Brings together essays on the national movement and populist politics in India and carries a foreword on the historiography of the nationalist movement.

In the parliamentary system of government, manifestos constitute and represent an important aspect of the democratic electoral politics as statements of a party’s ideology, response and policy. This book offers an examination of election manifestos of different political parties in India at the national level. It explores the manifesto as an input to the policy process and presents a comparative perspective and understanding on the issues and approaches of the national political parties on key affairs. The book traces the evolution of the electoral system, political parties and party manifestos in India as they emerged and developed over time. It looks at the Statutes of 1909, 1919 and 1935 along with the party manifestos and elections until 1945–46. The author further analyses Constituent Assembly debates on the electoral system and the stances of political parties on national reconstruction through documents from parties, including the Indian National Congress, the Communist Party of India, the Socialist Party, Jana Sangh and the All India Scheduled Castes Federation. Covering manifestos of sixteen Lok Sabha Elections (from the first general election of 1952 to 2014), this book provides a comprehensive overview of how major political parties think on significant social, economic, political, foreign and defence-related issues. It will be useful to scholars and researchers of political science, election studies, modern Indian history, public administration, law and governance, sociology, media and journalism as also to legislators and policymakers.

This book presents a systematic analysis of the rise and decline of the Indian National Congress since 1980s, using the frame dominance to hibernation. The Indian National Congress (INC or Congress Party) originated in the national movement for India`s freedom and has since been the centerpiece of post-Independence multiparty system for nearly four decades. However, the Congress has been experiencing a phase of serious decline since the 2014 and 2019 General Elections. Analyzing years of political history and contemporary developments, this volume brings to the fore important issues and key themes such as, • Evolution of party system in India, the contemporary dynamics and movements; • Indian National Congress under Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi; • Ideological and policy reorientation of the party in 1990s under P. V. Narsimha Rao; • Revival of mass membership and organizational elections in the party; • Indian National Congress in the 2000s, under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi; • The 2019 debacle and change in the leadership. A comprehensive work on the history of the Congress Party in India, this volume will be an essential read for scholars and researchers of political science, party politics, Indian politics, sociology, modern Indian history, political sociology, public administration, public policy, South Asian studies, and governance studies.

This revised edition of a classic volume brings together essays on the national movement and populist politics in India and carries a foreword on the histiography of the nationalist movement.