0, 0, 0: Cong betters vote share but can’t win a seat

The Congress increased its vote share in Delhi but failed to win seats again, raising concerns about its future and alliance strategies against the BJP.

The Indian National Congress, which won no seats in Delhi for the third consecutive time in an assembly election, could perhaps take solace from the fact that its vote share has increased marginally, from 4.3% in 2020 to 6.34% this time, and that it successfully played spoiler in 19 constituencies (the Aam Aadmi Party lost 12 of these and the BJP, 7, though it is debatable whether the Congress’ votes would have transferred to the BJP).

The Delhi Congress office bore a deserted look as election results were announced on Saturday. (Sanchit Khanna/HT Photo)

The party may also perhaps take solace from the fact that among the AAP candidates who lost because of the Congress were AAP chief and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal (he lost to the BJP’s Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma, the son of a former chief minister by a margin of 4,089 votes while the Congress’ Sandeep Dikshit, the son of another former chief minister, polled 4,568 votes) and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia (he lost to the BJP’s Tarvinder Singh Marwah by 675 votes, while the Congress’ Farhad Suri polled 7,350 votes).

And it may take solace in playing a part in the downfall of the AAP, as suggested by the Congress’ communications chief Jairam Ramesh.

“The 2025 Delhi Vidhan Sabha election results reflect nothing more than a referendum on Arvind Kejriwal and the Aam Aadmi Party. After all, at the height of the PM’s popularity in 2015 and 2020, AAP had won decisively in Delhi. This shows that, rather than being vindication of the policies of the PM, this vote is a rejection of Arvind Kejriwal’s politics of deceit, deception, and vastly exaggerated claims of achievement,” he said.

“The Indian National Congress took the lead in highlighting the various scams that have occurred under Arvind Kejriwal and voters have pronounced their judgement on his twelve years of misrule,” Ramesh added.

But the party’s abject failure to mark its presence in the national Capital, where the last Congress CM Shiela Dikshit ran government for 15 years (between 1998 and 2013), underlines the larger problems of the principal Opposition party. Congress insiders admit that the party has all but lost the political momentum gained during the Lok Sabha election,and that its inability to present itself as a viable alternative to the BJP in North India will threaten the Congress’ pivotal position as the leader of the INDIA bloc of opposition parties

In the 62 assembly elections held so far from 2014 (when Narendra Modi became the PM) the Congress, along with its allies such as DMK, JMM, RJD has won only 13 compared to the 38 won by the BJP-led NDA with a strike rate of 61%.

Ramesh sought to look at the positives.

“The Congress was expecting to do better. It has, however, increased its vote share. The campaign of the Congress was vigorous. It may not be in the assembly but it is definitely a presence in Delhi, a presence that will be expanded electorally with the sustained efforts of lakhs of Congress workers. There will be a Congress government once again in Delhi in 2030,” he claimed.

The Congress and the AAP couldn’t arrive at an agreement and the two members of the INDIA bloc fought a bitter fight. . Senior Congress leaders including Ajay Maken—a key face in Delhi— slammed AAP and maintained that ever since the AAP came to power, the BJP has been winning all seven of Delhi’s Lok Sabha seats. Ironically, the two were partners in the last Lok Sabha election and the Congress contested three of the 7 seats.

After the humiliating defeat, Congress’ Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma, considered a confidante of Rahul Gandhi, said that an alliance with AAP would have had different results.

“We (Congress) have increased our vote percentage in Delhi. If AAP and Congress had contested the Delhi assembly elections together, the results would have been different. The votes got divided...The fight will continue,” Sharma said.

But the lack of coherence in the party’s thinking on allies and potential allies was evident in the comments of senior Congress leader Kumari Selja who targetted both the BJP and the AAP. “They both (AAP and BJP) are alike. There was BJP in Centre and AAP in State since 10 years and both are responsible for the plight of Delhi. Let us see what use will the BJP make of the opportunity Delhi gave them. We will also analyse their work...”

The poor show in Delhi underlines how the Congress needs to recalibrate its ties with allies in northern India after it has repeatedly failed to take on the BJP in its stronghold. The party is also set to come under pressure from powerful INDIA allies such as Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party who have already indicated that the Congress’ leadership of the opposition grouping is not cast in stone.