The Indian National Congress (Organisation) also known as Congress (O) or Syndicate/Old Congress was a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

formed when the Congress party split following the expulsion of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. On 12 November 1969, the Prime Minister of India

was expelled from the Congress party for violating the party discipline. The party finally split with Indira Gandhi setting up a rival organization ''Indian National Congress (Requisitionists)'', which came to be known as ''

Congress (R) Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) was created in 1969; it was created and led by Indira Gandhi. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but it soon came to be generally known as the New Congress or Syndicate. The letter 'R' s ...

'' or ''Indicate''/''New Congress''. In the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

, 446 of its 705 members walked over to Indira's side.Chandra, Bipan & others (2000). ''India after Independence 1947-2000'', New Delhi:Penguin Books, , p.236

K Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

and later

Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the 4th Prime Minister of India between 1977 to 1979 leading the government formed by the Janata Party. During his ...

were the leaders of the INC(O). INC(O) led governments in

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

under

Bhola Paswan Shastri Bhola Paswan Shastri (21 September 1914 - 10 September 1984) was an Indian freedom fighter and on three occasions between 1968-71 was former Chief Minister of Bihar state in India. He was born in Paswan Community in Bairgacchi village of Purn ...

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

under

Veerendra Patil Veerendra Basappa Patil (Kannada: ವೀರೇಂದ್ರ ಪಾಟೀಲ್; 28 February 1924 – 14 March 1997) was a senior Indian politician and was twice, the List of Chief Ministers of Karnataka, Chief Minister of Karnataka. He becam ...

, and in

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

under

Hitendra K Desai Hitendra Kanaiyalal Desai (9 August 1915 – 12 September 1993) was an Indian politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of Gujarat from 1965 to 1971 and a leader of Indian National Congress and later Indian National Congress. Politi ...

. It was also a part of the

Janata Morcha The Janata Morcha ("People's Front") was a coalition of Indian political parties formed in 1974 to oppose the government of Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress (R) party. The coalition was an integral part of the popular movemen ...

that ruled Gujarat under

Babubhai J. Patel Babubhai Jashbhai Patel (9 February 1911 - 19 December 2002) was the chief minister of Gujarat state in India. He held the office twice, first time from June 1975 to March 1976 as the leader of Janata Morcha and the second time from April 1977 t ...

from 1975–1976 during the emergency era. The split can in some ways be seen as a

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

right-wing Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...

division. Indira wanted to use a

populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

agenda in order to mobilize popular support for the party. The regional party elites, who formed the INC(O), stood for a more right-wing agenda, and distrusted

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

help. In the 1971 general election, the INC(O) won about 10% of the vote and 16

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, constitutionally the House of the People, is the lower house of India's bicameral Parliament, with the upper house being the Rajya Sabha. Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by an adult universal suffrage and a first-past ...

seats, against 44% of the vote and 352 seats for Indira's Congress. In March 1977, the party fought the post-Emergency election under the banner of

Janata Party The Janata Party ( JP, lit. ''People's Party'') was a political party that was founded as an amalgam of Indian political parties opposed to the Emergency that was imposed between 1975 and 1977 by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of the Indian Nati ...

. The Janata Party alliance inflicted crushing defeat to Indira's Congress Party. Nevertheless, the total vote share of Congress (O) in 1977 was almost halved from 1971 and they lost three seats.. Later the same year, INC(O) formally merged with the

Bharatiya Lok Dal Bharatiya Lok Dal (English: Indian Peoples' Party) was a political party in India. The BLD or simply BL was formed at the end of 1974 through the fusion of seven parties opposed to the rule of Indira Gandhi, including the Swatantra Party, th ...

Bharatiya Jan Sangh The Bharatiya Jana Sangh ( BJS or JS, short name: Jan Sangh, full name: Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh; ) (ISO 15919: '' Akhila Bhāratīya Jana Saṅgha '' ) was an Indian right wing political party that existed from 1951 to 1977 and was the pol ...

