India on the Eve of Elections: Congress and the Opposition

Abstract

ONE OF THE major sources of India's political stability has been the institutional strength of the Indian National Congress-the movement, founded in 1885, that led India to independence and, since 1947, the party that has held power at the center for all but thirty-three months. Today that strength is seriously weakened, and the more encompassing party system is incoherent.' Congress party dominance in the states and at the center is no longer assured. While Congress is the only genuinely all-India party and no single opposition party offers a credible challenge to its power at the center, it is highly vulnerable. The Congress has had solid majorities in the Lok Sabha during its time in power, save for the period immediately following the 1969 party split. But Congress has never had an absolute majority of votes in parliamentary elections. In 1980, for example, the Congress (I) secured 70 per cent of the seats in the Lok Sabha, but won less than 43 per cent of the vote.2 A similar pattern has characterized Congress power in most states.3