United Front (East Pakistan)

United Front
Urdu nameمتحدہ محاذ
Bengali nameযুক্তফ্রন্ট
AbbreviationUF
PresidentA. K. Fazlul Huq
General SecretaryAtaur Rahman Khan
Founded4 December 1953 (1953-12-04)
Dissolved1958 (1958)
HeadquartersDacca, East Pakistan
IdeologyIslamic democracy
Islamic socialism
Antifeudalism
Bengali interests
Political positionBig tent
ReligionIslam
Members
SloganUnited Front Zindabad
Huq–Bhasani Zindabad
Constituent Assembly
(1955)
16 / 72
East Pakistan Legislative Assembly
(1954)
223 / 309
Election symbol
AL party symbol
Boat

The United Front was a coalition of political parties in East Bengal that contested and won Pakistan's first provincial general election to the East Bengal Legislative Assembly. The coalition consisted of the Awami Muslim League, the Krishak Praja Party, the Ganatantri Dal (Democratic Party), and Nizam-e-Islam. The coalition was led by three major Bengali populist leaders: A. K. Fazlul Huq, Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy and Maulana Bhashani. The election resulted in a crushing defeat for the Muslim League. Veteran student leader of East Pakistan, Khaleque Nawaz Khan, defeated sitting Prime Minister of East Pakistan, Nurul Amin, in Nandail Constituency of Mymensingh district and created history in the political arena. Nurul Amin's crushing defeat to a 27-year-old young Turk of the United Front effectively eliminated the Muslim League from the political landscape of the then East Pakistan, with United Front parties securing a landslide victory and gaining 223 seats in the 309-member assembly. The Awami League emerged as the majority party, with 143 seats.[1][2]

A. K. Fazlul Huq of the Krishak Praja Party became Chief Minister of East Pakistan upon the victory of the United Front. The election propelled popular Bengali leaders into the Pakistani federal government, with leaders such as Hussain Shaheed Suhrawardy and Abul Mansur Ahmed becoming key federal ministers. In the provincial government, young leaders such as Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Yusuf Ali Chowdhury and Khaleque Nawaz Khan rose to prominence. The United Front demanded greater provincial autonomy for East Pakistan. It passed a landmark order for the establishment of the Bangla Academy in Dhaka.[citation needed]

  1. ^ Ahmed, Salahuddin (2004). Bangladesh: Past and Present. APH Publishing. p. 141. ISBN 978-81-7648-469-5.
  2. ^ Ahmed, Kamal Uddin (2012). "United Front". In Islam, Sirajul; Jamal, Ahmed A. (eds.). Bangladesh: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (second ed.). Asiatic Society of Bangladesh.

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