The Indian National Congress (INC),colloquially the Congress Party or simply the Congress,is a political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885,it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa. From the late 19th century,and especially after 1920,under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,the Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement. The Congress led India to independence from the United Kingdom,and significantly influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire.
Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna is an Indian politician who served as Minister of External Affairs of India from 2009 to October 2012. He was the 10th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1999 to 2004 and the 19th Governor of Maharashtra from 2004 to 2008. SM Krishna had served as the Speaker of the Karnataka Vidhan Sabha from December 1989 to January 1993. He was also a member of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha at various times from 1971 to 2014. In 2023,Krishna was awarded the Padma Vibhushan,the second highest civilian award of India.
Jairam Ramesh is an Indian politician belonging to INC. He is a Member of Parliament representing Karnataka state in the Rajya Sabha. In July 2011,Jairam was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers of India and appointed Minister of Rural Development and Minister of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. However,in the cabinet reshuffle in October 2012,he was divested of the portfolio of Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. He was previously the Indian Minister of State at the Ministry of Environment and Forests from May 2009 to July 2011.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousand members. It is the AICC that elects members of the Congress Working Committee and the Congress President,who is also the head of the AICC.
Siddaramaiah,also referred to by his nickname Siddu,is an Indian politician who is serving as the 22nd Chief Minister of Karnataka from 20 May 2023. He also held that position previously from 2013 to 2018,being only the second person to hold that office for a full five-year term. He belongs to the Indian National Congress and is presently the leader of the Congress Legislative Party. He represented the Varuna Assembly constituency from 2023,previously from 2008 to 2018,Badami Assembly constituency from 2018 to 2023,and from Chamundeshwari Assembly constituency from 2004 to 2007,1994 to 1999 and from 1983 to 1989 in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He served as the Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka from 1996 to 1999 and from 2004 to 2005 while he was a member of the Janata Dal and Janata Dal (Secular). He also served as the Leader of the Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Assembly on two occasions from 2019 to 2023 and from 2009 to 2013. Siddaramaiah was a member of various Janata Parivar factions for several years.
Although India is a parliamentary democracy,the country's politics has become dynastic or with high level of nepotism,possibly due to the absence of party organizations,independent civil-society associations which mobilize support for a party,or centralized financing of elections. The dynastic phenomenon is present at the national,state,regional,and district level. The Nehru–Gandhi family has produced three Indian prime ministers,and family members have largely led the Congress party since 1978. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also has several dynastic leaders. In addition to the major national parties,other national and regional parties such as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK),Shiromani Akali Dal,Shiv Sena,Samajwadi Party,Rashtriya Janata Dal,Janata Dal Secular,Jharkhand Mukti Morcha,Kerala Congress,Jammu &Kashmir National Conference,Indian Union Muslim League,AIMIM,and the Nationalist Congress Party are all dominated by families,mostly those of the party founders.
Sarat Chandra Bose was an Indian barrister and independence activist.
Ekkadu Srinivasan Lakshmi Narasimhan is an Indian former civil servant and politician who served as the first Governor of Telangana. He assumed office of the Governor of Andhra Pradesh on 8 December 2009 until 23 July 2019 making him the longest-serving governor of the state. Later he took on 2 June 2014 as the 1st Governor of Telangana as additional charge. A retired Indian Police Service officer,he previously served as the Director of the Intelligence Bureau from February 2005 to December 2006. He also served as the Governor of Chhattisgarh from 2007 to 2009. Narasimhan served as governor for 12 years making him the longest-serving governor in India.
