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CONGRESS SYSTEM: DEMOCRACY

1. CONGRESS SYSTEM
Dominance of congress party in Indian politics call as congress system. In first three general
election congress party got majority in Center and Congress party was most Successful Party
in State Assembly elections also.

1951 (1st)

1957(2nd)

1962 (3rd)

The Congress Party dominated India's first three general elections for reasons:

I) The National Movement's heritage had been passed down to the Congress Party.
Additionally, it was the only political party with a nationwide organisation.

ii) Nehru Ji, the leader of the Congress Party, was the most well-liked and charismatic figure.
In the first Lok Sabha elections, the party won 364 of the 489 seats, easily defeating all
opposition.

iii) Congress had already started its campaigning and was a well-organized party before
other parties could catch up to them. The party now had the advantage of being first to
start.

iv) By the time the country was independent, the party had spread its wings to the local
level.

v) The Congress Party maintained its parliamentary majority in the third and second general
elections, which were conducted in 1957 and 1962, respectively. This was caused by the
First Past the Post voting system used in our elections. In this manner, both the federal
government and the states were dominated by the Congress.

Challenges faced by the Congress under Nehru after Independent India:-

- The first and the immediate challenge was to shape a nation that was inclusive of
diversity while remaining unified.
India was a large, diverse country with a continental expanse. Different languages, customs,
and faiths were practised by its inhabitants. There was a widespread belief at the time that a
nation with such a diverse population could not last for very long. Everybody's greatest
worries seemed to be confirmed by the country's division. As a result, one of the main
difficulties was national consolidation.

- The second challenge was to establish democracy.

Everyone was in agreement that the nation should be governed democratically. However, a
democratic constitution is necessary but not sufficient for establishing democracy. It was a
challenge to develop electoral systems that complied with the constitution.

- The third challenge was to secure the growth and welfare of the entire society.

The constitution established the principles of equality and specific protection for religious
and cultural groups as well as socially and economically disadvantaged groups. However the
actual challenge was the formulation of effective policies promoting economic growth and
poverty elimination.

- The fourth challenge was to have a new foreign policy. After Independence, the country's
leaders believed that joining either of the two blocs (the USA or USSR) may endanger the
nation's independence and autonomy.

Non Congressim :-

Organizing public protests and applying pressure to the government was a priority for
opposition parties. These opposition groups understood that split votes kept the congress in
control. The possibility to overthrow the Congress was made possible by Indira Gandhi's
inexperience and internal factionalism in the Congress. The Socialist leader Ram Mohan
Lohia gave the strategy the name of 'non congressim'.

"Congress rule was undemocratic and opposed to the interests of ordinary poor people;
therefore the coming together of the non-Congress parties was necessary for reclaiming
democracy for the people". (Ram Manohar Lohia)

Split In The Congress :-

After the fourth general election, Indira Gandhi's Congress won a majority. The syndicates
wanted her to follow their recommendations and work in accordance with their agenda, but
Indira didn't.

After the fourth general election, Congress led by Indira Gandhi got the majority. The
syndicates wanted her to work according to their agenda and advised but Indira didn't work
in consonance with syndicates.

In presidential election of 1969, the face chosen by syndicates was Sanjeeva Reddy and S.
Nijalingappa issued whip on the party supporting Reddy. On the other hand, Indira worked

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insidiously against it, she choose Vivi Giri as a face for presidential election and preached of
vote for conscience. And the result was shocking, people seemed to be enchanted by her
"conscience vote". Vivi Giri won the presidential election. And the Syndicate in response
expelled Indira from the party. She needed to work to make up the ground the Congress had
lost in the elections of 1967. With this the pristine congress got splitted into Congress(O)
and Congress(R). Syndicate stayed with Congress(O) and Indira on other side taking with her
210 MLAs which is yet less to form government so she has to take support from Tamil
Nadu's majority government DMK. She needed to work to make up the ground the Congress
had lost in the elections of 1967. Indira Gandhi used a really audacious approach. She
transformed an ordinary power battle into an ideological conflict. To give government policy
a Left bent, she started a number of projects. She persuaded the Congress Working
Committee to endorse a Ten Point Programmed in May 1967. This programmed included
social control over banks, the nationalisation of General Insurance, a ceiling on urban
property and income, public distribution of food grains, land reforms, and the provision of
housing sites to rural impoverished people. Although the "syndicate" leaders officially
accepted this Left-Wing scheme and they had serious reservations about the same.

The 1971 General Election:-

The split within the Congress made Indira Gandhi's administration a minority. The
Communist Party of Indochina and the DMK, among a few other groups, provided issue-
based support for her government, allowing it to remain in power. The government
deliberately tried to present itself as a socialist power during this time. Additionally, during
this time, Indira Gandhi actively pushed for the implementation of the existing land reform
laws and initiated new land ceiling legislation. In December 1970, Indira Gandhi's
administration suggested that the Lok Sabha be dissolved in order to stop her reliance on
other political parties, strengthen her party's position in Parliament, and seek popular
support for her programmes. The fifth general election to Lok Sabha were held in Feburary
1971. The Grand Coalition, an electoral alliance made up of all the significant non-
communist, non-Congress opposition groups, served to worsen the situation for Indira
Gandhi. Under this umbrella, the SSP, PSP, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party, and
Bharatiya Kranti Dal merged.

The New Congress had a clear vision and agenda supported by some positive slogans Garabi
Hatao. On the other hand the opponent reiterated the idea of removing Indira (Indira
Hatao). Even the Grand Alliance did not have a coherant political programme. She
concentrated on the development of the public sector. limits placed on urban and rural
property values, disparities in wealth and opportunity eliminated, and the eradication of
royal privileges. Through garibi hatao, Indira Gandhi sought to build a base of support
among the oppressed, particularly among landless labourers, dalits and adivasis, minorities,
women, and young people without jobs. The garibi hatao campaign, along with the
programmes that followed, was an element of Indira Gandhi's political strategy to create a
strong, independent national political base. In the first four general elections, the
Congress(R)-CPI coalition garnered more votes and seats than the Congress had ever

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received. 375 Lok Sabha seats were gained by the coalition, which received 48.4% of the
vote. The Congress (R) under Indira Gandhi won 352 seats with around 44% of the popular
vote on its own.While the Congress(R) could get less than one fourth of the votes secured by
Congress(o), won only 16 seats. With this Congress(O) established itself as "Real Congress".

Reasons for the demise of the Congress System in India :-

The lack of a charismatic leader in the Congress party after Nehru. There were numerous
leaders in the party, but none of them were as charismatic and well-known as Nehru ji,
which led to the demise of the Congress System in India. The Congress party's internal
divisions were a major factor in the party's defeat. The party was now divided into two
halves. When compared to Indira supporters, the Syndicate had a firm grip on the Congress
party. While some people were in favour of capitalism and liberalisation, others were
against it. Greater mobilisation of regional, ethnic, and sectarian groupings - Congress
suffered a setback as a result of the rise of the Akali Dal in Punjab, D.M.K. in Tamil Nadu, and
other regional parties. The party had to be removed from office in several states because it
was unable to win a majority at the federal level. Growing unification among non-Congress
parties - After the third general election, there were numerous political parties at the
national and state levels, and they frequently teamed up in elections.

One of the main factors contributing to the party's downfall was internal conflict. Party split
into two factions (Syndicate vs. Indira).

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

A. Rajni Kothari “Politics In India”.