NEW DELHI: Alliance first or party first? For the Congress, one of the biggest dilemmas has been how to recalibrate its relationship with the regional parties which have dislodged it from power in states but are allies at the national level under the banner of the INDIA bloc. The Congress has been engaged in a constant power struggle with the regional parties in several states – as they try to gain an upper hand over each other.
However, after a decade of dithering, has the Congress finally decided its future course of action vis-à-vis the regional parties? The just-concluded Delhi election was a glaring example of an aggressive Congress strategy. The grand-old-party did not win any seat in Delhi assembly, for the third time in a row, but managed to play a crucial role in dislodging Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party from power. The division of votes between the two parties helped the BJP in as many as 14 seats.
The Congress faced a lot of flak after the Delhi dangal, both from outside and within, but the message for other regional parties was loud and clear. West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar’s remark sums up the thinking within the party. “Actually, after the Delhi poll results, many regional parties have realised that it was a mistake to ignore the Congress in that election. The problem with parties such as AAP and those who think like them is that they are nothing more than the B-team of the BJP,” the Bengal Congress chief said targeting West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has ruled out an alliance with Congress for the 2026 assembly elections in the state.
The 2025 Delhi assembly elections saw Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal – two key leaders of the opposition’s INDIA bloc – turn into bitter rivals. The two senior leaders left no stone unturned to attack and discredit each other right through the campaign, making a mockery of the INDIA bloc – which was formed to keep the opposition united against the BJP – and much to the delight of the BJP. The intensity of Rahul’s aggression against Kejriwal was a message to other regional allies that the Congress could go to any extent if it was not given its due share.
After the results were out, the Congress asserted that Delhi election results were a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and even claimed credit for dislodging the AAP government. “Congress took lead in highlighting various scams under Kejriwal, voters pronounced judgement on 12 years of misrule,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said after the results.
Delhi is not the first election where INDIA bloc partners have fought against each other. We have seen Congress fight Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Left front in Kerala. However, the bitterness and aggression in Delhi was perhaps unmatched given the fact that Congress with zero seats in last two elections was nowhere close to regaining power in Delhi.
So, why did Rahul decide to go all-out against Kejriwal? Does AAP’s Delhi defeat help Congress in any way?
The AAP and the Congress have shared a love-hate relationship for long as the two parties have been at loggerheads several times on various issues. When Centre was planning to bring an ordinance in Parliament to curtail powers of the elected Delhi government after a SC ruling, AAP had urged all INDIA partners, including the Congress, to oppose the move. As the Congress initially dithered to openly back Kejriwal on the ordinance, AAP threatened to boycott INDIA bloc meeting convened by the grand-old-party. On one occasion when a Delhi Congress spokesperson said that the party was preparing to contest all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, AAP responded with a threat to walk out of the INDIA bloc. Clearly, there was a lot of pent up animosity between the two parties which was on display during the campaign as the two top leaders openly attacked each other.
Haryana bitterness
The bitterness between Congress and AAP increased manifold during the Haryana assembly elections held last year when the two parties failed to stitch an alliance despite Rahul Gandhi openly advocating a joint fight against the BJP. In the run up to Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal outrightly ruled out any alliance with the Congress even before there could be any talks on seat sharing.
AAP’s gains threat to Congress?
Other than Congress, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP was the only party in opposition’s INDIA alliance that was ruling two states – Delhi and Punjab. In both these states, AAP gains were at the expense of the Congress. While AAP formed its first government in Delhi in 2013, it captured power in Punjab in 2022 decimating the grand-old-party in the state. In the last 10 years, AAP had made significant gains registering its presence in several states and turning itself into a national party. No other regional party in the INDIA bloc had two states under its belt. Clearly AAP’s victory in Delhi would have given more strength to Kejriwal within the opposition alliance and would have further sidelined the Congress.
Way forward
Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year. The Congress and Lalu Prasad’s RJD are allies in the state and are expected to contest the elections together. We have already seen some muscle flexing by Bihar Congress leaders over being treated as junior partner in the alliance. There was an immediate pushback to this Congress effort from RJD’s Lalu Prasad who openly backed Mamata Banerjee as the leader of INDIA bloc and dismissed any objections that the Congress may have. Then Tejashwi Yadav added to this RJD posturing with his statement that the INDIA bloc was only formed for the Lok Sabha elections. However, Rahul’s meeting with Lalu during his Bihar visit last month may help ease tensions between the two parties.
However, after a decade of dithering, has the Congress finally decided its future course of action vis-à-vis the regional parties? The just-concluded Delhi election was a glaring example of an aggressive Congress strategy. The grand-old-party did not win any seat in Delhi assembly, for the third time in a row, but managed to play a crucial role in dislodging Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party from power. The division of votes between the two parties helped the BJP in as many as 14 seats.
