Congress Plays Down INDIA Bloc Leadership Questions As TMC, SP Flex Muscles Ahead Of Winter Session
Congress, RJD blame "vote theft" for Bihar loss, but TMC, SP are keen to project themselves as main rivals of BJP in states, say insiders.
Published : November 20, 2025 at 6:02 PM IST
|Updated : November 20, 2025 at 6:09 PM IST
New Delhi: The Congress on Thursday played down rumours of a tussle within the opposition over the leadership of the INDIA (Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance) bloc, following the Bihar poll debacle, and noted that efforts were on to forge opposition unity ahead of the Winter Session of Parliament, starting December 1.
According to Congress insiders, such banter about the leadership of the bloc was usual after any defeat of the Congress, which has grown weak in some states. But, they pointed out, the Grand Old Party was still the largest among the opposition parties in the Lok Sabha, with 102 seats. The Congress had won 99 seats in the 2024 General Elections. Later, three Independents had decided to back it in the Lok Sabha, taking its tally to 102.
Rumours of a tussle over leadership within the bloc surfaced over the past few days, following the worst-ever drubbing of any opposition party or coalition in the recent Bihar Assembly elections. The Mahagathbandhan (MGB) — made up of INDIA bloc members the Congress, RJD and others — could muster just 35 seats in a House of 243 seats, against the NDA’s 202.
The Congress, which won only 6 of the 61 seats it had contested, is being blamed for pulling down the entire MGB in Bihar, allegedly because the aggressive campaign against SIR and allegations of vote theft, which was led by the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi of the Congress.
The Congress and the RJD have since blamed alleged voter list manipulation and tampering of EVMs by the BJP as key reasons behind the opposition’s rout. Yet, INDIA bloc member TMC, which is in power in West Bengal, and SP, which is the main opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, have questioned Congress's leadership within the opposition bloc, saying they were better suited to lead the group to counter the BJP with greater aggression.
“Such voices surface every time we lose an election. If they want a change, they should bring about that change. But we are talking to all our partners, and a united opposition will counter the NDA government during the coming Parliament session over various issues," CWC member Syed Naseer Hussain told ETV Bharat.
Congress insiders said the unease within the TMC and the SP over the leadership of the INDIA bloc could be due to the Assembly elections in West Bengal, due in 2026, and in Uttar Pradesh, due in 2027, when the two regional parties would pitch themselves as the main rivals to the BJP, which is in power in UP and is the principal opposition in West Bengal.
During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections as well, the TMC had refused any seat-sharing arrangement with the Congress and the Left parties in West Bengal, although the Congress and the SP agreed on a pact in UP. Once again, the TMC plans to go solo in the 2026 West Bengal elections, but both the Congress and the SP are keen to work out a seat-sharing formula in which the regional party gets the bigger chunk of 403 Assembly seats in UP.
A similar muscle-flexing was witnessed during the recent Bihar elections, in which the major regional partner, the RJD, struck a hard bargain with the Congress over seat-sharing. While the TMC and the SP are flexing their muscles following the INDIA bloc’s Bihar poll debacle, Maharashtra ally Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray), too, has been talking tough since the Congress decided to contest the upcoming Mumbai Municipal Corporation polls alone.
“The INDIA bloc is going strong, and the TMC and the SP are part of it. The Congress is the largest party in the Lok Sabha, and has been leading the opposition effectively since 2024. But we do need to work hard to expand our presence across the states by picking up people’s issues. Although our 'high command' keeps flagging these issues from time to time, we need to hit the ground to register our presence. I keep doing such programmes in my area, but we need a state-wide campaign to become the voice of the marginalised groups, whose rights are being regularly violated,” Congress Lok Sabha MP from UP Rakesh Rathor told ETV Bharat.
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