If you have a multimeter, check for continuity between the heating element contacts and the pot itself; you should see an open circuit. If there's a short there, then you're probably creating a big short circuit to ground when you join the pots back together. In the case there is a short, you'll probably have to replace that interior bowl with the heating element unless one end is bent down and touching or something like that.
Outside of that, I guess you just have to make sure those contacts aren't touching something else when it's reassembled; it looks like you need to make sure the two holes in the top pan line up with the two holes in the bottom pan.