Why did the Swaraj Party participate in British Indian legislative elections?

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Mahatma Gandhi, holding a walking stick, walks beside Sarojini Naidu during the Salt March protest in 1930, with several men following behind them. — Indian National Congress Indian National Congress leaders Mahatma Gandhi (left) and Sarojini Naidu (right) on the Salt March in western India, March 1930.

The Swaraj Party was established by members of the Indian National Congress who sought to challenge British authority from within the colonial system rather than adhering strictly to the noncooperation strategy championed by Mohandas K. Gandhi.1

The party participated in the legislative elections of 1923 with the primary objective of disrupting official government policy. By securing seats in the Central Legislative Assembly, leaders such as Motilal Nehru and Chittaranjan Das intended to derail the British administration through persistent antigovernment agitation within the council chambers. This approach represented a tactical shift for those within the Congress who favored working within the existing political reforms to advance the cause of swaraj, or self-rule.12