Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and Congress leader Rahul Gandhi during the 'Jai Bapu, Jai Bhim, Jai Samvidhan’ public meeting, in New Delhi, Monday, Jan. 13, 2025.
Credit: PTI Photo
New Delhi: Rahul Gandhi’s attack on Arvind Kejriwal by linking the AAP chief and Prime Minister Narendra Modi in “propaganda and false promises” is seen as a recalibration of Congress' strategy to find a way out of political relegation in Delhi.
The move could damage the broader Opposition I.N.D.I.A bloc, as it could further the anger among regional parties like Trinamool Congress, but the Congress has taken a calculative risk when smaller parties are trying to capitalise on its recent election losses in Haryana and Maharashtra polls.
It also marks a deviation from its previous position of leaving space for, if not accommodating, allies and playing second fiddle as one saw in Tamil Nadu or Uttar Pradesh. This could also give ammunition to Congress leaders in states like Maharashtra to read the riot act to allies.
Kejriwal, who refused to escalate the war of words, might have meant it as a slight when he said Rahul showered “abuses” on him at the rally so that he could “save” the Congress, but it is true for the latter, as targeting the AAP was necessary for the survival of the grand old party.
Rahul took forward the fight on Tuesday as he visited Rithala to campaign for party candidate Sushant Mishra and posted a video on social media where he was seen pointing to garbage and saying “Delhi is like Paris”.
For the Congress, the options were to attack the BJP vigorously and win a couple of Dalit and minority-concentrated seats or target AAP to ensure its defeat even if the grand old party cannot win. This, they believe, could help them regain space lost to the AAP in the past 12 years.
Some still advocated a middle path and the central leadership was not in agreement when the campaign went aggressive with Treasurer Ajay Maken going off the script to call Kejriwal an “anti-national”. Sources claimed the plan was to refer to the AAP chief as an “anarchist” by quoting a late leader.
Rahul himself was not in agreement with the personal attack, especially when the AAP leadership had stayed away from its usual acerbic speeches during Haryana polls when they fought each other. The leadership had then shown a red flag to a follow up press conference by Maken.
However, this did not mean that the leadership disallowed any criticism, prompting leaders like former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot to target AAP.
In his speech, Rahul did not mention AAP by name but referred to Kejriwal along with Modi multiple times in what is seen as a deliberate strategy in his 22-minute speech at Seelampur, which was one of the epicentres of 2020 Delhi riots.
At the rally location that was carefully chosen as Kejriwal and the AAP were accused of keeping a strategic silence in what was perceived as catering to Hindutva elements during the riots, Rahul also referred to the alleged reluctance of Kejriwal and Modi on questions regarding Caste Census and reservation as well as their silence on the Adani issue.
AAP leaders cited Kejriwal’s speech in the Assembly accusing Gautam Adani of being Modi’s front, and its protests in Parliament and asked when had they opposed it.
Meanwhile, Rahul’s attack on an ally, which supported him on the issue where the likes of Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party backed out, is also seen as the grand old party's predicament in the capital.
He also said both do not utter a word on Gautam Adani, who Rahul considers as the symbol of crony capitalism in India. Rahul also invoked the 15-year-rule of late Sheila Dikshit and said neither “Kejriwal nor BJP” could do what Congress did in Delhi.
He also said neither of them utters a word on Gautam Adani, who Rahul considers as the symbol of crony capitalism in India. Rahul also invoked the 15-year rule of the late Sheila Dikshit and said neither “Kejriwal nor BJP” could do what the Congress has done for Delhi.
While Delhi Congress leaders have been advocating a separate identity, with some recalling how Kejriwal went ahead with a resolution in Delhi Assembly seeking to recall Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna in December 2018, it was Rahul who was insistent on fighting together and managed an alliance with AAP in Lok Sabha polls to ensure a united fight against the BJP.
Rahul even wanted the Congress to align with AAP in Haryana but there too state leaders put their foot down. However, the Congress has embarked on a new journey in Delhi, whose fate would be known soon at the national level.
Congress in Delhi
Congress had slumped from 40.31 per cent votes in 2008, the last time the party formed a government in the national capital, to 4.63 per cent in a span of 12 years.
If it won 43 out of 70 seats in 2008, it managed eight seats five years later but did not win a single seat in the 2015 and 2020 polls. The Lok Sabha performance too was unimpressive, as the party could not win a seat in 2014 and 2019, though it fared better than AAP, and in 2024 when both fought in an alliance and decreased BJP margins.