1949 Tangail South by-election
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Tangail South (Rural) constituency of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly | |||||||||||
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After the January 1948 by-election for the Tangail South constituency of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly was declared void, another by-election was held on 26 April 1949 for the same constituency. In this election, independent candidate Shamsul Huq defeated Khurram Khan Panni, nominated by the Pakistan Muslim League (PML), and was elected.[1][2]
After the partition of India in 1947, the Dominion of India and the Pakistan were created. Following this, Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, the president of the Assam Provincial Muslim League, settled in the Tangail subdivision of Mymensingh District in the Pakistani province of East Bengal.[3] In the 1946 Bengal Legislative Assembly election, teacher Ibrahim Khan was elected. However, when he later resigned as a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly, his constituency named Tangail South became vacant.[4][5] In January 1948, Bhasani was elected as a member of the East Bengal Legislative Assembly from the constituency in a by-election.[2] However, his membership was later annulled due to election-related issues.[a] Additionally, a ban was imposed on Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani and all other candidates who participated in that by-election, preventing them from contesting in any election until 1950.[7]
In 1949, a new by-election was announced for the constituency. The ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) nominated Khurram Khan Panni, candidate of the previous by-election, despite the fact that he was under a government-imposed ban until 1950.[8] At that time, Frederick Chalmers Bourne, the governor of East Bengal, lifted the restriction solely on Panni, thereby restoring his eligibility to contest. This decision sparked discontent among the provincial-level workers of the party.[9] Meanwhile, Shamsul Huq, a member of the same party, announced his candidacy as an independent candidate against Panni in the by-election.[8]
Campaign
In response to Huq's announcement to contest the by-election, several individuals opposing the PML-led provincial government came forward to support him.[10] His supporters raised Rs. 1,300 to fund the election campaign. Students from local educational institutions, including local Government Saadat College, actively participated in his campaign. Additionally, Panni's wife issued a public statement on behalf of Huq, urging the local populace not to vote for her husband.[11]
In support of Panni, Mohammad Akram Khan (president of the PML's provincial branch), Yusuf Ali Chowdhury (general-secretary of the PML's provincial branch), and Nurul Amin (chief minister of East Bengal) released a written campaign appeal.[12] Moreover, an editorial written by editor Abul Kalam Shamsuddin was published in The Azad, owned by Khan. The editorial criticized Huq for violating party discipline by running against the party's official candidate.[13]
During the by-election, a Huq supporter visited Bhashani in Dhubri Jail, located in the Indian state of Assam, and obtained his signature on Huq's election manifesto. Although the same manifesto with Bhasani's signature was printed and distributed for campaign purposes, it was later withdrawn from circulation, and all copies were destroyed.[14]
