Previous Year Question
With reference to Indian History, the members of the Constituent Assembly from the Provinces were—
directly elected by the people of those Provinces.
nominated by the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League
elected by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies
selected by the Government for their expertise in constitutional matters.
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The members representing the Provinces in the Constituent Assembly were indirectly elected by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies. Therefore, option (c) is correct.
The Constituent Assembly was constituted according to the Cabinet Mission Plan of 1946. Its members were not directly elected by the people on the basis of universal adult franchise.
The originally prescribed strength of the Constituent Assembly of undivided India was 389:
292 members were to be elected from the British Indian Provinces.
4 members represented the Chief Commissioners’ Provinces.
93 members represented the Indian Princely States.
The Provinces were generally allotted one seat for every one million persons. Provincial seats were divided among the principal communities—General, Muslim and Sikh—in proportion to their respective populations.
The representatives allotted to each community were elected by members of that community in the Provincial Legislative Assembly. The election followed the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote.
The procedure for selecting representatives of the Princely States was different. They were not to be elected by the people or Provincial Legislative Assemblies; they were to be nominated by the rulers of the respective States. Several Princely States initially did not participate in the Constituent Assembly.
Following the Partition of India, the total strength of the Constituent Assembly was reduced from 389 to 299. It then consisted of 229 representatives of the Provinces and 70 representatives of the Princely States.
Option (a) is incorrect because the Provincial representatives were not directly elected by the people.
Option (b) is incorrect. The Congress and the Muslim League fielded candidates and were the principal political parties in the elections, but constitutionally, the members were elected by the Provincial Legislative Assemblies; they were not merely nominated by political parties.
Option (d) is incorrect because the Provincial representatives were selected through elections in the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, not by the Government on the basis of expertise.