The split in the Congress in 1969 was projected by Indira Gandhi as-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → An ideological divide between socialists and conservatives.
Option (1) The failure of the Whip to enforce the candidature of Sanjeeva Reddy — Incorrect. The Congress President, S. Nijalingappa, issued a ‘whip’ asking all Congress MPs and MLAs to vote for Sanjeeva Reddy, the official candidate, while Indira Gandhi called for a ‘conscience vote’. Reddy’s defeat formalised the split; that was the event that caused the split, not the way Indira Gandhi presented it to the people.
Option (2) As a tactical strategy for General elections held in 1967. — Incorrect. The split came in 1969, two years after the 1967 elections, so it could not be a strategy for them.
Option (3) Ensuring that the smaller factions within the Congress do away with the differences. — Incorrect. The split did the opposite: the party broke into two, the Congress (O) and the Congress (R).
Option (4) An ideological divide between socialists and conservatives. — Correct. Indira Gandhi projected the split as an ideological divide between socialists and conservatives, between the pro-poor and the pro-rich.
NCERT (2025-26): “Presidential election, 1969 … The defeat of the official Congress candidate formalised the split in the party. The Congress President expelled the Prime Minister from the party; she claimed that her group was the real Congress. By November 1969, the Congress group led by the ‘syndicate’ came to be referred to as the Congress (Organisation) and the group led by Indira Gandhi came to be called the Congress (Requisitionists). These two parties were also described as Old Congress and New Congress. Indira Gandhi projected the split as an ideological divide between socialists and conservatives, between the pro-poor and the pro-rich.” |