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Through “Garibi Hatao’ Indira Gandhi tried to generate a support base among the disadvantaged, especially among the landless labourers, Dalits and Adivasis, minorities, women and unemployed youth. The slogan of Garibi Hatao and the programmes that followed it were a part of her political strategy of building an independent nationwide political support base.

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Her programmes were based on the famous slogan “Garibi Hatao”, which included the following subjects :

(a) Growth of pubic sector;

(b) Imposition of ceiling on rural land holdings and urban property;

(c) Removal of disparities in income and opportunity;

(d) Abolition of princely privileges.

 

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The new Congress led by Indira Gandhi overcame these challenges in the following ways :

(i) The government made conscious attempts to project its socialist credentials.

(ii) Indira Gandhi vigorously campaigned for implementing the existing land reform laws.

(iii)Further Land ceiling legislation were undertaken by the government.

(iv) In order to end her dependence on other political parties, strengthen her party's position in the Parliament, and seek a popular mandate for her programmes, Indira Gandhi's government recommended the dissolution of the Lok Sabha in December 1970.

 

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At the time of the integration of the Princely States, the Government of India assured the rulers' families would be allowed to retain certain private property, and give them a grant in heredity or goverment allowances, measured on the basis of the extent, revenue and potential of the merging states. This grant was called the privy purse.

The hereditory privileges were not consonant with the principles of equality and social and economic justice laid down in the Constitution of India.

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The opposition unity and the Congress split posed a challenge to the Congress dominance in the following ways :

(i) Before 1967 elections the opposition parties had realised that division of their votes kept the Congress in power.Thus parties that were entirely different and disparate in their programmes and ideology got together to form anti congress front in some states and entered into electoral adjustment of sharing seats in others. 

(ii) The split in the Congress reduced Indira Gandhi government to a minority. However, she remained in office with the support of Communist Party of India and DMK. It was issue-based support. The fact was, however, that the new Congress of Indira Gandhi was just one faction of an already weak party and split had further weakened its position.