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By:

Quaid Najmi

4 January 2025 at 3:26:24 pm

Congress’ solo path for ‘ideological survival’

Mumbai: The Congress party’s decision to contest the forthcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently is being viewed as an attempt to reclaim its ideological space among the public and restore credibility within its cadre, senior leaders indicated. The announcement - made by AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala alongside state president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad - did not trigger a backlash from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi...

Congress’ solo path for ‘ideological survival’

Mumbai: The Congress party’s decision to contest the forthcoming BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections independently is being viewed as an attempt to reclaim its ideological space among the public and restore credibility within its cadre, senior leaders indicated. The announcement - made by AICC General Secretary Ramesh Chennithala alongside state president Harshwardhan Sapkal and Mumbai Congress chief Varsha Gaikwad - did not trigger a backlash from the Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi (MVA) partners, the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and Shiv Sena (UBT). According to Congress insiders, the move is the outcome of more than a year of intense internal consultations following the party’ dismal performance in the 2024 Assembly elections, belying huge expectations. A broad consensus reportedly emerged that the party should chart a “lone-wolf” course to safeguard the core ideals of Congress, turning140-years-old, next month. State and Mumbai-level Congress leaders, speaking off the record, said that although the party gained momentum in the 2019 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it was frequently constrained by alliance compulsions. Several MVA partners, they claimed, remained unyielding on larger ideological and political issues. “The Congress had to compromise repeatedly and soften its position, but endured it as part of ‘alliance dharma’. Others did not reciprocate in the same spirit. They made unilateral announcements and declared candidates or policies without consensus,” a senior state leader remarked. Avoid liabilities He added that some alliance-backed candidates later proved to be liabilities. Many either lost narrowly or, even after winning with the support of Congress workers, defected to Mahayuti constituents - the Bharatiya Janata Party, Shiv Sena, or the Nationalist Congress Party. “More than five dozen such desertions have taken place so far, which is unethical, backstabbing the voters and a waste of all our efforts,” he rued. A Mumbai office-bearer elaborated that in certain constituencies, Congress workers effectively propelled weak allied candidates through the campaign. “Our assessment is that post-split, some partners have alienated their grassroots base, especially in the mofussil regions. They increasingly rely on Congress workers. This is causing disillusionment among our cadre, who see deserving leaders being sidelined and organisational growth stagnating,” he said. Chennithala’s declaration on Saturday was unambiguous: “We will contest all 227 seats independently in the BMC polls. This is the demand of our leaders and workers - to go alone in the civic elections.” Gaikwad added that the Congress is a “cultured and respectable party” that cannot ally with just anyone—a subtle reference to the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS), which had earlier targeted North Indians and other communities and is now bidding for an electoral arrangement with the SS(UBT). Both state and city leaders reiterated that barring the BMC elections - where the Congress will take the ‘ekla chalo’ route - the MVA alliance remains intact. This is despite the sharp criticism recently levelled at the Congress by senior SS(UBT) leader Ambadas Danve following the Bihar results. “We are confident that secular-minded voters will support the Congress' fight against the BJP-RSS in local body elections. We welcome backing from like-minded parties and hope to finalize understandings with some soon,” a state functionary hinted. Meanwhile, Chennithala’s firm stance has triggered speculation in political circles about whether the Congress’ informal ‘black-sheep' policy vis-a-vis certain parties will extend beyond the BMC polls.

Afghan Nemesis

For years, Pakistan imagined itself as the grand chessmaster of South Asia in managing militants, manipulating neighbours and moulding Afghanistan into a pliant satellite. No longer. As Pakistani jets struck Kabul, prompting a lethal Afghani retaliation in which several Pakistani soldiers are believed to have been killed, Pakistan’s decades-long gamble on jihad and manipulation collapsed, leaving it bloodied and at war with its own creation.


Earlier strikes last week, aimed at the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had coincided with the Afghan Taliban’s foreign minister visiting New Delhi. They revealed the full collapse of Pakistan’s long-cherished Afghan policy.


The airstrikes were intended to assassinate Noor Wali Mehsud, the TTP’s shadowy leader and Islamabad’s sworn enemy. Mehsud, who branded Pakistan’s post-9/11 alliance with America an act of apostasy, has masterminded an unrelenting campaign of terror. His group’s ambush earlier this month that killed 11 Pakistani soldiers was merely the latest in a string of bloody attacks.


Pakistan’s generals, accustomed to controlling events from the shadows, now face a Frankenstein’s monster. The Afghan Taliban, once regarded as ideological protégés, accuse Islamabad of violating their sovereignty and colluding with the Islamic State Khorasan Province, a shared enemy. Today, Islamabad’s edifice of militant patronage is collapsing.


Since the 1980s, Pakistan’s military establishment has cultivated jihad as an instrument of policy. The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) trained the mujahideen to fight the Soviets, midwifed the Taliban’s rise in the 1990s, and later provided safe haven to al-Qaeda fugitives. It armed and abetted outfits like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed to bleed India in Kashmir, convinced it could harness extremism as a controllable tool. Today, the state became hostage to the very networks it created.


The Taliban’s victory in 2021 seemed to vindicate Pakistan’s long game. American troops departed in humiliation, and Islamabad congratulated itself on the return of ‘friendly’ rulers in Kabul. The euphoria soon curdled. The Taliban refused to act as pliant proxies, ignored demands to curb the TTP, and began to assert Afghanistan’s independence in rhetoric and diplomacy. Their outreach to India, which is the bete noire of Pakistan’s strategic imagination, was the final straw. Muttaqi’s visit to New Delhi last week, and his meeting with Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar, underscored a geopolitical realignment that leaves Pakistan on the margins.


Afghanistan’s rulers are no longer beholden to Rawalpindi. Their pragmatic courtship of India and refusal to crack down on anti-Pakistan militants have shattered Islamabad’s illusion of control. Pakistan, once the puppeteer, has become the pawn. The airstrikes over Kabul betray not confidence but impotence and a desperate attempt to reassert dominance long since lost.


The irony is as brutal as it is deserved. For decades, Pakistan’s generals believed they could manipulate jihadists, dominate Afghanistan and outmanoeuvre India. Instead, they have conjured a nemesis that now strikes from both sides of the border. The empire of deceit they built in the name of ‘strategic depth’ is imploding. No amount of bluster or bombing will save it.

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