Within the Congress, some leaders were by now tired of mass struggles and wanted to participate in elections to the provinces that had been set up by the Government of India Act of 1919.

They felt that it was important to oppose British policies within the councils as these were not truly democratic.

C.R. Das and Motilal Nehru formed the Swaraj Party within the Congress to argue for a return to council politics. But young leaders like Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhash Chandra Bose pressed for more radical agitation.