page_title: Unionist Party (Punjab)
section_title: Relations with other political parties
hierarchical_section_title: Unionist Party (Punjab) / Relations with other political parties
caption_attribution_description: English: Sir Sikander Hayat Khan
context_page_description: The Unionist Party was a political party based in the Punjab Province during the period of British rule in India. The Unionist Party mainly represented the interests of the landed gentry and landlords of Punjab, which included Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. The Unionists dominated the political scene in Punjab from World War I to the independence of India and Pakistan in 1947. The party's leaders served as Prime Minister of the Punjab.
  The creed of the Unionist Party emphasized "Dominion Status and a United Democratic federal constitution for India as a whole".
context_section_description: In the 1937 Indian provincial elections, the Unionist Party soundly defeated the Muslim League in the Punjab.
  The Muslim elements of the Unionists shared many common points with the Muslim League and followed a rather similar policy and agenda for national interests and issues; but the Unionists were virtually an independent political party in the 1920s and 1930s, when the Muslim League was unpopular and divided into feuding factions. The links improved after Muhammad Ali Jinnah became the League's president in the mid-1930s and by October 1937, and then he was able to convince Sir Sikandar Hayat Khan to come to terms with him via the famous Sikandar-Jinnah Pact. However, the rule of Unionist leader Sir Sikandar remained undisputed in the Punjab and he remained the Punjab's Premier (Chief Minister) from 1937 to 1942, in alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal despite Jinnah's opposition to both parties. Sir Sikandar thus remained the most popular and influential politician in Punjab during his lifetime, preventing both Jinnah and Sir Muhammad Iqbal from gaining the support of a majority of Punjabi Muslims.
caption: Sir Sikander Hayat Khan
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