Election of 1970 F

The Election of 1970
The election of 1970 was the first general election of the state of Pakistan. This election
is held on the basis of voting rights of adults and everyone irrespective of caste, religion,
caste. This election was held in two phases on 7th December 1970 and 17th January
1971 respectively. Among the notable political parties that participated in the election
were the two main parties, the 'Awami League' led by Bangabandhu in East Pakistan
and the 'Pakistan People's Party' led by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto in West Pakistan. In the
general election of 1970, the electoral issue of Awami League was the 6 points of the
Bengali Nation's Liberation Charter. On the other hand, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto's Pakistan
People's Party's main campaign themes were 'strong centre', 'Islamic socialism' and
continued opposition to India. Below are the results and importance of the 1970
election.
1970 election results:
Ayub Khan, the then military ruler of Pakistan, was toppled in a mass coup of 1969,
replaced by another military ruler, Yahya Khan. And as a result of the agitation in East
Pakistan (Bangladesh) he was forced to announce the 1970 provincial and national
assembly elections on 26 March 1969. So, as per the announcement, the National
Assembly elections were held on 7 December 1970 and the Provincial Council elections
were held on 17 December 1970. The 1970 election was the first general election in the
history of Pakistan. The 1954 election was a provincial election. In 1970, the Central
Council and Provincial Council elections were held simultaneously. That election was
important in the election of the central government.
National Assembly:
There were 313 seats in the National Assembly in the whole of Pakistan. Of these,
general seats were 300 and reserved seats for women were 13. Out of 313 seats, 169
were earmarked for East Pakistan. On the other hand, 144 were scheduled for West
Pakistan. According to the election results, Awami League won a total of 167 seats,
including reserved seats for women, out of 169 general seats in East Pakistan. On the
other hand, in West Pakistan, the People's Party won a total of 88 seats out of 138
general seats, including reserved seats for women.
Provincial Councils/ Legislative Assembly:
The total number of provincial council seats in all of Pakistan was 621. According to the
election results, the Awami League won 288 of the 300 general seats and a total of 298
seats including all the 10 reserved seats. On the other hand, PPP suffered a crushing
defeat in West Pakistan.
Reasons for Awami League's victory in elections
Several factors played an important role behind the unprecedented success of Awami
League.
1. Election manifesto: The election manifesto of Awami League was the manifesto of
the people of East Bengal.
The Awami League's six-point manifesto demanded the lives of the vast masses of the
region and these demands gained widespread popularity before the elections. As a
result, the public voted for Awami League in the election and basically expressed their
support for their demands.
2. Protest against exploitation: Since the creation of the state of Pakistan, the rulers
of the western region have been various
exploited the eastern region in ways. Many have sacrificed their lives to protest against
this exploitation. So they rejected West Pakistan parties for East Bengal in the election
took revenge.
3. Charismatic Leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman:

Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's hypnotic leadership won the support of the
masses of the entire East Bengal. In the election campaign, Bangabandhu Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman gained the support of the religious people of the region by showing
respect for Islamic ideals.
4. Pakistan government failed to prevent disaster: Floods of November 1970

caused massive loss of life and property in the region. is achieved. The rulers of
Pakistan failed to deal with this situation. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur achieved
electoral success by promoting the happiness, sorrow, misery and failure of the
government of flood-affected people.
5. Bhutto's Anti-Popular Role: Bhutto's declaration of unity gained popularity among
Punjabis and Pakistan. Disappointment from other provinces.
6. Use of Religion in Elections: Being Islamic without Adhering to Islam in Personal

Life
Bhutto did not gain the support of Pakistani Islamists by preaching socialism. On the
other hand, a significant number of voters in East Pakistan were non-Muslims. Those
who voted against Bhutto in Awami League.
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7. Impact of Bengali Nationalism: The Pakistani government began exploiting colonial
rule over East Bengal from the beginning. Bengali through the language movement of
1952. The rise of nationalism worked in the Awami League's victory in the 1970s
elections.
Conclusion: At the end of the above discussion, it can be said that the unity of the
Bengali nation was proved through the general election of 1970 and the exploitative
attitude of the Pakistani ruling group was caught. Therefore, the Bengalis achieved
unprecedented success by participating in the elections for the independence of the
nation. But the Yahya-Bhutto clique resorted to various tactics to thwart the unified
government of the Bengali nation and declared the March 1 National Assembly session
adjourned indefinitely. As a result, the united Bengali nation jumped into the freedom
struggle and appeared on the world map as an independent nation in 1971. Therefore,
the general election of 1970 widened the path of Bangladesh's independence.

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The Election of 1970

3. Charismatic Leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman:

4. Pakistan government failed to prevent disaster: Floods of November 1970

6. Use of Religion in Elections: Being Islamic without Adhering to Islam in Personal

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