1 The Challenge of Political Succession
Nehru died in May 1964, raising a question sharper than “after Nehru, who?”: it was “after Nehru, what?”, with many doubting Indian democracy itself would survive. The 1960s were called the “dangerous decade.”
Congress President K. Kamaraj consulted party leaders and found consensus for Lal Bahadur Shastri, unanimously chosen as PM: a smooth transition that proved sceptics wrong.
Shastri (PM 1964–66) faced a severe food crisis and the 1965 war with Pakistan: his slogan “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan” captured facing both. He died suddenly in Tashkent on 11 January 1966, right after signing the Tashkent Agreement.
The next succession pitted Morarji Desai against Indira Gandhi; senior leaders backed Gandhi, though not unanimously: resolved by a secret ballot among Congress MPs, which she won with over two-thirds support.
2 The Fourth General Election, 1967: a “Political Earthquake”
The years leading to 1967 brought severe economic crisis: failed monsoons, falling output, a rupee devaluation (from under ₹5 to over ₹7 per dollar), price rise, and widespread protest that the government treated as a law-and-order problem.
Non-Congressism: the strategy, named by socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia, of ideologically diverse opposition parties uniting in anti-Congress fronts or seat-sharing deals, reasoning that divided opposition votes were what kept Congress in power.
Congress kept its Lok Sabha majority but with its lowest-ever seat/vote share since 1952; half of Gandhi’s cabinet lost their own seats. Congress lost power in 7 states outright, and couldn’t govern 2 more due to defections: 9 states total. In Madras, the DMK won a majority on its own: the first non-Congress party ever to win a state majority alone.
3 Coalitions, Defection, and “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram”
1967 brought SVD (Samyukt Vidhayak Dal) governments: ideologically mixed non-Congress coalitions. Defection (elected reps switching parties after election) helped install non-Congress governments in Haryana, MP and UP. The phrase “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” comes from Haryana MLA Gaya Lal, who switched parties three times in a single fortnight in 1967: the Constitution was later amended to curb defections.
4 Indira Gandhi vs. the “Syndicate”
The “Syndicate” was the informal name for powerful Congress organisational leaders: led by K. Kamaraj, including S.K. Patil, S. Nijalingappa, N. Sanjeeva Reddy, Atulya Ghosh, who had engineered both Shastri’s and Gandhi’s rise, expecting her to follow their lead. She gradually sidelined them instead, turning the power struggle into an ideological one by giving policy a Left orientation: the Congress Working Committee adopted a Ten Point Programme in May 1967 (bank social control, insurance nationalisation, property/income ceilings, land reforms).
5 The 1969 Presidential Election and the Formal Split
After President Zakir Hussain’s death, the Syndicate nominated N. Sanjeeva Reddy as the official candidate; Gandhi backed V.V. Giri as an independent, while also announcing nationalisation of 14 major banks and abolition of the privy purse: Morarji Desai opposed both and quit the government. Gandhi called for a “conscience vote” (free vote), and Giri won, defeating the official party candidate.
| Faction | Also called | Led by |
|---|---|---|
| Congress (Organisation) | “Old Congress” | The Syndicate |
| Congress (Requisitionists) → Congress (R) | “New Congress” | Indira Gandhi |
6 The 1971 Election and Restoration of Congress
Gandhi’s post-split government survived as a minority with CPI/DMK support. To seek her own mandate, she dissolved the Lok Sabha early, December 1970: the fifth general election was held February 1971. The opposition’s “Grand Alliance” (SSP, PSP, Jana Sangh, Swatantra Party, Bharatiya Kranti Dal) offered only, in Gandhi’s words, “Indira Hatao.” Her own positive slogan was “Garibi Hatao” (Remove Poverty).
Congress(R)–CPI won 375 seats, 48.4% of votes; Congress(R) alone won 352 seats, ~44%. Congress(O), despite its stalwarts, won barely 16 seats. The Grand Alliance’s combined tally was under 60 seats: a “grand failure.” The Bangladesh crisis and 1971 war that followed further boosted Gandhi’s popularity, and Congress swept the 1972 state assembly elections too.
