Era of One-party Dominance — Class 12 Political Science

This chapter examines the first decade of electoral politics and the dominance of the Congress party. India's leaders chose democracy despite difficult circumstances. The Election Commission of India was set up in 1950 under Sukumar Sen, and the first general elections of 1951-52 — held under universal adult franchise in a poor, largely illiterate country — were a landmark, proving that democracy could work anywhere. The Congress won the first three general elections (1952, 1957, 1962) with about three-fourths of the seats, aided by the first-past-the-post system, its legacy from the national movement, an all-India organisation and Nehru's charismatic leadership. Indian one-party dominance was distinctive because it occurred under genuinely free and fair elections, unlike one-party states elsewhere. The Congress functioned as a broad social and ideological coalition that accommodated diverse groups and managed internal factions, acting as both ruling party and opposition — the 'Congress system'. Yet a variety of vibrant opposition parties existed, including the Socialist Party, the Communist Party of India (which won Kerala in 1957), the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and the Swatantra Party, whose criticism helped keep democracy alive.