Congress and BJP are two of the most influential political parties in India. The Indian National Congress or Congress as we know it today is the oldest political party having been founded in 1885 by A. O. Hume. It played a very strong, in fact pivotal role in freedom movement of the country and has ruled the country along with coalition parties for a major part since independence.
The Bhartiya Janata party or the BJP as it is called, is a relatively younger party, having been formed with splinter groups that emerged after the breakup of the erstwhile Janata Party in 1980. At present, in times when it is not possible to win majority alone, both parties have their own coalitions known as United Progressive Front (UPA) for Congress and National Democratic Alliance (NDA) for BJP. BJP ruled the country under the leadership of Atal Behari Vajpayee for 6 years since 1998 to 2004.
Talking of differences between the two parties, there is common perception that BJP is the right wing party and is perceived or has been projected as a communal party while Congress is a party that stands at the centre as far as ideology is concerned and projects itself as a secular party. Since independence, Congress has been following a policy of Non Alignment as far as maintaining foreign relations are concerned. But the major world power, the US always found India in the opposing camp of the then Soviet Union.
There are no major differences between Congress and BJP as far as economic policies are concerned and both favor economic reforms. But whereas BJP strongly believes in Hindu ideology and advocated ancient Indian culture, Congress follows a policy of minority appeasement in the name of secularism.
| Summary
Both Congress and BJP are major political parties in the country. Congress is very old and played important role in freedom movement, while BJP is a younger party. Congress projects itself as a secular party, while BJP is labeled as a Hindu ideologist’s party. |