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With the BJP facing severe criticism for engineering defections from opposition parties—including the Trinamool Congress, Shiv Sena (UBT), and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)—to bolster its numbers in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha ahead of the Monsoon Session, the Congress is prepared to challenge the government on issues such as delimitation and the Women’s Reservation Bill. However, the party suffered massive embarrassments in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh, highlighting significant fault lines within the Congress itself. Party insiders pointed out that despite having adequate numbers in both states, the Congress failed to win two crucial Rajya Sabha seats, underscoring shortcomings in its organisation, alliance management, and floor strategy. Conversely, in Karnataka, the Congress delivered a strong performance, securing 16 more votes than its current strength of 135.
The results in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand, however, have raised many questions. Regarding Jharkhand, a party insider noted that former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and Ajay Sharma were appointed as senior observers for Congress candidate Pranav Jha. Baghel was tasked with ensuring victory because of his experience with critical assignments, including the 2021 Assam Assembly elections, 2022 Uttar Pradesh elections, and preparations for the 2026 polls. However, the insider pointed out that Baghel remained in Ranchi only from June 6 to June 8, met Chief Minister Hemant Soren only once, and left before overseeing the crucial final stages of election management. Furthermore, Ajay Sharma had served in a similar capacity during Ajay Maken’s 2022 Rajya Sabha polls in Haryana, where the Congress candidate suffered a defeat. The insider added that party General Secretary (Organization) K.C. Venugopal did not appear as concerned about the Jharkhand seat as he was with Madhya Pradesh, and that this lack of active oversight ultimately contributed to the defeat.
The insider also blamed alliance partners, specifically the RJD, for failing to support the Congress and instead cross-voting for independent candidate Parimal Nathwani, despite party leaders—including Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, and Pranav Jha—meeting Tejashwi Yadav in Patna just two days before the polls. The insider suggested the RJD may have been retaliating for the Rajya Sabha seat loss of A.D. Singh in March, when some Congress MLAs in Bihar abstained from voting. The insider also accused CPI-M legislators of backing the independent candidate, even though CPI-M general secretary Deepankar Bhattacharya has issued a statement saying that their MLAs voted for the Congress candidate. One party leader, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the Congress leadership should have addressed RJD’s grievances immediately after the March polls; leaving these issues unattended highlighted their inability to manage alliance partners effectively.
Similarly, the leader noted that Jharkhand Chief Minister and JMM chief Hemant Soren’s meeting with Nathwani ahead of the election would have sent a wrong political signal, leaving many Congress MLAs questioning if Nathwani was being unofficially endorsed by the JMM. Regarding Madhya Pradesh, the insider highlighted the reality of Meenakshi Natarajan’s candidature, which failed before it could even gain momentum. Her nomination was rejected by the returning officer on June 9 because of incomplete disclosures in her form. This rejection deeply embarrassed the Congress leadership, particularly as Natarajan is widely perceived to be a close aide of Rahul Gandhi. Insiders noted that the failure “hurt” the top leadership, yet there has been no accountability for such a grave lapse. Meanwhile, some Congress leaders hold Natarajan responsible for the rejection.
They argued that Natarajan, considered an intellectual leader who has contested three Lok Sabha elections, should not have missed such details, especially when exercising caution was necessary in a BJP-ruled state. The insider also suggested the possibility of internal sabotage, noting that the party overlooked many senior Madhya Pradesh leaders—including Kamal Nath, Digvijaya Singh, Arun Yadav, Kamleshwar Patel, Jitu Patwari, and Shobha Ojha—when finalizing the nomination. The twin setbacks in Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh serve as a stark reminder for the Congress, particularly as many opposition parties are being weakened by the BJP’s strategy of poaching. The party insider concluded that this is a vital lesson for the Congress to demonstrate an ability to effectively manage its alliances, candidates, and legislative arithmetic if it hopes to emerge as the fulcrum of a united opposition.
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