Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System

A. The 1964 Succession: Lal Bahadur Shastri:

• When Jawaharlal Nehru died in May 1964, foreign critics questioned whether Indian democracy would survive. Congress President K. Kamaraj facilitated a peaceful, unanimous transition by choosing Lal Bahadur Shastri as consensus Prime Minister.
• Shastri navigated severe food crises and the 1965 war with Pakistan, giving the immortal national slogan: "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan". Tragically, Shastri died suddenly in Tashkent in January 1966.

B. The 1966 Contest: Indira Gandhi vs Morarji Desai:

• Unlike 1964, there was an open, intense contest between veteran conservative leader Morarji Desai and Nehru's daughter, Indira Gandhi (then Information and Broadcasting Minister).
• The entrenched party bosses, known as the "Syndicate", backed Indira Gandhi because they believed her popular appeal would win elections while her administrative inexperience would make her dependent on their guidance.
• Indira defeated Morarji Desai in a secret ballot of Congress MPs by 355 votes to 169, becoming Prime Minister in January 1966.

A. The Socio-Economic Crisis of 1967:

The Fourth General Election in February 1967 took place amidst severe national crises: back-to-back monsoon droughts, acute food shortages, price inflation, and a controversial 57% devaluation of the Indian Rupee under US/World Bank pressure.

B. The Strategy of "Non-Congressism" (Ram Manohar Lohia):

• Socialist thinker Ram Manohar Lohia argued that Congress rule was corrupt, undemocratic, and served elite capitalists. Because the fragmented non-Congress vote was over 50%, Lohia urged all opposition parties—from the Communist Left to the Jana Sangh Right—to unite under a common anti-Congress electoral platform.

C. The Results: The "Political Earthquake":

• Congress suffered its worst electoral humiliation since independence:
  • Retained a razor-thin, precarious majority in the Lok Sabha (winning only 283 out of 520 seats; its vote share dropped to 40%).
  • Lost power in nine states across northern, eastern, and southern India (Punjab, Haryana, UP, Bihar, WB, Orissa, Madras, Kerala, MP). In Madras (Tamil Nadu), a regional party, the DMK, won a clear majority on anti-Hindi agitation.
• Samyukta Vidhayak Dal (SVD) Coalitions: In states where no party won a majority, opposition coalitions (SVDs) formed governments, uniting bitter ideological rivals (e.g., CPI and Jana Sangh in Bihar).
• "Aaya Ram, Gaya Ram" (Defections): Legislators switched parties overnight for ministerial bribes, causing state governments to collapse within weeks.

A. The Factional Struggle with the "Syndicate":

• The Syndicate—a powerful caucus of veteran regional party bosses led by K. Kamaraj (Tamil Nadu), S.K. Patil (Bombay), N. Sanjeeva Reddy (Andhra), Atulya Ghosh (Bengal), and S. Nijalingappa (Karnataka)—sought to control government policy.
• Indira Gandhi rebelled, choosing to bypass the Syndicate by appealing directly to the poor masses through a radical, pro-poor socialist agenda: the Ten-Point Programme.

B. Bank Nationalisation & Abolition of Privy Purses (July 1969):

1. Nationalisation of 14 Major Commercial Banks: Overnight, private commercial banks were brought under state control to direct credit to impoverished farmers and small industries.
2. Abolition of Privy Purses: Royal pensions and tax exemptions guaranteed to former princely rulers in 1947 were scrapped, calling it an unacceptable feudal relic in a socialist republic. (Finance Minister Morarji Desai resigned in protest).

C. The 1969 Presidential Election & The Split:

• President Zakir Husain died in May 1969. The Syndicate nominated N. Sanjeeva Reddy as the official Congress candidate.
• Indira Gandhi covertly encouraged Vice-President V.V. Giri to contest as an independent, and called upon MPs and MLAs to vote according to their "Conscience Vote"!
• V.V. Giri won the presidency, defeating Sanjeeva Reddy! Congress President Nijalingappa expelled Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the party for indiscipline.
• Congress formally fractured into two parties:
  • Congress (Organisation) / Syndicate: Headed by Nijalingappa and Morarji Desai.
  • Congress (Requisitionists): Headed by Indira Gandhi, supported by the CPI and DMK in Parliament.

A. The 1971 Lok Sabha Battle:

• Indira Gandhi took an audacious gamble, dissolving the Lok Sabha in December 1970—a year ahead of schedule—to seek a direct mandate from the people.
• "Indira Hatao" vs "Garibi Hatao": All major non-communist opposition parties formed the Grand Alliance (SSP, PSP, Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Swatantra, and Congress (O)), with a single negative slogan: "Indira Hatao" (Remove Indira).
• Indira Gandhi electrified the masses with a revolutionary counter-vision: "Garibi Hatao" (Remove Poverty), promising land reforms, employment, and public welfare for the poor, landless Dalits, minorities, and women.

B. The Landslide Restoration:

• The Congress (R)-CPI alliance swept the March 1971 election, winning a staggering 375 seats (352 seats for Congress alone, with 48.4% vote share), obliterating the Grand Alliance! The old Congress (O) was reduced to just 16 seats.
• Following this electoral victory, India's triumphant military liberation of Bangladesh in December 1971 elevated Indira Gandhi to an almost mythical, undisputed national leader.
• The Nature of the "Restored" Congress: The old consensual, pluralistic Congress system of Nehru was gone. The new restored Congress was an over-centralized, personalized political machine completely dependent on the supreme popularity and charisma of Indira Gandhi.