Read the passage and answer the questions:
Coalition politics
Most of the state units of the Congress were made up of numerous factions. The system of factions functioned as balancing mechanism within the ruling party. Political competition therefore took place within the Congress. In that sense, in the first decade of electoral competition the Congress acted both as the ruling party as well as the opposition. That is why this period of Indian politics has been described as the ‘Congress system’.
After the defeat of the Congress in the 1989 Elections, the nineties saw yet another challenge to the predominant position of the Congress. It did not, however, mean the emergence of any other single party to fill in its place. Thus, began an era of multi-party system. To be sure, a large number of political parties always contested elections in our country. Our Parliament always had representatives from several political parties. What happened after 1989 was the emergence of several parties in such a way that one or two parties did not get most of the votes or seats. This also meant that no single party secured a clear majority of seats in any Lok Sabha election held since 1989 till 2014. This development initiated an era of coalition governments at the Centre, in which regional parties played a crucial role in forming ruling alliances but in 2014 and 2019 Lok Sabha election, the BJP got clear majority on its own.
Which one of the following best captures the meaning of “Congress system”?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → The Congress party acted both as the ruling party as well as the opposition.
The passage explains that political competition took place within the Congress, through its factions. In the first decade of electoral competition the Congress acted both as the ruling party as well as the opposition, and that is why the period is described as the ‘Congress system’.
Note: The case study is taken from the chapters ‘Era of One-party Dominance’ and ‘Recent Developments in Indian Politics’, and this question is based on the chapter ‘Era of One-party Dominance’. However, since it is a case-study based question, all the questions on this case study are tagged to one chapter, ‘Recent Developments in Indian Politics’, from which most of them come.
NCERT (2025-26): “Tolerance and management of factions … Most of the state units of the Congress were made up of numerous factions. The factions took different ideological positions making the Congress appear as a grand centrist party. The other parties primarily attempted to influence these factions and thereby indirectly influenced policy and decision making from the ‘margins’. They were far removed from the actual exercise of authority. They were not alternatives to the ruling party; instead they constantly pressurised and criticised, censured and influenced the Congress. The system of factions functioned as balancing mechanism within the ruling party. Political competition therefore took place within the Congress. In that sense, in the first decade of electoral competition the Congress acted both as the ruling party as well as the opposition. That is why this period of Indian politics has been described as the ‘Congress system’.” |