Indian National Congress Strains The result of the election for
the Presidency of the Indian National Congress is significant of the tension between the Right Wing and the Left, and suggests the possibility of a complete rupture, though efforts to avert that will probably be successful. As things stand the re-election of Mr. Subhas Chandra Bose, by the comparatively narrow margin of 1,575 votes to 1,376, is a defeat not merely for his opponent Dr. Sitaramayya, but for Mr. Gandhi, who was supporting Dr. Sitaramayya. Mr. Bose is a Socialist, like his predecessor, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and a much stronger opponent of federation than Dr. Sitaramayya. The President of Congress is no autocrat, and it remains to be seen whether on reflection the Working Committee and the so-called Inner Cabinet are prepared to abandon their historic allegiance to Mr. Gandhi and follow Mr. Bose. Mr. Gandhi himself is accepting the rejection of his counsels not merely philosophically but with exhilaration, and the probability is that he will be able to reassert his old ascendancy. His advice regarding the accept- ance of office in the Provincial Councils has been abundantly justified and that fact lends substantial weight to any views he may express regarding federation. But Mr. Bose and the Left Wing may be sufficiently tenacious of their own opinions to split the Congress.
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