The Punjab Legislative Assembly was the legislature of the province of Punjab in British India. Established by British authorities under Government of India Act 1935, the assembly had executive powers and members directly elected from 175 constituencies by first past the post system.
Speakers S. No.NameTenure PartyAssembly 1Shahab-ud-Din Virk6 April 193716 March 1945 Unionist Party1st2Sataya Prakash Singha21 March 19464 July 19472nd
Deputy Speakers S. No.NameTenurePartyAssembly 1Dasaundha Singh 6 April 19377 April 1941Unionist Party1st2Gurbachan Singh 22 April 194116 March 19453Kapur Singh26 March 19464 July 19472nd
Prime minister S. No.Name Tenure PartyAssembly 1Sikandar Hayat Khan5 April 193726 December 1942Unionist Party1st2Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana30 December 194219 March 194521 March 19462 March 19472nd
Seats Distribution All 175 constituencies were reserved on the bases of religion. It was as follows:- Constituency TypeUrbanRuralTotalGeneral 83442Muhammadans97584Sikhs22931Special^ - -18Total 19138175
^Special constituencies (non-territory constituency) were further divided into Categories and sub-categories as follow:- Women - 4 General - 1 Mohammadans - 2 Sikhs - 1 European - 1 Anglo-Indian - 1 Indian Christian - 2 Punjab Commerce and Industry - 1 Landholders - 5 General - 1 Mohammadans - 3 Sikhs - 1 Trade and Labour Unions - 3 University - 1 First Assembly
After the passing of Government of India act 1935, Legislative assembly was set up in Punjab. It consisted of 175 constituencies. Out of these 159 were single-member constituencies and 8 were double-members constituencies. In double-members constituencies one was reserved for the Schedule Caste according to Poona Pact.Elections in Punjab 1920-1947 (Pdf),(p. 16), Book by Kirpal C. Yadav. Retrieved 7 May 2021. In double constituencies each voter had two votes to cast his vote, one for SC candidate and one for general candidate but considered as one vote to calculate voter turnout. PartySeats wonUnionist Party(UoP)98Indian National Congress(INC)18Khalsa National Party(KNP)13Hindu Election Board(HEB)12Shiromani Akali Dal(SAD)11Majlis-e-Ahrar-ul-Islam(MAI)4All-India Muslim League(AIML)2Congress Nationalist Party(CNP)1Independents(IND)16Total175 Source:Political Development and Political Parties in Punjan 1849-1948 (Pdf), (p. 74), Pakistan Journal of Social Science Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2009) pp. 65-78. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
Second Assembly
On the eve of the elections, the political landscape in the Punjab was finely poised, and the Muslim League offered a credible alternative to the Unionist Party. The transformation itself had been rapid, as most landlords and pirs had not switched allegiance until after 1944. The breakdown of talks between the Punjab Premier, Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana and Muhammad Ali Jinnah in late 1944 had meant many Muslims were now forced to choose between the two parties at the forthcoming election. A further blow for the Unionists came with death of its leading statesman Sir Chhotu Ram in early 1945.
The Result of election was as follows:-Political Development and Political Parties in Punjan 1849-1948 (Pdf), (p. 74), Pakistan Journal of Social Science Vol. 29, No. 1 (June 2009) pp. 65-78. Retrieved 14 May 2021. PartySeats wonChangeAll-India Muslim League73 71Indian National Congress51 33Shiromani Akali Dal21 10Unionist Party19 79Independent11 05Others0 30Total175
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