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The Congress dominated in the first three general elections. It had many popular faces like Jawaharlal Nehru, C Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel etc. Moreover Jawaharlal Nehru was charismatic and a very popular leader. Congress worked at the upper level as well as at the grass root level. Congress was popularised due to the participation in the Civil Disobedience Movement.
More About Congress System
- The dominance of Congress party was in democratic condition. The roots of extraordinary success of the Congress party go back to the legacy of the freedom struggle.
- The Congress brought together diverse groups, whose interests were often contradictory.
- By the time of independence, the Congress was transformed into a rainbow-like social coalition broadly representing India’s diversity in terms of classes and castes, religions and languages and various interests.
- This coalition-like character of Congress gave it an unusual strength.
- Groups within a party with diverse ideologies are called factions. Some of these factions were based on ideological considerations but very often these factions were rooted in personal ambitions and rivalries.
- The coalition nature of the Congress party tolerated and in fact encouraged various factions.
- Congress dominated in India due to identification with freedom struggle, popular appeal of charismatic leaders, a broad manifesto including every section of society and consensus building role of party.
- Congress was founded by Dr. A.O. Hume in 1885, as a platform to express the feelings of discontentment, in the form of social and ideological coalition, by accommodating different social groups and individuals holding different beliefs and ideologies.
- Even in pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the Congress.
