Socialist Party has been the name of several political parties in India, all of which have their roots in the Congress Socialist Party during the freedom struggle. Background Socialism had a late appearance in Indian politics and this was attributed to a preoccupation on the part of political activists with the independence movement. Differences in class, political perspectives, and economic objectives were set aside in favor of securing freedom from the British colonial rule. Specifically, socialist doctrines were even seen as a liability due to its theme of class conflict, which could have weakened national forces in their struggle for freedom. Once the socialist movement emerged, the Indian concept turned out to be different due to its rejection of the orthodox Marxist dogma or the so-called scientific socialist doctrines that focus on the dictatorship of the proletariat. The Indian model holds that socialism cannot be achieved through the State apparatus. One of its rationales stated that "If the State is looked upon as the sole agent for social reconstruction, we get nothing but a regimented society in which the State is all powerful and popular initiative is extinct and the individual is made a cog in a vast inhuman machine." Indian socialism became aligned with the Gandhian principle that right outcomes would only be achieved through the right means. Overall, it has clear links to traditional Indian thought and philosophical traditions. The former Congress Socialist Party The original Socialist Party had its roots in the Congress Socialist Party (CSP), the socialist caucus of the Indian National Congress, which fused in 1948 with the Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma (BLPI). Hector Abhayavardhana of the BLPI became General Secretary of the new party. The Socialist Party was founded not long after India's independence when Jayprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Basawon Singh (Sinha), Acharya Narendra Dev led the CSP out of Congress. At the time, Congress's leader Jawaharlal Nehru held positions that were widely admired by the rank and file of the CSP. Socialist Party of India Despite Jayaprakash Narayan's personal popularity, the Socialist Party won only 12 seats at the 1951 Indian general election, and its electoral fortunes did not improve. The SP merged with the Kisan Mazdoor Praja Party, which was formed by J.B. Kripalani, to form the Praja Socialist Party. It was led by Akula Purushotham in Andhra Pradesh. Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party was an Indian