Foundation , a constitutional social reformer, moderate nationalist, and the president of the Indian National Congress in 1905 During the latter part of the 1870s, there were concerted efforts among Indians to establish a
pan-Indian organisation for nationalist political influence. In 1883,
Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British
Civil Servant also known for his pro-Indian activities, outlined his idea for a body representing Indian interests in an open letter to graduates of the
University of Calcutta. However, due to a
cholera outbreak in Poona it was moved to Bombay. Subsequently, the first session of the Indian National Congress held in Bombay from 28 to 31 December 1885 at Gokuldas Tejpal Sanskrit College. Hume organised the first meeting in Bombay with the approval of the
Viceroy Lord Dufferin. He assumed office as the General Secretary, while
Umesh Chandra Banerjee was appointed as the first president of Congress. Hume believed that while the British helped bring peace to India, they still had not solved the country’s economic problems. The first session was attended by 72 delegates, with the majority being lawyers, representing each province of India. Notable representatives included Scottish
ICS officer
William Wedderburn,
Dadabhai Naoroji,
Badruddin Tyabji and
Pherozeshah Mehta of the Bombay Presidency Association,
Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi of the
Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, social reformer and newspaper editor
Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Justice
K. T. Telang,
N. G. Chandavarkar,
Dinshaw Wacha,
Behramji Malabari, journalist, and activist
Gooty Kesava Pillai, and
P. Rangaiah Naidu of the
Madras Mahajana Sabha. Notably, there were no women present at this session.
Dadabhai Naoroji, a member of the sister
Indian National Association, was elected president of the Congress in 1886. He was the first Indian Member of Parliament in the
British House of Commons (1892–1895) and spent a large part of his life and resources campaigning for India’s cause on the international stage. In 1889, a
British branch of the Indian National Congress was set up in London. In its initial years, the Congress served as a platform for politically active individuals advocating reforms within the British Empire. However, two distinct factions emerged: one group sought complete independence from British rule, while the other aimed for reforms within the existing system, with a focus on
Indianisation. This division marked the early phase of Congress, as different leaders and members had varied visions for the future of India, ranging from moderate reforms to a push for full sovereignty. They primarily advocated for the 'Indianisation' of administrative services, emphasising that India should be governed by Indians, in collaboration with the British. The majority of the founding members of Congress has been educated or lived in Britain. As a result, unrepresentative of the Indian masses at the time, it functioned more as a stage for elite Indian ambitions than a political party for the first two decade of its existence.
Early years Since its establishment, the Congress was led by Moderate leaders, who were influenced by
Western political ideas, particularly
liberalism. They emphasised
individual dignity, the
right to freedom, and
equality for all, regardless of caste, creed, or sex. This philosophy guided them in opposing British autocracy, demanding the rule of law, equality before the law, and advocating for
secularism. The moderates preferred to avoid direct conflict with the British, aiming instead to reform their governance to better serve the country's interests. They aimed to collaborate with British authorities and use constitutional means, such as petitions, resolutions, and dialogue, to address the grievances of Indians. Over time, as they recognised the impact of British rule, many moderate leaders shifted their stance and started advocating for
Swaraj or self-government for India within the British Empire. Thereafter, the moderates followed a two-fold approach to achieve their goals. First, they aimed to build strong public opinion to inspire a sense of national consciousness and unity, while educating the masses on shared political issues. Second, they sought to influence both the
British government and public opinion, advocating for reforms in India that aligned with the demands of the nationalists. The Drain Theory, proposed by these leaders, challenged the notion that British rule was beneficial for India, shaping a nationwide public opinion that British colonialism was the primary reason for India’s poverty and economic exploitation. The moderate leaders had several demands, including proper representation of Indians on the
