 20 June in favor of the [[Partition of Bengal (1947)|partition of Bengal]], the following day it was announced that the date for submitting nominations for the Constituent Assembly elections in the [[Bengal Presidency|Bengal region]] would be 30 June, and the election would be held in 5 July.<ref>{{cite news|title=ELECTION TO CONSAMBLIES Provisional Dates For Divided Bengal|page=1|date=22 June 1947|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref> Meanwhile, in 23 June, after the members of [[Punjab Legislative Council (British India)|Punjab Legislative Assembly]] voted in favor of the partition of Punjab, elections were announced to be held around July in the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab region]].<ref>{{cite news|title=PUNJAB TO BE PARTITIONED Eastern Section Votes Division By 50 To 22 WESTERN AREA DECIDES TO JOIN NEW CONSAMBLY|page=1|date=24 June 1947|newspaper=[[The Indian Express]]}}</ref> In 22 July, it was announced that the legislative seats of [[Assam Province]] had been divided into Group A and Group B for the elections. From Group B's 29 seats, 3 members (including 2 Muslims) would be elected to the new Constituent Assembly by a vote among the members.<ref>{{cite news|title=গণ-পরিষদে আসামের প্রতিনিধি এ-গুরুপ হইতে ৮ ও বি-গুরুপ হইতে ৩জনঃ প্রেসনোটের ঘোষণা|trans-title=Assam's Representation in the Constituent Assembly: 8 from Group A and 3 from Group B, says press note|lang=bn|page=5|date=24 July 1947|newspaper=[[Jugantar Patrika]]}}</ref> In 30 July, candidates from Assam submitted their nomination papers, and it was announced that the election for the province would be held on 2 August 1947 at the legislative building in [[Shillong]], the provincial capital.<ref>{{cite news|title=PAKISTAN CONSEMBLY Nominations For League And Hindu Seats Filed|page=5|date=1 August 1947|newspaper=[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]}}</ref>

==Results==
{{See also|List of members of the 1st Constituent Assembly of Pakistan}}
On 26 July, the names of 66 elected members from [[East Bengal]], [[West Punjab]], [[Sind Province (1936–55)|Sindh]], [[North-West Frontier Province]], and [[Baluchistan (Chief Commissioner's Province)|Baluchistan]] were announced. Among those elected, 48 were Muslims and 2 were Sikhs. From East Bengal, 41 members were elected; from West Punjab, 17; from Sindh, 4; from the North-West Frontier Province, 3; and from Baluchistan, 1 member. Separate elections were not held for Sindh, the North-West Frontier Province, and Baluchistan; instead, members elected earlier to the Indian Constituent Assembly were directly taken as representatives.<ref>{{cite news|title=CONSEMBLY OF PAKISTAN Names Of Representatives Announced|page=10|date=27 July 1947|newspaper=[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]}}</ref> Out of the total elected members, 59 belonged to the All-India Muslim League.<ref>{{Cite Banglapedia|article=Constituent Assembly of Pakistan}}</ref>
{{Election results
|image=[[File:Pakistan Constituent Assembly 1947.svg]]
|party1=[[All-India Muslim League]]|votes1=|seats1=59
|party2=[[Indian National Congress]]|votes2=|seats2=9
|party13=Independents|color13=#DCDCDC|votes13=|seats13=1
|total_seats=69
|electorate=425
|source=
}}

==Aftermath==
On 28 July 1947, general secretary [[Liaquat Ali Khan]] convened a meeting of the All-India Muslim League members at the legislative building in Karachi for the Constituent Assembly.<ref>{{cite news|title=PAKISTAN CONSEMBLY League Members To Meet On August 9|page=5|date=30 July 1947|newspaper=[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]}}</ref> In 9 August, [[Kiran Shankar Roy]] and [[Bhim Sen Sachar]] were selected as the parliamentary leader and parliamentary deputy leader respectively of the Indian National Congress, the opposition party in the new Constituent Assembly.<ref>{{cite news|title=CONGRESS PARTY IN PAKISTAN CONSEMBLY|page=5|date=10 August 1947|newspaper=[[Amrita Bazar Patrika]]}}</ref> In 10 August, Muhammad Ali Jinnah was elected president of the Constituent Assembly.<ref>{{cite news|title=রবিবার পাকিস্থান রাষ্ট্র গঠন পরিষদের প্রথম অধিবেশন|trans-title=First Session of Pakistan State Constituent Assembly on Sunday|lang=bn|page=1|date=11 August 1947|newspaper=[[Jugantar Patrika]]}}</ref> On 14 August 1947, Pakistan gained independence from [[British Empire]].<ref name=b/> On the following day, under the leadership of Liaquat Ali Khan, the [[Liaquat Ali Khan government|first federal cabinet of Pakistan]] was formed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 February 2013 |title=Transfer of power and Jinnah |url=https://www.dawn.com/news/783530/transfer-of-power-and-jinnah |newspaper=[[Dawn (newspaper)|Dawn]]}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Pakistani elections}}

[[Category:1947 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:Constituent Assembly elections in Asia]]
[[Category:Indirect elections in Pakistan]]
[[Category:Elections in British India]]
[[Category:Constituent Assembly of Pakistan]]
[[Category:History of the All-India Muslim League]]

1947 Pakistani Constituent Assembly election - Revision history

Advsalahuddinahmed at 01:39, 30 April 2026