7 What “Restoration” Actually Meant
This was not a revival of the old Congress. Gandhi had reinvented the party:
Leader-centred
Relied heavily on the supreme leader’s personal popularity, with a weaker organisational structure.
Fewer factions
Could no longer accommodate the same range of opinions and interests as the old “Congress system.”
A narrower coalition
Depended more on specific social groups: the poor, women, Dalits, Adivasis, minorities.
Despite its renewed popularity, the new Congress lacked the old system’s capacity to absorb tensions and conflicts: even as Gandhi’s personal authority grew, space for democratic expression of grievances actually shrank, setting the stage for the political crisis covered in the next chapter.
- Nehru died May 1964; Shastri chosen by consensus, “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan,” died Tashkent Jan 1966
- Indira Gandhi won a secret-ballot contest against Morarji Desai
- 1967 “political earthquake”: Congress lost power in 9 states; DMK first non-Congress state majority; non-Congressism (Lohia)
- “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram”: defection politics after 1967
- Congress split 1969: Syndicate vs. Indira Gandhi; V.V. Giri’s presidential win formalised the split into Congress(O) and Congress(R)
- 1971 election: Garibi Hatao vs. Grand Alliance’s Indira Hatao: Congress(R)-CPI won 375 seats
- Restoration meant reinvention: leader-centred, fewer factions, narrower social coalition
- 1 MarkWho succeeded Nehru as Prime Minister, and how was he chosen?
- 1 MarkWhat was Shastri’s famous slogan?
- 1 MarkWhich party won a majority on its own in Madras in 1967?
- 1 MarkWhat does “Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” refer to?
- 1 MarkWho was the official Congress candidate for President in 1969, and who won instead?
- 1 MarkWhat was Indira Gandhi’s 1971 election slogan?
- 1 MarkWhat was the “Grand Alliance”?
- 1 MarkHow many seats did Congress(O) win in 1971?
- 2 MarksWhat was “non-Congressism”?
- 2 MarksWho were the “Syndicate,” and what role did they play?
- 2 MarksWhy did Morarji Desai leave the government in 1969?
- 4 MarksDiscuss the major issue that led to the formal split of the Congress in 1969.
- 4 MarksWhat factors led to the popularity of Indira Gandhi’s government in the early 1970s?
- 4 MarksWhy is the 1967 election called a “political earthquake”?
- 4 MarksIn what ways was the “new” Congress after 1971 different from the old Congress system?
- 6 MarksTrace the challenges to Congress dominance from the 1967 election to the 1969 split.
- 6 MarksExplain how Indira Gandhi restored the dominance of the Congress by the 1971 and 1972 elections.
- 6 Marks“Restoration of the Congress system was really a reinvention of it.” Explain this statement.
- 1 MarkLal Bahadur Shastri died in:
(a) Delhi(b) Moscow(c) Tashkent(d) Lahore - 1 MarkThe Congress lost power in how many states in the 1967 election?
(a) 3(b) 5(c) 7(d) 9 - 1 Mark“Aya Ram, Gaya Ram” originated with an MLA from:
(a) Punjab(b) Haryana(c) Bihar(d) Uttar Pradesh - 1 MarkThe Congress formally split into Congress(O) and Congress(R) in:
(a) 1967(b) 1969(c) 1971(d) 1972 - 1 MarkThe Grand Alliance’s combined seat tally in 1971 was:
(a) Under 60(b) 150(c) 250(d) 352
Options: (a) Both true, R correctly explains A · (b) Both true, R does not explain A · (c) A true, R false · (d) A false, R true.
- 1 Mark
Assertion (A): The restoration of Congress dominance by 1972 was simply a revival of the old Congress system.
Reason (R): The new Congress relied on the supreme leader’s popularity and had far weaker internal factions than before. - 1 Mark
Assertion (A): The Grand Alliance had a clear, coherent political and ideological programme.
Reason (R): Its member parties were united only by opposition to Indira Gandhi.