# 1920 Punjab Legislative Council election

First Provincial Legislative Council election was held in Punjab in 1920 as mandated by the Government of India Act 1919.

## Introduction

The First World War gave the momentum to the growing demand for self-government in British India. Therefore, the new constitutional reforms, under the Montagu–Chelmsford Reforms were introduced by British Government. The scheme was implemented through the Government of India Act 1919. The first Council was constituted on 8 January 1921 for the first time. The election for first Council was held in December 1920. 71 members were elected and 22 were nominated by Governor.
In 1920 the election was not contested on Party lines thus all elected candidates considered as Independent.
The term of the council was fixed for three years. The council, for first time, was presided by a nominated person designated as President and in his absence, an elected person designated as Deputy President.
The first election which was conducted in the house was of Deputy President between Mehtab Singh and Chaudhary M. Amin. Mehtab Singh won election by securing 48 votes, while Amin secured 37 Votes.
The First Council had held 98 meetings when the Lieutenant Governor of Punjab dissolved the council on 27 October 1923 after completion of three years tenure.

## Distribution of seats

| Category | Urban | Rural | Total |
| General | 7 | 13 | 20 |
| Mohammadans | 5 | 27 | 32 |
| Sikh | 1 | 11 | 12 |
| Special^ | - | - | 7 |
| Total | 13 | 51 | 71 |
Special^ (Non-Territorial)
* Punjab Landholders - 3
** General - 1
** Mohammadan - 1
** Sikh - 1
* Baluch Tumandars - 1
* Punjab Universities - 1
* Punjab Commerce and Trade - 1
* Punjab Industry - 1

## Voter statistics

* Total Voters - 5,33,812
* Total Vote Turnout - 34.81%
* Territorial Constituencies voters - 5,29,189
** Highest No. of Voters - 34,594 in South-Eastern Towns (Muhammadan-Urban)
** Lowest No. of Voters - 2,271 in Dera Gazi Khan (Muhammadan-Rural)
** Highest Turnout - 67% in Gujarat East (Muhammadan-Rural)
** Lowest Turnout - 2% in Amritsar City (Mohammadans-Urban)
* Non-Territorial Constituencies voters - 4,623
** Highest No. of Voters - 1,984 in Punjab Universities
** Lowest No. of Voters - 11 in Baluch Tumandars
** Highest Turnout - 100% in Baluch Tumandars
** Lowesr Turnout - 43% in Punjab Universities

## Office bearer

| Post | Holder | Tenure | Tenure |
| President | Montagu Sherard Dawes Butler | 8 January 1921 | 21 March 1922 |
| President | Herbert Alexander Casson | 10 May 1922 | 27 October 1923 |
| Deputy President | Mehtab Singh | 23 February 1921 | 24 October 1921 |
| Deputy President | Manohar Lal | 3 November 1921 | 27 October 1923 |
| Ex-Officio Member | Sundar Singh Majithia | 8 January 1921 | 27 October 1923 |
| Secretary to Council | T. P. Ellis | 8 January 1921 | 27 October 1923 |

## Election schedule

| Event | Date |
| Filing of Nominations | 5 November 1920 |
| Scrutiny of Nominations | 9 November 1920 |
| Polling | ? December 1920 |
| Counting | ? December 1920 |
* Election schedule in special constituencies were not same and the dates were different, unfortunately not available.

