Since when the Congress party had started shedding its character as an umbrella party?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → 1969
Since 1969, the Congress party had started shedding its character as an umbrella party that accommodated leaders and workers of different ideological dispensations; it now identified itself with a particular ideology, claiming to be the only socialist and pro-poor party.
NCERT (2025-26): “Legacy … But was it only a case of return of Indira Gandhi? Between the elections of 1977 and 1980 the party system had changed dramatically. Since 1969, the Congress party had starting shedding its character as an umbrella party which accommodated leaders and workers of different ideological dispensations and view points. The Congress party now identified itself with a particular ideology, claiming to be the only socialist and pro-poor party. Thus with the early nineteen seventies, the Congress’s political success depended on attracting people on the basis of sharp social and ideological divisions and the appeal of one leader, Indira Gandhi.…” |