What strategy did Indira Gandhi adopt to make V V Giri victorious in the Presidential election held in 1969?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → She silently supported V V Giri and openly appealed MLAs and MPs for a ‘conscience vote’
Option (1) She openly supported V V Giri — Incorrect. Her support for Giri was silent; what she did openly was to call for a conscience vote.
Option (2) She formally split the Congress party and campaigned against N Sanjeeva Reddy — Incorrect. The split came after the election: the defeat of the official Congress candidate, Sanjeeva Reddy, formalised the split in the party.
Option (3) She silently supported V V Giri and openly appealed MLAs and MPs for a ‘conscience vote’ — Correct. After silently supporting V.V. Giri, the Prime Minister openly called for a ‘conscience vote’, which meant that the Congress MPs and MLAs should be free to vote the way they wanted. Giri, the independent candidate, won.
Option (4) She forced S Nijalingappa to pass a whip ... to vote for V V Giri — Incorrect. It was the other way round: the Congress President S. Nijalingappa issued a whip in favour of Sanjeeva Reddy, the official candidate.
NCERT (2025-26): “Presidential election, 1969 … The then Congress President S. Nijalingappa issued a ‘whip’ asking all the Congress MPs and MLAs to vote in favour of Sanjeeva Reddy, the official candidate of the party. Supporters of Indira Gandhi requisitioned a special meeting of the AICC (that is why this faction came to be known as ‘requisitionists’) but this was refused. After silently supporting V.V. Giri, the Prime Minister openly called for a ‘conscience vote’ which meant that the MPs and MLAs from the Congress should be free to vote the way they want. The election ultimately resulted in the victory of V.V. Giri, the independent candidate, and the defeat of Sanjeeva Reddy, the official Congress candidate.…” |