INDIA 1980 13 profound political crisis enveloping the entire political system of the bourgeois-landlord classes. What had been happening in the Janata and the Lok Dal in the three-year period from 1977 was indicative of the crisis not only of the Janata party but also of all political parties of the bourgeois-landlord classes. The same thing had, in fact, happened to the undivided Congress after its massive electoral victory in 1971 and 1972. Within three or four years of that massive victory, the victorious Congress and its government had to face a serious economic and political crisis. With a view to warding off the danger arising out of this crisis the ruling circles had to establish the Emergency regime. What the Janata did was to follow in the footsteps of the undivided Congress earlier, both in winning the massive electoral victory in 1977 as well as in the post-election performance or non-performance. The electoral victory of the Congress (I) in 1980 was basically no different from the earlier victories of the undivided Congress in 1971-1972 and of the Janata in 1977. This massive electoral victory too was bound to envelop the new ruling party into the same type of crisis as after 1971-1972 victory. Indira GandhFs one year in office as Prime Minister now proves this. This of course is a single party government in form, but the present ruling party is in fact an amalgam of innumerable groups and factions which are perpetually at war against one another. Looking at the goings on in state after state and also some of the features of the situation at the Centre, one cannot see any fundamental difference between the Janata party, which was a combination of about half-a-dozen parties, and the present Congress (I), which is a combination of innumerable factions or groups. This factionalism or groupism has gone to such an extent that the Prime Minister has been unable, during the one-fifth of her present tenure that is over, even to complete her Council of Ministers. Very important portfolios, including Defence, have no separate Cabinet Minister, Defence resting with the Prime Minister herself. Several key portfolios, including Steel and Minerals, are being looked after either by an otherwise overworked Cabinet Minister or junior ministers. The paucity of competent and reliable—"loyal" is the word—colleagues has made the Prime Minister take over the responsibility also of party organization, since she cannot name a Congress president! The manner in which the senior Cabinet Ministers at the Centre arc engaged in the factional moves of their supporters in the states where they have (heir roots,