Read the passage and answer the question:

The split in the Congress reduced Indira Gandhi Government to a minority. Yet her government continued in office with the issue-based support of a few other parties including the Communist Party of India and the DMK. During this period the government made conscious attempts to project its socialist credentials. This was also a phase when Indira Gandhi vigorously campaigned for implementing the existing land reform laws and undertook further land ceiling legislation. In order to end her dependence on other political parties, strengthen her party’s position in the Parliament, and seek a popular mandate for her programmes, Indira Gandhi’s government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970. This was another surprising and bold move. The fifth general election to Lok Sabha was held in February 1971.

Which of the following statements is not true about the nature of the Congress party after the 1971 elections?

It could accommodate all kinds of opinions and beliefs.

The correct answer is Option 1 - It could accommodate all kinds of opinions and beliefs.

Option 1- It could accommodate all kinds of opinions and beliefs. (INCORRECT)
Option 2- It did not have many factions.
Option 3- It had a somewhat weak organizational structure.
Option 4- Now, Congress relied entirely on the popularity of the supreme leader.



With two successive election victories, one at the centre (Lok Sabha elections, 1971) and the other at the State level (State Assembly elections held in 1972), the dominance of the Congress was restored.

But it does not mean that the Congress system was restored. What Indira Gandhi had done was not a revival of the old Congress party. In many ways, she had re-invented the party. The party occupied a similar position in terms of its popularity as in the past. But it was a different kind of party. It relied entirely on the popularity of the supreme leader. It had a somewhat weak organizational structure. This Congress party now did not have many factions, thus it could not accommodate all kinds of opinions and interests. While it won elections, it depended more on some social groups: the poor, the women, Dalits, Adivasis and the minorities. This was a new Congress that had emerged. Thus Indira Gandhi restored the Congress system by changing the nature of the Congress system itself.