Subsequently, the UPA again formed the government after winning the 2009 general elections, and Singh became the first prime minister since Indira Gandhi in 1971 to be re-elected after completing a full five-year term.

However, under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi in the 2014 general election, the Congress suffered a heavy defeat, winning only 44 seats of the 543-member Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Parliament of India).

[40] In 1883, Allan Octavian Hume, a retired British Civil Servant also known for his pro-Indian activities, outlined his idea for a body representing Indian interests in an open letter to graduates of the University of Calcutta.

Hume initiated contact with prominent leaders in India and a notice convening the first meeting of the Indian National Union to be held in Poona the following December, was issued.

[46][47] Notable representatives included Scottish ICS officer William Wedderburn, Dadabhai Naoroji, Badruddin Tyabji and Pherozeshah Mehta of the Bombay Presidency Association, Ganesh Vasudeo Joshi of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, social reformer and newspaper editor Gopal Ganesh Agarkar, Justice K. T. Telang, N. G. Chandavarkar, Dinshaw Wacha, Behramji Malabari, journalist, and activist Gooty Kesava Pillai, and P. Rangaiah Naidu of the Madras Mahajana Sabha.

This division marked the early phase of Congress, as different leaders and members had varied visions for the future of India, ranging from moderate reforms to a push for full sovereignty.

A division arose between the Moderates, led by Gopal Krishna Gokhale, who believed in a peaceful and constitutional approach to achieve reforms and self-governance within the framework of the British Empire, and the Extremists.

Emerging as a result of the partition of Bengal in 1905, the extremist group believed in direct action and criticized the moderate approach, advocating for more assertive and aggressive means to achieve self-rule (Swaraj).

They were less willing to compromise with the British and focused on building mass support, instilling in them a sense of self-respect, self-reliance, pride in their ancient heritage and national unity to attain their objectives.

[70] He formed an alliance with the Khilafat Movement in 1920 as part of his opposition to British rule in India,[71] and fought for the rights for Indians using civil disobedience or Satyagraha as the tool for agitation.

As a result of prevailing nationalism, Gandhi's popularity, and the party's attempts at eradicating caste differences, untouchability, poverty, and religious and ethnic divisions, Congress became a forceful and dominant group.

[82] Congress Ministers resigned in October and November 1939 in protest against Viceroy Lord Linlithgow's declaration that India was a belligerent in World War II without consulting the Indian people.

[101] Nehru embraced secularism, socialistic economic practices based on state-driven industrialisation, and a non-aligned and non-confrontational foreign policy that became typical of the modern Congress Party.

[102] The policy of non-alignment during the Cold War meant Nehru received financial and technical support from both the Eastern and Western Blocs to build India's industrial base from nothing.

In the mid-term 1971 Indian general election, the Gandhi-led Congress (R) won a landslide victory on a platform of progressive policies such as the elimination of poverty (Garibi Hatao).

[143] On 12 June 1975, the High Court of Allahabad declared Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's parliament, void on the grounds of electoral malpractice.

In response to increasing disorder and lawlessness, Gandhi's ministry recommended that President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a State of Emergency, based on the provisions of Article 352 of the Constitution.

[159] In June 1984, after several futile negotiations, Gandhi ordered the Indian Army to enter the Golden Temple to establish control over the complex and remove Bhindranwale and his armed followers.

[162][163][164][165] Congress Party MP, Sajjan Kumar, was convicted in two cases for instigating and leading a mob to attack and murder Sikh civilians during the Anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi.

[203] By the 2014 election, the party had lost much of its popular support, mainly due to several years of poor economic conditions in the country, and growing discontent over a series of corruption allegations involving government officials, including the 2G spectrum case and the Indian coal allocation scam, as well as the ineptness towards national security, particularly the insensitivity in the aftermath of the 2011 Mumbai bombings.

The Congress Working Committee met on 10 August to make a final decision on the matter and passed a resolution asking Sonia Gandhi to take over as interim president until a consensus candidate could be picked.

[213] Based on an analysis of the candidates' poll affidavits, a report by the National Election Watch (NEW) and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) says that, the Congress has highest political defection rate since 2014.

[248] The MGNREGA was initiated with the objective of "enhancing livelihood security in rural areas by providing at least 100 days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year, to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work."

[250] Subsequently, his government faced heavy criticism over the passing of The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Act 1986, which nullified the Supreme Court's judgment in the Shah Bano case.

Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which, among other things, criminalizes homosexuality; former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said, "Sexuality is a matter of personal freedom and should be left to individuals".

The reforms were implemented during a time when India grappled with a balance of payments crisis, elevated inflation, underperforming public sector undertakings (PSUs), and a substantial fiscal deficit.

[299] Manmohan Singh's administration initiated a massive reconstruction effort in Kashmir to stabilize the region and strengthened anti-terrorism laws with amendments to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

[311] Throughout much of the Cold War period, Congress supported a foreign policy of non-alignment that called for India to form ties with both the Western and Eastern Blocs, but to avoid formal alliances with either.

[317] During Afghan President Hamid Karzai's visit to New Delhi in August 2008, Manmohan Singh increased the aid package to Afghanistan for the development of schools, health clinics, infrastructure, and defence.

[350][351] The Congress party has played a pivotal role in shaping India's political landscape, with prominent leaders such as Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, and Manmohan Singh as serving the country's longest-serving prime ministers and contributing significantly to the nation's development.