The national executive of which political party called for the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly and its re-election by adult suffrage?

Correct Answer: B. Socialist Party

Explanation: The provisions of the Cabinet Mission regarding the formation of the Constituent Assembly were as follows- On the basis of this provision, the total number of members of the Constituent Assembly was fixed at 389. Out of these seats, 296 seats were reserved for British India and 93 for the princely states. Elections for the 296 seats reserved for British India will be held indirectly. These will be elected by the members of the provincial assemblies of British provinces and Chief Commissioners through the single transferable vote system of proportional representation . The members allotted to a province will be elected by the members of the assemblies of that province. The members will be nominated on the basis of consultation for the 93 seats (Maximum – Mysore 7) reserved for the princely states . A negotiating committee was formed to consult for the nomination of representatives of princely states, which included the members of princely states and the Constituent Assembly. There was no provision for election for these members because the princely states did not have assemblies. Hyderabad was one such princely state whose representatives did not join the Constituent Assembly. (16 members) Since representatives were elected in British India and representatives of princely states were nominated in the Constituent Assembly, the Constituent Assembly of India was not a fully elected or fully nominated body, but it was partially elected and partially nominated . That is, some members of the Indian Constituent Assembly (296) were elected and some members (93) were nominated. The elected members of the Constituent Assembly were elected on the basis of indirect election . Thus the Constituent Assembly was not an institution formed on the basis of universal adult suffrage and direct election. Polity The Constituent Assembly was formed in 1946 on the basis of limited suffrage. Therefore, socialist leaders believed that this assembly was not truly representative of the people. For this reason, the National Executive of the Socialist Party demanded that “The Constituent Assembly be dissolved and a new Constituent Assembly be re-elected on the basis of universal adult franchise.”