ERA OF ONE PARTY

DOMINANCE
 Challenges of Building Democracy
• Most of the newly independent Countries Opted non - democratic government.
• They gave first Priority to national unity rather than democracy.
• These government were in different forms like one party rule, nominal democracy, or military rule.
• But Independent India Selected the difficult path of democracy for India as way to solving problems.
• India adopted democracy for these reasons:
1. Indian freedom struggle was deeply committed to democracy.
2. Indian leaders were fully conscious of the role of politics in democracy.
3. The leaders of the Independent India realized that democratic politics is the best way to resolve the indifferences among the various
groups.
4. The ultimate aim of political activity is the protection of Public interest.
• 26 November 1949- Constitution Drafted
• 24 January 1950- Signed by Constituent Assembly Members
• 26 January 1950- Adopted and came into effect.
• Post Independence, India ruled by Interim Government.
 First General Election (1952)
• Rules regarding the conduct of elections were laid down in the Constitution.
• It was necessary to install a machinery to conduct elections in the most democratic manner.
• The Election Commission of India was set up in January 1950.
• Sukumar Sen was appointed as the first election Commissioner of India.
• It was expected to conduct the First General Election in 1950 itself. But the election Commission soon found that holding of
free and fair election in a vast country like India was not an easy thing.
• Conducting First Election required preparing the electoral rolls, the list of all the citizens eligible to vote, and revision in the
electoral rolls.
First General Election in numbers:
• At that time there were 17 crore eligible voters, who had to elect about 3,200 MLAs and 489 Members of Lok Sabha.
• Only 15 per cent of these eligible voters were literate.
• The Election Commission trained over 3 lakh officers and polling staff to conduct the elections.
• The elections were postponed twice and finally held between October 1951 and February 1952.
• Still it was known as "Election of 1952" because election in the most part of India voted in January 1952.
• Successful conduct of elections silenced the critiques and also proved feasibility of having elections and running democracy in
developing and underdeveloped nations as well.
Observers on India’s First Election
• An Indian editor called it “the biggest gamble in history”.
• Organiser, a magazine, wrote that Jawaharlal Nehru “would live to confess the failure of universal adult
franchise in India”.
• A British member of the Indian Civil Service claimed that “a future and more enlightened age will view
with astonishment the absurd farce of recording the votes of millions of illiterate people”.
• Times of India held that the polls have “confounded all those sceptics who thought the introduction of
adult franchise too risky an experiment in this country”.
• The Hindustan Times claimed that “there is universal agreement that the Indian people have conducted
themselves admirably in the largest experiment in democratic elections in the history of the world”.
 Congress Dominance
• Congress oldest party set up in 1885 held the inheritance of nationalist movement. This party had all India coverage and charismatic leaders
led by Nehru.

• The party won 364 of 489 seats in first LS. The CPI came next with 16 seats.

• Congress scored big victory in State elections as well held along with Lok Sabha. It won majority seats in all the states except Travancore-
Cochin (part of today’s Kerala), Madras and Orissa..

• Jawaharlal Nehru became first PM after first general election and congress had government in majority of states and at center.

• Congress held dominance in 1952-62 (1952, 1957 & 1962) general elections. Congress won 3/4th of seats and none of the opposition parties
could win even 1/10th of the number of seats won by the congress.

• Kerala under Communist Party in 1957 was an exception and rest states and center controlled by congress.

• Congress major victory don’t indicate everyone voted for them rather it was possible because of First Past the Post system

• In 1952 Congress obtained 45% of total votes but managed to secure 74% of seats whereas Socialist Party second largest party in terms of
votes secured more than 10% votes, but could not win even 3% of seats.

• Non-congress votes got divided in rival parties and candidates.

 Nature of Congress Dominance
• Dominance of one party in India is different from other nations.
• In some countries only one party rule exists like
• In some countries one party prominence is there due to legal and military measures like
• India’s one-party dominance is under democratic conditions, where different parties contest elections and
congress emerged victorious election after election.
• This was similar to the dominance the African National Congress has enjoyed in South Africa after the
end of apartheid.
• Congress established itself already as a well-organized party and they had prepared strategy and on to
campaigning when other parties were still at strategy level.
• Congress this way had the “first off the blocks advantage.”
 Congress: Social and Ideological Coalition
• Congress formed in 1885 as a pressure group comprising of newly educated, professional and commercial classes which led mass
movement in 20th Century.
• Congress started as party dominated by English speaking upper caste, upper middle class and urban elite.
• Congress social base widened with mass movement. It included middle, lower and upper class and caste, peasants, rural population.
• By the time of Independence Congress was rainbow like Social Coalition, including various caste, class, religion, languages and
various interests.
• Different ideologies existed within congress fold but as groups. This referred Congress a to be an ideological coalition.
• It accommodated the revolutionary and pacifist, conservative and radical, extremist and
moderate and the right, left and all shades of the centre.
• In pre-Independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitution and organisational structure were allowed
to exist within the Congress.
• Congress socialist party separated from congress and later became opposition.