The Indira Gandhi Years begin

India’s first, and only, female Prime Minister Indira Gandhi comes to power, enacting policies to curb economic distress. Internal conflict threatens Congress’s stability, giving way to the emergence of coalition governments.

The house of the people

This was the first General Election where the country would see the first woman elected as the Prime Minister. Congress’s leadership had two possible contenders after the deaths of Pandit Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri: Independence activist Morarji Desai and Mr. Nehru’s daughter Indira Gandhi, who was serving as the Information & Broadcasting Minister. Mrs. Gandhi had been in the public gaze for years at this point, routinely seen touring with her father or at events.

In 1966, Ms. Gandhi contested from her late husband’s constituency, Rae Bareli. In an intra-party ballot, Ms. Gandhi defeated the senior leader 355 votes to 169. This sowed “the seeds for the first of the many internal discontentments that would later hurt the party’s prospects, and the ultimate split that took shape a few years later”, The Hindu noted.

After the split in 1969, Congress leader Ram Subhag Singh served as the Opposition leader in the fourth Lok Sabha. N. Sanjiva Reddy was the Speaker of the House at the time. Mr. Reddy, a former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, would later serve as the sixth President of India

The politics

The Indian National Congress retained power albeit with a reduced majority. Coalition governments officially entered the political landscape, as regional parties strived to present an alternative. The Congress, for the first time in 15 years, faced “formidable Opposition”.

The Congress battled a resentful electorate and a strong Opposition, a distressed economy, food insecurity and charges of corruption. There was “despondency, frustrations, uncertainty and recurrent agitation”.

The party was riddled by questions of succession. A leadership contest played out between Ms. Gandhi and Mr. Desai. Thaere was further friction in 1969 when Mrs. Gandhi snatched Mr. Desai’s ministerial portfolio. There was a “general feeling that Congressmen in leading positions were more concerned about feathering their own nests rather than attending to the needs of the masses,” The Hindu noted in an article.

The factionalism and Congress’s conflicting ideologies left the ground fertile for the rise of coalition parties. The Communist party of India (Marxist), Akali Dal and Jan Sangh partnered in Punjab, and in Tamil Nadu, Swatantra Party, CPM, Muslim League and the DMK joined hands. Coalitions began forming, from Bengal to Uttar Pradesh. The Congress decided against joining coalition in any State where it failed to achieve absolute majority, The Hindu reported on February 28.

The agenda

Congress had its work cut out. The Third Plan for economic growth was an “unmitigated disaster”. The party doubled down on improving agricultural production as famine-like conditions grew. By 1967, there was not enough food to feed almost 480 million people. The Hindu’s editorial remarked: “Unless there is a united and resolute Government at the Centre, which has a clear awareness of its responsibilities…the divisive and subversive forces that have reared their heads in recent years will engulf the country.”

Mrs. Gandhi on July 10, 1969, proposed bank nationalisation as an answer to the problems of agriculture, industry and financial institutions. Congress’s friction grew – clashing over ideologies and degree of control. Mrs. Gandhi was expelled in November 1969 by the party’s working committee for “attempting to capture the Party machine by pressurising the rank and file and subjecting them to false and misleading propaganda to make them toe her line”. The split was institutionalised: Mrs. Gandhi formed the rival Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) group. Not wanting to rely on smaller parties for support, Mrs. Gandhi advised that the Parliament be dissolved.

References

1. Palmer, N.D. (1967) ‘India’s fourth general election’, Asian Survey, 7(5), pp. 275-291. doi:10.2307/2642657.
2. Election Commission of India
3. The Hindu Archives
4. Election Atlas of India: Parliamentary elections 1952 – 2014, edited by Dr. R. K. Thukral