SSC
In the Congress presidential election held for the Tripuri session (1939), Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the candidate supported by Gandhi, was defeated by:
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Answer: Option C — Subhas Chandra Bose
Detailed Solution
In January 1939, Subhas Chandra Bose defeated Dr Pattabhi Sitaramayya, the candidate supported by Gandhi, in the election for the President of the Indian National Congress for its Tripuri session.
Background:
Bose had already been President of the Congress for the previous year.
He wanted to be re-elected, as he felt that the Congress should take a more militant line, and should give the British an ultimatum to grant independence within six months, failing which a mass struggle should be launched.
Gandhi and the senior leaders of the Congress Working Committee did not agree with his approach.
Gandhi supported Pattabhi Sitaramayya, a leader from Andhra.
The election:
- Bose won by 1,580 votes to 1,377.
- Gandhi said that Sitaramayya's defeat was "more my defeat than his".
The Tripuri session (March 1939):
- The session was held at Tripuri, near Jabalpur, in the Central Provinces (now Madhya Pradesh).
- At the session, a resolution moved by Govind Ballabh Pant was passed, asking the President to appoint the Working Committee in accordance with the wishes of Gandhi.
- Most members of the Working Committee had resigned, and Bose found it impossible to work.
What followed:
- Bose found that he could not work with the senior leaders.
- He formed a new party, the Forward Bloc, in May 1939, as a group within the Congress.
- Later, he was removed from Congress posts for indiscipline.
About Pattabhi Sitaramayya:
- He was a doctor and Congress leader from Andhra, who wrote "The History of the Indian National Congress".
- He later became the President of the Congress (1948) and the Governor of Madhya Pradesh.
Why not the other options?
- ✗Nehru, Azad and Rajendra Prasad did not contest this election against Sitaramayya.
Quick tip
Remember: Tripuri (1939) election = Subhas Chandra Bose defeated Pattabhi Sitaramayya ("more my defeat than his" - Gandhi); Pant resolution; Forward Bloc formed (May 1939).
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Indian National Congress & Its Sessions — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Indian National Congress & Its Sessions, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Indian National Congress was founded in 1885 by A. O. Hume, and its first session was held in Bombay under W. C. Bonnerjee. This topic covers the important Congress sessions and their presidents, the moderate and extremist phases, the Surat split, and the founding and role of the Muslim League. Questions commonly ask who presided over a session, where a session was held, or what was decided there. For example, the 1929 Lahore session under Jawaharlal Nehru adopted the goal of Purna Swaraj, and the 1931 Karachi session passed the resolution on Fundamental Rights. The first woman president of the Congress was Annie Besant (Calcutta, 1917). Practise the Indian National Congress questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.