Indian National Congress (R)

Indian National Congress
AbbreviationINC(R)
FounderIndira Gandhi
Founded12 November 1969 (1969-11-12)
Dissolved24 December 1978
Split fromIndian National Congress
Succeeded byIndian National Congress (I)
IdeologySecularism[1]
Economic nationalism[2]
Pro-Soviet sentiment[3]
Political positionCentre-left[4] to left-wing[5]
Colours  Turquoise
Election symbol

Indian National Congress (Requisitionists) was created in 1969; it was created and led by Indira Gandhi. The then unified Indian National Congress was split, with the other part being Indian National Congress (O).

The letter 'R' stands for 'Requisition'.[6] The original congress party then became the Indian National Congress (Organisation), or Congress (O), and was led by Kamaraj. It was informally called the organisation Congress or Syndicate and retained the party symbol of a pair of bullocks carrying a yoke. Mrs. Gandhi's breakaway faction were given a new symbol of a cow with suckling calf by the Election Commission as the party election symbol.[6]

The split occurred when, in 1969, a united opposition under the banner of Samyukt Vidhayak Dal won control over several states in the Hindi belt.[7]
Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister and daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru, was then challenged by the majority of the party leadership. Gandhi formed the new party to demonstrate her support amongst the people. In the 1971 general election, Congress (R) had secured an overwhelming majority winning 352 out of 518 seats in the Lok Sabha.[8] In the elections to five state assemblies too, the Congress (R) performed well.

  1. ^ "Difference between old congress and new congress? | EduRev Humanities/Arts Question".
  2. ^ "Indira Gandhi nationalised 14 Indian banks on this day: Why she did do that and what was the outcome". Times Now. 19 July 2022.
  3. ^ "1971 When Delhi and Moscow came together". 12 August 2021.
  4. ^ Kumar, Arun (10 March 2021). "The 1970s Indian Economy: A Period of Growing Strains and the Nation's Fight Against Poverty". The Wire. Retrieved 18 July 2024. The right-wing tried to control the party but Mrs Gandhi allied with the centre-left forces and fought back and the party split.
  5. ^ Singh, Mahendra Prasad (1981). Split in a Predominant Party: The Indian National Congress in 1969. Abhinav publications. p. 109. ISBN 9788170171409. Retrieved 18 July 2024. ...the split placed the faction of their preference-the Congress left wing- in firm control of the ruling party.
  6. ^ a b Sanghvi, Vijay (2006). The Congress, Indira to Sonia Gandh. New Delhi: Kalpaz Publications. p. 77. ISBN 81-7835-340-7.
  7. ^ "Chaudhary Charan Singh:Champion of farmers, first CM of non-Congress govt in northern India". The Economic Times. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
  8. ^ Mukul, Sushim (22 March 2024). "When Indira Gandhi broke 'One Nation One Election' cycle". India Today. Retrieved 18 July 2024.