The Congress faced a lot of flak after the Delhi dangal, both from outside and within, but the message for other regional parties was loud and clear. West Bengal Congress president Subhankar Sarkar’s remark sums up the thinking within the party. “Actually, after the Delhi poll results, many regional parties have realised that it was a mistake to ignore the Congress in that election. The problem with parties such as AAP and those who think like them is that they are nothing more than the B-team of the BJP,” the Bengal Congress chief said targeting West Bengal chief minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee, who has ruled out an alliance with Congress for the 2026 assembly elections in the state.
The 2025 Delhi assembly elections saw Rahul Gandhi and Arvind Kejriwal – two key leaders of the opposition’s INDIA bloc – turn into bitter rivals. The two senior leaders left no stone unturned to attack and discredit each other right through the campaign, making a mockery of the INDIA bloc – which was formed to keep the opposition united against the BJP – and much to the delight of the BJP. The intensity of Rahul’s aggression against Kejriwal was a message to other regional allies that the Congress could go to any extent if it was not given its due share.
After the results were out, the Congress asserted that Delhi election results were a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and even claimed credit for dislodging the AAP government. “Congress took lead in highlighting various scams under Kejriwal, voters pronounced judgement on 12 years of misrule,” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said after the results.
Delhi is not the first election where INDIA bloc partners have fought against each other. We have seen Congress fight Mamata Banerjee in West Bengal, Left front in Kerala. However, the bitterness and aggression in Delhi was perhaps unmatched given the fact that Congress with zero seats in last two elections was nowhere close to regaining power in Delhi.
So, why did Rahul decide to go all-out against Kejriwal? Does AAP’s Delhi defeat help Congress in any way?
The AAP and the Congress have shared a love-hate relationship for long as the two parties have been at loggerheads several times on various issues. When Centre was planning to bring an ordinance in Parliament to curtail powers of the elected Delhi government after a SC ruling, AAP had urged all INDIA partners, including the Congress, to oppose the move. As the Congress initially dithered to openly back Kejriwal on the ordinance, AAP threatened to boycott INDIA bloc meeting convened by the grand-old-party. On one occasion when a Delhi Congress spokesperson said that the party was preparing to contest all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi, AAP responded with a threat to walk out of the INDIA bloc. Clearly, there was a lot of pent up animosity between the two parties which was on display during the campaign as the two top leaders openly attacked each other.
Haryana bitterness
The bitterness between Congress and AAP increased manifold during the Haryana assembly elections held last year when the two parties failed to stitch an alliance despite Rahul Gandhi openly advocating a joint fight against the BJP. In the run up to Delhi elections, Arvind Kejriwal outrightly ruled out any alliance with the Congress even before there could be any talks on seat sharing.
AAP’s gains threat to Congress?
Other than Congress, Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP was the only party in opposition’s INDIA alliance that was ruling two states – Delhi and Punjab. In both these states, AAP gains were at the expense of the Congress. While AAP formed its first government in Delhi in 2013, it captured power in Punjab in 2022 decimating the grand-old-party in the state. In the last 10 years, AAP had made significant gains registering its presence in several states and turning itself into a national party. No other regional party in the INDIA bloc had two states under its belt. Clearly AAP’s victory in Delhi would have given more strength to Kejriwal within the opposition alliance and would have further sidelined the Congress.
Way forward
Assembly elections are due in Bihar later this year. The Congress and Lalu Prasad’s RJD are allies in the state and are expected to contest the elections together. We have already seen some muscle flexing by Bihar Congress leaders over being treated as junior partner in the alliance. There was an immediate pushback to this Congress effort from RJD’s Lalu Prasad who openly backed Mamata Banerjee as the leader of INDIA bloc and dismissed any objections that the Congress may have. Then Tejashwi Yadav added to this RJD posturing with his statement that the INDIA bloc was only formed for the Lok Sabha elections. However, Rahul’s meeting with Lalu during his Bihar visit last month may help ease tensions between the two parties.
And while INDIA bloc may not reach the tipping point in Bihar, in West Bengal where elections are due in 2026 – we may see a repeat of the Delhi dangal. Mamata who has written off the Congress in the state just as Kejriwal did in Delhi, would hope that the grand-old-party does not end up dividing the anti-BJP votes and in the process put spanner in her march to a record fourth term in the state.
When Prime Minister Modi, in his Rajya Sabha speech, accused the Congress of following the policy of impeding others (Dusre ki lakeer chhoti karo) instead of increasing its own potential, it was a political attack intended to deepen the divide between the Congress and its regional allies in the INDIA bloc. However, it seems the Congress, which has lost much of its support base to other parties, is ready to follow this strategy for now to reclaim its lost political ground. Whether or not it succeeds only time can tell?