 Following the failure of the London trip , Jinnah was in no hurry to reach an agreement , considering that time would allow him to gain the undivided provinces of Bengal and Punjab for Pakistan , but these wealthy , populous provinces had sizeable non @-@ Muslim minorities , complicating a settlement . The Attlee ministry desired a rapid British departure from India , but had little confidence in Wavell to achieve that end . Beginning in December 1946 , British officials began looking for a viceregal successor to Wavell , and soon fixed on Admiral Lord Mountbatten of Burma , a war leader popular among Conservatives as the great @-@ grandson of Queen Victoria and among Labour for his political views . 
