Significance of Provincial Elections in Punjab (1946)
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The Muslim League's
performance in the 1946 Punjab provincial elections was disastrous politically.
Punjab, in Muhammad Ali Jinnah's opinion, held the secret to Pakistan. Pakistan
could not have been created until the Muslim League took control of Punjab.
Though the Muslim League has been the only significant party in the Punjab
legislature, it has been unable to secure an overall majority. It won 75 seats
out of an assembly of 175 (Congress-51, Unionists-21, Sikhs-21, Muslim
League-75, Communists-0, Others-7 Independents). However, the ministry could
not be formed by the Muslim League. Khizr Hyat Khan Tiwana has been invited by
Punjab Governor Sir Bertrand Glancy to establish the ministry. Thus, the Indian National Congress, the Sikhs, and the Unionists of Punjab formed a "Coalition
Government." The Muslim League now promised to bring complete Muslim
authority to Punjab and focused its efforts on overthrowing the newly formed
coalition government. The Muslim League's political demand for Pakistan was one of the
revolutionary effects of the 1946 elections on the Punjabi communities, which
tried to survive by supporting their separate political parties based on
religious affiliations. The political landscape sought a significant change in
the political attitudes of Muslim and non Muslim parties as a result of these
elections, but the political protagonist was unable to make concessions to
these shifting interests.
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