Chapter 2 Era of One Party Dominance Class 12 Political Science Notes

Challenge of building democracy

• After independence, Indian leaders were conscious of the critical role of politics in any
democracy. They did not see politics as a problem but they saw it as a way of solving the
problems.
• The Constitution was adopted on 26 November 1949 and signed on 24 January 1950 and it
came into effect on 26 January 1950. At that time the country was being ruled by an interim
government.
• The Election Commission of India came into existence in January 1950. Sukumar Sen
became the first Chief Election Commissioner of India. He also later served as Chief Election
Commissioner of Nepal and Sudan.
• The first general election was also the first big test of democracy in a poor and illiterate
country. Till then democracy had existed only in the prosperous countries, mainly in Europe
and North America, where nearly everyone was literate.
• Many foreign observers and scholars doubted that Indian democracy would survive.
They believed India was too poor, largely illiterate, socially unequal and extremely diverse in
terms of caste, religion and language for democracy to function. There was widespread
international skepticism about the survival of democracy in India.
• The Election Commission discovered that it was not going to be easy to hold a free and fair
election in a country of India's size. This required the drawing of boundaries of electoral
constituencies and an electoral roll consisting of eligible voters.
• The elections had to be postponed twice and finally held from October 1951 to February
1952. This election is referred to as the 1952 election since most parts of the country voted in
January 1952. It took six months for the campaigning, polling and counting to be completed.
• India's general election of 1952 became a landmark in the history of democracy all over
the world.

Scale of the First General Election

• The scale of the first general election was enormous and unprecedented:
• About 17 crore eligible voters were registered.
• Nearly 85% of these voters were illiterate.
• More than 2 lakh polling booths were set up across the country.
• Over 3 lakh officers and polling staff were trained to conduct the election.
• Different coloured ballot boxes were used for each candidate so that illiterate voters could
identify them.

Congress dominance in the first three general elections

• The Congress party had inherited the legacy of the national movement. It was the only party
then to have an organisation spread all over the country.
• In the 1st general election (1952): Congress won 364 of the 489 seats in the Lok Sabha. The
Communist Party of India came next with only 16 seats. 14 national parties contested the
election.
• In the 2nd general election (1957): Congress won 371 of the 494 seats. CPI came next with
27 seats.
• In the 3rd general election (1962): Congress won 361 of the 494 seats. CPI came next with
29 seats.
• The state elections were held along with the Lok Sabha elections. Congress won a majority
of seats in all states except Travancore-Cochin (part of today's Kerala), Madras and Orissa.
• The domination of the Congress party on the Indian political system is known as one-party
dominance. Political scientist Rajni Kothari termed this the 'Congress System'.
• Vote-seat gap: Congress’s dominance was boosted by the first-past-the-post electoral
system. In 1952, Congress got only 45% of votes but won 74% of seats. The Socialist Party
got over 10% of votes but won less than 3% of seats. Non-Congress votes combined
exceeded Congress votes, but were split among many parties — so Congress still won
comfortably.

Nature of Congress Dominance

• India is not the only country to have experienced the dominance of one party. But there is a
crucial difference — in other countries, one-party dominance was ensured by compromising
democracy. In India, Congress dominated under democratic conditions with free and fair
elections.
• The roots of Congress's extraordinary success go back to the legacy of the freedom struggle
— Congress was seen as the inheritor of the national movement.
• By the time of Independence, the Congress was transformed into a rainbow-like social
coalition broadly representing India's diversity. It included conservatives, radicals, socialists,
secularists, caste groups, business groups and peasants — making it more like a movement
than a normal political party.
• Comparison with Mexico (PRI): The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) of Mexico
ruled for nearly six decades but through rigged elections and manipulation — described as
“the perfect dictatorship”. The PRI finally lost in the Presidential elections of 2000. Key
 difference from India: Congress dominated through free and fair democratic elections, not
by compromising democracy.

Tolerance and Management of Factions

• The coalition-like character of the Congress gave it unusual strength. A coalition
accommodates all those who join it and has to avoid any extreme position and strike a
balance on almost all issues.
• Even if a group was not happy with the position of the party, it would remain inside the party
and fight the other groups rather than leaving the party. These groups inside the party are
called factions.
• The factions took different ideological positions making the Congress appear as a grand
centrist party. Opposition parties existed but they challenged Congress from the
outside, while real political competition often happened inside Congress factions.

Emergence of Opposition Parties

• The roots of almost all non-Congress parties can be traced to one or another of the opposition
parties of the 1950s.
• These parties offered a sustained and principled criticism of the policies and practices of the
Congress Party. This kept the ruling party under check and often changed the balance of
power within the Congress.
• In the early years there was lots of mutual respect between the leaders of the Congress and
those of the opposition. This first phase of democratic politics in India was quite unique.
• As the ability of Congress to accommodate all interests declined, other political parties
started gaining greater importance. Thus, Congress dominance constitutes only one phase
in the politics of the country.
Communist victory in Kerala
• In the assembly elections held in March 1957, the Communist Party won the largest number
of seats in the Kerala legislature. The party won 60 of the 126 seats and had the support of
five independents.
• E. M. S. Namboodiripad became Chief Minister — this was the first democratically
elected communist government in the world.
• On losing power in the state, the Congress party began a 'liberation struggle' against the
elected government.
• In 1959, the Congress government at the Centre dismissed the Communist government in
Kerala under Article 356 of the Constitution. This was the first instance of the misuse of
constitutional emergency powers. The dismissal raised an important debate about whether
the Centre should remove democratically elected state governments for political reasons.

Significance of the 1967 General Election

• In the 1967 general election, Congress lost its majority in 9 states: West Bengal, Bihar,
Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Haryana and Punjab. In Tamil
Nadu, DMK formed the government.
• Congress won majority in the Lok Sabha but got only 283 seats out of 516 — a significant
decline.
• 1967 was a major turning point in Indian politics. It marked:
• The decline of Congress monopoly over Indian politics.
• The rise of regional parties as significant political forces.
• The beginning of coalition politics at the state level.
• The start of competitive multiparty politics replacing single-party dominance.
• It made a split within Congress increasingly likely — which happened in 1969 when
Congress split into Congress (O) (Organisation, led by the old guard) and Congress (R)
(Requisitionists, led by Indira Gandhi). This marked the effective end of the Congress
System.
Socialist Party
• The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was formed within the Congress in 1934 by a group of
young leaders who wanted a more radical and egalitarian Congress.
• In 1948, the Congress amended its Constitution to prevent members from having dual party
membership. This forced the socialists to form a separate Socialist Party in 1948.
• The Socialist Party believed in the ideology of democratic socialism. They criticised the
Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords and for ignoring the workers and peasants.
• Some prominent leaders: Jayprakash Narayan, Achyut Patwardhan, Asoka Mehta,
Acharya Narendra Dev, Ram Manohar Lohia, S. M. Joshi.
• Despite having leaders of great reputation, the Socialist Party had poor electoral
success. This was because Congress itself adopted socialist-looking policies, the leadership
remained divided, and the party went through repeated splits.
• The party went through many splits and reunions. Many parties today — like the Samajwadi
Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Janata Dal (United), Janata Dal (Secular), Kisan Mazdoor
Praja Party, Praja Socialist Party and Samyukta Socialist Party — trace their origins to
the Socialist Party.

The Communist Party of India (CPI)

• Communist groups emerged in different parts of India in the early 1920s, taking inspiration
from the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia (1917). The CPI was formally formed in 1924.
• Soon after Independence, the CPI believed the 1947 transfer of power was not true
independence. It encouraged violent uprisings in Telangana, which failed to generate
popular support and were crushed by the armed forces. This forced the party to rethink its
position.
• In 1951, the Communist Party abandoned the path of violent revolution and decided to
participate in the approaching general elections.
• The CPI emerged as the largest opposition party in the first three general elections. Support
was concentrated in West Bengal, Kerala, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.
• Notable leaders: A. K. Gopalan, S. A. Dange, E. M. S. Namboodiripad, P. C. Joshi, Ajay
Ghosh, P. Sundarraya.
• The party went through a major split in 1964 following the ideological rift between the
Soviet Union and China. The pro-Soviet faction remained as the CPI, while the opponents
formed the CPI(M).
• CPI(M) was formed in 1964. A. K. Gopalan was the prominent leader. The party believed in
establishing communism through the parliamentary system.
• CPI(ML) was formed in 1969 as a result of a further split in CPI(M).

Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS)

• BJS was formed in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee as its founder President. Its
lineage can be traced back to the RSS and Hindu Mahasabha.
• It emphasised the idea of one country, one culture and one nation and believed that the
country could become modern, progressive and strong on the basis of Indian culture and
traditions.
• The party called for a reunion of India and Pakistan in Akhand Bharat. It also sought to
replace English by Hindi as the official language and was opposed to granting concessions to
religious and cultural minorities.
• The party was a consistent advocate of India developing nuclear weapons.
• Key leaders: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, Balraj Madhok.
• The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) traces its roots to the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Swatantra Party
• Swatantra Party was formed in August 1959. The party was led by old Congressmen like
C. Rajagopalachari, K. M. Munshi, N. G. Ranga and Minoo Masani.
• It believed in individual freedom and a free private sector. It was critical of state
intervention in the economy, centralised planning, nationalisation and the public sector.
• The party's support base came mainly from princes, landlords, rich farmers, traders and
business classes who opposed Congress's economic policies.
• The party was very critical of the policy of non-alignment and maintaining friendly relations
with the Soviet Union. It advocated closer ties with the United States.