ABSTRACT
The Central Legislative Assembly in the 1920s was a very different body from the Imperial Legislative Council in which Jinnah had sat amidst an overwhelming majority of official and European members, with the Viceroy in the chair. The Swarajists were taken aback by Jinnah’s sudden withdrawal of support. Their victories in the Central Legislative Assembly in 1924 had boosted their morale, and strengthened their position in the Congress and the country, and they had intended to continue the pressure on the government. Clearly, Jinnah’s critics did not make allowances for his political and personal compulsions. He was leading a heterogeneous party whose members had nothing in common except a nominal allegiance to his leadership. During the remaining years of the second Central Legislative Assembly, Jinnah held the balance between the Swarajists and the government.
