It’s time for Cong to introspect, rebuild itself from ground up
The Congress party, still reeling from its 2014 collapse and 95 consecutive electoral defeats, has embraced denial as doctrine. Instead of introspection, it now peddles a new conspiracy — that the CIA and Mossad engineered its downfall — continuing its tradition of blaming EVMs, “vote chori,” the EC, and everything except its own leadership paralysis. With no evidence, only theatrics timed perfectly before Parliament’s winter session, the party insults voters while factional wars rage within and Rahul Gandhi globe-trots during battles. As the INDIA bloc fragments, Congress clings to foreign-agency fantasies to escape the real verdict: the people rejected it.
The grand old party appears to be trapped in a delusion even as its INDIA bloc allies drift apart, unable to agree on a coherent strategy. Eleven years after losing power in 2014, the Congress still seems unwilling to accept the basic truth of its decline. Since that historic defeat, it has lost 95 elections consecutively — and if it refuses to wake up and reinvent itself, it may soon register a political century of losses.
For years, Congress leaders blamed Electronic Voting Machines (EVM), alleged “vote chori,” claimed the presence of SIR (Software Independent Results), and accused the Election Commission (ECI) of colluding with the BJP.
For years, the party blamed everything except its own leadership paralysis: EVMs, “vote chori,” SIR, the Election Commission, mysterious algorithms, and even the weather. Now it has escalated from conspiracy theories to geopolitical thrillers by claiming that foreign intelligence agencies — the CIA and Mossad — somehow engineered its humiliating defeat in 2014.
Before giving this melodrama any respect, one must recognise the larger pattern. Congress spokespersons appear on prime-time debates armed with dramatic allegations but no evidence — merely a hope that indignation will substitute for proof.
Recall Pegasus: Parliament was paralysed based on leaked targeting data repeated by international media outlets, conveniently published a day before every session began. Facts never mattered; timing did.
Those allegations were based on leaked targeting data from international media outlets, and the timing was always curious — such stories would conveniently appear a day before a Parliament session began.
More recently, INDIA bloc MPs staged protests in Parliament over the alleged misuse of CBI and ED to target opposition leaders. Now comes an even more dramatic claim: that the CIA and Mossad worked with the BJP to defeat the Congress and install a “friendly” regime in India.
There is no doubt that Mossad is among the world’s most powerful intelligence agencies — with an extensive international reach, a $3-billion budget, around 7,000 employees, and a reputation for daring covert operations. Yet its capabilities are not infallible, as seen in its failure to prevent the October 7 Hamas attack.
But does the Congress have any proof of its involvement in India’s political landscape? None whatsoever. And, once again, note the timing — these sensational statements come just before the winter session of Parliament that is slated to begin from December 1.
This victimhood politics has worn thin. If foreign agencies truly penetrated India’s political system and sabotaged the 2014 election, then what does that say about the government in power at that time? Wouldn’t that be a colossal intelligence failure — one for which the UPA should be held accountable? Congress cannot have it both ways: claim sabotage while refusing responsibility for supposed lapses.
Just as Congress exploded the so-called “atom bomb” of ‘vote chori’ and failed to present evidence before the Supreme Court or block SIR, it has once again resorted to shoot-and-scoot tactics. While no top Congress leader has publicly claimed CIA–Mossad involvement in 2014, the party has not distanced itself from the statement made by its former Rajya Sabha MP from Maharashtra, Kumar Ketkar.
Reflecting on the party’s earlier electoral trajectory, Ketkar pointed out that Congress had steadily improved its tally through the 2000s — winning 145 seats in 2004 and 206 in 2009. Had this trend continued, he argued, the party could have crossed 250 seats in 2014. The fact that it fell to just 44 seats, he suggested, was not a natural political outcome.
By refusing to deny this allegation, the Congress once again insults the collective wisdom of Indian voters. This is not new. The party has repeatedly refused to show magnanimity in accepting the people’s verdict. Instead of introspecting, rebuilding ground networks, empowering local workers, and regaining public trust, it chooses to blame shadowy conspirators.
It is frustrating to see the great Congress party behave like a perpetual victim, unwilling to listen to its grassroots workers or make them real partners in electoral battles. The party president has himself publicly admitted that he is not the “high command” — that role, he says, belongs to Rahul Gandhi and Sonia Gandhi. He can only “apprise” them of issues, not take decisions, whether it is candidate selection or leadership changes.
Karnataka is a prime example, with the ongoing musical-chairs tussle between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar. The situation evokes memories of the Gehlot–Pilot conflict in Rajasthan, where unresolved factionalism contributed significantly to the party’s defeat.
Adding to the irony, one of the key members of the so-called high command — Rahul Gandhi — often plays the role of an absentee landlord during crucial political moments. In recent years, he has been busier travelling across the world — from the U.S. to Colombia to Malaysia — even as his party fought intense electoral battles back home.
The Congress need only revisit its own history to understand the danger of casually invoking foreign interference. Allegations have long existed that Indira Gandhi’s government in the 1990s was influenced — or heavily penetrated — by the KGB.
In 1992, former KGB archivist Vasili Mitrokhin defected to the West, bringing with him handwritten notes detailing KGB operations worldwide, including in India. These notes, published in The Mitrokhin Archive II by Christopher Andrew in the early 2000s, caused a storm. In 2005, media reports described how suitcases of money allegedly reached Indira Gandhi’s residence and how the KGB ran a widespread network in India during her tenure.
Given this history, it is particularly ironic that the Congress now claims its 2014 defeat was engineered by foreign agencies. Such narratives allow the party to deflect blame from the real reasons behind its loss: widespread public anger against UPA-II, a series of corruption scandals (2G, Coalgate, CWG), economic slowdown, inflation, and leadership fatigue.
With Tamil Nadu and West Bengal elections scheduled for next year, the party seems intent on shifting the story from “the people rejected us” to “an international ecosystem weakened us.”
Meanwhile, the INDIA alliance itself is fragmenting. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has openly said that the 56-year-old Rahul Gandhi “needs to mature in politics,” noting that his ‘vote chori’ slogan was irrelevant even in Bihar elections.
The Samajwadi Party is reluctant to reaffirm its faith in the alliance — and say, “yeh dosti hum nahi todenge.” The Trinamool Congress has launched its own internal campaign projecting that Rahul Gandhi cannot lead the opposition bloc. Mamata Banerjee, who recently threatened to “shake the entire nation” if her people were targeted, asserts that she alone is fit to spearhead the INDIA alliance.
(The author is former Chief Editor of The Hans India)
