Constituent Assembly of India Elections

Constituent Assembly of India

• The Constituent Assembly was indirectly elected by the members of the provincial assemblies, with a limited franchise, in July-August 1946.
• The Indian National Congress won 208 seats, the Muslim League won 73 seats, and small groups and independents won 15 seats.
• The Assembly comprised representatives of all sections of Indian society, including Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Parsis, Anglo-Indians, Indian Christians, SCs, STs, and women from these sections.
• The Assembly included prominent personalities of India, except Mahatma Gandhi.

Working of the Constituent Assembly

• The first meeting of the Constituent Assembly was held on December 9, 1946, but the Muslim League boycotted it, demanding a separate state of Pakistan.
• Dr. Sachchidananda Sinha was elected as the temporary President, and later Dr. Rajendra Prasad was elected as the President.
• The Assembly had two Vice-Presidents, H.C. Mukherjee and V.T. Krishnamachari.
• Jawaharlal Nehru moved the historic Objectives Resolution on December 13, 1946, which laid down the fundamentals and philosophy of the constitutional structure.

Criticisms of the Constituent Assembly

• The Assembly was not directly elected by the people of India on the basis of universal adult franchise.
• The Assembly was not a sovereign body, as it was created by the proposals of the British Government.
• The Assembly took an unduly long time to make the Constitution.
• The Assembly was dominated by the Congress party.
• The Assembly was dominated by lawyers and politicians, with insufficient representation from other sections of society.
• The Assembly was Hindu-dominated, according to some critics.

Important Facts

• The Muslim League members withdrew from the Constituent Assembly, reducing the total strength from 389 to 299.
• The Assembly performed functions beyond making the Constitution, including ratifying India's membership of the Commonwealth, adopting the national flag, national anthem, and national song, and electing Dr. Rajendra Prasad as the first President of India.
• The Constituent Assembly held 11 sessions over two years, 11 months, and 18 days, and incurred an expenditure of ₹64 lakh.
• The Assembly continued as the provisional parliament of India from January 26, 1950, until the formation of the new Parliament in 1951-52.

Committees of the Constituent Assembly

• The Constituent Assembly appointed eight major committees and several minor committees to deal with different tasks of constitution-making.
• The major committees included the Union Powers Committee, chaired by Jawaharlal Nehru.

This quiz is about the elections to the Constituent Assembly of India in 1946, including the process, results and participants.