Class 12 NCERT Political Science (2) Chapter 2

Era of One Party Dominance

Electronic Voting Machine (EVM): It is a voting machine to record
voters’ performances on electric device, used through election
processes.
First Past the Post System: This is the simple majority system in
which the candidate gets the maximum amount of votes is declared
as elected.
Ideological Oriented Party: It is the party in which policies and
decisions are formulated under ideological considerations.
Interest-Oriented Party: This party protects particular interests
and promotes the same also i.e. caste, community, region, tribes
etc.
Charismatic Leader Oriented Party: It is the party in which leader
holds a very strong position and is the nucleus of the party.

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Challenge of Building Democracy
• The Election Commission of India was set-up in January
1950. Sukumar Sen was the first Chief Election
Commissioner
.
• India’s vast size and low literacy rate etc were some of
challenges to hold general elections in 1952. Despite these
challenges the election was held successfully in 1952.

Changing Methods of Voting

• In the first general election it was decided to place inside
each polling booth a box for each candidate with the election
symbol of that
candidate.
• By 2004 the entire country had shifted to the Electronic Voting
Machine (EVM).
First Three General Elections
• 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 upper level as well as at grass root
level. Congress was popularised due to the participation in
Civil Disobedience Movement.

• In Kerala, in 1957 the Communist Party came to power in

the world for the first time through democratic
elections.
• This was the first state where Non-Congress Government
was formed after
independence.
Nature of Congress Dominance
• 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
.
Tolerance and Management of Factions
• Groups within 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.

Emergence of Opposition Parties

• The roots of almost all the Non-Congress parties of today can be
traced to one or the other of the opposition parties of the 1950s.

• These opposition parties offered a sustained and often principled

criticism of the policies and practices of the Congress party.

• This kept the ruling party under check and often changed the balance
of power within the Congress.
Socialist Party
• The Congress Socialist Party (CSP) was formed within the Congress in 1934
by a group of young leaders who wanted a more radical and egalitarian
Congress.

• In 1948, the Congress amended its Constitution to prevent its members from
having a dual party membership. This forced the socialists to form a separate
socialist party in 1948.

• They criticised the Congress for favouring capitalists and landlords and for
ignoring the workers and peasants.

The Communist Party of India (CPI)

• In the early 1920s communist groups emerged in different parts of India
taking inspiration from the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia.

• In 1951 the communist party abandoned the path of violent revolution and
decided to participate in the approaching general elections.

• AK Gopalan, SA Dange, EMS Namboodripad; PC Joshi, Ajay Ghosh and P

Sundarraya were among the notable leaders of the CPI.
Bhartiya Jana Sangh [BJS]
• The Bhartiya Jana Sangh was formed in 1951 with Shyama
Prasad Mukherjee as its founder
President.
• It emphasised the idea of one country, one culture and one nation
and believed that the country could become modem, progressive
and strong on the basis of Indian culture and
traditions.
Swatantra Party
• Swatantra party was formed in August in 1959. The party was led
by old Congressmen like C. Rajgopalachari, KM Munshi, NG
Ranga and Minoo
Masani.
• The party was critical of the development strategy of state
intervention in the economy, centralised planning, nationalisation
and the public sector. It instead favoured expansion of a free
private sector.
FACTS THAT MATTER
1. After independence, our leaders became conscious of critical role of politics in
a democracy as they wanted to run politics as a method to sort out problems
as well as to decide and pursue the public interest.

2. Consequently, the Election Commission of India came into existence in

January 1950, Sukumar Sen became first Chief Election Commissioner of India to
hold elections in the country. This commission required the drawing of the
boundaries of electoral constituencies, electoral roll consisting eligible voters to
hold free and fair elections.

3. The first general election of India became a landmark due to its

competitiveness, encouraging
participation, fair results and proved its critics wrong not to hold elections in
conditions of poverty.

4. In the 1952 election Congress party scored a big victory but it was not in power
in the states like Travancore—Cochin i.e. Kerala, Madras and Orissa. 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.
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5. Congress was founded by Dr. A.O. Hume in 1885 as a view to express the feelings of
discontentment changed to a political party 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 organisation and parties with their own constitutions and
organisational structures were allowed to exist within the Congress.

6. Factions are the groups formed inside the party. The coalition nature of the Congress Party
encouraged various factions which were based on either ideological considerations or personal
ambitions or rivalries.

7. Before the first General Election of 1952, some of the vibrant and opposite parties came into
existence which gained as a token of representation only to maintain democratic character.
These parties kept ruling party under check, prevented resentment, groomed leaders, alongwith
a mutual respect and among Congress leaders as well as opposition parties leaders.

8. The origin of the socialist party can be traced back to the mass movement stage of the Indian
National Congress which was formed in 1934 by Acharya Narendra Dev and later on, it was
separated to form socialist party in 1948 with ideology of democratic socialism and criticised
capitalism.

