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.
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.
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.
Seats The allocation of 250 seats in the assembly was based on the communal award. It is illustrated in the following.
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. Assembly wise leads
Constituency Constituency Type Elected Candidate Calcutta North General Hemanta Kumar Basu Calcutta East Jyotish Chandra Ghosh Calcutta North-Central Iswar Das Jalan Calcutta Central Basantika Murarka Calcutta South-Central J. C. Gupta Calcutta South Satish Chandra Bose Hooghly cum Howrah Municipal Shopati Majumdar Burdwan Division North Municipal Nikinjo Behari Maiti 24-Parganas Municipal Bepin Behari Ganguli Presidency Division Municipal Satish Chandra Chakravarty North Bengal Municipal Manoranjan Dhar East Bengal Municipal Kiran Sankar Roy Burdwan Central Jadabendro Nath Panja Burdwan North-West Anandaprasad Mandal Birbhum Mihir Lal Chattopadhyay Bankura West Kanal Lal De Bankura East Kamal Krishna Ray Midnapore Central Charu Chandra Mahanty Jhargram cum Ghatal Ananda Prosad Chowdhery Midnapore East Bajani Kanta Pramanik Midnapore South-East Pramatha Nath Bandopadhya Midnapore South-West Iswar Chandra Mal Hooghly North-East Dhirendra Narayan Mukherji Hooghly South-East Sukumar Dutta Howrah Sudil Kumar Banerjee 24-Parganas South-East Bimal Chandra Sinha 24-Parganas North-West Charu Chandra Bhandari Nadia Haripada Chatterjee Murshidabad Shyamapada Bhattacharyya Jessore Bijoy Krishna Sarkar Khulna Gobinda Lal Banerjee Rajshahi Provash Chandra Lahiry Malda Ram Hari Roy Dinajpur Nishikanta Kundu Jalpaiguri cum Siliguri Khagendra Nath Das Gupta Rangpur Brojo Maifab Das Bogra cum Pabna Surendra Chandra Das Gupta Dacca East Ganendra Chandra Bhattacharyya Dacca West Monindra Nath Bhattacharjee Mymensingh West Benode Chandra Chakraborty Mymensingh East Amulya Chandra Adhikary Faridpur Dr. Pratap Chandra Guha Roy Bakerganj South-West Satindra Nath Sen Bakerganj North-East Manranjan Gupta Tippera Dhirendra Nath Datta Noakhali Haran Chandra Ghosh Chowdhury Chittagong Nellie Sen-Gupta Darjeeling Damber Singh Gurung Burdwan Central General (reserved for Scheduled Castes) Kanaillal Das Burdwan North-West Baishnabchari Mandal Birbhum Nishapati Majhi Bankura West Ashutosh Mallick Midnapore Central Krishna Prasad Mandal Jhargram cum Ghatal Harendra Nath Defui Hooghly East Radha Nath Das Howrah Arabinda Gayen 24-Parganas South-East Hem Chandra Naskar 24-Parganas North-West Ardhendu Sekhar Naskar Nadia Purna Chandra Pramanik Murshidabad Kuber Chand Haldar Jessore Bhola Nath Biswas Khulna Rajendra Nath Sarkar Makunda Behary Mallick Malda Bir Birsa Dinajpur Rup Narayay Roy Harendra Nath Roy Jalpaiguri cum Siliguri Mohini Mohan Barman Prasanna Deb Raikat Rangpur Rajani Kanta Ray Barman Dinajpur Nagendra Narayan Ray Bogra cum Pabna Haran Chandra Barman Dacca East Dhirendra Roy Mymensingh West Gayanath Biswas Mymensingh East Prafulla Ranjan Sarkar Faridpur Dwarka Nath Barury Promatha Ranjan Thakur Bakerganj South-West – Tippera Jogendra Chandra Das Calcutta North Muhammadan Md. Rafique, J.P. Calcutta South K. Nooruddin Hooghly cum Howrah Municipal Mohammad Sharif Khan Barrackpore Municipal Md. Qumruddin 24-Parganas Municipal Husayn Shaheed Suhrawardy Dacca Municipal Nawabzada K. Nasrullah Burdwan Abul Hashem Birbhum Mudassir Hossain Bankura Dr. Syed Muhammad Siddique Midnapore Serajuddin Ahmed Hooghly Abul Quasem Howrah Mohainawad Idris 24-Parganas South Jasimuddin Ahmed 24-Parganas Central Illas Ali Molla 24-Parganas North-East A.F.M. Abdur Rahman Kushtia Shamsuddin Ahmed Meherpur Abdul Hannan Nadia East Maulvi Nawajesh Ahmed Nadia West Molla Mohammad Abdul Halim Berhampore Md. Khuda Bukbsh Murshidabad South-West Sahibzada Kawan Jah Saiyid Kasim Ali Mirza Jangipur Murtuza Reza Chowdhury Jessore Sadar Lutfar Rahman Jessore East Abdul Awal Bongaon Serajul Islam Jhenidah Tufazzal Hossain Khulna Abdus Sabur Khan Satkhira Dr. Abdul Ahad Bagerhat Dr. Mosammel Hossain Nator Kazi Abul Masud Rajshahi North Maniruddin Akanda Rajshahi South Abdul Hamid Rajshahi Central Madar Bux Balurghat Muzaffar Rahaman Chowdhury Thakurgaon Hafizuddin Choudhuri Dinajpur Central East Manivus Md. Abdullahel Baqui Dinajpur Prayer East Hassan Ali Jalpaiguri cum Darjeeling