Legislative Councils and an increase in the powers of these councils. They also advocated for administrative reforms and voiced their opinions on international issues. They opposed the
annexation of Burma, the
military actions in Afghanistan, and the treatment of tribal people in
northwestern India. Additionally, they called for better conditions for Indian workers who had migrated to countries such as
South Africa,
Malaya,
Mauritius, the
West Indies, and
British Guyana as
indentured labourers. speaking in 1907 as the Party split into moderates and extremists. Seated at the table is
Aurobindo Ghosh and to his right (in the chair) is
G. S. Khaparde, both allies of Tilak. The other faction, led by radical leaders such as
Lala Lajpat Rai,
Bal Gangadhar Tilak, and
Bipin Chandra Pal—colloquially known as "Lal, Bal, Pal"—advocated a more militant approach. Known as the extremist group, or assertive nationalists, they emerged prominently after the
partition of Bengal in 1905. They believed in direct action and criticised the moderate approach, advocating for more aggressive means to achieve self-rule (
Swaraj). Disillusioned by the limited achievements of the moderates, they were less willing to compromise with the British. Instead, they focused on building mass support by instilling a sense of self-respect, self-reliance, pride in their ancient heritage and national unity to attain their objectives. The Extremist leaders did not support the use of violence against British rule and rejected methods such as political murder and assassination. They successfully engaged the urban middle and lower classes, while also mobilising peasants and workers. Although they used religious symbols to inspire the masses, they consciously avoided mixing religion with politics. Tilak sought to mobilise Hindu Indians by appealing to an explicitly Hindu political identity displayed in the annual public
Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav and
Shiv Jayanti festivals that he inaugurated in western India, particularly in the
Bombay Presidency. Tilak, along with his associates
Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and
Vishnushastri Chiplunkar, believed that educating the masses was the most effective way to serve the nation. In line with this belief, they co-founded the New English School in
Pune in 1876 to provide modern, Indian-controlled education as an alternative to British institutions. Subsequently, these leaders established the
Deccan Education Society (DES) to advance their pedagogical objectives, with a particular emphasis on cultivating national consciousness among Indian youth. However, Tilak soon realised that education alone was not sufficient; he believed it was equally important to raise public awareness about the country's condition. To achieve this, he started two weekly publications in 1881: the
Maratha in English and
Kesari in Marathi. By the end of 1905, Congress began transforming into a mass movement, largely due to the agitation against the partition of Bengal and the emergence of the
Swadeshi movement.
Annie Besant, a British social reformer, moved to India in 1893 and became actively involved in the Congress. Recognising the importance of full cooperation from the moderates for the success of the movement, both Tilak and Besant realised that it was necessary to secure the full cooperation of the moderates. In 1915, during the annual session of the Congress held at
Lucknow under the presidency of
Ambica Charan Mazumdar, it was decided that the extremists led by Tilak would be admitted to the Congress. Inspired by the
Irish Home Rule movement, which sought greater autonomy from Britain, Tilak and Besant were influenced by the concept of self-government (Home Rule) and began calling for similar rights for India. In contrast, Besant set up her All-India Home Rule League in September 1916 in
Madras, which grew to include over 200 branches across the country. His efforts in South Africa were well known not only among the educated but also among the masses. During 1917 and 1918, Mahatma Gandhi was involved in three struggles: known as
Champaran Satyagraha, Ahmedabad Mill Strike and
Kheda Satyagraha. After
World War I, the party came to be associated with Gandhi, who remained its unofficial spiritual leader and icon. He formed an alliance with the
Khilafat Movement in 1920 as part of his opposition to British rule in India, and fought for the rights for Indians using civil disobedience or as the tool for agitation. In 1922, after the deaths of policemen at
Chauri Chaura, Gandhi suspended the agitation. With the help of the moderate group led by Gokhale, in 1924 Gandhi became president of Congress. The rise of Gandhi's popularity and his
