Word: tandon
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Prime Minister Nehru has lost his grip on the Indian Congress Party, the power, now crumbling, that led the fight for Indian independence. With common enemy and common purpose gone, the party has turned flabby and corrupt. Its new strong man is Purushottamdas Tandon, a bearded lawyer who looks like a Hindu holy man and acts like a Tammany boss. A right-winger, he controls the party machine and the political bosses whom Nehru has nei, ther time nor inclination to pay much attention to. Last month a group of Nehru's left-wing followers seceded from the Congress...
...Party reforms, told members that it would be better for them to lose the elections than lose their souls. Before a nineteen-member working committee, Nehru demanded reorganization of the Congress Party's election board (which nominates candidates) so as to give his own followers a chance against Tandon's party machine. He also asked that charges of corruption be investigated...
...three days, Nehru fought doughtily for his proposal. But when Tandon threatened to resign and challenged Nehru to run the Congress Party alone, Nehru saw his position as Prime Minister endangered, beat a hasty retreat...
Biggest split in the party came when Purushottamdas Tandon, an orthodox Hindu, managed to get himself elected Congress president last year. Tandon is a right-winger in resolute control of Congress' political machines. Nehru does not like him. In a moment of pique after his election, Nehru backed Jiwatram Bhagwandas Kripalani, a left-winger and disciple of Gandhi, to start an opposition movement against Tandon. The movement grew bigger and louder than Nehru had intended. Whereupon the Prime Minister did exactly what he does on international issues: he climbed on the fence, refused to back either Tandon or Kripalani...
Last week in the town of Gandhinagar some thought that Nehru had won a great victory. Others, who knew the depth and strength of the extremist movement behind Tandon, felt that the issue had been postponed rather than settled...