1954 East Bengal Legislative Assembly election

The Bengal Legislative Assembly had been elected as part of the provincial elections in 1946 in British Bengal. Following the partition of Bengal, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly was created consisting of the Muslim members of the former Assembly. Due to delays in implementing the constitution of Pakistan, its term was extended several times, with around 34 seats (reserved for Hindus living in East Bengal) left vacant as the Hindu members elected from East Bengal had migrated to West Bengal (where they became the members of the West Bengal Legislative Assembly) to escape the communal riots unleashed by the partition, and by-elections were not held by the Pakistani administration to replace them.^[4]

Under the Government of India Act of 1935, which was the main law of the Dominion of Pakistan until the constitution of Pakistan came into effect in 1956, the East Bengal Legislative Assembly consisted of 309 seats of which 228 were reserved for Muslims, 36 for scheduled castes, 12 for women (nine Muslims, one Hindu and two scheduled caste), two for Buddhists and one for Christians.^[5] There were also 30 'general' seats for Hindus.^[5]

A total of 19,541,563 voters were registered for the elections of which 9,239,720 were women.^[5] 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 Hindu seats, 136,417 in the Buddhist seats and 43,911 for the Christian seat.^[5]

The Muslim League published its manifesto on 13 December 1953, calling for Bengali to be made an official state language, reform in agricultural and education and improvements in healthcare,^[6] and began its campaign in January 1954.^[7] The Awami League published a 41-point manifesto focusing on autonomy, political reform and nationalisation.^[8] 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.^[9]

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.^[10] The Front was later joined by the Nizam-e-Islam Party and Ganatantri Dal.^[11]

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 Hindu seats, 37 for the women's seats and twelve for the two Buddhist seats. The Christian seat had only one candidate, as did the Hindu women's seat and one of the scheduled caste seats. Two Hindu seats also had one candidate who was returned unopposed.^[5] The Muslim League and United Front ran candidates in all 237 Muslim seats.^[12]

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 vote. In contrast the Muslim League won only nine seats and secured less than 27% of the vote 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.^[13] A. K. Fazlul Huq was elected in two constituencies,^[2] forcing a by-election in one of them. The Khilafat-e-Robbani party of AKM Rafiq Ullah Choudhury, which had also participated in the Bengali language movement, won one Muslim seat.

The East Bengal Scheduled Castes Federation (the East Bengal unit of the SCF founded by B. R. Ambedkar) won the most seats reserved for scheduled castes while the Pakistan National Congress (the Pakistani unit of the Indian National Congress) won the most Hindu seats. The Minority United Front, consisting of Pakistan Gana Samiti, Pakistan Socialist Party and Abhay Ashram, contested both scheduled caste and Hindu seats. The Communist Party of Pakistan won four Hindu seats but failed to win any Muslim seats.

The Ganatantri Dal was the only party to win both Hindu and Muslim seats.

The United Front cabinet was formed on 15 May 1954 under the leadership of Sher-e-Bangla A. K. Fazlul Huq.^[14]

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.^[3]

The defeat of Muslim League created an idiom in the Bengali language "Hate Hariken Dhoriye Deya" (Bengali: হাতে হারিকেন ধরিয়ে দেয়া, lit. 'Hand over the hurricane') as the party's election symbol was the lantern (hariken in Bengali).^[15]