Question

Highlight the importance of the strategy of 'Non-Congressism' forwarded by Ram Manohar Lohia in the 1967 general election.

Answer 1

The fourth general election, held in 1967, was the first held without Nehru. Before 1967, Congress was the dominant party, but that was likely to change after the election. Several non-Congress parties banded together to bring down Congress.

They realized that their disintegration allowed Congress to remain in power. As a result, they banded together to form the Samyukt Vidhayak Dal, a large alliance. The Congress Party won the Lok Sabha election despite having the worst performance ever. Many states voted against Congress. Influential members of Congress were demoted.

Many Congress leaders left the party to join the opposing party. Local politics gained traction. For the first time in Tamil Nadu, a non-Congress party won on its own. The 1967 elections revealed a new element that was never revealed again. Defection and coalition played important roles, and new elements emerged in electoral politics.

This situation could not have been isolated from the country's party politics. In some states, opposition parties banded together to form anti-Congress fronts. Ram Manohar Lohia coined the term "non-Congressism" to describe this strategy. He claimed that Congress' rule was undemocratic and opposed ordinary people's interests. As a result, non-Congress parties were required to reclaim democracy for the people.