1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election

The 1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election was held in January 1946 as part of the final British 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 Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy. The election played a crucial role in shaping the political future of Bengal, leading to the eventual partition of the province in 1947.

1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election

← 1937 1946 1949 (East Bengal) → 1952 (West Bengal) →
All 250 seats in the Bengal Legislative Assembly
First party Second party   Leader Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy Sarat Chandra Bose Party AIML INC Last election 43 54 Seats won 113 86 Seat change 70 32
Prime Minister before election Governor's rule Elected Prime Minister Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy AIML

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 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.^[1]

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.^[1]

Seats

The allocation of 250 seats in the assembly was based on the communal award. It is illustrated in the following.^[2]

• General elected seats- 78
• Muslim electorate seats- 117
  • Urban seats- 6
  • Rural seats- 111
• Anglo-Indian electorate seats- 3
• 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

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.^[3][4]

Party		Seats
	Muslim League	114
	Indian National Congress	86
	Krishak Praja Party	3
	Communist Party of India	3
	Hindu Mahasabha	1
	Independent Hindus	8
	Independent Muslims	13
	Others	22
Total		250

Aftermath

Government Formation

Following the election, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy of the Muslim League was invited to form the 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.^[3]

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.^[5]

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 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.^[6]

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.^[7]

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.^[5]

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.^[8]

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.^[9]

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.^[8]