9. In the early 1920s communist groups emerged in different parts of India having a belief of
communism. The Communist Party of India was primarily secular, modem and authoritarian.
10. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh wTas formed in 1951 by
Shyama Prasad Mukherjee with the ideology of one country,
one culture and one nation and called for a reunion of India
and Pakistan in Akhand Bharat.

11. Swatantra Party was formed in August 1959 after the

Nagpur Resolution of the Congress which called for land
ceilings. It’s important leaders were C. Rajgopalachari, K.M.
Munshi, N.G. Ranga, and Minoo Masani. Its ideology
emphasised on the free economy and less involvement of
government in controlling the economy and advocated closer
relations with the USA.
1. If Bharatiya Jana Sangh of the Communist Party of India had formed the
government after the first election, in which respects would the policies of the
government have been different? Specify three differences each for both the
parties.
Answer:
1. Bharatiya Jana Sangh
The policies of Bharatiya Jana Sangh were based on the principles as follows:
(a) It replaced secular concept by the ideology of one country, one culture and one
nation.
(b) No cultural and educational rights as this party opposed the granting of
concessions to religious and cultural minorities.
(c) It focused on the reunity of India and Pakistan under the concept of Akhand
Bharat.
2. Communist Party of India:
Communist Party of India would have been different on the principles as follows:
(а) It worked for proportional representation in the govern-ment.
(б) This party followed communist ideology in various policies.
(c) It emphasised on a control over electronic mass media by an autonomous
body or corporation.
2. In what sense was the Congress an ideological coalition? Mention the various
ideological currents present within the Congress.

Answer: The Congress Party became a social and ideological coalition for it
merged different social groups alongwith their identity holding different
beliefs:

1. It accommodated the revolutionary, conservative, pacifist, radical, extremist

and moderates and the rights and the left with all other shades of the centre.

2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political
parties to take part in the national movement.

Ideological currents present within the Congress:

(a) In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own
constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the
Congress.

(b) Some of these like “Congress Socialist Party” later seperated from the
Congress and became on opposition party.
3. Did the prevalence of a ‘one-party dominant system’ affect adversely the
democratic nature of Indian politics?
Answer: No, the prevalence of one party dominance system did not affect
adversely the democratic nature of Indian politics because:
1. The key role of Congress in the freedom struggle gave it a head start over
others.

2. The Congress accommodated diversified interests, religion, beliefs and

aspirations to strengthen democracy.

3. Despite being taken place of free and fair elections, Congress won elections in
the same manner again and again.

4. Congress party consisted of various factions inside itself, based on ideological

considerations who never taught together or went out of Congress.

5. Hence, on the basis of above mentioned criterion, it can be concluded that

Congress strengthened ideals of democracy and held unity and integrity of the
country.
4. Bring out three differences each between Socialist Parties and the Communist Party and
between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra Party.
Answer:

1. Differences between Socialist Parties and Communist Party: 2. Differences between Bharatiya Jana Sangh and Swatantra
Party:
5. What would you consider as the main differences between Mexico and India under
one party domination?
Answer: There was a difference between one party domination in India and Mexico. In
Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because:

1. In India, the Congress party dominated on behalf of popular consensus but

Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) (in Spanish) ruled on behalf of perfect
dictatorship.

2. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing of election was also fair
but it Mexico, elections were based on malpractices, dominated by PRI.

6. Take a political map of India (with State outlines) and mark:

(a) Two states where Congress was not in poiver at some point during 1952-67.
(b) Two states where the Congress remained in power through this period.

Answer.
Map is attached and marked as:
(a) 1. Kerala (Travancore-Cochin)
2. Madras (Travancore-Cochin)
(b) 1. Punjab or U.P.
2. Rajasthan or West Bengal.

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7. Which political party laid emphasis on the idea of one party, one culture and
one nation?
Answer: Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

8. Which political party of India had leaders like A.K. Gopalan, E.M.S.
Namboodiripad, and S.A. Dange?
Answer: Communist Party of India.

9. Who was the founder of Bharatiya Jana Sangh?

Answer: Shyama Prasad Mukherjee in 1951.

10. In which year was the Election Commission of India set up and who was
the first chief Election Commissioner of India?
Answer: 25 January 1950, Sukumar Sen.

11. Name the founder president of the Congress Socialist Party. What name
was given to this party after 1948?
Answer: The founder president of the Congress Socialist Party was Acharya
Narendra Dev and after 1955 it came to be known as Socialist Party.
12. Differentiate between one party dominance and one party system.
Answer: One party dominance refer to representation on behalf of popular consensus
alongwith free and fair elections i.e. Congress in India whereas one party system refers
representation based on malpractice, fraud etc. to ensure winning of a particular party.

