By Suresh Unnithan
As the Indian National Congress commemorated its 140th foundation day on December 28, 2025, the milestone underscored a stark irony. Established in 1885 as the vanguard of India’s freedom struggle, the party has governed much of independent India’s history. Yet, in 2025, despite a political landscape favoring opposition revival—evidenced by the BJP’s vote share dipping to 36.5% in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from 37.4% in 2019, while Congress’s rose to 21.1% from 19.5%—the Congress grapples with defections, infighting, and organizational inertia. The Gandhi family’s enduring control, from Nehru to Sonia, Rahul, and Priyanka, has morphed into a liability, fostering a fiefdom where loyalty trumps competence and unity fractures abound. This is starkly evident in Kerala, where a historic local body election win in December 2025 has been overshadowed by rampant internal bickering, highlighting deeper issues like BJP “sleeper cells” infiltration, as flagged by Rahul Gandhi earlier this year.
Central to this crisis is the leadership’s inability to curb defections, which have haemorrhaged talent and eroded electoral strength. Between 2014 and 2021, Congress lost 177 MLAs and MPs to defections—35% of its total lawmakers—making it the hardest-hit party, while the BJP gained 173 legislators. This trend accelerated; by 2024, nearly a quarter (106 out of 441) of BJP’s Lok Sabha candidates were defectors who joined post-2014, with Congress as the primary source. Overall, 35% of all MPs/MLAs who switched parties from 2014-2021 landed in the BJP.
High-profile exits highlight the damage. Jyotiraditya Scindia’s 2020 defection with 22 MLAs toppled Madhya Pradesh’s Congress government, leading to a 2023 assembly rout where Congress secured only 66 of 230 seats despite visible anti-incumbency. In Kerala, Anil Antony and Padmaja Venugopal defected in 2023-24, citing dynastic frustrations. Rajasthan saw 32 senior Congress leaders, including two ex-ministers and four former MLAs, switch to BJP in March 2024 alone. Other notables include Hardik Patel, CR Kesavan, and Jitin Prasada. A 2024 report revealed 25 opposition leaders facing probes joined BJP since 2014, with 23 seeing cases stalled—hinting at coercive tactics Congress has failed to counter.
These defections tie into Rahul Gandhi’s March 2025 warning during a Gujarat Congress workers’ meeting, where he accused half the state unit of being “sleeper cells” working for the BJP. He vowed a purge, stating, “There is a sleeper cell in the Congress. They are leaders who have been in the Congress but work for the BJP. Remove these traitors.” This infiltration, he argued, undermines the party nationwide, with Gujarat as a microcosm—evident in post-remark suspensions and sidelining of suspects. Yet, nine months later, such vulnerabilities persist, as seen in Kerala’s post-election chaos.
In Kerala, the December 2025 local body elections marked a historic UDF (Congress-led) resurgence, with Congress securing the highest vote share at 29.17% (81,08,137 votes), ahead of LDF’s 27.16% and BJP’s 14.76%. UDF dominated: 4 of 6 corporations (Kollam, Kochi, Thrissur, Kannur), 54 of 86 municipalities, 7 of 14 district panchayats, and a majority in grama panchayats (505 out of 941). BJP’s historic Thiruvananthapuram corporation win was a setback, but UDF’s overall tally signalled anti-LDF sentiment ahead of 2026 assembly polls.
Yet, this victory has been marred by infighting, exposing sleeper cell-like divisions. In Thrissur, the suspension of Councillor Laly James amid “cash-for-posts” allegations revealed deep rifts on the UDF’s first day in power. In Thrikkakara municipality, MLA Uma Thomas flagged rule violations in chairperson selection, highlighting group rivalries. Kochi saw factional fights sideline KPCC general secretary Deepthi Mary Varghese from the mayor post, with ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups clashing. These disputes cloud UDF’s dominance in mayoral polls across four corporations, turning wins into internal encounters.
Shashi Tharoor, a prominent Kerala Congress MP, exemplifies potential pro-BJP leanings fueling such fractures. In December 2025, Tharoor praised PM Modi’s diplomacy, stating that celebrating the Prime Minister’s defeat equates to celebrating India’s defeat, drawing BJP applause and Congress distancing. He defended Digvijaya Singh’s praise of RSS’s organizational strength, calling for Congress to strengthen its own, and earlier lauded LK Advani as a “true statesman” while endorsing Modi’s vision for progress. These statements, amid Kerala’s BJP gains, raise questions about internal sabotage.
Infighting extends beyond Kerala. In Karnataka, post-2023 victory (135 of 224 seats), the Siddaramaiah-DK Shivakumar rivalry has paralyzed governance. Madhya Pradesh’s 2023 polls saw Congress’s 40.4% vote share yield just 66 seats due to internal rifts. Punjab’s tussles threaten 2027 prospects despite 7 of 13 Lok Sabha seats in 2024.
The 2024 Lok Sabha results quantify missed opportunities: Congress won 99 seats (up from 52), leading in 42 BJP-held constituencies, yet trailed in direct fights with 21.2% vote share. In Maharashtra and Jharkhand assemblies, alliances boosted INDIA, but Congress’s standalone tally was meager (16 each).
Organizational flaws underpin this: the Gandhis’ insularity empowers figures like KC Venugopal, accused of favouritism. Despite 2025 restructuring pledges, implementation lags. In a climate where BJP’s 2024 defector gamble flopped (69 of 110 lost), Congress could capitalize. But dynastic grip risks irrelevance. Data demands reform: democratize, purge inefficiencies, or watch the flock vanish.
