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A large number of political parties always contested elections in our country, as we have seen in the chapter From Colony to Democracy. In the initial years, the Congress party gained overwhelming majority. The Congress party commanded popularity and respect of the people. The party had mass base and grass roots in India. It remained in power both at the centre as well as in the states right from 1947 to 1967 and it had a monolithic character. However, emergence of strong regional parties, politicization of various social groups and their struggle for share in power characterized the political transition and churning in contemporary India and it have made coalition government inevitable at the Federal level.