ABSTRACT
The Congress has been in almost continual crisis since Indira Gandhi came to power. The obvious one is the middle 1960s, just as Indira Gandhi was coming to power within the "Congress system." Despite much academic discussion during the mid-1960s about the "Congress system" and the self-perpetuating features of India's model of dominant party politics, the Congress was already in crisis when Indira Gandhi came to power. Maharashtra has changed less than Gujarat or Karnataka since Indira Gandhi came to power, but Jayant Lele shows that it has changed. Because most of the Maharashtra Congress sided with her in 1969, Indira Gandhi tried to alter the party by encouraging lieutenants of Y. B. Chavan to strike out on their own. Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat presented very different structures of opportunity for Indira Gandhi. For Indira Gandhi, Karnataka and Gujarat teach an important lesson about political performance.
