The Changing Nature of the Indian Party System: ‘Congress System’ to ‘BJP Dominance’

Abstract

In the last 75 years, the Indian political system has gone through various changes and transition phases, the clear impact of which can be seen in the Indian party system. The existence of the Congress as an important national party after independence, both at the national and state levels, in what Rajni Kothari termed the 'Congress System' (1952-1967). Morris-Jones described the 1950–1967 phase in similar terms as "coexistence with competition but without a trace of alternative". 1977 marked the beginning of the end of the 'Congress system' by Rajni Kothari, which had been facing challenges since 1967, when Congress lost power in eight states for the first time. The main reasons behind this were the rise of opposition and regional parties, allegations of corruption and scams, preference for seniority and dynasty over talent, the dominance of the Nehru-Gandhi family, failure to attract youth and the Modi wave etc. Along with this, various parties and regional parties started emerging in the opposition, which changed the Indian party system towards a multi-party system. In this form, BJP emerged as an important national party, which completely changed the party system after winning the national elections in 2014 and 2019. Some thinkers argue that 2014 marks the beginning of India's fourth party system—the first three-party system in the Congress system (1950–77), the second transitional phase (1977–89) when the dominance of the Congress was challenged, Third, the emergence and new phase of a bipolar party system in the 1990s. Can we compare BJP dominance with the 'Congress System'? What are the similarities and dissimilarities in this? What are the reasons behind the decline of 'Congress System'? All these questions will be discussed in detail.