Causes and Consequences of the Decline of the “One Party Dominance” of the Indian National Congress

Abstract

When India got independence and chose to be a democracy, experts were skeptical whether India will survive as a democracy, because it was not a middle income country, industrialisation had not taken place in India, and it was large and highly diverse country, these were preconditions for democracy. Congress has been one of the most important institutions in India’s modern political development trajectory. Congress has played a significant role, while remaining as a dominant party in a competitive party system, in evolving an institutionalized democracy in post-independent India. But, we have witnessed Congress’ decline since 1980s while there has been some points of recoveries as well in between. The paper dwells upon the reasons for the decline of Congress, as well as the consequences of decline of Congress for Indian democracy at large.