Essays on the ideology and social base of the Indian National Congress

According to the symbol order the recognized political parties replaced into two categories.

A party recognized in four or more states is known as national party and a party recognized in less than four states is treated as state party. National parties are All India parties. They drew support from different segments of society and put up their candidates for parliamentary elections across state lines.

The congress (1), the Janata Das, the communist party of India (CPI), the communist party of India (Marxist) and he Bharatiya Janata Party are at present major recognized national parties.

The congress system emerged after the country had attained independence. The congress was a ‘grand coalition’. With great historic antecedents and itself, representing the Indian nation in most

of its essentials. From 1947 until it broke drown in 1967 this ‘system’ was at the centre of Indian politics. Spanning three distinct stages in its post independence development. The first (1947-1967) was characterized by the decline and disintegration e congress.

System and the consolidation of power by a small oligarchy, and the third and current phase witnessed the development of new system, which because of its domination by a Gandhi became known as Indira Congress or Congress (I).

Emergence of the congress (I):

The Congress (I) as a political party emerged after the 1978 split of the congress party forming the two congress one led by Indira Gandhi and the other by Swarn Singh in 1977 Lok Sabha elections the congress won 34.5 percent of votes and 153 seats in contrast to the 43.6 percent of the votes and 352 seats it had won in the 1971 elections, a Indira Gandhi even lost her seat in parliament.

This caused a split within the party leading to the emergence of the congress (I) many of the old and experienced leaders left the party blaming her for its humiliating defeat in the election.

As a result the new party, congress became completely indentified with her personality, many of the party’s top decision making agencies, such as the Congress working committee and the All-India Congress committee lost their powers.

Support Base:

In a profile of congress based on a survey of the Indian electrorate D.L. Sheth emphasizes the broadly aggregative negative character of the party, but concludes that there are certain segments of the population that lend their support disproportionately to congress.

According to him its supporters consists more of the middle aged and as a voters and less of the young voters, it has a slightly higher proportion of illiterates than highly educated voters more rural supporters than urban supporters its occupational and caste base is fairly diversified with slightly greater supports from middle caste groups and Muslims.

Its economic base is also very broad based with slightly less support from higher income groups. In 1980 Mrs. Gandhi succeeded in building the electoral coalition of the Brahmins, Muslims, Harijans and big business and won the Lok Sabha elections.

Mrs. Gandhi’s ass assignation and the consequent development on the eve of 1984 election considerably widened the support base of the congress. Somehow the base of the congress is again shrinking. In 1989 both Muslims and scheduled castes deserted the party.

After the 1989 elections the congress (I) is mainly confined to the south, with just a few fast shrinking islands in the north.

Electoral performance:

In the 1980 Lok Sabha elections the congress (I) polled 437 of the votes and won 351 out of 539 seats. In June of the same year, Indira Gandhi called election to state, legislatures and the congress (I) captured power in 15 out of 22 states. The return of the congress (1) to power in 1980 was attributed to the failure and eventual disintegration of the Janata Party coalition that had captured power in 1977.

Assisted by her son Sanjay, she selected only persons of proven loyalty to the Nehru / Gandhi family to run for parliament. She especially sought to reward those political cronies who had stood by her during the period in which she had been out of power.

Administrative skill and parliamentary skill did not matter. In addition to these elements many persons of dubious character and criminal back grounds entered into the congress party. In the 1984 Lok Sabha elections following the assassination of Indira Gandhi, the congress (I) won with a record a setting vote capturing around 50 percent of the popular voter and 396 Lok Sabha seats a feat unmatched in the history of free India.

The key issue in the 1984 election was the threat to national-unity. The congress (I) under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi swept all the states in the country except Andhra Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Sikkim. In 1989 the congress (I) won only 193 Lok Sabha seats and its popular vote also fell from 48.1 percent in 1984 to 38.21 percent.

The party in 1991 Lok Sabha elections polled 37.3 percent votes to win 226 seats out of 479 it contested.

Ideology and Programme:

The congress (I) is ideologically committed to socialism, secularism and democracy. The party professes its commitment to democratic socialism and places special emphasis on the planned economic development of country in which the Govt, is expected to play a key role.

In its 1989 manifesto it has promised power to the people through panchayati Raj and Nagarpalika bills. It also promises to revamp, the co-operative movement to make, it the dynamic counter part of political democracy at the grass roots.

Among the other points stressed are emancipation of women fight ling communalism social justice and sweeping judicial reforms. In foreign relations the party has been strongly omitted to a policy of non-alignment. Under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, however the party become more-pro-soviet.

Organization:

The constitution of the congress party provides for an elaborate organization headed by the president assisted by working committee and supplemented by the All India Congress committee, the deliberative branch of the party.

Its central office, located in New Delhi supervises the work of the Pradesh congress committee as well as subordinate organizations.