13. When and why was the electronic voting machine used in India for the first time?
Answer: The electronic voting machine was used in India in 1990 for first time for more
accuracy and fair dealing while counting as well as it helps to check Booth capturing and
other malpractices.

14. How did socialist party origin?

Answer: The founder president of the Congress socialist party was Acharya Narendra
Dev and after 1955 it came to be known as Socialist Party.

15. Define faction.

Answer: Faction are the groups formed inside the party i.e. coalitions made in Congress
created various factions which were based on either ideological considerations or
personal ambitions.

16. When and by whom PRI was founded?

Answer: The ‘Institutional Revolutionary Party’ (PRI) was founded in 1929 by Plutareo
Elias Calles in Mexico which represented the legacy of Mexican Revolution.
17. How did the dominance of Congress Party in the first three general
elections help in establishing a democratic set-up in India?
Answer: The first general election was the first big test of democracy in a poor
and illiterate country. Till then democracy had existed only in the prosperous
countries. By that time many countries in Europe had not given voting rights to
all women. In this context India’s experiment with universal adult franchise
appeared very bold and risky. India’s general election of 1952 became a
landmark in the history of democracy all over the world. It was no longer
possible to argue that domocratic elections could not be held on conditions of
poverty or lack of education. It proved that democracy could be practised
anywhere in the world. The next two general elections strengthened
democratic set-up in India.

18. Highlight any two features of ideology of Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Answer: 1. Bharatiya Jana Sangh laid emphasis on ideology of one country,
one culture and one nation.
2. Bharatiya Jana Sangh called for reunity of India and Pakistan in Akhand
Bharat.
19. Explain the major difference of ideology between that of
Congress and the Bharatiya Jana Sangh.
Answer:
The major difference of ideology between Congress and the
Bharatiya Jana Sangh was that Bharatiya Jana Sangh emphasised
on one party country. One culture, one nation i.e. a Hindu nation or
Hindutva whereas Congress formed ideological and social
coalitions accommodating social diversities.

20. State any two ideologies of the Swatantra Party.

Answer: Swatantra Party was founded by Senior Congress leader
C. Rajgopalachari in August 1959:
1. The party believed that prosperity could come only through
individual freedom.
2. This party was against land ceilings in agriculture and opposed
to cooperative farming.
21. How has the method of voting changed from the first General Election of 1952
to the General Election of 2004?
Answer:
1. In the first General Election a box was placed inside each polling booth for
each candidate with the election symbol of the candidate. Each voter was
given a blank ballot paper to drop into the box, they wanted to vote for.

2. After first two elections, this method was changed. Now ballot paper carried the
names and symbols of candidates and the voter stamped against the name of
candidate to vote for.

3. In 2004, Electronic Voting Machine were introduced to press the button

according to choice of the voter containing the name of candidate and symbol of
political party.

22. When was Communist Party emerged?

Answer: The Communist Party emerged in 1920 in different parts of India. It took
the inspiration from Bolshevik revolution in Russia. The important leaders of CPI
were A.K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh
etc.
23. “India’s experiment with universal adult franchise appeared very bold and
risky”. Justify the statement.
Answer:
Because:
1. Country’s vast size and electorates made these elections unusual.
2. The year 1952, it was a big test for poor and illiterate country.
3. Till then, democracy had been existed only in the prosperous countries
mainly in Europe and North America where everyone was almost literate.

24. Mention the aims and goals of Socialist Party of India. Why the party could
not prove itself as an effective alternative to the Congress?
Answer: Aims and goals of socialist party of India:
1. The Socialist Party believed in the ideology of democratic socialism to be
distinguished from Congress and Communists both.

2. It criticised Congress for ignoring the workers and peasants.

It became difficult for socialist party to prove itself as an effective alternative to
Congress because Congress Party declared its goal to be the socialist pattern
of society in 1955.
25. What were the reasons for dominance of one party system in India?
Answer: The dominance of Congress in India was due to following reasons:
1. Congress was identified with the freedom struggle for building national unity
and solidarity.
2. Congress was associated with Mahatma Gandhi’s name.
3. It had a broad based manifesto to include the various section of society.
4. Congress bore a popular appeal of charismatic leader like Mahatma Gandhi,
J.L. Nehru, Sardar Patel, Indira Gandhi etc.
5. Congress focused on building role of the party.

26. How did India’s first general elections of 1952 become a landmark in the
history of democracy all over the world?
Answer: Because:
1. These elections were competitive among various parties.
2. The participation of people was encouraging also.
3. The results were declared in a very fair manner, even to be accepted by the
losers in a fair manner.
4. This experiment of India, proved the critics wrong also.
27. Describe the organisation of Congress Party as a social and ideological coalitions.
Or
“For a long time Congress Party had been a social and ideological coalition”. Justify the statement.
Answer: 1. It accommodated the revolutionary conservative, extremist and moderates with all other
shades of the centre.
2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interests and even political parties to take part
in national movement.
3. In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties were allowed to co-exist within the
Congress
.4. Some of these like ‘Congress Socialist Party’ later separated from the Congress and became an
opposition party.