Nawab Musharruff Hossain, Khan Bahadur Nilphamari Khairat Hossain Rangpur North Mohammad Gwait, B.L. Rangpur South Emad Uddin Ahmad Kurigram North Paniruddin Ahmad Kurigram South Nasir Hossain Khandkar Gaibandha North Serajuddin Ahmed Gaibandha South Ahammed Hossain Bogra East Bediuzzaman Muhammad Elias Bogra South Muhammad Ishaque Bogra North Mobarok Ali Ahmed Bogra West Mohammed Ali Pabna East Dewan Lutfar Rahman Pabna West Alai Masud Abdul Hamid Serajganj South Abdus Raschid Mahmud Serajganj North Md. Osman Gani Serajganj Central Maulana Khoudker Abdur Rashid Tarkabagish Malda North Mohammad Sayeed Mia Malda South Tafur Ahmed Choudhury Tangail North Ebrahim Khan Netrakona South Asoo Ali Muktear Netrakona North Moulvi Akbar Ali Kishoreganj South Md. Israil Kishoreganj North Syed Habibull Huq Kishoreganj East Hamiduddin Ahmed Gopalganj Shamsuddin Ahmed Khundkar Goalundo Ahmed Ali Mridha Faridpur West Yusuf Hossain Chowdhury Faridpur East Chowdhury Samsuddin Ahmed alias Badsha Mia Madaripur West Eskandar Ali Khan Madaripur East Abdul Aziz Munshi Patuakhali North Abdur Rahman Khan alias Nuru Mia Patuakhali South Md. Shamsuddin Sikdar Pirozpur South Khan Saheb Hatem Ali Pirozpur North Khan Bahadur Syed Muhammad Afzal Bakerganj North Mahammad Arif Chaudhery (Dhava Mla) Bakerganj South Abul Kasum Fazlul Haq Bakerganj West Maulana Haji Muhammad Quasem Bhola North Nuruzzaman Bhola South Syed Askur Rahman Brahmanbaria North Mohammad Rakuuddin Brahmanbaria South Ali Ahmad Khan Tippera North-East Tafazzal Ali Tippera North Mafisuddin Ahmed Tippera West Nowab Ali Tippera Central Abdul Momin Tippera South Syed Sarajal Haque Chandpur East Jumab Ali Mia Chandpur West Abidur Reza Chowdhury Matlabbazar Mohammad Abdus Salam Noakhali North Fazlur Rahman Noakhali Central Mujibar Rahman Ramganj cum Raipur Fazlul Karim Noakhali South-West Abdul Hakim Mia Noakhali South Maulana Abdul Hai Feni Muhammad Habibullah Choudhury Cox's Bazar Kabir Ahmed Chowdhury Chittagong South Ahmed Kabir Chowdhury Chittagong South Central Ali Ahmad Chowdhury Chittagong North-East Farid Ahmad Chowdhury Chittagong North-West Fazlal Qadir Calcutta Women General Bina Das Dacca Ashalata Sen Calcutta Women Muhammadan Hussan Ara Begam Dacca Anwara Khatun Anglo-Indian Women Anglo-Indian Edna May Ricketts Anglo-Indian L. B. Fenton R. R. Patrick G. C. D. Wilks Burdwan Division European Joseph Arthur Powell Hooghly cum Howrah Garth Wilkinson Calcutta and Suburbs David Charles Bethune Pilkington Stanley Kostem Sawday Alan Forret Stark William Christopher Wordsworth, C.I.E. Presidency Division A. Bruce Smith Rajshahi Division Ian Fortune Morriss Darjeeling Douglas Gregory Smyth-Osbourne Dacca Division John Nelson Smart Chittagong Division C. P. G., Wade Calcutta cum Presidency Division Indian Christian Daniel Gomes Dacca Division R. A. Gomes Bengal Chamber of Commerce Commerce and industries – Rogers Haywood Andrew William Taylor, O.B.E. Donald Gladding, C.I.E. Charles Watt Miles – Hubert Rowan Hodge Calcutta Trades Association N. Stokes H. R. Norton, M.B.E. Indian Jute Mills Association David Inglis Duff George Masson Mackinlay Indian Tea Association Rolfe Alexander Harcourt Stevenson Kenneth Richardson Reynolds Indian Mining Association Reginald Binyon Whitehead Bengal National Chamber of Commerce A. K. Ghosh Bimal Comar Ghose Indian Chamber of Commerce Debi Prosad Khaitan Marwari Association Annandall Poddar Muslim Chamber of Commerce M. A. H. Ispahani, M.L.A. Burdwan Landholders Sir Uday Chand Mahtab Presidency Landholders Landholders Maharaja Sris Chandra Nady≤ Rajshahi Landholders Narendra Singh Singhi Dacca Landholders Sitangshu Kanta Acharjee Chittagong Landholders Kumar Arun Chandra Sinha Railway Trade Union Labour Jyoti Basu Water Transport Trade Union Dr. A. M. Malik Calcutta and Suburbs (Registered Factories) Dr. Suresh Chandra Banerji Barrackpore (Registered Factories) Niharendu Dutt Mazumdar Howrah (Registered Factories) Sibnath Banerjee Hooghly-cum Serampore (Registered Factories) A. A. Zaman Colliery (Coal Mines) Debendranath Sen Darjeeling Sadar Ratanlal Brahman Calcutta University University Dr. Syamaprasad Mookerjee Dacca University Fazlur Rahman
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.
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.
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.