📘 Class 12 Political Science – Chapter 2
🌟 Era of One-Party Dominance
🏛️ Challenge of Building Democracy
- 🗳️ Election Commission of India was set-up in January 1950.
- 👤 Sukumar Sen became the first Chief Election Commissioner.
- 🌏 India’s vast size (बड़ा आकार) and low literacy rate (कम साक्षरता) were major challenges to hold the first general elections (1952).
- ✅ Despite difficulties, elections were held successfully in 1952.
🗳️ Changing Methods of Voting
- 📥 First General Election (1952): Each polling booth had a separate box for each candidate with their election symbol.
- 💻 By 2004: Entire country shifted to Electronic Voting Machine (EVM).
🏆 First Three General Elections
- 🌟 Congress dominance in first three elections (1952, 1957, 1962).
- Popular leaders ➝ Jawaharlal Nehru, C. Rajagopalachari, Vallabhbhai Patel.
- ✊ Congress popularity linked with Civil Disobedience Movement (असहयोग आंदोलन).
- 🟥 Kerala (1957):
- Communist Party came to power first time in the world through democratic elections.
- First Non-Congress Government formed after independence.
📊 Nature of Congress Dominance
- ✅ Dominance existed within democratic conditions (लोकतांत्रिक स्थिति).
- 🏞️ Congress roots were linked with freedom struggle (स्वतंत्रता संग्राम).
- 🌈 It acted as a social coalition (सामाजिक गठबंधन) – included different castes, classes, religions, languages & interests.
- 💪 This coalition character gave Congress extraordinary strength.
🤝 Tolerance and Management of Factions
- 🔹 Factions (गुट): Groups within party with diverse ideologies or personal rivalries.
- 🔹 Some were based on ideological differences, others on personal ambitions.
- 🌐 Congress acted as a broad umbrella party, tolerating and encouraging factions.
🌐 Emergence of Opposition Parties (विपक्षी दलों का उदय)
- ✨ Roots of almost all Non-Congress parties of today can be traced to opposition parties of 1950s.
- 📝 These parties gave principled criticism (सिद्धांत आधारित आलोचना) of Congress policies & practices.
- ⚖️ They kept the ruling party in check and often changed balance of power inside Congress.
🔴 Socialist Party (समाजवादी पार्टी)
- 📅 Formed in 1934 as Congress Socialist Party (CSP) within Congress.
- 👥 Group of young leaders wanted a radical (कट्टरपंथी) & egalitarian (समानतावादी) Congress.
- 📅 In 1948, Congress amended Constitution → banned dual membership → Socialists formed a separate party.
- ⚡ Criticism: Congress favoured capitalists & landlords, ignored workers & peasants.
🌹 Communist Party of India (CPI)
- 🟥 Emerged in 1920s → inspired by Bolshevik Revolution (Russia).
- 📅 In 1951, CPI abandoned violent revolution and decided to contest elections.
- 👤 Key Leaders ➝ A.K. Gopalan, S.A. Dange, E.M.S. Namboodiripad, P.C. Joshi, Ajay Ghosh, P. Sundarraya.
🟠 Bhartiya Jana Sangh (BJS)
- 📅 Founded in 1951 by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (Founder President).
- 🌏 Ideology: One country, one culture, one nation.
- 💪 Belief: India could become modern, progressive & strong on the basis of Indian culture & traditions.
🔵 Swatantra Party (स्वतंत्र पार्टी)
- 📅 Formed in August 1959.
- 👥 Leaders: C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Munshi, N.G. Ranga, Minoo Masani.
- ⚡ Critical of:
- State intervention in economy (राज्य का हस्तक्षेप)
- Centralised planning
- Nationalisation
- Public sector
- ✅ Favoured free private sector expansion (निजी क्षेत्र का विस्तार).
📝 FACTS THAT MATTER
1️⃣ Role of Politics after Independence
- Leaders realised politics 🗳️ plays a critical role in democracy.
