Indian National Congress

Abbreviation

INC

Founded

1885

Founder(s)

A. O. Hume, Dadabhai Naoroji, Dinshaw Wacha and others

Main base

All India

Election symbol

Hand

Status

National party (ECI)

TN Assembly 2026

5 seats

India's oldest political party, founded in Bombay in December 1885. It led the freedom movement under leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, and formed the government at the Centre for most of the years after Independence.

Milestones

• 1885 Founded at the first session in Bombay
• 1947 Leads India to Independence; Jawaharlal Nehru becomes Prime Minister
• 1969 Party splits into Congress (R) and Congress (O)
• 1978 Congress (I) formed under Indira Gandhi; later recognised as the INC
• 2004 Returns to power leading the United Progressive Alliance
• 2026 Backs the TVK-led government in Tamil Nadu (5 MLAs)

Election record at a glance

• Contested 18 Lok Sabha general elections under this name, from 1951–52 to 2024.
• First won Lok Sabha seats in 1951–52 (364). Best result: 414 seats in 1984. Total seats won across all elections: 4034.
• Highest vote share: 48.12% in 1984.
• In 2024 it contested 328 seats in 36 states/UTs and won 99, with 21.19% of all votes polled.
• In Tamil Nadu (Madras State before 1969) it has won 260 Lok Sabha seats in total; best: 35 in 1951–52.