Youth-Veteran Rift Resurfaces in Congress

After the recent Ahmedabad session, the Congress party is once again facing a growing divide similar to the 2009-2010 phase—where a rift between young and experienced leaders had weakened the party.

- AJIT MAINDOLA

A campaign seems to be underway to sideline senior and experienced leaders, with claims that their time is over and they should retire. This includes former Chief Ministers and close associates of Sonia Gandhi. Even leaders like Ajay Maken and Kumari Selja are being tagged in this wave.

At the Ahmedabad session, younger leaders were given more speaking opportunities, which triggered this youth-versus-veteran narrative. State-level campaigns have started, highlighting internal groupism. Key Hindi belt states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Chhattisgarh, and Himachal are being affected, and even Congress-ruled states like Himachal and Karnataka are not immune.

Ironically, those being projected as the "future" of the party are often leaders who came from other parties or never played a crucial role in Congress victories. Some have even been involved in toppling Congress governments, yet are now being promoted as future faces. This has led to resentment among the party's older core.