- Politics was seen as a method to solve problems and decide public interest.(Politics = समस्याओं का हल निकालने और जनहित तय करने का तरीका)
2️⃣ Election Commission of India (1950)
- Established in January 1950 ✅
- Sukumar Sen became the first Chief Election Commissioner.
- Tasks:
- Drawing boundaries of constituencies 🗺️
- Preparing electoral rolls 📋
- Ensuring free & fair elections
3️⃣ First General Election (1952)
- Became a landmark event 🌏
- Features:
- Competitiveness
- Mass participation 🙋♂️
- Fair results
- Proved critics wrong who said elections were impossible in conditions of poverty & illiteracy.
4️⃣ Congress Victory & States’ Exceptions
- In 1952 elections, Congress scored a big victory 🏆.
- But it was not in power in states like:
- Travancore–Cochin (Kerala) 🌴
- Madras 🏛️
- Orissa 🐘
- Congress dominance due to:
- Link with freedom struggle ✊
- Charismatic leaders (Nehru, Patel, etc.) 🌟
- Broad inclusive manifesto 📑
- Ability of consensus building
5️⃣ Congress: From A.O. Hume to Coalition Party
- Founded in 1885 by A.O. Hume.
- Initially: a platform to express discontentment.
- Later: became a social & ideological coalition accommodating:
- Different social groups
- Individuals with diverse beliefs
- Even before independence, other organisations existed within Congress.
6️⃣ Factions in Congress
- Factions = Groups within the party (गुटबाज़ी).
- Based on:
- Ideological differences
- Personal ambitions / rivalries
- Congress encouraged & tolerated such factions → made it coalition-like.
7️⃣ Emergence of Opposition Parties
- Before 1952, many vibrant opposition parties emerged.
- Importance:
- Kept ruling party under check 🔎
- Prevented resentment
- Groomed new leaders 🌱
- Created mutual respect among ruling & opposition leaders.
8️⃣ Socialist Party (1934 → 1948)
- Formed inside Congress in 1934 by Acharya Narendra Dev.
- In 1948, separated as Socialist Party.
- Ideology: Democratic Socialism (लोकतांत्रिक समाजवाद).
- Criticised: Capitalism & landlordism.
9️⃣ Communist Party of India (CPI)
- Emerged in 1920s, inspired by Bolshevik Revolution (Russia).
- Ideology: Communism = Secular, modern, authoritarian.
- By 1951: abandoned violent revolution, started participating in elections.
🔟 Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) – 1951
- Founded by Shyama Prasad Mukherjee.
- Ideology:
- One country, one culture, one nation 🇮🇳
- Advocated Akhand Bharat (India–Pakistan reunion).
1️⃣1️⃣ Swatantra Party (1959)
- Formed after Nagpur Resolution of Congress (called for land ceilings).
- Leaders: C. Rajagopalachari, K.M. Munshi, N.G. Ranga, Minoo Masani.
- Ideology:
- Favoured free economy 💰
- Wanted less government control
- Supported closer ties with USA 🌎
✨ WORDS THAT MATTER (महत्वपूर्ण शब्दावली)
🔹 Electronic Voting Machine (EVM)
👉 A voting machine used to record voters’ preferences (चुनाव में मतदाताओं की पसंद) electronically.
📌 It replaced the traditional ballot box system.
🔹 First Past the Post System (FPTP)
👉 A simple majority system (साधारण बहुमत प्रणाली) in which the candidate who gets the maximum number of votes is declared elected.
🔹 Ideological Oriented Party
👉 A political party where policies and decisions are formulated based on ideology (विचारधारा पर आधारित दल).
🔹 Interest-Oriented Party
👉 A party that protects and promotes particular interests (जैसे जाति, समुदाय, क्षेत्र, जनजाति आदि).
🔹 Charismatic Leader Oriented Party
👉 A party where the leader has a very strong position (मजबूत नेतृत्व वाली पार्टी) and becomes the central figure (केंद्रबिंदु) of the party.
