Political Parties in India

The Indian National Congress (Hindi: भारतीय राष्ट्रीय कांग्रेस) (also known as the Congress, and abbreviated INC) is a major political party in India. It is the largest and oldest democratic political party in the world.[1][2][3] Founded in 1885 by Allan Octavian Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha, Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee, Surendranath Banerjee, Monomohun Ghose, Mahadev Govind Ranade[4] and William Wedderburn, the Indian National Congress became the leader of the Indian Independence Movement, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants in its struggle against British rule in India. After independence in 1947, it became the nation's dominant political party, led by the Nehru-Gandhi family for the most part; major challenges for party leadership have only recently formed.
In the 2009 general elections, the Congress emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha, with 206 of its candidates getting elected to the 543-member house. Consequently, it along with a coalition of allies called the United Progressive Alliance (UPA), was able to gain a majority and form the government.
Contents [hide]   * 1 History   * 2 The pre-independence era   * 3 The post-independence era       * 3.1 Jawaharlal Nehru   * 4 Indira Gandhi   * 5 The post-Indira era   * 6 Indian Prime Ministers from the Congress Party   * 7 Controversies and criticisms       * 7.1 1947 - anti-Godse riots       * 7.2 1975-1977 - State of Emergency       * 7.3 1984 anti-Sikh riots         * 7.3.1 Rajiv Gandhi's remarks         * 7.3.2 Allegations of conspiracy and cover-ups       * 7.4 Charges for bidding for seats   * 8 Formation of present Government of India   * 9 Policies and programmes       * 9.1 Social policy       * 9.2 Economic policy       * 9.3 Foreign policy   * 10 Internal organization   * 11 Congress in various states   * 12 List of current Congress Chief Ministers   * 13 List of presidents of the party   * 14 2009 general elections   * 15 See also   * 16 References       *... [continues]

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