Split in the Congress| Class 12 Political Science Notes
Last Updated :
26 Apr, 2024
Split in the Congress is a subpart of the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5 that is denoted as the Challenges To And Restoration Of The Congress System. The subpart Split in the Congress majorly depicts the situation of the Congress party after the 1967 elections, describes the tension between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate, and also gives us a political view of the 1969 Presidential Election after the death of former President Mr. Zakir Hussain.
In this article, we are going to discuss the Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5 subpart Split in the Congress in detail.
Split in the Congress After the 1967 Elections
After the 1967 elections, the Congress party came to the central power again. But this time the majority was too marginal and decreased from the previous elections. In the 1967 elections, the party lost so many seats and lost their power in many states. The result showed that it is possible to defeat the Congress party.
The Congress party came into power because no substitution was left for the country which meant no eligible opposition was allowed who take a stand against Congress. In the 1967 elections, Congress made so many political alliances and most of them were not stable. After some period, the coalition government lost its majority and a situation came up where the President’s Rule was the only option.
At this time, Indira Gandhi was not happy with these negative developments and her thoughts and politics were not aligning with some other leaders of the Congress. This tension created an internal difference in the Congress party itself. Indira Gandhi decided to leave the Congress party and formed the Indian National Congress (Requisitionists). In 1969, the political differences and internal problems split the whole Congress party into two parts including the Indian National Congress (O) and the Indian National Congress (R).
Indira Gandhi vs the ‘Syndicate’
The Syndicate is an informal way to denote a group of leaders who were the organizational structure of the Congress party. The Congress Syndicate was led by the South Indian leader K.Kamraj. The tenure of Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister was marked by so many significant challenges. The Syndicate group initially supported her and followed her guidance. On the other hand, Indira Gandhi was an independent politician who did not want to take the decision of the syndicate so seriously and started taking advice from the outside of the party. This attitude hurt the syndicate sentiment so badly.
Indira Gandhi made many bold decisions to consolidate her power in the Congress. She wanted to cut down and reduce the electoral setbacks that Congress faced in the 1967 elections. She transformed these steps into an ideology that pushed the whole party into a Left Party’s policy agenda. As we know, Indira Gandhi always made Poverty and Poorness a political agenda, so she took some initiatives like the Ten Point Programme. This program helped the poor people by taking social controls on banks, nationalized general insurance, land reform and so many provisions for the rural people.
The Syndicate leaders supported this left-wing politics at its initial stage but gradually they felt that there were so many socio-economic concerns arising from these policies. So they started to oppose Indira.
The Presidential Election of 1969
The functional and ideological problems became more visible when the presidential election started due to the death of the former President of India, Mr. Zakir Hussain.
- The syndicate group supported their official candidate Mr. N. Snjeeva Reddy and Indira Gandhi supported Mr. W.Giri at the same time.
- At that time, Dandhi decided that the government was going to nationalize fourteen private banks. They will abolish the “Privy Purse”. These decisions removed the differences between Morarji Desai and Indira.
- At the end of the Presidential Election when the Syndicate’s candidate lost the election, the Congress slitted into two parts.
People Also Read:
FAQs on Class 12 Political Science Chapter 5 Split in the Congress
What was the reason for the split of Congress in 1969 Class 12?
On 12 November 1969, the Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi was expelled from the Congress party for violating party discipline. The party finally split with Indira Gandhi setting up a rival organisation Indian National Congress (Requisitionists), which came to be known as Congress (R) or Indicate .
In which year Congress faced its second split?
From 1975 to 1977, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India, resulting in widespread oppression and abuses of power. Another split in the party occurred in 1979, leading to the creation of the Congress (I), which was recognized as the Congress by the Electoral Commission in 1981.
What role did the syndicate play in the Congress party Class 12?
India Gandhi had to deal with the ‘syndicate’, a group of powerful and influential leaders from within the Congress. The Syndicate had played a role in the installation of Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister by ensuring her election as the leader of the parliamentary party.
Why was Indira Gandhi expelled from Congress?
These steps culminated in party president S. Nijalingappa expelling her from the party for indiscipline. Gandhi, in turn, floated her own faction of the Congress party and managed to retain most of the Congress MPs on her side with only 65 on the side of the Congress (O) faction.
Who led Congress syndicate?
K Kamaraj and later Morarji Desai were the leaders of the INC(O). INC(O) led governments in Bihar under Bhola Paswan Shastri, Karnataka under Veerendra Patil, and in Gujarat under Hitendra K Desai.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Please Login to comment...