Pakistan Election 1937

By: Sehrish Shahid

 Elections, 1937
The elections were held in January and February of
1937.congress won the absolute majority in the five
provinces and was the largest province in four other. It
was invited to united provinces, the central provinces,
Bihar, Orissa, madras, Bombay and later, Assam and the
three remaining provinces(Punjab, Sindh and Bengal)
where there was a Muslim majority ,the league did not
fare well. it won only 109 out of 482 seats while on the
other hand congress won huge number of votes, however,
which seats reserved for Muslims. The election had not
been a success for the muslin league
Election Results
The final results of the elections were declared in
February 1937. The Indian National Congress
emerged in power in all the provinces except for three
- Bengal, Punjab, and Sindh. The All-India Muslim
League failed to form the government in any province.
The Congress ministries resigned in October and
November 1939, in protest against Viceroy Lord
Linlith gow's action of declaring India to be a
belligerent in the Second World War without
consulting the Indian people.
 Madras Presidency
• Madras Presidency legislative assembly
election, 1937 and Madras Presidency
legislative council election, 1937
• In Madras, the Congress won 74% of all
seats, eclipsing the incumbent Justice
Party (21 seats).
 Sindh
• Sindh legislative assembly election, 1937
• The Sind Legislative Assembly had 60
members. The Sind United Party emerged the
leader with 22 seats, and the Congress
secured 8 seats. Mohammad Ali Jinnah had
tried to set up a League Parliamentary Board
in Sindh in 1936, but he failed, though 72% of
the population was Muslim.[2] Though 34
seats were reserved for Muslims, the Muslim
League could secure none of them.[3]
 United Provinces
The UP legislature consisted of a Legislative
Council of 52 elected and 6 or 8 nominated
members and a Legislative Assembly of 228
elected members: some from exclusive Muslim
constituencies, some from "General"
constituencies, and some "Special"
constituencies.[4] The Congress won a clear
majority in the United Provinces, with 133 seats,
[5] while the Muslim League won only 27 out of
the 64 seats reserved for Muslims.[6]
 Assam

In Assam, the Congress won 33 seats out

of a total of 108 making it the single
largest party, though it was not in a
position to form a ministry. The Governor
called upon Sir Muhammad Sadulla, ex-
Judicial Member of Assam and Leader of
the Assam Valley Muslim Party to form
the ministry.[7] The Congress was a part
of the ruling coalitio
 Bombay
• Bombay Presidency elections, 19
• In Bombay, the Congress fell just short of
gaining half the seats. However, it was
able to draw on the support of some small
pro-Congress groups to form a working
majority. B.G. Kher became the first
Chief Minister of Bombay
 Other provinces
• In three additional provinces, Central Provinces, Bihar, and
Orissa, the Congress won clear majorities. In the
overwhelmingly Muslim North-West Frontier Province,
Congress won 19 out of 50 seats and was able, with minor
party support, to form a ministry.[8
• The Unionist Party under Sikander Hyat Khan formed the
government in Punjab with 67 out of 175 seats. The Congress
won 18 seats and the Akali Dal, 10.[9] In Bengal, though the
Congress was the largest party (with 52 seats), The Krishak
Praja Party of A. K. Fazlul Huq (with 36 seats) was able to
form a coalition government.
 The Muslim League
• The election results were a blow to the
League. After the election, Muhammad Ali
Jinnah of the League offered to form
coalitions with the Congress. The League
insisted that the Congress should not
nominate any Muslims to the ministries, as
it (the League) claimed to be the exclusive
representative of Indian Muslims. This was
not acceptable to the Congress, and it
declined the League's offer
 Reason behind Muslim league bad
performance in election 1937
• The Muslims league did not do will in the elections
of 1937 because of three reasons
• Because of Jinnah’s voluntary exile
• Because of less experienced leaders and the last
• Because of less political amongst people