Indian National Congress has been one of the biggest political parties in the India. The ups and downs in the political career of Congress party are not new. From Nehru to Rahul Gandhi, the upheavals in Congress brought some major changes in its policies and way of serving the nation.
Here is a quick view on the journey of Congress party that has been a rollercoaster:
1952 and 1957 Lok Sabha Election: Congress had won 364 seats out of 498 in 1952 while 371 seats out of 494 seats in 1957. This happened due to the weaker opposition at that time and the powerful image of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru.
1962 Lok Sabha Election: Congress won 283 seats out of the total 520. It lost 67 seats due to the low growth rate and internal conflicts that arose after war with China in 1962 and with Pakistan in 1965.
1971 Lok Sabha Election: 352 seats out of the total 518 were won by the Congress in 1971. Indira Gandhi had campaigned hard for this election and was able to win with a clear majority.
1977 Lok Sabha Election: Indira Gandhi led Congress was defeated in this election as the party was able to win only 189 seats out of 542. Misrule, unemployment and corruption and the united stand of Janta Party with other political parties that were in opposition were the major reasons for the defeat of Congress.
1980 Lok Sabha Election: India Gandhi led congress again came into power by winning 374 seats out of 542. A major contributor in party’s victory was the division of Janta party due to internal conflicts.
1984 Lok Sabha Election: Those elections were held right after the assassination of Indira Gandhi. It could be said that Congress then was able to win over 404 seats out of 533 seats as it had won Sympathy votes.
1989 Lok Sabha Election: Congress lost 207 seats and Janta Dal won as it had made allies with multiple state parties.
1991 Lok Sabha Election: 244 seats out of the total 545 were secured by Congress. During the elections, Rajeev Gandhi was assassinated.
1996 Lok Sabha Election: Though Narsimha Rao was handling the economy well but there were lots of charges of corruption on his government. Thus, BJP campaigned for Hinduism and won the elections with its allies against Congress.
1998 and 1999 Lok Sabha Election: As the BJP was growing fast in those years and Atal Bihari Vajpayi was also gaining popularity hence the Congress failed.
2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha Election: Congress was able to won 145 and 206 seats out of 543 with the help of its allies. Although in these elections, BJP was able to win considerable seats but the support of allies led the congress to come into power.
2014 Lok Sabha Election: 44 seats out of 543 were won by Modi led and the congress failed. Lack of governance in the previous years, charges of corruption Ram rath Yatra controversy, caste-based politics etc were some of the reasons for the defeat of Congress.
2019 Lok Sabha Election: It seems that BJP has swiped Congress from the country as Congress now had won only 54 seats out of 543. Congress under Rahul Gandhi’s leadership has not been able to won the confidence of people of the Country. Also, the baseless arguments and concept of Dynasty politics are the major reason for the loss.