Subburaman Thirunavukkarasar is an Indian politician. He was the State President of Tamil Nadu Congress Committee till 2 February 2019 and former secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) of the Indian National Congress (INC) party. His introduction to politics in 1977 was facilitated by former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu,M. G. Ramachandran. Ramachandran founded the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) in 1972 and was facing his first elections for the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly election in 1977. He identified Thirunavukkarasar,a lawyer by profession,to contest the Aranthangi assembly constituency. Thirunavukkarasar won the seat,aged 27,and was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. He continued in that capacity till 1980. Subsequently,he served as Tamil Nadu state minister from 1980 to 1987 in the MGR cabinet,holding portfolios that included Industries,Housing Board,Excise and Handlooms. Later,he became a member of the Lok Sabha –the lower house of the Parliament of India –when he won the erstwhile Pudukottai Lok Sabha constituency. He served as Union Minister of state for shipping and later for telecommunications and information technology.
Kalvakuntla Chandrashekar Rao,frequently known by his initials KCR,is an Indian politician currently representing the Gajwel Assembly constituency and serving as the leader of the opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly. He is the founder and leader of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi,a state party in India. After heading the Telangana Movement,he was the first Chief Minister of Telangana and held the position for almost 10 years.
Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge is an Indian lawyer and politician serving as the President of the Indian National Congress since 2022,and Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha since 2021. He has been a Member of Parliament,Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 2020.
Duddilla Sridhar Babu is an Indian politician from Indian National Congress and is a member of the Telangana Assembly from Manthani Constituency,Peddapalli district which he won for the fifth time as MLA in December 2023. He is a senior Minister in the Telangana Government holding the crucial portfolios of Information Technology,Electronics &Communication,Industry &Commerce and Legislative Affairs. Sridhar Babu is one of the senior most leaders in the Telangana Congress Party,and was an AICC All India Congress Committee Secretary attached to the AICC General Secretary,in charge of Karnataka from July 2022 to August 2024. He was the Minister for Civil Supplies,Consumer Affairs,Legal Metrology and Legislative Affairs in the United Government of Andhra Pradesh prior to that state being divided.
Dinesh Gundu Rao is an Indian politician of Indian National Congress from Karnataka. He is serving as the Minister for Health and Family Welfare in the Government of Karnataka. He is also the Incharge of All India Congress Committee of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He was the President of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and the member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly.
Yeduguri Sandinti Sharmila Reddy,commonly referred to as Y. S. Sharmila,is an Indian politician serving as 24th and current president of the Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee,a unit of Indian National Congress political party. She is the younger sister of Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy and the daughter of Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy and Y. S. Vijayamma.
GangadharaiahParameshwara is an Indian politician who is currently serving as the Home Minister of Karnataka since 27 May 2023. He has also served as the seventh Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka,and longest-serving President of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee for two consecutive terms.
Ajay Maken is a politician from the Indian National Congress party. He is the treasurer of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) and member of the Congress Working Committee (CWC). A three time member of the Parliament of India and three time MLA,Delhi Legislative Assembly,formerly a minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a minister in the cabinet of Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Alluri Satyanarayana Raju was a prominent figure in Indian history and the freedom struggle against British rule. Born in 1913 to Somaraju and Sooramma in the Alluri family of Narasapuram in the Valamarru village,Alluri Satyanarayana Raju's life journey was marked by unwavering dedication to the cause of India's freedom struggle. He was also associated with significant endeavors in literature,education,rural development,and public works.
Mohammed Ali Shabbir is an Indian politician who had served as the Opposition Leader of Telangana Legislative Council from 4 April 2015 to 22 December 2018.
The Indian National Congress is known as the Grand Old Party of India. The party had ruled India for most of its post independence period for nearly 54 years. The party led coalition United Progressive Alliance is in opposition bench in 16th Lok Sabha and 17th Lok Sabha against the National Democratic Alliance. The party is contesting the elections with the promise of upholding Nyay (justice),secularism,federalism,pluralism,democracy and constitutionalism.
Bharat Jodo Yatra was a mass movement which was held by the Indian National Congress. Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi orchestrated the movement by encouraging the party cadre and the public to walk from Kanyakumari at the southern tip of India to the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir,a journey of 4,080 kilometres over almost 150 days.
Indian National Congress