Indian National Congress

The Indian National Congress ( pronunciation ) (INC, often called the Congress), is one of two major political parties in India; the other being the Bharatiya Janata Party. Congress is one of the largest and oldest democratically run political parties in the world. The party was founded in 1885 during the British Raj; its founders include Allan Octavian Hume (a prominent member of the Theosophical Society), Dadabhai Naoroji and Dinshaw Wacha. In the late nineteenth and early to mid-twentieth centuries, Congress became a pivotal participant in the Indian Independence Movement, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants in its opposition to British colonial rule in India.

After independence in 1947, Congress became India's dominant political party; as of 2015, in the 15 general elections since independence, it has won an outright majority on six occasions and has led the ruling coalition a further four times, heading the central government for 49 years. There have been seven Congress Prime Ministers, the first being Jawaharlal Nehru (1947–64), and the most recent Manmohan Singh (2004–14). The party's social liberal platform is generally considered to be on the centre-left of Indian politics.

Nationalist Congress Party

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is a centrist nationalist political party in India. Its youth wing is the Nationalist Youth Congress.

Background

The NCP was formed on 25 May 1999, by Sharad Pawar, P. A. Sangma, and Tariq Anwar after they were expelled from the Indian National Congress (INC) on 20 May 1999, for disputing the right of Italian-born Sonia Gandhi to lead the party. At the time of formation, the party also absorbed Indian Congress (Socialist), which traced its origins to anti-coalition partner in the state of Maharashtra in alliance with INC. On 20 June 2012, Sangma quit the NCP to contest in presidential polls.

Party symbol

The Election Symbol of NCP is an analogue clock that reads 10:10. The clock is drawn in blue and has two legs and an alarm button. It is situated on a tri-coloured Indian flag. This symbol used by the NCP is prominent and denotes that the NCP will keep fighting for its principles throughout, no matter how difficult the situation. The Nationalist Congress Party represents the thoughts and concerns of the common man. It symbolizes the ideals of speaking on behalf of the ordinary citizens of India. In this, the NCP must carry on its good work among the masses and for them, throughout the year, as the symbol signifies. This way, it will uphold the true traditions of India's greatest leaders who gave India its independence.

Congress Party

Congress Party may refer to:

Sharad Pawar

Sharad Govindrao Pawar (born 12 December 1940) is an Indian politician who serves as the president of the Nationalist Congress Party which he founded in 1999, after separating from the Indian National Congress. He previously served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra on three separate occasions and held the posts of Minister of Defence and Minister of Agriculture in the Government of India. Pawar hails from the town of Baramati in the Pune district of Maharashtra. He is a member of the Rajya Sabha where he leads the NCP delegation. He holds a position of prominence in national politics as well as the regional politics of Maharashtra.

Pawar has served as the Chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India from 2005 to 2008 and as the president of the International Cricket Council from 2010 to 2012. On 17 June 2015, he was re-elected as president of the Mumbai Cricket Association, a position he held from 2001 to 2010 and in 2012.

Early life and family

Pawar was born to Govindrao Pawar, who was employed in the Baramati Farmers' Cooperative (Sahakari Kharedi Vikri Sangh), and Shardabai Pawar, who looked after the family farm at Katewadi, ten kilometres from Baramati. Pawar studied at Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC), University of Pune.

Congress

A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different nations, constituent states, independent organizations (such as trade unions), or groups.

The term was chosen for the Continental Congress to emphasize the status of each colony represented there as a self-governing unit. Subsequent to the use of congress by the U.S. legislature, the term has been adopted by many states within unions, and by unitary nation-states in the Americas, to refer to their legislatures.

Political congress

Congresses of nations

The following congresses were formal meetings of representatives of different nations:

Congresses within nations

Countries with Congresses and presidential systems: