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Chapter - 5, Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System, We have seen that after Independence Congress established dominance in the Indian, Political system., , , , The first challenge to this system was raised during the 1960s., , , , As political competition became more intense, the Congress found it difficult to retain its, dominance., , , , It faced challenges from the opposition that was more powerful and less divided than, before., , , , The Congress also faced challenges from within, as the party could no longer, accommodate all kinds of differences., , ve, ., , in, , , , Challenge of political Succession, Nehru died in May 1964., , , , His death created a lot of speculation about his successor and raised two questions,, Such as:, , Hs, sli, , , , 1. After Nehru who?, , 2. Whether Indian democracy will survive after Nehru ?, , , , 1960s were generally labelled as the " dangerous decade" . During this period, India, faced several problems like ;, 1. Poverty, , 2. Inequality, , 3. Communal and regional divisions, , , , These problems could lead to the disintegration of the country., , From Nehru to Shastri, , , Congress party, under the presidentship of K. Kamaraj, unanimously elected Lal, Bahadur Shastri as the next PM of India., , , , He was an experienced leader and famous for simplicity., , 1

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, , From 1964 to 1966, he was the PM of the country., , , , During this period, the country faced two major challenges:, 1. An economic crisis, due to the failure of monsoons, a severe drought and, shortage of food., 2. A War with Pakistan in 1965., His famous slogan " Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan" expressed the determination of the country, to face these challenges., , , , He expired on 10th January 1966 in Thashkant., , in, , , , From Shastri to Indira Gandhi, , With the death of L. B Shastri, Congress had to face the challenge of political, succession once again., , , , This time there was an intense competition between Morarji Desai and indira Gandhi., , , , Morarji Dosai was a popular leader with great political tradition., , , , Indira Gandhi, the daughter of Nehru, had been the president of Congress Party., , , , The senior Congress leaders supported Indira Gandhi, because they believed that she, may depend the senior leaders due to her administrative and political inexperience., , , , The election was conducted through a secret ballot among Congress MPs., , , , In the election Indira Gandhi defected Morarji Desai by securing 2/3 majority of, Congress Mps., , , , Thus, Indira Gandhi became the first woman PM of India., , Hs, sli, , ve, ., , , , Fourth General Election of 1967, , , , It was in the election that the base of Congress Party was shaken for the first time., , , , It is considered as a landmark in the political history of India., , Context of Election, , , Food Scarcity, , , , Economic crisis, , , , Price rise and Popular protests, , 2

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, , Armed agrarian struggle and agitations for equality., , , , Hindu-Muslims riots, , , , Unity in the opposition parties, , , , Two PMs died in quick succession, , , , Unemployment issues, , , , Inexpirienced PM, , in, , Non - Congressism, , The opposition Political parties realised that the division of their votes Kept the congress, in power., , , , So, ideologically different political parties formed Anti-congress Fronts to defeat the, Congress., , , , The term " Non - Congressism" was coined by Ram Manohar Lohia., , , , The theoretical argument of Lohia was that Congress rule was undemocractic and, opposed to the interest of ordinary poor people. Therefore, the coming together of the, non-congress Parties was necessary for reclaiming democracy for the people., , Hs, sli, , ve, ., , , , Electoral verdict of 1967, , , Congress got majority in Lok Sabha with the lowest Seats since 1952., , , , Half of the cabinet ministers were defeated., , , , Many Senior Congress leaders were defeated., , , , Congress Lost power in 9 States., , , , DMK, a regional political party won Clear majority in the Madras Legislative Assembly., , , , Contemporary Political observers describe this election Verdict as a "political, Earthquake"., , Coalitions, , , If no single party gets clear majority in the election to form a govt, two or more parties, join together and form the govt. This political phenomenon is called Coalition govt., , , , Generally there was no ideological agreement between the partners of these coalition, govts., 3

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Defections, , , After the election of 1967 the politics of defection had become an important feature of, Indian politics., , , , If a representative leaves the party on whose symbol he was elected and joins another, party, is called defection., , Split in the Congress, Even though Congress could retain power at the centre in the general election of 1967, it, had to face a major split in 1969., , , , The political and power rivalary between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate group within, the Congress ultimately created a split in the party., , ve, ., , Indira vs Syndicate, , in, , , , Syndicate means a group of Powerful and influential leaders from within congress., , , , It was led by K. Kamaraj., , , , In the earlier they played a vital role in installation of indira as PM., , , , The Syndicate expected Indira Gandhi to follow their advises., , , , Gradually Indira Gandhi Sidelined the senior leaders and sought advise from outside the, party., , Hs, sli, , , , Two Challenges before Indira Gandhi:, 1. Independence from Syndicate., , 2. Regain the lost strength of Congress., , , In order to face these challenges Indira Gandhi introduced left front policies., , , , In May 1967 Indira Gandhi formulated a Ten Point Programme. It included:, 1. Social control of Bank, , 2. Nationalisation of general insurance, 3. Ceiling on Urban property, 4. Public distribution of foodgrains, 5. Land Reformations, , 4

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Presidential Election of 1969, The Official candidate of Congress was Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy., , , , Indira Gandhi Supported V. VGiri, who contested as an independent candidate., , , , The Congress President S. Nijalingappa issued a Whip to all the Congress MPs and, MLAs to vote for N. Sanjeeva Reddy, the official candidate of the party., , , , Indira Gandhi openly called for a "Conscience vote" in the presidential election., , , , V. V Giri won in the presidential election., , , , The Congress president dismissed Indira Gandhi from the party, which led to split in the, party., , , , Congress O (organization) led the Syndicate., , , , Congress R (reorganization) led by Indira Gandhi., , ve, ., , in, , , , The election of 1971 and the restoration of Congress, Due to the split in the congress the Indira Gandhi govt became a minority govt., , , , It could remain in power only with the support of DMK and CPI., , , , Indira Gandhi knew that she could continue in Power for a long period depending on the, support of other political parties., , , , So, In december 1970, indira Gandi's govtro commended the dissolution of Lok Sabha, and the holding of fresh election., , , , It was really a bold and surprising decision., , Hs, sli, , , , The contest, , , The 5th general election to Lok Sabha was held in February 1971., , , , Everybody believed that the real organizational strength of the Congress Party was, under the command of Congress (O)., , , , To make matters worse for Indira Gandhi, all non-congress and non-communist, Opposition Parties formed an electoral alliance, known as "Grand Alliance''., , , , The Congress (R) made an alliance with CPI., , , , The grand alliance entered the election arena with the slogan"Indira Hatao" (remove, Indira., 5

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, , When the opposition Parties made Personal attacks, Indira Gandhi concentrated more, on the issues of the country., , , , As aganist the opposition slogan of Indira Hatao, She put forward the positive slogan of., " Garibi Hatao" (removal of Poverty), which got popular attention., , The Election Result, , , The Congress(R) and CPl alliance Secured amazing majority in the election., They got 2/3 majority in the election., , , , The election result proved that Indira Gandhi's Congress was the real Congress., , , , Indo-Pak War In 1971 really doubled the popularity of Indira Gandhi., , , , Indira Gandhi began to be considered as the protector of the poor and the, underprivileged., , ve, ., , in, , , , Restoration, , The new Congress, under the leadership of Indira Gandhi, was entirely different from the, old Congress., 1. It relied entirely on the popularity of the Supreme leader., , Hs, sli, , , , 2. The organizational structure of the party was very weak., 3. It could not accomodate different opinions and Interests within the party., , 6