<P> The Indian National Congress (pronunciation (help info)) (INC, often called Congress) is a broad - based political party in India . Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Empire in Asia and Africa . From the late 19th - century, and especially after 1920, under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, Congress became the principal leader of the Indian independence movement, with over 15 million members and over 70 million participants . The Congress led India to independence from Great Britain, and powerfully influenced other anti-colonial nationalist movements in the British Empire . </P> <P> The Congress is a secular party whose social liberal platform is generally considered on the centre - left of Indian politics . The Congress' social policy is based upon the Gandhian principle of Sarvodaya--the lifting up of all sections of society--which involves the improvement of the lives of economically underprivileged and socially marginalised people . The party primarily endorses social liberalism--seeking to balance individual liberty and social justice, and secularism--asserting the right to be free from religious rule and teachings . </P> <P> After India's independence in 1947, the Congress formed the government at center in most instances, and many regional state governments . 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). Although it did not fare well in the last general elections in India in 2014, it remains one of two major, nationwide, political parties in India, along with the right - wing, Hindu nationalist, Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). In the 2014 general election, the Congress had its poorest post-independence general election performance, winning only 44 seats of the 543 - member Lok Sabha . </P> <P> From 2004 to 2014, the Congress - led United Progressive Alliance, a coalition of several regional parties, formed the Indian government and was headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh . As of July 2017, the party is in power in five states: Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Meghalaya and Mizoram . The Congress has previously directly ruled Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Goa . </P>

How many years congress ruled india after independence