The Constituent Assembly met for the first time in New Delhi on 9th December, 1946 in the Constitution Hall which is now known as the Central Hall of
Parliament House.
As to its composition, members were chosen by
indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the
scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission :-
Parliament House.
As to its composition, members were chosen by
indirect election by the members of the Provincial Legislative Assemblies, according to the
scheme recommended by the Cabinet Mission :-
- The Constituent Assembly consisted of 389 members, of which 292 were elected by the elected members of the provincial Legislative Assemblies while 93 members were nominated by the Princely States. To these were to be added a representative each from the four chief Commissioners provinces of Delhi, Ajmer-Marwar, Coorg and British Baluchistan.
- Each Province and each Indian state or Group of States were allotted the total number of seats proportional to their respective population roughly in the ratio of one to a million.
- Seats allocated to each British Province were to be decided among among the three principal communities - Muslims, Sikhs and General in proportion to their population.
The Elections to the Constituent Assembly (for 296 seats allocated to the British Indian Provinces were held in July-August 1946). The results were as :
- Indian National Congress - 208 Seats
- Muslim League - 73 Seats
- Small Group and Independents - 15 Seats
- Princely States - Election for 93 Seats was to be done but the seats were not filled as they decided to stay away from the Constituent Assembly.
Interesting Point : The Assembly included all the important personalities of India at that time, with the exception of Mahatma Gandhi and M.A.Jinnah.
The Constituent Assembly elected for undivided India which had met for the first time on 9th December 1946 was convened to meet on 14th August 1947 and the became the Sovereign Constituent Assembly for the Dominion of India.
The Muslim League had joined the Interim Government but abstained from sending its representatives to the Constituent Assembly which was an integral part of the Cabinet Plan.