28. How was one party dominance of India different from the other examples of one party dominance
in the world?
rOr
Examine the comparative analysis of nature of Congress dominance.
Answer: India is not the only country to have dominance of one party but we have some other
examples also for the same. But the dominance of one party in India does not compromise
democratic spirit of constitution whereas other nations have compromised it:
1. In countries like China, Cuba and Syria are permitted to be ruled by one party only by the
constitutional provisions.
2. Myanmar, Belarus, Egypt also experience one party system due to legal and military measurer.
3. In India, Congress dominates on behalf of free and fair elections based on democracy where the
losing of other party is also fair.
29. “In India, hero-worship, plays a part in its politics unequalled in magnitude
by the part it plays in the politics of any other country But in politics, hero-
worship is a sure road to degradation and eventual dictatorship”.Babasaheb
Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Analyse the statement.
Ans: The above mentioned statement speaks of accommodating diversities by
the leader of India which was a challenging path to democracy. Our leaders
wanted to represent politics as a way of solution of problems in place of
making politics a problem.

30. Examine the dominance of Congress in the first three General Elections.
Answer: I. In the first election Congress won 364/489 seats as per
expectations.
2. The Communist Party next to Congress won only 16 seats.
3. Congress scored higher in state elections also except Travancore- Cochin
(Kerala), Madras and Orissa.
4. Hence, country ruled at national and state level both by declaring Pt. J.L.
Nehru as the first Prime Minister of India.
5. In second and third elections also, Congress maintained the same position
in Loksabha by winning of three fourth seats in the years 1957 and 1962
respectively.
31. Describe the various steps taken to hold the first general elections in
India. How far these elections were successful?
Answer: The first general elections had to be postponed twice and
finally held from October 1951 to February 1952:
1. These elections were referred to as 1952 elections because most parts of
country voted in January 1952.
2. It took six months for campaigning, polling and counting to be completed.
3. Elections were competitive because there were on an average more than
four candidates for each seat.
4. The level of participation was en-couraging to vote out in the election.
5. The results were declared and accepted as fair even by losers to prove
critics wrong.

These elections were successful:

1. The losing of the parties was also accepted as fair.
2. These elections became a landmark in the history of democracy.
3. It was no longer possible to argue that democratic elections could not be
held in conditions of poverty or lack of education. Instead, it can be
practised anywhere in the world.
32. Why was Congress considered as a social and ideological coalition in
independence days?
Explain.
Answer: The Congress Party became a social and ideological coalition for it
merged different social groups alongwith their identity holding different beliefs:

1. It accommodated the revolutionary, conservative, pacifist, radical,

extremist and moderates and the right and the left with all other shades of
the centre.

2. Congress became a platform for numerous groups, interacts and even

political parties to take part in the national movement.

Ideological currents present within the Congress:

(а) In pre-independence days, many organisations and parties with their own
constitutions and organisational structures were allowed to exist within the
Congress
.
(b) Some of these like ‘Congress Socialist Party”, later separated from the
Congress and became an opposition party.
33. How was the one party dominance in India different from the one party
system in Mexico? In your opinion which of the two political systems is better
and why?
Answer: There was a difference between one party domination in India and
Mexico. In Mexico, this was a one party system only not dominance because:
1. In India, the Congress Party dominated on behalf of popular consensus
but Institutional Revolu-tionary Party (PRI) (in Spanish) ruled on behalf of
perfect dictatorship.

2. In India, free and fair elections took place, where the losing of election was
also fair but in Mexico, elections were based on malpractices, dominated by
PRI.

In our opinion one party dominance¬like India is better because this sort of
dominance:
1. Accommodates social diversities.
2. Encourage large number of parti-cipation.
3. Ensures democratic spirit as well as maintains the same.
4. Bear respect even for opposition.
34. How did opposition parties emerge in India? What was their importance?
Answer: Some of the diverse opposition parties had come into existence
before the first general elections in 1952 as non-Congress parties which
succeeded to gain only a taken of representation in Lok Sabha and State
Assemblies. These parties maintained a democratic character of the
system:

1. These offered a criticism based on principles to keep ruling party under

check.

2. These parties groomed the leaders also to play a crucial role in shaping
the country.

3. In the early years, these was a lot of respect between leaders of

Congress and opposition parties i.e. interim government included even
opposition leaders like Dr. Ambedkar, Jayaprakash Narayan, Shyama
Prasad Mukherjee into the cabinet.

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