1945 Indian general election

1945 Indian general election

← 1934 December 1945 1951 (India)
1962 (Pakistan) →

102 elected seats
52 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Abul Kalam Azad[1] Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Party INC AIML
Seats won 57 30
Seat change Increase 15 Increase 30


Subsequent administration

Interim Government of India
Coalition government

General elections were held in British India in December 1945 to elect members of the Central Legislative Assembly and the Council of State.[2] The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party, winning 57 of the 102 elected seats.[3] The Muslim League won all Muslim constituencies, but failed to win any other seats. Of the 13 remaining seats, 8 went to Europeans, 3 to independents, and 2 to Akali candidates in the Sikh constituencies of Punjab.[4] This election coupled with the provincial one in 1946 proved to be a strategic victory for Jinnah and the partitionists. Even though Congress won, the League had united the Muslim vote and as such it gained the negotiating power to seek a separate Muslim homeland as it became clear that a united India would prove highly unstable. The elected members later formed the Constituent Assembly of India.

These were the last general elections in British India; consequent elections were held in 1951 in India and 1970 in Pakistan.

  1. ^ "Indian National Congress: From 1885 till 2017, a brief history of past presidents". indianexpress.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  2. ^ Vohra, Ranbir (19 December 2012). The Making of India: A Political History. M.E. Sharpe. p. 176. ISBN 9780765629852.
  3. ^ "-- Schwartzberg Atlas -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu.
  4. ^ "-- Schwartzberg Atlas -- Digital South Asia Library". dsal.uchicago.edu.