History
{{Main, History of the Indian National CongressFoundation
{{See also, Indian independence movement During the latter part of the 1870s, there were concerted efforts among Indians to establish aEarly years
By 1905, two factions had emerged within the party, leading to different approaches and ideologies regarding the methods to achieveCongress as a mass movement
In 1915,Post-independence
After Indian independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress became the dominant political party in the country. In 1952, in the first general election held after Independence, the party swept to power in the national parliament and most state legislatures. It held power nationally until 1977 when it was defeated by the Janata coalition. It returned to power in 1980 and ruled until 1989 when it was once again defeated. The party formed the government in 1991 at the head of a coalition, as well as in 2004 and 2009 when it led the United Progressive Alliance. During this period the Congress remained centre-left in its social policies while steadily shifting from a socialist to aNehru and Shastri era (1947–1966)
{{see also, Premiership of Lal Bahadur Shastri From 1951 until his death in 1964,Indira era (1966–1984)
{{See also, The Emergency (India), Assassination of Indira Gandhi, Indian general election, 1977, 1984 anti-Sikh riots In 1967, following a poor performance in theCongress split, 1969
In November 1969, the Congress party president, S. Nijalingappa, expelled Indira Gandhi from the party for indiscipline.{{cite news , title=March to socialism under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, work=Formation of Congress (I)
On 2 January 1978, Indira and her followers seceded and formed a new opposition party, popularly called Congress (I)—the "I" signifying Indira. During the next year, her new party attracted enough members of the legislature to become the official opposition.{{cite book, last1=Basu , first1=Manisha , title=The Rhetoric of Hindutva, year=2016 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=978-1-107-14987-8 , pages=73– , url={{Google books, E7gtDQAAQBAJ , page=PA73, plainurl=yes In November 1978, Gandhi regained a parliamentary seat. In January 1980, following aPunjab crisis
Gandhi's premiership witnessed increasing turmoil inRajiv Gandhi and Rao era (1984–1998)
{{See also, Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War, Economic liberalisation in India In 1984, Indira Gandhi's sonModern era (1998–present)
The 1998 general elections saw Congress win 141 seats in the Lok Sabha, its lowest tally until then. To boost its popularity and improve its performance in the forthcoming election, Congress leaders urgedGeneral election results
In the first parliamentary elections held in 1952, the INC won 364 seats, which was 76 per cent of the 479 contested seats. The vote share of the INC was 45 per cent of all votes cast. Till the 1971 general elections, the party's voting percentage remain intact at 40 per cent. However, the 1977 general elections resulted in a heavy defeat for the INC. Many notable INC party leader lost their seats, winning only 154 seats in the Lok Sabha.{{cite news , last1=Gupta , first1=Abhinav , title=Lok Sabha Poll Results: A vote-share and performance analysis of BJP vs Congress from 1996 to 2019 , url=https://english.newsnationtv.com/election/lok-sabha-election/lok-sabha-poll-results-a-vote-share-and-performance-analysis-of-bjp-vs-congress-from-1996-to-2019-225277.html , access-date=8 March 2022 , work=News Nation , agency=News Nation Network Pvt Ltd. , date=24 May 2019 The INC again returned to power in thePolitical positions
{{Liberalism sidebarSocial affairs
The Congress party emphasizesEconomic policies
{{See also, Economic liberalisation in India The history of the economic policy of Congress-led governments can be divided into two periods. The first period lasted from independence, in 1947, to 1991 and put great emphasis on the public sector. The second period began withNational defence and home affairs
Since its independence, India was in pursuing of nuclear capabilities, as Nehru felt that nuclear energy could take the country forward and help achieve its developmental goals.{{cite web , title=Indian Nuclear Program , url=https://www.atomicheritage.org/history/indian-nuclear-program , publisher=National Museum of Nuclear Science & History , access-date=7 July 2021 Consequently, Nehru began to seek assistance from the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States.{{cite book, author=C. Philip Skardon, title=A Lesson for Our Times: How America Kept the Peace in the Hungary-Suez Crisis of 1956, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aRUgkjbBvBAC&pg=PA695, date=19 March 2010, publisher=Author House, isbn=978-1-4520-3033-3, pages=695–696{{cite web , title=The end of the British empire in India , url=https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/empire/g3/cs3/background.htm , publisher=The National Archives , access-date=7 July 2021 In 1958 the government of India with the help ofEducation and healthcare
The Congress government under Nehru oversaw the establishment of many institutions of higher learning, including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Indian Institutes of Management and the National Institutes of Technology. TheForeign policies
