The Duo Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is engineering a split in Congress? K. C. Venugopal, the All-India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary, Organization), is a key figure in the party’s decision-making. If he has aspirations to become the Chief Minister of Kerala, it would explain why he might be manoeuvring internally to concretise his sway. The charge that he was involved in sidelining Shashi Tharoor during the Kerala Congress power struggles is well known. Tharoor himself has voiced it within the party. However, Tharoor is politically shrewd and has moved on to keep himself in the media. If Venugopal is indeed negating the rise of local Congress leaders, he could be innocently helping the BJP.
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah are vitiating the personalities of the Congress leaders like Shashi Tharoor, D.K. Shivakumar (Karnataka), Sachin Pilot (Rajasthan), Gaurav Gogoi (Assam). It suggests that the BJP is actively working to wreck Congress by creating discontent within the party. The BJP has in the past, used a legal cases, political management, and defection engineered like in Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh to weaken opposition parties.
Rahul Gandhi is unaware that his party is being systematically up rooted by BJP’s political managing. The Congress has struggled with factionalism, and if its leadership fails to recognize how external the BJP and leaders with in the Congress are contributing to its downfall, it could be heading for further splits. Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly failed to address factionalism effectively. The rebellions of leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Himanta Biswa Sarma, and Sachin Pilot show how Congress has been unable to retain young, ambitious leaders who feel isolated.
BJP’s emphatic poaching strategies, internal power struggles within Congress, failure of Rahul Gandhi’s leadership to control factionalism is causing Congress to weaken. The BJP, with its smart electoral machinery, agencies (ED, CBI cases and IT), and loose coalition-building efforts, has successfully exploited these weaknesses. If Rahul Gandhi does not recognize these threats soon, Congress could face more defections and internal conflicts, paving the way for BJP’s dominance. Venugopal might be unknowingly or knowingly aiding the BJP’s agenda. His rise within the Congress leadership has come at the cost of sidelining strong state leaders. If this continues, Congress risks losing more ground are imminent and a split in the Party is sure.
The man behind all ills of the Congress Party – KC Venugopal.
Venugopal is wielding an un challenging power and placement in the Congress Party as the General Secretary (Organisation). He is a self-styled political advisor to Rahul Gandhi. He arranges all the appointments and manages all the activities of Rahul Gandhi. It is also presumed that Venugopal was responsible for the quitting of Congress by the young brigade of Rahul Gandhi – Jitin Prasad, CPN Singh, Jyotiraditya Scindia, and Milind Deora etc.
Rahul Gandhi was misguided by Venugopal. He was the stumbling block who had deliberately filtered the feelings and voices of these leaders not to reach Rahul Gandhi. He had been trying to ensure his vulnerability in the Congress and has gradually weakened the Congress under the inherent ideology of the RSS, Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. He was seen as one of Rahul Gandhi’s closest advisors. However, he is no match to the late Ahmed Patel.
It is said that he has been on the radar of BJP for long and is considered as being a sleeper cell agent of the BJP. He was instrumental in allotting tickets to persons of BJP supporters in Haryana and other States which resulted in favouring BJP. He is now being poached to thwart the interests of many senior Congress leaders like Shashi Tharoor, D.K. Shivakumar, Gaurav Gogoi, Sachin Pilot etc. to please the BJP which has been waiting to grab the opportunity to woo these leaders by engineering a split in the Congress, thereby weaking the position of Rahul Gandhi.
Venugopal is a self- seeking strategist and neither a leader limited to his constituency. He has got no speaking skills and has no pan India image due to his lack of even functional Hindi language to mingle with the Hindi audience or leaders of North India, unlike Shahi Tharoor, who has been a career diplomat, statesman, prolific writer, orator both in English and Hindi.
The Duo Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is engineering a split in Congress? The prospective players in the game
Shashi Tharoor
Shashi Tharoor has won three consecutive Lok Sabha elections from Thiruvananthapuram (2009, 2014, and 2019), often against strong BJP candidates. His victories, particularly in a state where local party organizations play a crucial role, suggest that he benefits significantly from the Congress image rather than a personal cadre. While he undoubtedly has a section of educated, urban, and young supporters who admire his intellectualism, it is an exaggeration to claim that he has built a completely independent political force.