Socialist Party of India Socialist Party has been the name of several political parties in India, all of which have their roots in the Congress Socialist Party during the freedom struggle. Background Socialism had a late appearance in Indian politics and this was at ...

Swatantra Party The Swatantra Party was an Indian classical liberal political party, that existed from 1959 to 1974. It was founded by C. Rajagopalachari in reaction to what he felt was the Jawaharlal Nehru-dominated Indian National Congress's increasingly soci ...

and others to form the

. Congress (O)'s leader

served as the fourth

Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (IAST: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and their chosen Council of Ministers, despite the president of India being the nominal head of the ...

from 1977 to 1979 which was India's first non-Congress government.

Leaders

K. Kamaraj Kumaraswami Kamaraj (15 July 1903 – 2 October 1975, hinduonnet.com. 15–28 September 2001), popularly known as Kamarajar was an Indian independence activist and politician who served as the Chief Minister of Madras State (Tamil Nadu) ...

S. Nijalingappa Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa (10 December 1902 – 8 August 2000) was an Indian independence activist, Indian National Congress, Congress Party politician, and lawyer who served two terms as the Government of Karnataka, Chief Minister of Karnat ...

C. M. Poonacha Cheppudira Muthana Poonacha was the Chief Minister of Coorg, Minister in Mysore State, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha), Union Railway Minister of India and Governor of Madhya Pradesh and Governor of Orissa. Freedom Movement C ...

Neelam Sanjiva Reddy Neelam Sanjiva Reddy (; 19 May 1913 – 1 June 1996) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth President of India, serving from 1977 to 1982. Beginning a long political career with the Indian National Congress Party in the independence ...

Atulya Ghosh Atulya Ghosh (28 August 1904 – 18 April 1986) was a Bengali Indian politician.Bose, Anjali (editor), 1996/2004, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol II, , pp8-9, He has been described as "a wise, scholarly and hon ...

S. K. Patil Sadashiv Kanoji Patil (abbreviated as S. K. Patil) (1898–1981) was a former Congress leader from Maharashtra. A veteran freedom-fighter, he was a qualified journalist, scholar and orator. He was thrice elected mayor of Bombay and was known ...

Satyendra Narayan Sinha Satyendra Narayan Sinha (12 July 1917 – 4 September 2006) was an Indian politician and statesman, participant in the Indian independence movement, a leading light of Jaya Prakash Narayan's ‘ ''complete revolution''’ movement during the E ...

Chandra Bhanu Gupta Chandra Bhanu Gupta (14 July 1902 – 11 March 1980) served three terms as chief minister of Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. In 1970s he was a member of Congress (O) and Janata Party. Early life He was born in Atrauli, Aligarh district in 190 ...

Ashoka Mehta Asoka Mehta (24 October 1911, Bhavnagar – 10 December 1984, New Delhi) was an Indian freedom fighter and socialist politician. He helped organize the socialist wing Congress Socialist Party of the Indian National Congress, along with Rambriksh ...

Tribhuvan Narain Singh Tribhuvan Narain Singh (8 August 1904 – 3 August 1982) was an Indian politician and Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. He remained Chief Minister from 18 October 1970 till 4 April 1971. Singh later served as Governor of West Bengal from the la ...

Ram Subhag Singh Ram Subhag Singh (7 July 1917 – 16 December 1980)''Data India'', Press Institute of India, 1981 was an Indian politician who was a member of the Indian National Congress. He served as a member of the 3rd and 4th Lok Sabha for Bikramganj and ...

B. D. Sharma Bhagwat Dayal Sharma (26 January 1918 – 22 February 1993), popularly known as Panditji, was the first Chief Minister of the Indian state of Haryana and later Governor of Odisha and Madhya Pradesh from 30 April 1980 to 14 May 1984. He is one o ...

Notes

{{Indian Emergency Indian National Congress Defunct political parties in India Political parties established in 1969 Political parties disestablished in 1977 Conservative parties in India Indian National Congress (Organisation) Indian National Congress breakaway groups

Leaders

See also

Notes