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1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election

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1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election
← 1946 8–12 March 1954 1962 →
All 309 seats in the East Bengal Legislative Assembly
156 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader A. K. Fazlul Huq Rasaraj Mandal
Party United Front SCF
Seats won 223 27
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Nurul Amin
Party PNC Muslim League
Seats won 24 9
Chief Minister before election

Governor Rule
Muslim League

Elected Chief Minister

A. K. Fazlul Huq
United Front

Legislative elections were held in East Bengal between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947.[1] The opposition United Front led by the Awami League and Krishak Sramik Party won a landslide victory with 223 of the 309 seats.[2] The Muslim League Chief Minister of East Pakistan Nurul Amin was defeated in his own constituency by Khaleque Nawaz Khan by over 7,000 votes, with all the Muslim League ministers losing their seats.[3]

Background

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The Bengal Legislative Assembly had been elected as part of the provincial elections in 1946 in British Bengal. Following the partition of Bengal, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly was created consisting of the Muslim members of the former Assembly. Due to delays in implementing the constitution of Pakistan, its term was extended several times, with around 34 seats (reserved for Hindus living in East Bengal) left vacant as the Hindu members elected from East Bengal had migrated to West Bengal (where they became the members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly) to escape the communal riots unleashed by the partition, and by-elections were not held by the Pakistani administration to replace them.[4]

Electoral system

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Under the Government of India Act of 1935, which was the main law of the Dominion of Pakistan until the constitution of Pakistan came into effect in 1956, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly consisted of 309 seats, of which 228 were reserved for Muslims, 36 for scheduled castes, 12 for women (nine Muslims, one Hindu and two scheduled caste), two for Buddhists and one for Christians.[5] There were also 30 'general' seats for Hindus.[5]

A total of 19,541,563 voters were registered for the elections, of which 9,239,720 were women.[5] Of the total voters, 15,159,825 were able to vote in the Muslim seats, 2,303,578 in the scheduled caste seats, 2,095,355 in the Hindu seats, 136,417 in the Buddhist seats and 43,911 for the Christian seat.[5]

Campaign

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The Muslim League published its manifesto on 13 December 1953, calling for Bengali to be made an official state language, reform in agricultural and education and improvements in healthcare,[6] and began its campaign in January 1954.[7] The Awami League published a 41-point manifesto focusing on autonomy, political reform and nationalisation.[8] The Communists published a 22-point manifesto on 2 December, calling for them to be the leading party in a united front against the Muslim League, as well as promoting autonomy and the recognition of Bengali.[9]

Several opposition parties called for a creation of an opposition front, with agreement reached between the Awami League and the Krishak Sramik Party on 4 December.[10] The Front was later joined by the Nizam-e-Islam Party and Ganatantri Dal.[11]

A total of 1,285 candidates contested the elections; 986 for the 228 Muslim seats, 151 for the 36 scheduled caste seats, 103 for the 30 Hindu seats, 37 for the women's seats and twelve for the two Buddhist seats. The Christian seat had only one candidate, as did the Hindu women's seat and one of the scheduled caste seats. Two Hindu seats also had one candidate who was returned unopposed.[5] The Muslim League and United Front ran candidates in all 237 Muslim seats.[12]

Results

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The results of 1954 elections in East Pakistan were conclusive. The United Front won 223 of the 237 Muslim seats in the provincial assembly and obtained nearly 64% of the vote. In contrast the Muslim League won only nine seats and secured less than 27% of the vote in the contested constituencies. Among the most exciting aspects of the election was the defeat of several ministers including Nurul Amin, the Muslim League Chief Minister.[13] A. K. Fazlul Huq was elected in two constituencies,[2] forcing a by-election in one of them. The Khilafat-e-Robbani party of AKM Rafiq Ullah Choudhury, which had also participated in the Bengali language movement, won one Muslim seat.