Shashi Tharoor is in a dilemma. He desires greater power, but his options are limited. While BJP may want to use his influence in Kerala, Tharoor would struggle to fit into the party’s ideological framework. His best bet would be to stay within Congress and push for a more significant role, but whether that happens depends on how much Congress is willing to accommodate his ambitions. Tharoor is not yet a “fading light,” but he is certainly at a political crossroads where any misstep could cost him dearly
Sachin Pilot
Sachin Pilot has been a rebellious youth leader from Rajasthan. He is the on of Rajesh Pilot, a senior Congress leader. He entered politics in 2004, winning the Dausa Lok Sabha seat at 26, becoming one of the youngest MPs. He served as Union Minister of State for Communications & IT (2012-2014) in UPA-II. He was Rajasthan Congress Chief (2014-2018) and revived the party after a massive defeat in 2013 and played a key role in the 2018 Rajasthan Assembly win. He expected to become Chief Minister, but Congress high command chose Ashok Gehlot instead. He attempted a coup against Gehlot but was pacified by Congress leadership. Despite this, he remains sidelined. He has been in a weakened position since then, waiting for the right time to reclaim political influence in Rajasthan.
Gaurav Gogoi
Gaurav Gogoi, the son of Tarun Gogoi, Assam’s longest-serving Chief Minister (2001-2016). He studied engineering at Indraprastha University, Delhi, and later pursued a Master’s degree in Public Administration from New York University (NYU). He worked briefly in the US before returning to India to join politics. He joined Congress in 2014, shortly before the Lok Sabha elections. He contested from Kaliabor constituency, a stronghold of his father’s influence in Assam. He won with a large margin, despite the national BJP wave that year.
He was re-elected in 2019 from Kaliabor, proving his strong political base. He served as Deputy Leader of Congress in Lok Sabha, making him one of the party’s top young leaders and now a Deputy leader of Opposition in Parliament. He is known for articulating Congress’ stance on issues like Assam’s NRC & Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), farmer protests, flood relief and development in Assam
He played a key role in the 2021 Assam Assembly Elections, but Congress lost to BJP. Despite the loss, he remains Congress’ most visible leader from Assam, often attacking the BJP-led Assam government. He seen as a top Congress leader for Northeast India. He is expected to play a major role in Congress’ revival in Assam for 2026 Assembly elections.
D.K. Shivakumar
D.K. Shivakumar is considered as the Congress troubleshooter. He entered politics through the NSUI (Congress’ student wing) and became an MLA in 1989. He is known for his money muscle, resourcefulness, and ability to handle political crises for Congress (famously protected Gujarat Congress MLAs from BJP poaching in 2017). He served as Energy Minister and Water Resources Minister in Karnataka. He is now Deputy Chief Minister.
He was jailed in 2019 and faced ED & CBI cases for money laundering, allegedly at BJP’s behest. He became Karnataka Congress President and played a crucial role in winning the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections. He wanted to be CM but had to settle for Deputy CM under Siddaramaiah. His recent moves have created speculations about his future plans. However, he refuted that he is a Congress man to the core and remain so for ever. There are tensions between them regarding the 2028 CM succession plan. He is getting disheartened for not considering for the Chief Minister.
The Duo Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is engineering a split in Congress? Narendra Modi’s image is on the decline
Narendra Modi is indeed facing significant internal and external pressures that could be contributing to his aggressive political moves. Joblessness continues to be a major problem, and despite high GDP growth figures, economic inequality is rising, weaking rupees over dollar, crashing of share markets. Farmers’ protests and dissatisfaction among rural voters are growing concerns. Many small and medium businesses have struggled post-COVID due to GST issues and loan burdens.
Relations with China remain tense, impacting imports and exports. The Western world is also moving toward reducing dependency on India’s manufacturing. India’s ties with some neighbouring countries, including USA, Canada and the Maldives, have faced tensions, leading to diplomatic strains. These factors contribute to Modi’s declining image and the BJP’s electoral setbacks in some states. To counter this, Narendra Modi needs to control the political narrative—which brings us to his strategy against Congress.
Weakening Congress causing Turmoil
Narendra Modi and Amit Shah realize that a strong Congress could challenge them in 2029. Their approach seems to be destabilizing Congress from within. The Congress was repeatedly weakened by the engineered defections (Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka).
K.C. Venugopal and other sleeper cell agents within Congress could be playing a role in delaying or misdirecting strategic decisions. Factionalism in Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Assam prevents Congress from presenting a united front.
BJP winning Haryana, Maharashtra, and Delhi has already hurt Congress’ organizational structure. Bihar is almost in BJP’s grip due to its alliance shifts and Nitish Kumar’s fluctuating stance. By ensuring Congress remains engaged in internal power struggles, Modi can delay Rahul Gandhi’s forward movement and block any potential 2029 resurgence.
