INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
INDIAN NATIONAL CONGRESS (INC) - party founded in 1885 on the basis of social and political associations that existed in various regions of India. In the early days of its existence, the Congress represented the interests of national entrepreneurship and the educated sections of Indian society. Subsequently, it brought together representatives of various social, caste and ethno-confessional affiliations. The INC is a centre-left party and adheres to the ideology of social democracy and social liberalism. The ideologist of the Congress was Mahatma Gandhi, whose views formed the basis of the program and activities of the congressists. The INC is striving to achieve democracy, prosperity and development of the Indian people, the creation of a socialist state in India by peaceful and constitutional means, maintain social justice and equality in a secular society, ensuring equality of opportunity and political, economic and social rights. After the proclamation of independence in 1947, the INC became the leading political party offering opportunities to important state figures. Until 1977, the INC was the ruling party. In 1996-2004, Congress was the main opposition party. The party won the elections in 2004, forming the United Progressive Alliance with Sonia Gandhi as the chairperson. From 2004 to 2014, the United Progressive Alliance, a coalition of Congress with several regional parties, formed an Indian government led by Manmohan Singh, the prime minister, as head of the coalition government. Party leader Sonia Gandhi has held the longest term as party president (1998-2017; 2019-present). In 2012, INC and United Russia signed an agreement on the development of cooperation. In 2019, the party is in power in six legislatures. As of 2020, Congress is in power in the states of Chhattisgarh, Punjab and Rajasthan, where the party has a majority. The youth wing of the party is the Indian Youth Congress, founded in 1960 by Rahul Gandhi. INC is headquartered in the capital of the Republic of India, New Delhi. The number of party members is over 20,000,000. Official website of the party: http://www.inc.in/en