India had more opposition parties than in any other democratic country. But in the first 3 elections the opposition parties were very weak. Even then historically they performed some important functions. Even before independence, there were political parties other than Congress. In the period 1960-70, they played a big role in the growth of India. The coming of the present non-Congress parties is related to the Opposition Parties of the 1950s. They could win only very few seats in the Parliament and the Assemblies. Still they were able to maintain the democratic process ‘ in the country. It also helped the ruling party not to move into undemocratic one-party rule.
In those days the democratic state of our country was exemplary. The Congress leaders and the Opposition leaders had mutual respect for one another. When an adhoc government was formed, leaders of the Opposition parties like Dr Ambedkar and Shyanra Prasad Mukherjee were in the Ministry. Nehru had invited the Socialist leader Jaya Prakash Narayan into his Ministry. But slowly all this changed. Since the Congress Party could not satisfy the needs of its own groups, it led to disunity in the Party.
This made other parties strong. Here are some of the major parties that became prominent during this period.
Communist Party of India:
This came into existence in the 1920s. The prominent leaders were A.K. Gopalan, SA. Dange, EMS Namboodiripad, P.C. Ghosh and P. Sundarayya. In the beginning it worked in the shadow of the Congress Party. A change came when the Communist Party supported Britain against Nazi Germany. Different from the other non-Congress Parties, the Communist Party was well organized and the members were highly devoted to the Party and they were willing to undertake fresh activities. The Party was of the opinion that the independence the country got in 1947 was not real independence.
Although it gave support to the Telangana Revolts, it did not get enough popular approval. In 1951, they abandoned the principle of armed struggle, and decided to participate in the elections.. In the first election they won 16 seats. It thus became the largest Opposition Party in the Lok Sabha. The Party had strong bases in Andhra, West Bengal, Bihar and Kerala. Because of the ideological rift between the Soviet Union and China, in 1964 the Communist Party of India was split into two. One was known as the Communist Party of India and the other was known as CPI (Marxist). They continue to work as CPI and CPM.
Bhartiva Jan Sanqh:
It was founded in 1951. The important leaders were Shyama Prasad Mukherjee, Deen Dayal Upadhyaya and Balraj Madhok. BJS is different from other political parties because of their ideas and schemes.
- They stress the ideology of one country, one culture and one nation.
- For India’s progress and growth, they want to fall back upon its culture and traditions.
- They want he reunification of India and Pakistan. Thus they have the concept of a greater, undivided India.
- They organized many protests insisting that Hindi should be the only official language of India.
- They do not want to give any kind of concessions to religious and cultural minorities.
- They want India to have atomic weapons.
In the first two elections, the BJS could get only very few votes. In 1952 and 1957 they gained 3 and 4 seats respectively. In the beginning their supporters were mainly from the Hindi-speaking States – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Delhi, and UR The BJP originated from the BJS.
Swatantra Party:
It was established in August 1959. Prominent leaders were C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Munshi, M.G. Ranga and Minoo Masani. The Swatantra Party was formed in the light of the economic policy declared by the Nagpur Conference of the Congress. This Party was formed mainly to solve the economic problems of the country.
The following were its policies:
- The Government should not make economic controls.
- Progress will come only through individual freedom.
- Governmental interference in economic matters, Central Planning, Nationalization, Public Sector Undertakings etc. will be against national progress.
- Encourage Private Sector.
- In the agricultural sector, the Party is against land ceilings, and trading with government interference.
- It is against increasing income tax and licensing of industries.
- It is against Russia and the Non Aligned Movement.
- It wanted to establish more cordial relations with America.
As the interests of many groups were voiced by this Party, it received some strength. Many rulers of various Principalities, landowners, industrialists and businessmen supported this Party. They were not in favour of nationalization and land reforms. But because of its narrow social base and lack of sincere efforts from its members, it never grew into a popular party
