The Congress party is intensifying its efforts in Delhi, with a strategic push in a battle it is entering a bit late, many argue. However, the continuing attacks from Arvind Kejriwal, the Chief Minister of Delhi, have compelled the grand old party to take action. The Congress leadership believes that it can no longer ignore the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) growing influence in Delhi and the threat it poses to the party’s survival.
At a recent party meeting, Rahul Gandhi expressed his concerns about the Congress’s diminishing role in national politics. He argued that pushing coalition dharma to the detriment of the party’s existence was not an option. The Congress, according to him, is the only force capable of standing up to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the national level. If the party continues to weaken and backs down from crucial battles, it risks losing its place in the political landscape. Gandhi emphasized that if the Congress cannot maintain its foothold in key states, it will not be able to effectively challenge the BJP or protect the Constitution.
The Congress has already seen its influence decline in several states, including West Bengal, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh, largely due to regional parties gaining ground at its expense. In Delhi and Punjab, the rise of AAP, which shares a similar voter base with Congress, has particularly been a blow to the party. Some senior leaders, like Ajay Maken, have voiced concerns about the Congress’s leniency towards Kejriwal and his party, despite their affiliation within the INDIA alliance. Maken believes that Congress should have been more assertive against AAP’s encroachment.
A contentious issue within the Congress is the alleged soft stance taken towards Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) during the 2019 Bengal Lok Sabha elections. Despite Mallikarjun Kharge’s efforts to placate Mamata Banerjee by publicly rebuking Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, many within the party feel that the TMC has been unwilling to reciprocate Congress’s efforts. Mamata’s demand for a greater role for her party in the INDIA bloc, coupled with the TMC’s insistence that the Congress’s poor poll performance disqualifies it from leading the opposition charge against the BJP, has caused frustration in Congress circles. This frustration has only been compounded by the support extended by the Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and TMC to AAP in Delhi, a stance that has further alienated Congress.
Amidst this growing disillusionment within the Congress, the leadership is reconsidering its strategy and making a concerted push in Delhi. The Gandhis are now ready to fight back, with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra slated to take to the streets to reclaim the Congress’s position. Rahul Gandhi plans to focus on Muslim-dominated areas and constituencies where Dalit and OBC voters hold significant sway. Priyanka Gandhi, on the other hand, is expected to spearhead a campaign aimed at securing the women’s vote, a demographic that has become increasingly important in Indian elections.
While the Congress is realistic about its chances of securing a significant number of seats in the upcoming elections, it hopes that its efforts will lead to a rise in its vote share in Delhi, where it currently holds no seats in the Lok Sabha or the Delhi Legislative Assembly. According to senior party leaders, even if the BJP wins in this round, the Congress sees the effort as a stepping stone toward future gains. A Congress leader remarked, “Even if the BJP wins this time, next time we can. But more than this, defeat of AAP would mean that Delhi will have only two players—Congress and BJP—and we will be back in the game.”
Furthermore, Congress is optimistic that a loss for AAP in Delhi would provide a boost to the party’s fortunes in Punjab, where AAP has been a formidable rival. The Congress sees an opportunity to weaken AAP’s foothold in Delhi, which it believes will have ripple effects in Punjab, a crucial state for the party.
In this late push, the Congress is determined to make the Delhi battle a three-cornered contest. This fight is seen as an important step in reasserting its presence in the national political sphere, despite the setbacks it has faced in recent years. For the Congress, a strong performance in Delhi, even if not immediately victorious, could lay the groundwork for a future resurgence, allowing it to emerge as a key contender in the larger political landscape.
