CASTE POLITICS BACK ON CONGRESS AGENDA FOR 2025

Rahul Gandhi must reform Congress and rebuild grassroots to regain relevance amid ineffective leadership and growing calls for change.

- AJIT MAINDOLA

JAIPUR T he Congress party concludes 2024 in a weakened state, with its challenges showing no signs of abating. The party plans to lean heavily on caste-based politics, focusing on issues like, "Save the Constitution" and invoking Dr. B.R. Ambedkar to rejuvenate its political standing. However, serious questions remain: Will its allies stand by the party? Will these strategies work? The party appears increasingly isolated within the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I. Alliance), with growing discontent among its partners.

In Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has publicly opposed Congress and demanded its removal from the alliance. The upcoming Delhi elections are set to feature a three-way contest, leaving Congress' chances near to nothing.

The biggest challenge for Congress is in Bihar state, where the assembly elections are due in October 2025. These elections are critical for the Congress. But it's long-time ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), has already started exerting pressure, recalling the 2020 assembly elections results, when on Congress's insistence on contesting from over 80 seats resulted in a poor performance and cost the RJD a potential victory.