As parties like Trinamool Congress and Shiv Sena grapple with a series of aftershocks of revolt; History shows the grand old party, Congress, always paid dearly when rebellions surfaced especially on eve of parliamentary elections.
In the recent past, it met its waterloo in 2014 - of course without any major desertion or dissidence.
The Congress party was fairly united before 2014 Lok Sabha polls, but its strength nosedived from 206 (in 2009) to mere 44. In the process as the numbers did not touch one-tenth of the total strength of Lok Sabha; even the formal Leader of the Opposition was denied to the grand old party by Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.
Prior to that, the Congress met its waterloo in 1989 general elections. The polls were held after the then Defence Minister V P Singh revolted against Rajiv Gandhi in the wake of corruption charges vis-a-vis controversial Bofors Gun Deal. Other rebels like Arun Nehru, Arif Mohammad Khan and V C Shukla rallied behind Janata Dal, formed by expelled V P Singh. In 1984, the Congress had won the record number of 415 Lok Sabha MPs.
But by the end of 1989, it had to eat a humble pie with the numbers dropping down to 197. Rajiv Gandhi was ousted as PM and since then - Congress gave two PMs - Manmohan Singh (between 2004 and 2014) and P V Narasimha Rao (1991-1996). But the 'Nehru-Gandhi' dynasty could not enter PMO's official residence.
Indian politics has been truly undergoing a fundamental transformation, shifting from a legacy of 'post-independent secular (Sickular) republicanism and Congress dominance toward a highly centralized, personality-driven, and Hindu majoritarian framework led by the BJP.
This era is defined by dynamic changes in electoral strategies, digital campaigning, and institutional frameworks
Those interested in old records may note that dissensions and revolts from within the Congress ranks followed by 'expulsion' and formation of splintered outfits have in past -- took "wind out of Congress party's sail" in 1977, 1989, 1996 and 1998 general elections.
However, it will be interesting to note that the grand old party had gained a little after the first ever vertical split it suffered in 1969 when two groups led by S Nijalingappa and Jagjivan Ram came into being. In the subsequent elections in 1971 --- the Jagjivan Ram faction bagged as many as 352 seats reinstalling Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister.
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| Jagjivan Ram and Indira Gandhi |
Post-Emergency; for the first time, the Congress was swept out of power in 1977 when stalwarts such as Chandrashekhar, H N Bahuguna and Jagjivan Ram parted ways. That year the Congress secured only 154 seats with a vote share of 34.3 per cent.
In 1999, the desertion team was led by Sharad Pawar and he had alongside Tariq Anwar and P A Sangma. In the 1999 polls, the BJP-led NDA under Atal Bihari Vajpayee returned to power; the Congress strength was reduced to 114 -- the lowest ever till then.
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| Rao, Manmohan Singh, S B Chavan and others |
The Congress actually suffered a series of revolts and setbacks prior to 1996 elections when P V Narasimha Rao was holding the twin responsibilities of AICC president and Prime Minister as well.
The first major rebellion against Rao came in the form of Arjun Singh, who quit as HRD Minister. Arjun Singh along with N D Tiwari floated All India Indira Congress (Tiwari) and threw a spanner in Rao's determined plans to return to power in 1996. The dissidence especially in the Hindi heartland caused heavy damage to the Congress and thus the path for BJP's emergence as the single largest party was also paved.
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| V P Singh, Surjeet, L K Advani - Three powerful people post-1989 polls |
In the run up to the 1996 elections, what really came as rude shock to the Congress and India's first PM from south India was the formation of Tamil Maanila Congress in Tamil Nadu by veteran G K Moopanar. Even P Chidambaram had joined him. They were displeased as an adamant Narasimha Rao forged alliance with AIADMK led by Jayalalitha.
No wonder, the Congress failed to get a single seat in Tamil Nadu.
Adding to this woe was desertion by Madhavrao Scindia - who too left the 'sinking' Congress boat and had floated the Madhya Pradesh Vikas Congress.
ends
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