Bridging a growing divide? The Indian National Congress and Indian democracy

The success of the Indian National Congress (INC)-led alliance in the 2004 general elections after years of terminal decline marks a critical juncture in the history of the party and Indian democracy. The 2004 elections were the outcome of a decade-long silent revolt of those who felt left out of the reform process. Efforts by its leadership to achieve organisational and political cohesion while emphasising ideological clarity served to persuade voters that the INC could represent a more inclusive governance approach. However, ever since the INC-led government began implementing social and economic policies designed to pursue the liberalising agenda, it has struggled to reconcile the contradiction between economic reforms that benefit the elite and upper-middle classes and its mass support among the poor who have been the losers in this process. This article examines the structure and pattern of transformation within the INC, both in its policy and strategy and in its organisation and leadership. It considers whether the INC's dual approach of seeking to appease the powerful middle-class constituency while appealing to the economic majority has a deeper strategic purpose of achieving centrism and a broad-based social coalition. It discusses whether this shift in direction signals the arrival of more inclusive development policies to bridge the growing socioeconomic divide and, if so, whether this can be sustained in the long term.