The country’s first general elections were held in the year 1951-52. The Indian National Congress (INC) had captured 364 seats out of 489 and its vote share was about 45%. This was the period when a single party was in power over the entire country. But today, after 70 years, the same Congress is limited to the government of only four states. Is this 140-year-old party, which once decided the direction and condition of the country, now counting its last breaths or is it waiting for a new beginning?

Congress reached every village by winning more than 400 seats

Congress prepared its political ground through powerful leaders like Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi. The party held power at the Center for more than 50 years between 1952 and 2014. In the 1984 elections, Congress had got a record of more than 400 seats. This was the time when Congress’s support base extended from Hindu-dominated society to minorities and deprived classes. The organization of the party was strong from village to village and a complete system was running under the name ‘Congress System’.

When and how did the disintegration of Congress begin?

Experts believe that the real decline of Congress began after 1989, when it lost absolute majority power at the Center and had to depend on coalition politics. Allegations of corruption, internal factionalism in the organization and the rise of regional parties started hollowing out the roots of the party. Then in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Congress was overthrown and it was reduced to only 44 seats, while its vote share was reduced to 19.3%. After slight improvement in 2019, the party secured 99 seats and 21.26% vote share in 2024, but still proved to be dwarf in front of the Modi wave.

Current reality: Government of only 4 states

If we look at the latest situation of 2026, Congress currently has its government in only four states. After a big victory in Kerala in the 2026 assembly elections, the Congress is now in power in three southern states – Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala, apart from only Himachal Pradesh in North India. In Jharkhand, it is part of the government in alliance with JMM, but the leadership there is with Hemant Soren.

In states like Bihar and Tamil Nadu, the party is either playing the role of a minor ally or is completely marginalized. At the same time, in states like Delhi, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh and Assam, Congress’s support base has either ended or is very weak.

What are the five big reasons for the decline of Congress?

The decline of Congress cannot be explained by one or two reasons, there is a well-planned political process behind it:

• Weak leadership and organizational discord: Under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi, the party has faced more than 95 electoral defeats. Internal factionalism and disconnection of the high command from ground reality is continuously weakening the party.
• Crisis of ideology: BJP projected Congress as a politician of ‘Muslim appeasement’, which shook the confidence of Hindu majority voters.
• Rise and polarization of BJP: Since 2014, Congress has not won an outright victory in any contest in North India because BJP has been successful in polarizing on religious lines.
• Process of defection and leaving the party: After 2014, hundreds of leaders and workers left Congress and joined BJP or other parties. This trend was at its peak between 2017 and 2021.
• Distrust in coalition politics: The allies of the India alliance, be it the Trinamool Congress or the Aam Aadmi Party, are not ready to accept the national leadership of the Congress, which has weakened the opposition unity.

So is the Congress Party going to end?

The answer to this question is not easy. However, the India alliance is limited to only 6 states and one union territory and many BJP leaders are calling it ‘non-existent outside Kerala’. Despite this, it is difficult to make predictions in politics. The 99 seats won in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections definitely proved that the party still has the strength to fight. The growing influence of the party in South India and movements like ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ have energized the workers.

But the future of the party will depend on how quickly it overcomes its weaknesses. Congress will have to build a strong organization, rework the caste and regional equations and set a clear ideological direction. These are the challenges that the party will have to overcome. If Congress fails to do this, then its story in the history books will be limited to a ‘golden past’.