Congress Party's Rollercoaster Ride From 1951-2019!

The grand old Congress party has a big legacy to its name. It almost dominated the political landscape in the country. In some states, it was the sole party to come to power until the new parties came to light. This was the impact it had. Congress is also dubbed as one of the longest-surviving parties in the world.

Congress had a roller coaster ride in the elections from 1951 to now. In the first elections after the country became free from British rule, Congress won as many as 364 seats with a vote percentage of around 45 percent. The seats counter went further in the next elections with 371 seats.

There was a dip and rise in the seats the party won in the next elections. Congress had managed to win 361 seats in the 1962 elections. In the next elections, the Congress won in just 283 seats by losing around 100 seats. In the 1971 elections, Congress won 352 seats and went past the 350 mark again.

In 1977 the Congress managed to win around half the number of seats it won in 1971 as it won just 154 seats. 1980 saw another rise of Congress as the party won 353 seats. In 1984, Congress recorded its highest performance as it went past the 400 mark with 404 seats. Congress is the only party to win 400 or 400+ seats in the country.

In 1989 the Congress party got just half the seats with 197 seats. In 1991 it won 232 seats. In 1996, the Congress party was restricted to just 140 seats, and 141 seats in 1998. In 1999, the Congress tasted a big defeat as it won just 114 seats. In 2004 the party won 145 seats and came to power at the Centre. In 2009 it won 206 seats. It was the last time the Congress was in power at the Centre.

Congress party's truffles started in 2014. The party lost power as it had managed to win just 44 seats and 52 seats in 2019. The UPA alliance also lost fewer seats. BJP came to power in the two terms. The Lok Sabha elections will be held soon and we have to see how many seats Congress wins.