Growth of other Political Parties

Through the 1950s and 1960s the Congress party ruled at the Centre and in most of the states. The people voted for the Congress mainly because they saw it as the legatee of the freedom struggle and because its leaders were perceived to be individuals of character and integrity. Perhaps the first time people exercised their right of choice for a party other than the Congress was when they voted the Communists into power in Kerala in 1957. Then, in 1963, three notable opponents of the Congress were elected to the Lok Sabha, namely, the socialist Rammanohar Lohia, the liberal M. R. Masani, and the Gandhian Acharya Kripalani. All this signified that the people of India were getting well acquainted with the mores of democracy.

The period also saw the start and growth of political parties other than the Congress and the Communist Party of India and notable changes within the communist groups.