At 140 (on December 28, 2025), the Indian National Congress is grappling with the cumulative effects of long-standing institutional erosion. Senior party leader Digvijaya Singh’s recent remarks praising the organisational strength of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), compared to the Congress, have brought this issue back into public debate. Since the split of 1969, electoral leadership has progressively substituted for organisational depth, a tendency that persisted even through the 1990s. Ironically, many senior leaders who loudly decry the Congress’s organisational attrition have themselves been its biggest roadblocks to real reform. The Congress needs leaders who are rooted in mass support rather than have office-bearers in Delhi with limited connection to the ground.

Source: The Hindu January 16, 2026 20:18 UTC