It held power in Delhi for 15 years at a stretch from 1998 to 2013. But since the emergence of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress has been relegated to the third position behind the Arvind Kejriwal-led party and the BJP, and now the grand old party is struggling for survival in the national Capital. In the recently concluded Assembly bypoll for the Rajinder Nagar constituency, the party received just 2.79 per cent votes and its candidate Prem Lata lost her deposit. This was lower than the 4.26 per cent vote share that the Congress managed overall in the last Assembly elections. The party has not had MLAs in Delhi for two straight terms. Expressing concern, a senior Congress leader said, “We got 2 per cent vote and we were neither trolled on social media nor did the mainstream media give us much importance … It is worrying. It shows that people and the media now do not even expect much from us; like it happens with the BSP (Bahujan Samaj Party) and other regional parties in Delhi.” As the Congress flounders, its leaders are switching sides. On Wednesday, three-time Congress MLA from Jangpura Tarvinder Singh Marwah joined the BJP. A BJP MP told The Indian Express, “I don’t understand the need to take in someone from the Congress. The party is already collapsing in Delhi.” Sharp decline The party’s shrinking footprint in the national Capital has been a gradual process. It was not in a state of disarray immediately after losing the 2015 Assembly election despite drawing a blank. Two years later, it showed signs of revival in the municipal polls. Led by Ajay Maken and Sharmistha Mukherjee, the party got 21 per cent of the votes while the AAP got 28 per cent, and the BJP topped with 36 per cent. Though it finished third, the Congress’s vote share was six per cent higher than in the 2015 Assembly polls. In the 2019 Lok Sabha election, the grand old party came second with 22.5 per cent of the votes, leaving the AAP far behind at 15 per cent. In the 2020 Assembly polls, its vote share plummeted to 4.26 per cent and it again failed to open its account. Over the years, the Congress has also lost its core vote banks one by one. Muslims backed it in the 2013 Assembly polls but went with the AAP two years later. "It had by now become clear that the AAP was a challenger to the BJP and not the Congress," said a senior leader. The Purvanchal vote bank also drifted away after the AAP gave tickets to several MLAs with roots in eastern UP and Bihar, and the BJP made Manoj Tiwari, a Purvanchali, its president. Tiwari started a morcha to tap this large chunk of voters. Similarly, people in illegal colonies and slums benefitted from Central government schemes when the Congress was in power and they found support from Congress leaders amid a persistent fear of losing their homes, But, they too shifted to the AAP, which promised free water and electricity. A senior Congress functionary said top leaders quitting the party or not working for it, the defection of councillors, and a hostile media had made things difficult, causing the party’s condition to go from bad to worse in the past few years. Ahead of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) polls this April, at least 12 of the Congress’s 31 councillors left it. Among them was its influential leader in the corporation Mukesh Goel who joined the AAP. “At the top, a vacuum developed with Ahmed Patel ji’s death, Maken ji receiving Central responsibilities and the Gandhis not taking any interest in Delhi,” said a senior Delhi Congress leader. “In the Rajinder Nagar bypoll, even BJP president J P Nadda campaigned. Kejriwal campaigned for three days. But our top leadership was not seen.” A senior leader said there was discontentment as well as disillusionment among the rank and file. “Some leaders are unhappy with the existing state leadership as they have not been given any position and their voices are not heard. Secondly, it is difficult to groom new leaders when they think about their self-interest amid the downward graph of the Congress. The top leadership is unapproachable for most.” A party office-bearer said, “We need to raise the issues that people connect with by using innovative campaigns. Only then will the party revive.” The last time in recent months when a Delhi Congress leader made the news was during the demolition in Jahangirpuri in April. At the time, a delegation led by Maken, a former Union minister, visited the area along with other leaders to protest. Attempts at revival Congress vice-president Abhishek Dutt said the party was going through a phase of rebuilding and would make a strong comeback. “Those who are leaving are basically opportunists, you had all the fun when the Congress was in power. When we needed you the most, you joined the BJP or the AAP. Do you leave your parents when they need you the most?” Sources in the Congress said many senior state-level leaders were not active in the organisation anymore and were busy either with their businesses or in their constituencies. “Some are even in touch with the AAP or the BJP. If things continue the way they are now, more leaders may quit the party as the Lok Sabha polls near,” said a party functionary. Some leaders said the party was preparing for organisational elections, deeming it to be the first step towards revival. Former Delhi minister Arvinder Singh Lovely who was among the G-23 group of Congress dissidents said, “Each person has a role in the party. I, as a member of the Central Election Committee, am overseeing and helping conduct organisational polls.” Former minister Haroon Yusuf said apart from the organisational elections the party was focusing on getting more traction on social media. Talking about the AAP, he said, “Their marketing and advertising power is saving them but it is gradually getting exposed… people are seeing how the transport sector has been brought to a standstill, no flyover has been built in all these years, buses are not up to capacity, the Yamuna has not been cleaned, there is severe air pollution in Delhi. You saw the AAP’s stand during the northeast Delhi riots when Delhi was burning, or during the demolition in Jahangirpuri. Where was the AAP? They are hand in glove with the BJP.” Another senior functionary said the Congress needs to push its popular and aspiring leaders to the forefront. “You are fighting against the popularity of Kejriwal and the mighty organisation of the BJP. You need a leader with mass popularity, a strategist with Chankaya’s intellect, a long-term plan and a team to execute it. Till then, we cannot expect big changes in fortune,” she added.
