Suhrawardy, a lawyer from Calcutta who spoke fluent Hindustani, did not want to lose his city to the opposing side of the Hindu-Muslim divide. The proposal elicited support from Bengali Hindu leaders Sarat Chandra Bose of the Indian National Congress, Kiran Shankar Roy (Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party in the Bengal Assembly), and Satya Ranjan Bakshi. Prominent Bengali Muslims in support of Suhrawardy included Bengal Finance Minister Mohammad Ali Chaudhury, Bengal Revenue Minister Fazlur Rahman, Tippera politician Ashrafuddin Chowdhury, and Abul Hashim (Secretary of the Bengal Provincial Muslim League). For a while, the proposal was subject to significant negotiations.