The Congress as a coalition

One-party dominance was not unusual in the world. But in other countries, such as China and Cuba, it came by ending democracy: other parties were banned. In India, the Congress dominated while elections stayed free and fair, and other parties were free to compete. That made India different.

The Congress had a head start: it was 'first off the blocks', already organised everywhere before other parties began. And it had an all-inclusive character.

A social coalition: the Congress began in 1885 as a body of the English-educated, upper-caste, urban elite. Through the freedom struggle it became a mass movement, bringing in peasants and industrialists, city and village, rich and poor, many castes, religions and languages. It was like a rainbow, with every section of society inside it.

An ideological coalition: it held people with very different ideas: left, right and centre, revolutionaries and pacifists, conservatives and radicals. Groups with their own constitutions and leaders, such as the Congress Socialist Party, worked inside it.

So the Congress was always compromising and adjusting to keep everyone in. Groups inside a party that compete with each other are called factions. The Congress had many, and it tolerated them.

This created what political scientists call the 'Congress system': since the opposition was small, the real debate happened inside the Congress. Unhappy factions could push the leadership from within. The Congress acted as both the ruling party and the opposition.

This flexibility is why one party could rule a diverse democracy for so long without ending competition.