Throughout much of theStructure and composition
{{See also, List of presidents of the Indian National Congress, All India Congress Committee, Congress Working Committee At present, the president and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) are elected by delegates from state and district parties at an annual national conference; in every Indian state and union territory—or ''pradesh''—there is aElection symbols
{{as of, 2021, the election symbol of Congress, as approved by theDynasticism
Dynasticism is fairly common in many List of political parties in India, political parties in India, including the Congress party.{{cite book, author=Simon Denyer, title=Rogue Elephant: Harnessing the Power of India's Unruly Democracy, url=https://archive.org/details/rogueelephanthar0000deny, url-access=registration, date=24 June 2014, publisher=Bloomsbury USA, isbn=978-1-62040-608-3, pagePresence/Alliance in states and UTs
{{See also, List of chief ministers from the Indian National Congress {{quote box , style = "background:Cornsilk;", {{hidden , Legislative Assembly , headerstyle=background:#FFFFFF , style=text-align:center; , Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 0, 175, hex=#00BFFF Arunachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 4, 60, hex=#00BFFF Assam Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 27, 126, hex=#00BFFF Bihar Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 19, 243, hex=#00BFFF Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 35, 90, hex=#00BFFF Delhi Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 0, 70, hex=#00BFFF Goa Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 03, 40, hex=#00BFFF Gujarat Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 17, 182, hex=#00BFFF Haryana Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 31, 90, hex=#00BFFF Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 40, 68, hex=#00BFFF Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly†{{Composition bar, 0, 90, hex=#00BFFF Jharkhand Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 17, 81, hex=#00BFFF Karnataka Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 136, 224, hex=#00BFFF Kerala Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 21, 140, hex=#00BFFF Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 66, 230, hex=#00BFFF Maharashtra Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 45, 288, hex=#00BFFF Manipur Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 5, 60, hex=#00BFFF Meghalaya Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 5, 60, hex=#00BFFF Mizoram Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 1, 40, hex=#00BFFF Nagaland Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 0, 60, hex=#00BFFF Odisha Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 9, 147, hex=#00BFFF Puducherry Legislative Assembly‡{{Composition bar, 2, 33, hex=#00BFFF Punjab Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 18, 117, hex=#00BFFF Rajasthan Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 70, 200, hex=#00BFFF Sikkim Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 0, 32, hex=#00BFFF Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 18, 234, hex=#00BFFF Telangana Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 64, 119, hex=#00BFFF Tripura Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 3, 60, hex=#00BFFF Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 2, 403, hex=#00BFFF Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 18, 70, hex=#00BFFF West Bengal Legislative Assembly{{Composition bar, 0, 294, hex=#00BFFF {{quote box , bgcolor = Cornsilk, {{hidden , Legislative Council , headerstyle=background:#FFFFFF , style=text-align:center; , Andhra Pradesh Legislative Council{{Composition bar, 0, 58, hex=#00BFFF Bihar Legislative Council{{Composition bar, 4, 75, hex=#00BFFF Karnataka Legislative Council{{Composition bar, 30, 75, hex=#00BFFF Maharashtra Legislative Council{{Composition bar, 8, 78, hex=#00BFFF Telangana Legislative Council{{Composition bar, 7, 40, hex=#00BFFF Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council{{Composition bar, 0, 100, hex=#00BFFF Indian National Congress is the only political party in India, which has experience of running the state government of every Indian states in post-independence Indian history. From the first general election in 1952 when Jawaharlal Nehru led it to a landslide victory, the Congress won in the majority of the following state elections and paved the way for a Nehruvian era of single-party dominance. The party during the post-independence era has governed most of the States and union territories of India.{{cite web , title=ERA OF ONE PARTY DOMINANCE , url=https://old.amu.ac.in/emp/studym/100017103.pdf , publisher=Aligarh Muslim University , access-date=12 March 2022 As of December 2023, the INC is in power in the states of Telengana, Himachal Pradesh, and Karnataka. In Jharkhand, it shares power as a junior ally with Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.{{cite news , last1=Joshi , first1=Poornima , title=Jharkhand polls: JMM-led alliance trounces the BJP in Jharkhand , url=https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/national/jharkhand-polls-jmm-congress-alliance-set-to-trounce-bjp/article30381608.ece , access-date=12 March 2022 , work=Business Line , agency=The Times Group , date=23 December 2019 In Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, Tamil Nadu its a junior ally of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, DMK, Communist Party of India, CPI, Communist Party of India (Marxist), CPI(M), Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, VCK under the coalition Secular Progressive Alliance or SPA. The Congress has previously been the sole party in power in Delhi, Andhra Pradesh,Legislative leaders
