Legislative elections were held in

East Bengal ur, , common_name = East Bengal , status = Province of the Dominion of Pakistan , p1 = Bengal Presidency , flag_p1 = Flag of British Bengal.svg , s1 = East ...

between 8 and 12 March 1954, the first since Pakistan became an independent country in 1947. The opposition

United Front A united front is an alliance of groups against their common enemies, figuratively evoking unification of previously separate geographic fronts and/or unification of previously separate armies into a front. The name often refers to a political ...

led by the Awami League and

Krishak Sramik Party The Krishak Sramik Party ( bn, কৃষক শ্রমিক পার্টি, ''Farmer Labourer Party'') was a major anti-feudal political party in the British Indian province of Bengal and later in the Dominion of Pakistan's East Bengal and ...

won a landslide victory with 223 of the 309 seats.Nair, p165 The

Muslim League Muslim League may refer to: Political parties Subcontinent ; British India *All-India Muslim League, Mohammed Ali Jinah, led the demand for the partition of India resulting in the creation of Pakistan. **Punjab Muslim League, a branch of the organ ...

Chief Minister of East Pakistan

Nurul Amin Nurul Amin ( bn, নুরুল আমিন; ur, ; 15 July 1893 – 2 October 1974) was a prominent Pakistani leader, and a jurist who served as the eighth prime minister of Pakistan and as the first and only vice president of Pakistan. H ...

was defeated in his own constituency by Khaleque Nawaz Khan by over 7,000 votes, with all the Muslim League ministers losing their seats.Nair, p167

Background

The Bengal Assembly had been elected as part of the provincial elections in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1946. Its term was extended several times, with around 34 seats left vacant as by-elections were not held.

Electoral system

The

East Bengal Legislative Assembly The East Pakistan Provincial Assembly, known as the East Bengal Legislative Assembly between 1947 and 1955, was the provincial legislature of East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971. It was known as the East Bengal Assembly from 1947 to 1955 when the ...

consisted of 309 seats, of which 228 were reserved for Muslims, 36 for scheduled castes, 12 for women (nine Muslims, one general and two scheduled caste), two for Buddhists and one for Christians.Nair, p166 There were also 30 general seats. A total of 19,541,563 voters were registered for the elections, of which 9,239,720 were women. 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 general seats, 136,417 in the Buddhist seats and 43,911 for the Christian seat.

Campaign

The

published its manifesto on 13 December 1953, calling for

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

to be made an official state language, reform in agricultural and education and improvements in healthcare, and began its campaign in January 1954. The Awami League published a 41-point manifesto focusing on autonomy, political reform and nationalisation. 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. 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. The Front was later joined by the

Nizam-e-Islam Party The Nizam-e-Islam Party or simply Nizam-e-Islam ( bn, নেজামে ইসলাম, , Order of Islam), is a political party in Bangladesh and Pakistan. The party was founded in the city of Kishoreganj in 1952, by the Islamic scholars of erst ...

and

Ganatantri Dal The Ganatantri Dal was East Pakistan's first secular political party. It was founded on 19 January 1953 by Mahmud Ali with Haji Mohammad Danesh, a veteran communist activist of the Tebhaga movement as its first president. The party was the firs ...

. 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 general seats, 37 for the women's seats and twelve for the two Buddhist seats. The Christian seat had only one candidate, as did the Women's general and one of the scheduled caste seats. Two general seats also had one candidate who was returned unopposed. The Muslim League and United Front ran candidates in all 237 Muslim seats.

Results

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 votes. In contrast the Muslim League won only 9 seats and secured less than 27% of the votes polled 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.Rashiduzzaman, M. (1970). The Awami League in the political development of Pakistan. Asian Survey, 10(7), 574-587. A. K. Fazlul Huq was elected in two constituencies, forcing a by-election in one of them.

Aftermath

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.

References

{{Pakistani elections 1954 elections in Pakistan 1954 History of East Pakistan 1954