INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS

Congress Party in India dominated Indian politics from independence until the 1967th Before 1967 the Congress had never won less than 73 percent of the seats in parliament. The party won all elections of the state government, with the exception of two - usually alone, but also through coalitions - and until 1967, was never less than 60 percent of all elections for seats in state legislatures.

Four factors explain this dominance. Firstly, the party has acquired an enormous amount of goodwill and political capital of his leadership of the nationalist struggle. Party bosses gained substantial popular respect for the years in jail and other deprivations suffered personally. The common experience of the independence struggle created a sense of cohesion, it was important to maintain unity in the face of an internal party pluralism.

The second factor was that Congress was the only party with an organization that stretches across the country and even village level. Party's federal structure was based on a system of internal democracy that functioned to resolve disputes between its members and maintain party cohesion. The internal party elections also served to legitimize the party's leadership, the Labor Party took the skills of political competition, creating opportunities for upward mobility that rewarded its talented members.

A third factor was that Congress achieved its political dominance through the creation of an organization that fits local conditions rather than transformed, often reaching the village through local "big men" (ADMI nude) that control of the village "vote banks ". These local elites, who owed their position to their traditional status and control over land, formed factions struggling for power in Congress. The internal party democracy and the electoral success of subsequent Congress ultimately strengthen the local power of traditional elites and enabled the party to adapt to changes in the local balance of power. The ideological pragmatism of local party leaders have made it possible to coopt issues that contributed to the success of opposition parties and even opposition leaders incorporate the success of the party. The internal competition served to channel information about local conditions in the party hierarchy.

Fourth, patronage was the oil that lubricates the machinery of the party. Since the state expanded its role in development, has accumulated more resources that could be distributed to party members. The increasing number of opportunities and resources facilitated the party's ability to accommodate conflict among its members. Congress Party in India benefit from a "virtuous circle" in which his election victory gave him access to economic resources and political changes that enabled the party to attract new supporters.

The Indian National Congress-I, the oldest among the political parties, political party was the dominant nation's leadership brought only in recent decades. In the 14th Lok Sabha (2004-2009), 145 members (545), the largest contingent amongst all parties, serve in the house. The party is currently the senior member of the ruling United Progressive Alliance.

After independence, the party remained in power for thirty years in a row before her first taste of electoral defeat (nationally) in 1977. The first serious challenge to Congress hegemony came in 1967 when a united opposition, under the banner of Samyukta Vidhayak Dal, won control over several states in the Hindi belt. Indira Gandhi was questioned by the majority party leadership. The conflict led to a split, and Indira launched a separate INC. Initially this party was known as Congress (R), but soon became widely known as the new Congress.

After the disaster in 1977, more Congress factions were formed, remaining loyal to Indira Gandhi popularly known as Congress (I) with an "I" in Indira. Congress (I) was defeated in the election of the Janata Party. Congress Party returned to power in elections in 1980. After Indira, her son Rajiv Gandhi became Congress leader and led the party to victory by a large majority in the Lok Sabha elections in 1984. After the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi in 1991, became prime minister PV Narasimha Rao. In the 1990s, then gradually losing political influence, asked Congress to accept Sonia Gandhi as President of the Congress. In 1998, Sonia Gandhi finally accepted the post of Congress president in a move that could have saved the party from extinction. In the 2004 elections, the Congress alliance won the most seats, and received a guarantee of support from the Left Front modify Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led National Democratic Alliance.