Which of the following statements are correct in regarding to Indian Constituent Assembly ’? A. It was not based on Adult franchise. B. It resulted from direct elections. C. It was not a multi-party body. D. It worked through several committees. Select the correct answer using code given below : Codes :

Correct Answer: A. (A) and (D)

Explanation: The provisions of the Cabinet Mission regarding the formation of the Constituent Assembly were as follows- Plan for the formation of the Constituent Assembly:- 16 May 1946 Indirect election system (not on the basis of adult suffrage) + nomination i.e. partly elected and partly nominated The representation of British India and the native states in the Constituent Assembly will be on the basis of population. This means that seats will be allotted to British India and the native states in proportion to their population. Roughly, there will be provision for one representative for a population of 10 lakhs. Representatives will be elected from three communities in proportion to the population of the province. 1. General 2. Muslim 3. Sikh 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. The then British India had 11 British provinces and 4 Chief Commissioners. 11 British provinces - 1. Punjab 2. United Provinces 3. Central Provinces and Berar 4. Bihar 5. Bengal 6. Assam 7. Orissa 8. Madras 9. Bombay PYQ’s Solution English 8 10. North-West Frontier Province 11. Sindh 4 Chief Commissioners - 1. Ajmer-Merwara 2. Coorg 3. Delhi 4. Baluchistan 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. 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.” The Constituent Assembly included representatives from several political parties, such as the Indian National Congress the Muslim League (although it later boycotted), the Sikh Mahasabha the Communist Party independent members. It was therefore a multi-party assembly. The Constituent Assembly formed 22 committees to organize its work.