In the December of 1916, Jinnah finally managed to persuade both Congress and the Muslim League to meet in Lucknow for talks that could lead to discovering common ground between the two political parties.

On this ocassion, the Muslim League was led by Mohammed Ali Jinnah and the Congress was headed by Ambeka Charan Mahajan. The first and most important achievement that the Lucknow Pact marked in the favor of the Muslim League was that Congress finally recognized and acknowledged that the Muslims had a right to separate electorate.

Another favourable acknowledgement came in the form of Congress agreeing to Muslims' rights to one-third of the seats when Muslims represented one-fourth of the population.

Next in the line was Congress's concession that it affirmed the notion of not passing any Act that would affect a particular community unless three quarters of that community's representatives espoused it in the Council.
As for mutual demands on the behalf of both parties to the British, these were inclusive of demanding an increase in the number of seats on the Council to be decided by election. Also motions passed by large majorities in the Provincial Councils to be promulgated on the government was demanded. In addition to that, Provincial autonomy was agreed upon as a common aim along with the pledge from both sides to protect the minorities within their respective areas.

One of the main reasons why Congress gave such huge concessions during the Lucknow Pact was because it increased their own changes of ultimate independence.