The East Bengal Scheduled Castes Federation (the East Bengal unit of the SCF founded by B. R. Ambedkar) won the most seats reserved for scheduled castes while the Pakistan National Congress (the Pakistani unit of the Indian National Congress) won the most Hindu seats. The Minority United Front, consisting of Pakistan Gana Samiti, Pakistan Socialist Party and Abhay Ashram, contested both scheduled caste and Hindu seats. The Communist Party of Pakistan won four Hindu seats but failed to win any Muslim seats.

The Ganatantri Dal was the only party to win both Hindu and Muslim seats.

Party or allianceVotes%Seats
United FrontAwami League143
Krishak Sramik Party48
Nizam-e-Islam Party19
Ganatantri Dal13
Muslim League9
Khilafat-e-Robbani1
Independents4
Muslim seats5,760,17978.43237
Scheduled Caste Federation27
Pakistan National Congress24
Minority United Front10
Communist Party4
Ganatantri Dal3
Buddhists2
Christian1
Independent Hindu1
Non-Muslim seats1,584,03721.5772
Total7,344,216100.00309
Total votes7,344,216–
Registered voters/turnout19,541,56337.58
Source: Nair

Cabinet

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The United Front cabinet was formed on 15 May 1954 under the leadership of Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq.[14]

Portfolio Minister Took office Left office Party Ref
Chief Minister3 April 195429 May 1954 KSP[14]
Minister of Civil Supplies15 May 195429 May 1954 Awami League (Pakistan)[14]
Minister of Finance15 May 195429 May 1954 KSP[14]
Minister of Law and Justice15 May 195429 May 1954 KSP[14]
Minister of Public Health15 May 195429 May 1954 Awami League (Pakistan)[14]
Minister of Education15 May 195429 May 1954 KSP[14]
Minister of Industries and Labour15 May 195429 May 1954 Awami League (Pakistan)[14]
Minister of Rural Development and Co-operatives15 May 195429 May 1954 Awami League (Pakistan)[14]
Minister of Revenue and Land Reform15 May 195429 May 1954 [14]
Minister of State Acquisition15 May 195429 May 1954 [14]
Minister of Commerce and Power Development15 May 195429 May 1954 [14]
Minister of Agriculture, Forest and Jute15 May 195429 May 1954 KSP[14]
Minister of Medical and Jail15 May 195429 May 1954 KSP[14]
Minister of Roads and Housing15 May 195429 May 1954 BNIP[14]

Aftermath

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Following the elections, independent Assembly member Fazlal Qadir Chowdhury joined the Muslim League to give them ten seats, allowing the party to form a parliamentary group.[3]

Legacy

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The defeat of Muslim League created an idiom in the Bengali language "Hate Hariken Dhoriye Deya" (Bengali: হাতে হারিকেন ধরিয়ে দেয়া, lit. 'Hand over the hurricane') as the party's election symbol was the lantern (hariken in Bengali).[15]

References

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  1. ^ M Bhaskaran Nair (1990) Politics in Bangladesh: A Study of Awami League, 1949-58 Archived 17 September 2017 at the Wayback Machine, Northern Book Centre, p137
  2. ^ a b Nair, p165
  3. ^ a b Nair, p167
  4. ^ Nair, p136
  5. ^ a b c d e Nair, p166
  6. ^ Nair, pp137–138
  7. ^ Nair, p156
  8. ^ Nair, p139
  9. ^ Nair, p145
  10. ^ Nair, p148
  11. ^ Nair, p149
  12. ^ Nair, p155
  13. ^ Rashiduzzaman, M. (1970). The Awami League in the political development of Pakistan. Asian Survey, 10(7), 574-587.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Trivedi, Rabindra Nath, বাংলাদেশের ঐতিহাসিক সংগ্রাম ও মুক্তিযুদ্ধঃ প্রাসঙ্গিক দলিলপত্র (in Bengali)
  15. ^ "The origins of electoral symbols". The Business Standard. 2 December 2023.
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