The Simla Conference had failed, at least in part, because both the Congress and the Muslim League had made claims about their representative standing unsupported by electoral evidence. No general election had been held since 1934 to the Central Legislature and since 1937 to the Provincial Assemblies.
The balance of political power had shifted so much in ten years that new elections were imperative. On 21 August 1945 therefore, the Viceroy announced that elections to the central and provincial legislatures would be held in the following winter.
These elections were fought on the simplest conceivable programmes. The Muslim League contested to clear two elementary points, that it represented all Indian Muslims and that Pakistan was the only solution of the Indian problem. The Muslim League won every single Muslim seat.