1934 Indian general election
← 1930 1934 1945 →
147 seats contested
74 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Bhulabhai Desai Madhav Shrihari Aney
Party INC CNP
Seats won 42 12
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General elections were held in British India in 1934. The Indian National Congress emerged as the largest party in the Central Legislative Assembly.[1]

The total electorate for the 1934 elections was 1,415,892, of which 1,135,899 were in contested constituencies. The total number of votes polled was 608,198. The election marked the first year in which Indian women were eligible to vote in any but a local election. Of the 81,602 enrolled women voters, 62,757 of whom were in contested constituencies, only 14,505 actually used the ballot.[2]

Results

Out of the 51 general seats of the general constituencies, the Congress won 37 seats. The party also won 5 seats in the non-General constituencies.[3] A Congress splinter group, the Congress Nationalist Party, was the only other one to gain a significant number of seats. Most of the 30 Muslim constituencies elected independents to the Council, but within the Council, leadership of the independent Muslims was assumed by Muhammad Ali Jinnah, who, shortly after the election, resumed the leadership of the moribund Muslim League from which he had previously retired.[2] Of the 32 seats filled without a contest, twelve were in Muslim constituencies, eight in European constituencies, eight in general constituencies, three reserved for landholders and one reserved for commerce.[2]

PartySeats
Indian National Congress42
Congress Nationalist Party12
Europeans9
People's Party3
Independents41
Appointed members41
Total148
Source: The Times[1] Schwartzberg Atlas

Membership by province

Province Europeans Independent Minor parties Congress
(General) 		Congress
(Non-General) 		Total
Assam 1 1 2 4
Ajmer-Merwara 1 1
Bengal 3 7 6 1 17
Bihar and Orissa 5 7 12
Bombay 2 8 1 5 16
Burma 1 3 (People's Party) 4
Central Provinces 1 1 3 1 6
Delhi 1 1
Madras 1 4 10 1 16
North West Frontier Province 1 1
Punjab 8 3 1 12
United Provinces 1 6 8 1 16
Total 8 41 15 37 5 106

The party position in 1941 stood as follows:[4] Central Legislative Assembly

Party Seats
Indian National Congress 40
All-India Muslim League 25
Congress Nationalist Party 11
Non Party 25
Independents 10
Europeans 9
Officials 20
Total 140

Council of State

Party Seats
Independent Progressive Party 10
Indian National Congress 6
All-India Muslim League 6
Officials 20
Total 42

Members of Central Legislative Assembly

[5][6][7]

Nominated members

Elected Members

References

  1. ^ a b "Elections in India The New Delhi Assembly, Congress Party's Position", The Times, 10 December 1934, p15, Issue 46933
  2. ^ a b c "Major Elections, 1920–45". Schwartzberg Atlas. Digital South Asia Library.
  3. ^ Schwartzberg Atlas
  4. ^ Grover, Verinder; Arora, Ranjana (1994). Constitutional Schemes and Political Development in India. Deep & Deep Publications. p. 19. ISBN 9788171005390.
  5. ^ Reed, Stanley (1937). The Times of India Directory and Year Book Including Who's who. Bennett, Coleman & Company.
  6. ^ "Assembly Passes Bengal Cr. L. A. Bill". Indian Express. 6 August 1934. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
  7. ^ "A New Party for Assembly". The Indian Express. 21 September 1936. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
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