## Constituency wise result

Candidate Elected Unopposed
General-Urban
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| 1 | Lahore City | Ganpat Rai |
| 2 | Amritsar City | Bhawani Shankar |
| 3 | South-Eastern Towns | Atma Ram |
| 4 | North-Eastern Towns | Panna Lal |
| 5 | East-Western Towns | Daulat Ram Kalia |
| 6 | North-Western Towns | Thakur Das |
| 7 | Western Punjab | Hari Chand |
General-Rural
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| 8 | Hissar | Lajpat Rai |
| 9 | South-Eastern Rohtak | Sarup Singh |
| 10 | North-Eastern Rohtak | Lal Chad |
| 11 | Gurgaon | Balbir Singh |
| 12 | Karnal | Bans Gopal |
| 13 | Ambala-Simla | Daya Ram |
| 14 | Kangra | Motilal Kaistha |
| 15 | Hoshiarpur | Beli Ram |
| 16 | Jullundur-Ludhiana | Mela Ram |
| 17 | Lahore-Ferozpur-Sheikhupura | Ganpati Rai |
| 18 | Amritsar-Gurdaspur | Kharak Singh |
| 19 | Rawalpindi | Amar Das |
| 20 | Multan | Sewak Ram |
Muhammadan-Urban
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| 21 | Lahore City | Muharram Ali Chisti |
| 22 | Amritsar City | Yusuf Shah |
| 23 | Western Punjab Towns | Akbar Khan |
| 24 | East West Central Towns | Nawab Din |
| 25 | South-Eastern Towns | Mir Mohammed Khan |
Muhammadan-Rural
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| 26 | Gurgaon Hissar | Hayat Khan |
| 27 | Ambala | Shafi Ali Khan |
| 28 | Hoshiarpur Ludhiana | Rai Wali Khan |
| 29 | Ferozpur | Pir Akbar Ali |
| 30 | Jullundur | Mohammed Jamil Khan |
| 31 | Kangra Gurdaspur | Ali Akbar |
| 32 | Lahore | Mohammed Shah Nawaz |
| 33 | Amritsar | Nabi Baksh |
| 34 | Sialkot | Mohammed Amin |
| 35 | Gujranwala | Attullah Khan |
| 36 | Sheikhupura | Mohabat Ram |
| 37 | Gujarat East | Ghulam Muhammad Warraich |
| 38 | Gujarat West | Chaudhary Fazl Ali |
| 39 | Shahpur East | Ghulam Mohammed Shah |
| 40 | Shahpur West | Firoz Khan Noon |
| 41 | Mianwali | Saifullah Khan |
| 42 | Attock | S. H. Khan |
| 43 | Rawalpindi | Pir Ali Hyder Shah |
| 44 | Jehlum | Karimullah Khan |
| 45 | Lyallpur North | Amir Khan |
| 46 | Lyallpur South | Mehdi Shah |
| 47 | Montgomery | Husaini Shah |
| 48 | Multan East | Ahmed Yar Khan Daultana |
| 49 | Multan West | Raza Shah Gilani |
| 50 | Jhang | Hussain Shah |
| 51 | Muzaffargarh | Abdullah Khan |
| 52 | Dera Gazi Khan | Allah Khan Drishak |
Sikh-Urban
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| 53 | Sikh Urban | Mehtab Singh |
Sikh-Rural
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| 54 | Ambala Division | Rasa Singh |
| 55 | Hoshiarpur Kangara | Bakhtawar Singh |
| 56 | Jullundur | Balwant Singh |
| 57 | Ludhiana | Dasaundha Singh |
| 58 | Ferozpur | Kartar Singh |
| 59 | Lahore | Sangat Singh |
| 60 | Amritsar | Raghbir Singh |
| 61 | Sialkot Gurdaspur | Randhir Singh |
| 62 | Lyallpur | Dilbagh Singh |
| 63 | Multan Shekhupura | Bedi Hara Singh |
| 64 | Rawalpindi Gujranwala | Harnam Singh |
Special
| S. No. | Constituency | Winner |
| Landholders |||
| 65 | Punjab (General) | Raja Narendra Nath |
| 66 | Punjab (Muhammadan) | Fazl-i-Husain |
| 67 | Punjab (Sikh) | Hardit Singh Bali |
| Tumandars |||
| 68 | Baluch Tumandars | Jamal Khan Leghari |
| University |||
| 69 | Punjab Universities | Manohar Lal |
| Commerce and Trade |||
| 70 | Punjab Commerce and Trade | Edward E. Clarke |
| Industry |||
| 71 | Punjab Industries | Harkishan Lal |