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Congress party suffered its first big reverse in north India in 1967
when it lost power in all states in the region from Himachal Pradesh
in the north-west to West Bengal in the east. This was repeated on
an even bigger scale in 1977 when the debacle led to the loss of
power at the Centre itself for the first time since 1947. On both
occasions, upcoming peasant communities, unable to seize control of
the ruling party, unlike in south India and western India, played a
key role in its rout. The communities are, however, notoriously
fractious and unable to throw up leaders who can stay together,
especially in victory. So they fell apart both times, making it
possible for the Congress to stage a comeback under Indira Gandhi's
leadership in 1969 and in 1980.
This was, however, a temporary
recovery and the old story has been repeated in quick succession in
the 1989 and 1991 polls. Through the defeat in 1989 has not been as
devastating as in 1977, it has been particularly significant on
another count. Almost all leading Brahmin candidates, including
stalwarts such as the former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Narain
Dutt Tiwari and the Bihar Chief Minister Jagannath Mishra have
bitten dust in their own constituencies. The party is thus rendered
leaderless in a fundamental sense.
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