satyagraha art of revolution led to support from
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru,
Rajendra Prasad,
Khan Mohammad Abbas Khan,
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan,
Chakravarti Rajgopalachari,
Anugrah Narayan Sinha,
Jayaprakash Narayan,
Jivatram Kripalani, and
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. As a result of prevailing nationalism, Gandhi's popularity, and the party's attempts at eradicating
caste differences,
untouchability, poverty, and religious and ethnic divisions, Congress became a forceful and dominant group. Although its members were predominantly Hindu, it had members from other religions, economic classes, and ethnic and linguistic groups. At the Congress 1929 Lahore session under the presidency of Jawaharlal Nehru, (complete independence) was declared as the party's goal, declaring 26 January 1930 as (Independence Day). The same year, Srinivas Iyenger was expelled from the party for demanding full independence, not just
home rule as demanded by Gandhi. After the passage of the
Government of India Act 1935,
provincial elections were held in India in the winter of 1936–37 in eleven provinces:
Madras,
Central Provinces, Bihar, Orissa,
United Provinces,
Bombay Presidency, Assam, NWFP, Bengal, Punjab, and Sindh. The final results of the elections were declared in February 1937. The Indian National Congress gained power in eight of them; the three exceptions being Bengal,
Punjab, and Sindh. Congress
Ministers resigned in October and November 1939 in protest against Viceroy
Lord Linlithgow's declaration that India was a belligerent in
World War II without consulting the Indian people. In 1939,
Subhas Chandra Bose, the elected president of Congress in 1938 and 1939, resigned from Congress over the selection of the working committee. Congress was an umbrella organisation, sheltering radical socialists, traditionalists, and Hindu and
Muslim conservatives.
Mahatma Gandhi expelled all the socialist groupings, including the
Congress Socialist Party, the
Krishak Praja Party, and the
Swaraj Party, along with
Subhas Chandra Bose, in 1939. The colonial government instituted mass arrests including of Gandhi and Congress leaders, and killed over 1,000 Indians who participated in this movement. Meanwhile, a spate of violent attacks were carried out by the nationalists against the colonial government and infrastructure. In 1945, when the Second World War almost came to an end, the
Labour Party of the United Kingdom won elections with a promise to provide independence to India. The jailed political prisoners of the Quit India movement were released in the same year. ,
Patel and
Gandhi at an AICC meeting in Bombay, 1940 In 1946, the colonial government tried the soldiers of Japanese-sponsored
Indian National Army in the
INA trials. In response, Congress helped form the
INA Defence Committee, which assembled a legal team to defend the soldiers of the
Azad Hind provisional government. The team included several famous lawyers, including
Bhulabhai Desai,
Asaf Ali, and Jawaharlal Nehru. The colonial government eventually backtracked in the face of opposition by the Congress.
Post-independence After Indian independence in 1947, the Indian National Congress became the dominant political party in the country. The long period of early dominance in the politics of the republic led to its political system sometimes being referred to as the "Congress System". In 1952, in the
first general election held after Independence, the party swept to power in the national parliament and most state legislatures. It held power nationally until 1977 when it was defeated by the Janata coalition. It returned to power in 1980 and ruled until 1989 when it was once again defeated. The party formed the government in 1991 at the head of a coalition, as well as in 2004 and 2009 when it led the United Progressive Alliance. During this period the Congress remained centre-left in its social policies while steadily shifting from a socialist to a
neoliberal economic outlook. The Party's rivals at state level have been national parties including the
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPIM), and various regional parties, such as the
Telugu Desam Party,
Trinamool Congress and
Aam Aadmi Party. A post-
partition successor to the party survived as the
Pakistan National Congress, a party which represented the rights of religious minorities in the state. The party's support was strongest in the Bengali-speaking province of
East Pakistan. After the Bangladeshi War of Independence, it became known as the
Bangladeshi National Congress, but was dissolved in 1975 by the government.
