The socio-economic and political context of the 1967 elections had a profound impact on its electoral verdict. In the light of the above statement explain the context of 1967 elections.

OR

Analyze the reasons responsible for the spilt of Congress in 1969.

The year 1967 is considered a landmark year in India's political and electoral history. The Congress party was the widespread political force throughout the country from 1952 onwards. This trend was to undergo significant changes with the 1967 elections.

• This period was burdened with grave economic crisis resulting from the successive failure of monsoons, widespread droughts, decline in agricultural production, serious food shortage, depletion of the foreign exchange reserve, and drop in industrial production combined with a sharp rise in military expenditure and diversion of resources from planning and economic development.

• The economic situation triggered off price rise. People started protesting against the increase in prices of indispensable commodities, food scarcity and growing unemployment and overall economic condition of the country. Moreover, the communist and socialist launched struggles for greater equality.

• Politically a wave of ‘non congressism"swept all across the country. Parties divergent to Congress realized that the division of their votes kept Congress in power. Thus parties that were entirely different and dissimilar in their programmers' and ideology got together to form anti-Congress fronts in different states.

OR

Reasons responsible for the split of the Congress in 1969 was:

• The real challenge to Indira Gandhi came not from the opposition but from within her own party. She had to deal with the ‘syndicate', a group of powerful and influential leaders from within Congress. The Syndicate had played a role in the installation of Indira Gandhi as the Prime Minister by ensuring her election as the leader of the parliamentary party. These leaders expected Indira Gandhi to follow their advice.

• She converted simple power struggle into an ideological struggle. She launched a series of initiatives to give the government policy a Left orientation. She got the Congress Working Committee to adopt a Ten Point Programme in May 1967. While the‘syndicate' leaders formally approved this Left-wing programme, they had serious reservations about the same.

• Morarji Desai resigned as Deputy PM and Finance Minister, as serious differences arose between the two leaders over Indira Gandhi's decision of abolition of "Privy purse" and several other big socialist measures and her support to V V. Giri to file his nomination for Presidential elections.

• The post of President of India fell vacant in 1969 after the death of Zakir Hussain. Despite Mrs Gandhi's reservation, Syndicate managed to nominate her longtime opponent, N. Sanjeeva Reddy, as the official candidate for the ensuing Presidential elections. Indira Gandhi retaliated by encouraging the then Vice President V.V.Giri to file his nomination as an Independent candidate

• By November 1969, the Congress group led by the ‘syndicate’ came to be referred to as the Congress (Organization) and the group led by Indira Gandhi came to be called the Congress (Requisitionists). These two parties were also described as Old Congress and New Congress.