Bhulabhai Desai was born in Surat in an agriculturist family. He was educated at Calcutta and served as Advocate- General of Bombay for some time. In 1916, he joined the Home Rule Movement and in 1930, he became a member of the Indian National Congress. He was imprisoned for a year for taking part in the Civil Disobedience Movement. He represented the Congress in the Central Legislative Assembly for nine years.
In 1944, Desai, as the leader of the Congress in the Assembly, played a significant role in negotiations between the Muslim League and the Congress over the issue of the formation of an Interim Government at the Centre. The negotiations resulted in the Desai-Liaquat Pact (Liaquat Ali Khan was the Deputy Leader of the Muslim League in the Assembly). The last among Desai’s memorable achievements was his defence of the prisoners of the Indian National Army. Bhulabhai Desai passed away in 1946.