Congress or the Indian National Congress (INC) is one of two major political parties in India. It was founded in 1885 and played a leading role in India’s Independence movement. It has ruled during most of India’s independent years and gave the country its first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Leadership of the Congress too has been dominated by the Nehru-Gandhi family.
The Congress is a center-left party, and lists on its website democracy, nationalism, secularism, inclusive growth and social justice as its core values. It last ruled India between 2004 and 2014, but has since lost its sway, being reduced to just 52 seats in the 2019 General Elections. INDIA, the alliance headed by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, was an attempt to bring together opposition parties against the BJP government for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Together, the INDIA Alliance secured 238 of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha. The Congress won 99 of these.
Very well analysed! Perhaps it is the frenetic pace of liberalism, modernity, science and technology over past 2 decades, which makes people want to get off and get medieval. Purely for nostalgia.
You make an important point about bjp not having a strategic agenda beyond the borders of our country. Mr Modi is often compared with Mrs Gandhi, where he differs from her is the international ambition. Mrs Gandhi’s NAM and CHOGM were flawed but showed her international ambitions. Mr Modi, despite trotting the globe, does not seem to have a clear strategy on what India wants to achieve from so much international contact. His much tom-tommed visits to our neighbourhood – Pakistan, Nepal, China and now perhaps even Bhutan- have seen a worsening of relationships with them. Worst perhaps in decades.
At least on university campuses, it should be Make love, not war …