Its leadership included Joseph Augustus Maung Gyi, U Khin and U May Oung.
The party was established as the Progressive Party in 1922,[3] evolving from the senior faction of the Young Men's Buddhist Association, whose members were conservative, western-educated and willing to accept the colonial system of government.
[2] Although the 1922 general elections saw the 21 Party emerge as the largest party in the Legislative Council, its leader Ba Pe refused to form a government with the Golden Valley Party, allowing Maung Gyi to head the new government.
[2] The elections later that year (in which it won 20 of the 80 seats)[2] and 1928 elections (12 seats) ended with the same outcome due to favouritism by the British authorities.
[4] The party contested the 1932 elections calling for the separation of Burma from India, but were defeated by the anti-separatists, who won a landslide;[2] Ba Maw of the Maw-Myint-Bye Party became Chief Minister.