Nehru era (1947–1966) signing the
Indian Constitution c.1950 From 1951 until his death in 1964,
Jawaharlal Nehru was the paramount leader of the party. Congress gained power in landslide victories in the general elections of 1951–52, 1957, and 1962. During his tenure, Nehru implemented policies based on
import substitution industrialisation, and advocated a
mixed economy where the government-controlled
public sector co-existed with the
private sector. He believed the establishment of basic and heavy industries was fundamental to the development and modernisation of the Indian economy. The policy of non-alignment during the
Cold War meant Nehru received financial and technical support from both the
Eastern and
Western Blocs to build India's industrial base from nothing. During his period in office, there were four known assassination attempts on Nehru. The first attempt on his life was during partition in 1947 while he was visiting the
North-West Frontier Province in a car. The second was by a knife-wielding rickshaw-puller in Maharashtra in 1955. A third attempt happened in
Bombay in 1956. The fourth was a failed bombing attempt on railway tracks in Maharashtra in 1961. Prior to that, he had been the chief minister of
Madras state for nine years. Kamaraj had also been a member of "the syndicate", a group of right wing leaders within Congress. In 1963 the Congress lost popularity following the defeat in the Indo-Chinese war of 1962. To revitalise the party, Kamaraj proposed the
Kamaraj Plan to Nehru that encouraged six Congress chief ministers (including himself) and six senior cabinet ministers to resign to take up party work. In 1964, Nehru
died because of an
aortic dissection, raising questions about the party's future. Following the death of Nehru,
Gulzarilal Nanda was appointed as the interim prime minister on 27 May 1964, pending the election of a new parliamentary leader of the Congress party who would then become prime minister. During the leadership contest to succeed Nehru, the preference was between Morarji Desai and Lal Bahadur Shashtri. Eventually, Shashtri was selected as the next parliamentary leader thus the Prime Minister. Kamaraj was widely credited as the "kingmaker" in for ensuring the victory of
Lal Bahadur Shastri over Morarji Desai. As prime minister, Shastri retained most of members of Nehru's
Council of Ministers;
T. T. Krishnamachari was retained as
Finance Minister of India, as was Defence Minister
Yashwantrao Chavan. Shastri appointed
Swaran Singh to succeed him as
External Affairs Minister. Shastri appointed
Indira Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru's daughter and former party president,
Minister of Information and Broadcasting. Gulzarilal Nanda continued as the
Minister of Home Affairs. As
Prime Minister, Shastri continued Nehru's policy of
non-alignment, but built closer relations with the
Soviet Union. In the aftermath of the
Sino-Indian War of 1962, and the formation of military ties between China and Pakistan, Shastri's government expanded the defence budget of India's armed forces. He also promoted the White Revolution—a national campaign to increase the production and supply of milk by creating the
National Dairy Development Board. The Madras anti-Hindi agitation of 1965 occurred during Shastri's tenure. Shastri became a national hero following victory in the
Indo-Pakistani War of 1965. His slogan, "
Jai Jawan Jai Kisan" ("Hail the soldier, Hail the farmer"), became very popular during the war. On 11 January 1966, a day after signing the
Tashkent Declaration, Shastri died in Tashkent, reportedly of a heart attack; but the circumstances of his death remain mysterious. After Shastri's death, Congress elected
Indira Gandhi as leader over
Morarji Desai. Once again,
K. Kamaraj was instrumental in achieving this result. The differences among the top leadership of the Congress regarding the future of the party during resulted in the formation of several breakaway parties such as
Orissa Jana Congress,
Bangla Congress,
Utkal Congress, and,
Bharatiya Kranti Dal.
Indira Gandhi era (1966–1984) with U.S. President
Richard Nixon, 1971 In 1967, following a poor performance in the
1967 Indian general election,
Indira Gandhi started moving toward the political left. On 12 July 1969, Congress Parliamentary Board nominated
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy as Congress's candidate for the post of
President of India by a vote of four to two.
