Since Rahul Gandhi's foreign trip, a major shift is visible in the Congress party's approach. Priyanka Gandhi is leading the Congress and the INDIA bloc from the front. The Congress is doing everything that wouldn't have happened while Rahul was in charge.
Sonia Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: The winter session of Parliament, which concluded on Friday, has signaled two major changes in Indian politics. First, if it was thought that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had weakened due to the expected reduction in BJP seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, this session has dispelled that illusion. The BJP is running the government almost exactly as it has in the previous two terms. The second change is being seen in the main opposition party, the Congress. Since the initial part of the session, Priyanka Gandhi has led the Congress and its allies from the front, and Rahul Gandhi appears to have been sidelined.
Tea with PM Modi
Since Narendra Modi entered active politics in 2002, the top leadership of the Congress has maintained a political distance from him that is rarely seen in any democracy in the world. But on December 19, 2025 (Friday), the day the winter session of Parliament concluded, the country and the world witnessed a major change. The enthusiasm Priyanka showed in fulfilling the parliamentary ritual at the Speaker’s invitation is historic. She comfortably participated in the meeting with PM Modi, his ministers and MPs, and MPs from opposition parties. During this time, she not only discussed her parliamentary constituency of Wayanad with PM Modi, but the leaders were also seen laughing together. This would never have been possible with Rahul Gandhi around.
Meeting with Gadkari in his chamber
Just a day earlier, on Thursday, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra met Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in his chamber in the Parliament House. She had expressed her desire to meet him in the Lok Sabha during Question Hour, and Gadkari immediately agreed. It’s difficult to expect or imagine such behavior from Priyanka’s elder brother and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi. The way Priyanka has displayed a strong sense of being a prominent Indian politician and a leading Member of Parliament of the opposition party in just two days during his absence from India is not typical for the Congress party under Rahul’s leadership. This means that Priyanka is now making decisions on her own, or she has been instructed to do so!
Central Minister’s Controversial Claim
The fact is that while the Modi government was preparing to pass some very important bills in Parliament, Rahul Gandhi, despite being the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, went on a trip to Germany. Regarding this, Union Minister and BJP leader Ravneet Singh Bittu made a significant claim in a conversation with a reporter. Bittu, who had joined the Bharatiya Janata Party from Congress just a year and a half ago, said that “there is a big fight going on between Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Priyanka gave some speeches in Parliament that led to comparisons with Rahul. Angered by this, Rahul went abroad. There are problems in his party and family because of this.”
Rahul’s Allies Distance Themselves
For some time now, Rahul Gandhi has been making “vote theft,” the possibility of EVM tampering, and the SIR (Special Investigation Report) a major issue. In the monsoon session, the opposition INDIA bloc also strongly supported him on these issues. In Bihar, Rahul made a tremendous effort to create a stir on these issues. He tried out all the leaders of the INDIA bloc by bringing them onto the streets of Bihar. However, not only was the Grand Alliance wiped out in the Bihar elections, but even the Congress party’s MLAs, who were few in number, failed to win. As a result, all the allies of the INDIA bloc started distancing themselves from him. Omar Abdullah called vote theft a Congress agenda, while Supriya Sule started praising the EVMs. Lalu Yadav was left with no reaction, and Mamata Banerjee started showing even more distance from Congress. The only one left was the DMK, which had no choice but to become a follower of Congress in Tamil Nadu. Previously, this situation was kept under wraps, but the Bihar elections exposed the weaknesses of the INDIA bloc.
The letter addressed to Sonia
During the winter session of Parliament, on December 8, a Congress leader from Odisha and former MLA, Mohammed Moquim, wrote a five-page letter to Sonia Gandhi demanding that the reins of the party be handed over to a young leader, and he even suggested the name of party MP and her daughter, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. He questioned the Congress party’s continuous defeats in state and national elections and suggested open-heart surgery within the party. In the letter, he mentioned how difficult it is for leaders like him to even meet Rahul Gandhi. Although the party expelled him, the glimpse of change seen in the Congress party’s attitude afterward suggests that Priyanka’s increased activity is not without reason. She seems to be preparing herself to play on the front lines, sidelining her brother.
Authored by: Anjan Kumar
About the Author
Anjan Kumar is an Assistant Editor at Navbharat Times Online. He has over 23 years of experience in electronic and digital media. He is interested in writing on topics related to politics, current affairs, judiciary, defense, foreign affairs, and business.
Courtesy: Hindi News