An opinion column argued that the Congress failed both to rally the opposition on Kashmir and to give its own MPs a clear line on Article 370, and that the Gandhi family’s hold over the party was slipping as the search for Rahul Gandhi’s successor dragged on.

A party without a leader

The writer noted that the party had gone without a president for over two and a half months. In that period the Congress Working Committee had met twice: once on plans for Rajiv Gandhi’s 75th birth anniversary, and again on Tuesday to settle its position on Articles 370 and 35A and on splitting the state. Leaders in poll-bound Maharashtra, Haryana and Jharkhand, the column said, were unsure how to fight elections without leadership.

Trouble in Parliament

According to the column, the session showed the Congress had lost its way. It said Rahul Gandhi took no active part in the House and criticised the Prime Minister on Twitter instead, and that the party failed to unite the opposition on the RTI amendments, the Triple Talaq bill and Kashmir, despite Sonia Gandhi convening opposition leaders.

The writer cited mixed signals: Ghulam Nabi Azad’s strong speech against the move, Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury’s remarks on the Shimla and Lahore agreements, and support for the government from Jyotiraditya Scindia, Deependra Hooda and Milind Deora. Abhishek Manu Singhvi was quoted as admitting that the government had outmanoeuvred the party. Two MPs, Sanjay Sinh and chief whip Bhubaneswar Kalita, quit during the session.

The column also listed problems in the states, including the loss of the Karnataka government, defections in Goa and 12 Telangana MLAs merging with the TRS, and described a turf war between the old guard and younger leaders over the presidency.

What happened next

• Rahul Gandhi had resigned as Congress president in July 2019; Sonia Gandhi became interim president in August 2019.
• In Maharashtra in 2019, the Congress won 44 of 288 seats and later backed Uddhav Thackeray’s government; in Haryana it won 31 seats; in Jharkhand it won 16 seats.

Originally published on 8 August 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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