K. Kamaraj,
Morarji Desai and
S. K. Patil voted for Reddy.
Indira Gandhi and
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed voted for
V. V. Giri and Congress President
S. Nijalingappa, Home Minister
Yashwantrao Chavan and Agriculture Minister
Jagjivan Ram abstained from voting. In mid-1969, she was involved in a dispute with senior party leaders on several issues. Notably – Her support for the independent candidate,
V. V. Giri, rather than the official Congress party candidate,
Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, for the vacant post of the
president of India and Gandhi's abrupt nationalisation of the 14 biggest banks in India. In November 1969, the Congress party president,
S. Nijalingappa, expelled Indira Gandhi from the party for indiscipline. Subsequently, Gandhi launched her own faction of the INC which came to be known as Congress (R). The original party then came to be known as
Indian National Congress (O). Its principal leaders were Kamraj, Morarji Desai, Nijalingappa and
S. K. Patil who stood for a more right-wing agenda. The split occurred when a united opposition under the banner of
Samyukt Vidhayak Dal, won control over several states in the
Hindi Belt. Indira Gandhi, on the other side, wanted to use a populist agenda in order to mobilise popular support for the party. In the All India Congress Committee, 446 of its 705 members walked over to Indira's side. The "Old Congress" retained the party symbol of a pair of bullocks carrying a yoke while Indira's breakaway faction was given a new symbol of a cow with a suckling calf by the Election Commission as the party election symbol. The Congress (O) eventually merged with other opposition parties to form the
Janata Party. In the mid-term
1971 Indian general election, the Gandhi-led Congress (R) won a landslide victory on a platform of progressive policies such as the elimination of poverty (). The policies of the Congress (R) under Gandhi before the 1971 elections included proposals to abolish the
Privy Purse to former rulers of the
Princely states, and the 1969
nationalisation of India's 14 largest banks. The 1969 attempt by Indira Gandhi government to abolish privy purse and the official recognition of the titles did not meet with success. The constitutional Amendment bill to this effect was passed in Lok Sabha, but it failed to get the required two-thirds majority in the Rajya Sabha. However, in 1971, with the passage of the
Twenty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution of India, the privy purses were abolished. Due to
Sino-Indian War 1962, India faced a huge budgetary deficit resulting in its treasury being almost empty, high inflation, and dwindling forex reserves. The brief War of 1962 exposed weaknesses in the economy and shifted the focus towards the defence industry and the
Indian Army. The government found itself short of resources to fund the Third Plan (1961–1966).
Subhadra Joshi a senior party member, proposed a non-official resolution asking for the nationalisation of private banks stating that nationalisation would help in mobilising resources for development. In July 1969, Indira Gandhi through the ordinance nationalised fourteen major private banks. After being re-elected in 1971 on a campaign that endorsed nationalisation, Indira Gandhi went on to nationalise the coal, steel, copper, refining, cotton textiles and insurance industries. The main reason was to protect employment and the interest of the organised labour. However, Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the
Supreme Court. In response to increasing disorder and lawlessness, Gandhi's ministry recommended that President
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a
State of Emergency, based on the provisions of
Article 352 of the
Constitution. During the
nineteen-month emergency, widespread oppression and abuse of power by Gandhi's unelected younger son and political heir
Sanjay Gandhi and his close associates occurred. Implemented on 25 June 1975, the Emergency officially ended on 21 March 1977. All political prisoners were released and fresh elections for the Lok Sabha were called. In
parliamentary elections held in March, the Janata alliance of anti-Indira opposition parties won a landslide victory over Congress, winning 295 seats in the Lok Sabha against Congress' 153. Gandhi lost her seat to her Janata opponent
Raj Narain. On 2 January 1978, Indira and her followers seceded and formed a new opposition party, popularly called Congress (I)—the "I" signifying Indira. During the next year, her new party attracted enough members of the legislature to become the official opposition. In November 1978, Gandhi regained a parliamentary seat. In January 1980, following a
landslide victory for Congress (I), she was again elected prime minister. The national election commission declared Congress (I) to be the real Indian National Congress for the
1984 general election. However, the designation I was dropped only in 1996. In 1983, Bhindranwale with his armed followers headquartered themselves in the
Golden Temple in
Amritsar and started accumulating weapons. In June 1984, after several futile negotiations, Gandhi ordered the
Indian Army to enter the Golden Temple to establish control over the complex and remove Bhindranwale and his armed followers. This event is known as
Operation Blue Star. On 31 October 1984, two of Gandhi's bodyguards,
Satwant Singh and
Beant Singh,
shot her with their service weapons in the garden of the prime minister's residence in response to her authorisation of Operation Blue Star. Her assassination prompted the
1984 anti-Sikh riots, during which 3,000–17,000 people were killed. Congress Party MP,
Sajjan Kumar, was convicted in two cases for instigating and leading a mob to attack and murder Sikh civilians during the Anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi.
Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi era (1984–2014) ,
Prime Minister of India (1984–1989) addressing the Special Session of the United Nations on
Disarmament, in New York City in June 1988 In 1984, Indira Gandhi's son
Rajiv Gandhi became nominal head of Congress, and went on to become prime minister upon her assassination. In December, he led Congress to a landslide victory, where it secured 401 seats in the parliament. His administration took measures to reform the government bureaucracy and liberalise the country's economy. Rajiv Gandhi's attempts to discourage separatist movements in Punjab and Kashmir backfired. After his government became embroiled in several financial scandals, his leadership became increasingly ineffectual. Gandhi was regarded as a non-abrasive person who consulted other party members and refrained from hasty decisions. The
Bofors scandal damaged his reputation as an honest politician, but he was posthumously cleared of bribery allegations in 2004. On 21 May 1991, Gandhi was killed by a bomb concealed in a basket of flowers carried by a woman associated with the
Tamil Tigers. He was campaigning in Tamil Nadu for upcoming
parliamentary elections. In 1998, an Indian court convicted 26 people in the conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi. The conspirators, who consisted of Tamil militants from Sri Lanka and their Indian allies, had sought revenge against Gandhi because the Indian troops he sent to Sri Lanka in 1987 to help enforce
a peace accord there had fought with Tamil Militant guerrillas. to
Gaston Thorn, the then
President of the European Commission The mid-1990s marked a period of political flux in India, with frequent changes in government and coalition dynamics. Rajiv Gandhi was succeeded as party leader by
P. V. Narasimha Rao, who was elected prime minister in June 1991. His rise to the prime ministership was politically significant because he was the first person from South India to hold the office, marking a shift from the traditionally northern-dominated leadership in Indian politics. After the election, he formed a minority government. Rao himself did not contest elections in 1991, but after he was sworn in as prime minister, he won in a by-election from
Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. His administration oversaw major
economic change and experienced several domestic incidents that affected India's national security. Rao, who held the
Industries portfolio, was personally responsible for the dismantling of the
Licence Raj, which came under the purview of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Rao accelerated the dismantling of the Licence Raj, reversing the socialist policies of previous governments. He employed Manmohan Singh as his finance minister to begin historic economic changes. With Rao's mandate, Singh launched reforms for India's
globalisation that involved implementing
International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies to prevent India's impending
economic collapse. Rao was also referred to as
Chanakya for his ability to push tough economic and political legislation through the parliament while heading a minority government. By 1996, party found itself in a complex political landscape. It faced internal challenges, including factionalism and leadership struggles, allegations of corruption, and a degree of anti-incumbency sentiment. The
1996 general elections witnessed the emergence of a fractured mandate, leading to the absence of a clear majority for any single party. Congress was reduced to 140 seats in elections that year, its lowest number in the Lok Sabha yet. Rao later resigned as prime minister and, in September, as party president. He was succeeded as president by
Sitaram Kesri, the party's first non-
Brahmin leader. During the tenure of both Rao and Kesri, the two leaders conducted internal elections to the Congress working committees and their own posts as party presidents. The
1998 general elections saw Congress win 141 seats in the Lok Sabha, its lowest tally until then. To boost its popularity and improve its performance in the forthcoming election, Congress leaders urged
Sonia Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi's widow, to assume leadership of the party. She had previously declined offers to become actively involved in party affairs and had stayed away from politics. After her election as party leader, a section of the party that objected to the choice because of her Italian ethnicity broke away and formed the
Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), led by
Sharad Pawar. Sonia Gandhi struggled to revive the party in her early years as its president; she was under continuous scrutiny for her foreign birth and lack of political acumen. In the snap elections called by the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government in
1999, Congress' tally further plummeted to just 114 seats. For the
2004 general election, Congress forged alliances with regional parties including the NCP and the
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. The party's campaign emphasised social inclusion and the welfare of the common massesan ideology that Gandhi herself endorsed for Congress during her presidencywith slogans such as ("Congress hand in hand with the common man"), contrasting with the NDA's "
India Shining" campaign. The Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) won 222 seats in the new parliament, defeating the NDA by a substantial margin. With the subsequent support of the communist front, Congress won a majority and formed a new government.
