The Syndicate was scrambling to ensure its majority in the Congress Working Committee and illegally expelled multiple supporters of the Prime Minister. This move was boycotted by her bloc who held a parallel meeting and started expelling Syndicate members from her cabinet. On November 12, the Syndicate expelled her from the Congress and instructed the Congress Parliamentary Party to elect a new leader. But since this body had its own constitution, it dissented and expressed support for Mrs. Gandhi. Syndicate members had no choice but to boycott this body and 111 of them convened to constitute the Congress Parliamentary Party in Opposition. They had sufficient numbers to be formally recognised as an Opposition in the Legislative Assembly at the Centre, for the first time in India’s history. The split was now formal, and the Congress stood divided. Mrs. Gandhi made ideological overtures on this parting of ways (condemning her detractors as rightists and anti-poor), but this was just a clever sleight of hand to disguise her personal ambition. Her followers too seemed to have some highly questionable ideological credentials and were uncommitted to socialist politics.