 He was the last president of undivided Indian National Congress and had to see, his party being split into Congress(Ruling) supporting Indira Gandhi and Congress (Organization) or Syndicate Congress consisting of senior leaders like Nijalingappa himself, Neelam Sanjiva Reddy, Kamaraj, Morarji Desai and others.After the Congress split, Nijalingappa gradually retired from politics.After giving up active politics, he served as chairman of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Society.