Long in Opposition, Bihar blow, Congress in Kerala scrambles for revival ahead of 2026 polls

Never in its history of the state, has the Congress remained in the Opposition for this long, and the frustration within the organisation is becoming apparent. The leadership understands the depth of the crisis and is attempting a reset through a state-wide yatra led by Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi, hoping to revive its support base ahead of a high-stakes electoral season.

There has also been an unusually aggressive push at the grassroots level as well. For the first time in decades, Congress leaders announced candidates for major local bodies, including the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, even before the election notifications were issued. The thought behind the move was that an early mobilisation could take the Left by surprise, which was somewhat true.

Old problems

However, the familiar problems of rebellion, factional feuds and defections surfaced almost immediately after the candidates were announced, making it clear that these old troubles were never far away.

The organisational dysfunction within the party became evident when its much-publicised young candidate, 24-year-old techie Vaishna Suresh, slated to contest from the Muttada ward in Thiruvananthapuram, faced disqualification after her name was found missing from the voters’ list. Although the Congress has attempted to link the issue to “vote chori” and accused the CPI(M) of deleting her name, records show that she had failed to furnish the required proof of residence to the corporation, leading to the omission.

Also read: Crisis brews in Kerala BJP with cadre suicides in Thiruvananthapuram

Adding to the chaos, the Bihar election results arrived at a particularly sensitive moment for the Congress in Kerala and delivered an unexpected blow to the party. Ironically, it was not the BJP but their INDIA partners, the Left parties are using it in Kerala.

Bihar elections fallout

Until then, the Congress had been building momentum with a sustained offensive against the LDF, keeping the Sabarimala gold heist issue at the centre of its campaign. The setback in Bihar, however, abruptly stalled that upswing. Sensing an opening, the Left parties in the state moved quickly to turn the narrative. Although they too were constituents of the INDIA bloc, CPI(M) leaders placed the blame squarely on the Congress, pointing to instances where the party had fielded candidates against Left partners despite being in the same alliance.

The Left used this line effectively to project the Congress as an unwelcome third wheel in the coalition. In the days that followed, the CPI(M) succeeded to a considerable extent in steering the conversation in its favour, deflecting questions about its own role in the alliance’s defeat and reinforcing the impression that the Congress was chiefly responsible for the Bihar debacle.

CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan accused K C Venugopal, Congress’s organisational general secretary, of neglecting his responsibilities in Bihar and focussing instead on internal consolidation in Kerala.

“Had the Congress carried out its role as the leading party in the alliance, the result would have been different. Congress rebels contested in several seats and damaged the front’s prospects,” said M V Govindan.

“Instead of fulfilling his responsibility of strengthening the broad anti-BJP front in Bihar, Venugopal, who is the number two leader in the Congress, was in Kerala consolidating his power in the state unit,” Govindan alleged.

Congress counter

The Congress pushed back immediately. K C Venugopal countered by questioning why the CPI(M) leadership did not send its only chief minister to campaign for its candidates in Bihar.

“We contested 45 seats there, while the Left parties contested 33. Why didn’t their only Chief Minister campaign for their candidates? Our top leaders including Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge were present, and former Chief Ministers were given responsibilities. But why didn’t the CPI(M) general secretary go there and stay for the campaign? And, I did not know that Govindan had issued a fatwa that I should not come to Kerala during the elections," he mocked.

Also read: Kerala local polls turn into political litmus test for LDF, UDF and BJP

However, several UDF allies, including the Indian Union Muslim League, urged the Congress to introspect on the Bihar defeat but also noted that Left leaders should not shirk their own share of responsibility.

As this exchange unfolded, the Congress also raised concerns about voter roll manipulation in Bihar. Party leaders pointed to the removal of a large number of voters through the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision process and argued that these deletions disproportionately affected marginalised groups who typically support Opposition parties.

They linked these deletions to the narrow margins in many seats won by the NDA and described the pattern as alarming.

Senior leader and Thiruvananthapuram MP Shashi Tharoor’s comments on the Bihar debacle also appear to have not gone down well within the party.

"I'm not somebody who has campaigned in Bihar. I was not invited to campaign in Bihar, and therefore, I cannot give you any first-hand information. But I've been talking to people...our party leaders must do some very serious analysis of where things went wrong," said Tharoor.

Complex equation

The tension between the CPI(M) and Congress in Kerala is particularly significant because of the unusual nature of the political alignment created by the inception of the INDIA bloc.

This duality of sharing the same alliance table in Delhi while remaining fierce rivals in Kerala has kept the CPI(M) in a perpetual state of political defensiveness.

The equation became even more complicated with Rahul Gandhi’s arrival in Wayanad in 2019 and Priyanka Gandhi’s entry into the fray in 2024. Their presence strengthened the Congress’s profile in the state, at least in the Parliament elections, and added a new layer of tension to an already uneasy arrangement between the two parties.

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The Congress’s predicament in Kerala is complicated further by the evolving nature of parliamentary politics in the state.

Kerala's dual voting behaviour

Historically, the Congress always performed strongly in Lok Sabha elections in Kerala, barring a few exceptional cycles. After Narendra Modi came to power, this trend became even more pronounced. Minority communities, voting strategically against the BJP, contributed heavily to Congress victories in national elections.

In recent years, this pattern has become sharper, with minorities backing the Congress for Delhi, while favouring the CPI(M) in assembly elections. This dual voting behaviour has created a unique dynamic that both the Congress and CPI(M) are trying to decode as they prepare for the next round of elections.

The CPI(M) has already begun shaping its campaign narrative around welfare measures, governance and internal discipline, contrasting itself with what it describes as Congress’s organisational chaos.

For the Congress, the struggle is both external and internal. The party needs to convert minority support in national elections into broader support for the Assembly and local body polls. It must also rein in its factionalism and present a united front.

The Gandhis-led yatra, which is in a planning stage, is intended to rebuild morale and reconnect with voters at the grassroots, but unless the party resolves its internal rifts, there is a risk that these efforts may not achieve the desired impact.