Rahul Gandhi is unaware of these moves due to sleeper cell agents inside Congress and he is failing to identify its internal trouble makers. Rahul Gandhi surrounded by individuals who mislead him about BJP’s plans. Modi wants to weaken Congress now, so by 2029, there’s no strong opposition. If Congress does not counteract these engineered defections, it may not reassert.
It has to identify and remove sleeper agents who are delaying the party’s forward movement. Invigorate local leadership instead of ignoring the formidable leaders like Sachin Pilot, Gaurav Gogoi, D.K. Shivakumar. Create a clear and progressive planning against BJP’s moves, instead of reacting to their actions.
The Duo Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is engineering a split in Congress? The “Modi Weedicide” Effect
The Congress has to pick up its emerging leaders with public appeal. Thwart the intensions of the sleeper cells within Congress from creating hurdles in their rise of the mass leaders. Discourage them internally by ensuring that they do not grab key positions and thereby enabling these leaders into desertions. This has happened in the cases of Himanta Biswa Sarma, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jitin Prasad, CPN Singh and Milind Deora and BJP may now be targeting Gaurav Gogoi, Sachin Pilot, and D.K. Shivakumar.
The troika Rahul-Priyanka-Kharge be aware of KC Venugopal’s intentions. They need to recognise and eliminate sleeper cells in Congress, otherwise, BJP will continue encroaching the Congress and weakening the party from within. Evince confidence on the local leaders. Instead of sticking in Delhi, let Gogoi, Pilot, and Shivakumar navigate in their states without internal hurdles.
Can the Congress overcome the organised annihilation?
If Rahul Gandhi and Kharge act prudently, Congress will not fore go many leaders before 2029. Congress needs to learn from past mistakes and protect its upcoming leaders before they are assimilated by the BJP one by one. Congress has got a strong band of leaders in Gaurav Gogoi, Sachin Pilot, DK Shivakumar, Bhupesh Baghel, Revanth Reddy—but they need to be covered from BJP’s swallow techniques.
Rahul Gandhi should uproot the sleeper cells within Congress to expose to cement internal party democracy so that leaders do not feel ignored and keep leaders like Pilot, Gogoi and Shivakumar, Shashi Tharoor engaged in right places. If Congress does not grasp the games of the BJP, it will vacate valuable mass leaders from the Congress.
Modi and Shah are the greatest tacticians using Congress’ own cadres against it. The sleeper cells in disguise like K.C. Venugopal and Jairam Ramesh, have been active waiting for the right moment to break the party before 2029. Rahul and Kharge should now and never and before it is too late.
BJP’s Plan: Break Congress State by State
DK Shivakumar is being politically isolated. Gaurav Gogoi’s rise is being blocked. Sachin Pilot’s future is deliberately kept uncertain. Congress is weaker than ever after the defections. BJP is preparing for a power grab in Bihar. The goal is to ensure Congress look dismal by 2029 to even compete. It is a wake up time for Rahul Gandhi. The next two years are crucial. If Rahul does not act firmly, Modi and Shah will damage or split Congress beyond repair or recovery. If Rahul Gandhi fights back promptly, Congress can still reaffirm and face any challenge in 2029.
The Duo Narendra Modi and Amit Shah is engineering a split in Congress? The Conclusion
Gaurav Gogoi has the legacy of his father, oratory skills, and youth appeal, but he faces challenges in rebuilding Congress in Assam against BJP’s dominance. His success in the 2026 Assam elections will establish his political existence. KC Venugopal is out to erase him under the influence of Amit Shah and Narendra Modi. Himanta Biswa Sarma is BJP’s dice in the Northeast and has helped expand the party’s footprint in the region. His Hindutva-driven approach matches with BJP’s hidden political agenda. Since his success ensures BJP’s influence in Assam and the Northeast, Modi cannot risk a strong Congress to come back under Gaurav Gogoi.
Assam Congress leaders like Bhupen Bora and others may not fully support Gogoi’s leadership. BJP often accuses Gogoi as a dynast without mass appeal, trying to weaken his connection with Assamese voters but it does not mind to pull him to its side. BJP could be desperate against Gaurav Gogoi to cut him to size. Congress needs to mitigate factionalism and ensure him its full backing and should strengthen his mass appeal to move beyond elitist image and reduce gap between urban and rural divide.