A. P. J. Abdul Kalam authorising the Prime Minister designate
Manmohan Singh to form the next Government in New Delhi on 19 May 2004 Despite massive support from within the party, Gandhi declined the post of prime minister, choosing to appoint
Manmohan Singh instead. She remained as party president and headed the
National Advisory Council (NAC). During its first term in office, the UPA government passed several social reform bills. These included an
employment guarantee bill, the
Right to Information Act, and a
right to education act. The NAC, as well as
the Left Front that supported the government from the outside, were widely seen as being the driving force behind such legislation. The Left Front withdrew its support of the government over disagreements about the
U.S.–India Civil Nuclear Agreement. Despite the effective loss of 62 seats in parliament, the government survived the trust vote that followed. In the
Lok Sabha elections held soon after, Congress won 207 seats, the highest tally of any party since 1991. The UPA won 262, enabling it to form a government for the second time. The social welfare policies of the first UPA government, and the perceived divisiveness of the BJP, are broadly credited with the victory.
Rahul Gandhi era (2014–present) during
Bharat Jodo Yatra By the
2014 election, the party had lost much of its popular support, mainly growing discontent over a series of corruption allegations involving government officials, including the
2G spectrum case and the
Indian coal allocation scam, as well as the ineptness towards national security, particularly the insensitivity in the aftermath of the
2011 Mumbai bombings. The Congress won only 44 seats in the
Lok Sabha, compared to the 336 of the BJP and the NDA. The UPA suffered a landslide defeat, which was the party's worst-ever national electoral performance with its vote share dipping below 20 per cent for the first time. Sonia Gandhi retired as party president in December 2017, having served for a record nineteen years. She was succeeded by her son
Rahul Gandhi, who was elected unopposed in the 2017 INC presidential election. The party only won 52 seats, eight more than the previous election. Its vote percentage once again fell below 20 per cent. Following Gandhi's resignation, party leaders began deliberations for a suitable candidate to replace him. The Congress Working Committee met on 10 August to make a final decision on the matter and passed a resolution asking Sonia Gandhi to take over as interim president until a consensus candidate could be picked. Following the election,
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury was chosen as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha,
Gaurav Gogoi was chosen as the deputy leader in Lok Sabha, and
Ravneet Singh Bittu was chosen as the party whip. Based on an analysis of the candidates' poll affidavits, a report by the National Election Watch (NEW) and the
Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says that, the Congress has highest
political defection rate since 2014. According to the report, a total of 222 electoral candidates had left the Congress to join other parties during elections held between 2014 and 2021, as 177 MPs and MLAs quit the party. The defections resulted in a loss of the party's established governments in
Arunachal Pradesh,
Madhya Pradesh,
Goa,
Karnataka,
Puducherry, and
Manipur. , INC's incumbent president and leader in
Rajya Sabha On 28 August 2022, the
Congress Working Committee (CWC) held an
election for the next president of the INC, to succeed Rahul Gandhi. The election was held on 17 October 2022 and counting took place on 19 October 2022. The candidates in the race were Kerala MP
Shashi Tharoor and Karnataka MP
Mallikarjun Kharge. Mallikarjun Kharge won the election in a landslide, == General election results ==