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 centrepiece of postindependence multi-party system for nearly four decades. However, the Congress has been experiencing a phase of serious decline since the 2014 and 2019 general elections.

Analysing years of political history and contemporary developments, this volume brings to the fore important issues and key themes such as

• Evolution of the 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 the 1990s under P.V. Narasimha 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.