Internal Rift in Congress Deepens After Bihar Loss; KC Venugopal Faces Intensified Criticism

Thiruvananthapuram: In the backdrop of their defeat in Bihar assembly elections, a section within Congress has intensified their move against AICC General Secretary KC Venugopal, who was in charge of Mahagathbandhan in Biahar. This comes at a time when Venugopal is preparing to assert greater control over the Congress organization in Kerala.

Online channels and social media groups supporting Kerala's Opposition Leader V.D. Satheesan have stepped up their campaigns against Venugopal. As the in-charge of the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar, Venugopal had overseen the election strategy. The Congress fielded its own candidates in more than ten constituencies where their ally RJD expected to contest, which caused friction within the alliance. The NDA swept all of those seats. Moreover, the lack of follow-up after candidate announcements proved to be another setback. Despite strong anti-incumbency sentiments and favorable conditions, the Congress failed to capitalise. Leaders are now questioning what would happen in Kerala if the leader who pushed Congress into such a difficult position in Bihar is given charge of the party in Kerala.

Shashi Tharoor’s statement — that those responsible in Bihar must answer — is also widely seen as targeting Venugopal and Shafi Parambil, who had participated in the voter outreach campaign and election activities in Bihar. Adding to the suspicion surrounding Venugopal is his past incident involving the “gifted” Rajya Sabha seat from Rajasthan. When he contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election from Alappuzha, he was still a Rajya Sabha MP from Rajasthan — a seat he held when Congress ruled the state. Later, BJP came to power in Rajasthan.

Congress leaders are now recalling that by resigning from his Rajya Sabha seat at that time, it was almost certain the seat would fall into BJP’s hands, and this criticism is now emerging from within the party itself. Although Venugopal has demonstrated his influence by using his power in AICC to appoint his supporters within the KPCC, he continues to face extremely strong resistance within the party.