List of prime ministers
{{Further, List of prime ministers of India The Congress has governed a majority of the period of independence India (for 55 years), wherebyList of deputy prime ministers
{{further, Deputy Prime Minister of India {, class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" !rowspan=2 style="background-color:#19AAED;color:black", No. !rowspan=2 style="background-color:#19AAED;color:black", Portrait !rowspan=2 style="background-color:#19AAED;color:black", NameSee also
{{Portal, India, Politics, Liberalism, Socialism {{div col, colwidth=30em * Electoral history of the Indian National Congress *References
Notes
{{Notelist, 40emCitations
{{Reflist, 30emSources
* {{cite book, author=Mahendra Prasad Singh, year=1981, title=Split in a Predominant Party: The Indian National Congress in 1969 , url={{Google books, UOQRWuMXyRMC, page=PA42, plainurl=yes, publisher=Abhinav Publications , isbn=978-81-7017-140-9Further reading
{{refbegin, 30em * ''The Indian National Congress: An Historical Sketch'', by Frederick Marion De Mello. Published by H. Milford, Oxford University Press, 1934. * ''The Indian National Congress'', by Hemendra Nath Das Gupta. Published by J. K. Das Gupta, 1946. * ''Indian National Congress: A Descriptive Bibliography of India's Struggle for Freedom'', by Jagdish Saran Sharma. Published by S. Chand, 1959. * ''Social Factors in the Birth and Growth of the Indian National Congress Movement'', by Ramparkash Dua. Published by S. Chand, 1967. * ''Split in a Predominant Party: The Indian National Congress in 1969'', by Mahendra Prasad Singh. Abhinav Publications, 1981. {{ISBN, 81-7017-140-7. * ''Concise History of the Indian National Congress, 1885–1947'', by B. N. Pande, Nisith Ranjan Ray, Ravinder Kumar, Manmath Nath Das. Published by Vikas Pub. House, 1985. {{ISBN, 0-7069-3020-7. * ''The Indian National Congress: An Analytical Biography'', by Om P. Gautam. Published by B.R. Pub. Corp., 1985. * ''A Century of Indian National Congress, 1885–1985'', by Pran Nath Chopra, Ram Gopal, Moti Lal Bhargava. Published by Agam Prakashan, 1986. * ''The Congress Ideology and Programme, 1920–1985'', by Pitambar Datt Kaushik. Published by Gitanjali Pub. House, 1986. {{ISBN, 81-85060-16-9. * ''Struggling and Ruling: The Indian National Congress, 1885–1985'', by Jim Masselos. Published by Sterling Publishers, 1987. * ''The Encyclopedia of Indian National Congress'', by A. Moin Zaidi, Shaheda Gufran Zaidi, Indian Institute of Applied Political Research. Published by S.Chand, 1987. * ''Indian National Congress: A Reconstruction'', by Iqbal Singh, Nehru Memorial Museum and Library. Published by Riverdale Company, 1988. {{ISBN, 0-913215-32-5. * ''INC, the Glorious Tradition'', by A. Moin Zaidi, Indian National Congress. AICC. Published by Indian Institute of Applied Political Research, 1989. * ''Indian National Congress: A Select Bibliography'', by Manikrao Hodlya Gavit, Attar Chand. Published by U.D.H. Pub. House, 1989. {{ISBN, 81-85044-05-8. * ''The Story of Congress PilgrFile: 1885–1985'', by A. Moin Zaidi, Indian National Congress. Published by Indian Institute of Applied Political Research, 1990. {{ISBN, 81-85355-46-0. (7 vols) * ''Indian National Congress in England'', by Harish P. Kaushik. Published by Friends Publications, 1991. * ''Women in Indian National Congress, 1921–1931'', by Rajan Mahan. Published by Rawat Publications, 1999. * ''History of Indian National Congress, 1885–2002'', by Deep Chand Bandhu. Published by Kalpaz Publications, 2003. {{ISBN, 81-7835-090-4. * Bipan Chandra, Amales Tripathi, Barun De. ''Freedom Struggle''. India: National Book Struggle. {{ISBN, 978-81-237-0249-0. {{RefendExternal links
{{Wikiquote {{Commons and category, Indian National Congress * {{official website * {{Curlie, Regional/Asia/India/Society_and_Culture/Politics/Parties/Indian_National_Congress * {{GovPubs, Indian%20National%20Congress, Congress Party * {{Internet Archive author, sname=Indian National Congress * {{Britannica, 285841 {{Indian National Congress {{Navboxes , title= , list1= {{United Progressive Alliance , state=collapsed {{Indian political parties {{India topics {{Authority control Indian National Congress, 1885 establishments in India Centrist parties in India Centre-left parties in Asia Social liberal parties Liberal parties in India Social democratic parties in Asia Nationalist parties in India Indian independence movement Political parties established in 1885 Progressive Alliance Full member parties of the Socialist International National political parties in India Member parties of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance Political parties in India