The two splits in the Congress and its link to Karnataka

Elections in Karnataka are round the corner and all eyes are on whether the BJP will be able to retain power or will the Congress snatch it from them.

When it comes to the politics of Karnataka, it has a long and interesting history. The Congress has always been the dominant force for long, until the rise of the BJP in the late 90s. There are also plenty of interesting facts and the Indian National Congress which split twice has a close connect to the state.

OneIndia caught with renowned psephologist, Dr. Sandeep Shastri to discuss these issues.

Nijalingappa vs Indira:

In the late 1960s when Indira Gandhi was the prime minister, Nijalingappa from Karnataka was the president of the Congress party. There were differences that had arisen between the prime minister and the president of the party. Within party circles, the two groups came to be referred as Syndicate and Indicate, says Dr. Shastri. Following the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri, the party leadership had backed Indira Gandhi as they thought she would be under their control, considering that her opponent Morarji Desai was independent in his thoughts, he says.

However after Indira became the prime minister, she asserted her presence and carved a political space for her self. Problem between Indira and the leadership began at the time of the Presidential elections. The party's leadership wanted Neelam Sanjeeva Reddy as the nominee, but Indira was not in favour of it, Dr Shastri said. The party leadership however had its way and nominated Reddy. Indira on the other hand made then vice-president of India, V V Giri resign and told him to contest as an independent. She told the party leaders to vote as per their conscience and this led to Giri's victory. This formalised the split in the party, says Dr. Shastri.

The split interesting took place in the Glass House in Bengaluru, then Bangalore where a meeting was called for. The Congress then formally split into Congress (R) and Congress (O). The entire development took place as a result of a movement that began because of a leader from Karnataka, Sandeep Shastri said.

Indira vs Urs:

The second split in the Congress also has a Karnataka connect. It began when differences emerged between Devraj Urs and Indira Gandhi. He had helped get voted back to power.

At that time the Janata Party was rising and Indira felt that Urs was not doing enough to defend her agains the criticism. This led to differences between the two leaders, Dr. Shastri explained.

The second split in the Congress started off and crystallised in 1979. The party was split into the Congress (U) and Congress (I). Sandeep Shastri says that the split had an immediate impact and Devraj Urs lost majority, following which Gundu Rao became leader and then chief minister of the state.

The Patil fiasco:

Another incident that became national headlines was the removal of Veerendra Patil as the chief minister of Karnataka. The party was in a very strong position and in the 1989 elections, the Congress went to get a 3/4th majority in Karnataka. Never had this happened before and never did it happen again.

A year later, Patil had a stroke and Rajiv Gandhi announced a new CM. This was however rejected by Patil as a result of which he had to be expelled from the party. The V P Singh government which was at the centre used this as an opportunity to impose president's rule in Karnataka. The Congress had to declare S Bangalarappa as the chief minster, following which president's rule was lifted, says Dr. Sandeep Shastri.