Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress is one of the two major political parties in India, along with the other major political party, the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Congress Party is a "big tent" political party whose platform is usually regarded to be in the centre of Indian politics in terms of ideological orientation. The party supports secular policies that promote equal opportunity, the right to health, civil liberty and the welfare of poorer sections and minorities, while also supporting a mixed economy in terms of economic policy. As of 2021, it has won an outright majority in seven of the 17 general elections held since independence and has served as the leader of the governing coalition on three more occasions, putting it in charge of the central government for more than 54 years. There have been six Prime Ministers of the Congress Party, the first of whom was Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–1964) and the most recent of whom was Manmohan Singh (2004–2014).

Congress was established on December 28, 1885, in Bombay, India, as a meeting place for political-minded people who were engaged in social change. Congress was not interested in fighting for independence or self-rule during its first twenty years, known as the'moderate period,' but rather in advocating for greater political autonomy under the British Raj. From the late nineteenth century forward, and particularly after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress grew increasingly outspoken and aggressive in its demands for significant political change, and ultimately emerged as the primary leader of the Indian independence struggle. Congress was the driving force for India's independence from the United Kingdom and had a significant impact on other anti-colonial nationalist movements across the British Empire. A contemporary nationalist movement was born in the British Empire's colonies in Asia and Africa, making it the world's first modern nationalist movement.

In 1969, there was a schism within the Congress party that resulted in a split. Indira Gandhi formed her own party, the Congress (R), in order to show her popularity among the people. The other faction was the Congress (N) (O). In the 1971 general election, the Congress (R) had won 352 out of 518 seats in the Lok Sabha, securing a landslide victory. The Congress (R) also did well in the elections for five state legislatures, which were held in November. The Congress, on the other hand, suffered a crushing loss in the 1977 national election (R). Indira Gandhi split from the Congress (R) in 1978, forming her own Congress (I) group, which was ultimately recognised as the legitimate Indian National Congress by the Indian electoral commission in 1981. Indira Gandhi died in 1989.

When the Congress party won the 2004 general elections, it marked the party's return to power after an unprecedented eight-year absence from power. The United Progressive Alliance (UPA), a coalition founded by the Congress and headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, established a government in January 2009. Following that, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) re-took control of the government after winning the 2009 general elections with good results in Kerala, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, among other states. Having served a full five-year term as Prime Minister, Singh became the first Indian Prime Minister since Jawaharlal Nehru in 1962 to be re-elected. However, in the 2014 general election, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) suffered a crushing loss, gaining just 55 seats out of the 543-member Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India). As of June 2021, the party and its allies are in control of six legislative bodies, including the House of Representatives.

61 different individuals have held the position of president since the organization's inception in 1947. Sonia Gandhi has been the party's president for the longest period of time, having served in the position for more than two decades from 1998 to 2017 and since 2019. The district party is the lowest functional unit of the United States House of Representatives. In addition, there is a Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC), which is active at the state level in each state. The All India Congress Committee is comprised of representatives from the districts and PCCs who work together (AICC). Aside from that, the party is divided into a number of committees and divisions.