Analyse the consequences of the defeat of the official Congress candidate in the Presidential election of 1969.

The defeat of the official Congress candidate in the Presidential election of 1969 led to the split of the Congress following long time tension between Indira Gandhi and Sanjeeva Reddy. At the time of the death of Dr. Zakir Hussain the post of the President became vacant. To compete for this post were the rivals within the party i.e. Indira Gandhi and Sanjeeva Reddy. Sanjeeva Reddy managed to get support from the party members and won as the official candidate when Indira Gandhi who was the Prime Minister called for a ‘conscience vote’. In conscience vote, a MP or MLA is free to choose any person they want. As the Congress President terminated Indira Gandhi from her position it led to a split of the Congress party.