BJP hits back at Rahul Gandhi's 'party theft' charge, cites NCP and TMC Congress roots
Synopsis
Rahul Gandhi accused the BJP of systematically splitting opposition parties and stealing their symbols — but BJP's Sudhanshu Trivedi turned the charge around, pointing out that both the NCP and Trinamool Congress broke away from the Congress itself. The exchange captures the escalating war of words as the Trinamool split becomes the Opposition's new flashpoint.
Key Takeaways
Rahul Gandhi on 18 September accused the BJP and the Election Commission of engineering splits in Shiv Sena , NCP , and Trinamool Congress .
Gandhi called the pattern 'vote theft, government theft, and now party theft' , backing the Mamata Banerjee -led TMC faction.
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi countered that both NCP and Trinamool Congress originally split from the Congress — not the BJP.
Trivedi invoked Sharad Pawar's 1999 break with Congress and the internal Rajasthan Congress crisis involving Ashok Gehlot to press the attack.
Trivedi said Gandhi 'does not deserve to be a Congress leader' , escalating the personal tone of the rebuttal.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Friday, 18 September launched a sharp counter-attack against Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi after he accused the BJP of engineering party splits, asserting that Gandhi was ignorant of the very history of his own organisation, the Indian National Congress.
What Rahul Gandhi Said
Earlier in the day, Gandhi drew a line connecting the BJP to a series of political splits, citing the cases of Shiv Sena, the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), and the All India Trinamool Congress (TMC). 'First, it was Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress. Every time, the same pattern. BJP and the Election Commission join forces to split a party. Then its election symbol is snatched away,' Gandhi said, backing the TMC faction led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He called the alleged pattern 'vote theft, government theft, and now party theft', describing it as a symbol of democratic decline.
BJP's Rebuttal at Press Conference
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, challenged Gandhi's grasp of political history. 'Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi, who is perpetually restless, has so far been perceived as someone who knows nothing about the country, society, culture or religion. But today, he made a remarkable tweet. It seems he does not even know much about his own party either,' Trivedi said.
Trivedi pointed out that both the NCP and Trinamool Congress have direct origins in the Congress. 'Rahul Gandhi, can you not even read enough to know that NCP stands for Nationalist Congress Party and broke away from Congress? The name Trinamool Congress itself contains 'Congress'. Sharad Pawar separated from the Congress Party in 1999 over the issue of leadership of foreign origin,' the BJP leader remarked, adding a pointed jibe at Gandhi's own lineage.
Historical Precedents Invoked
Sharpening his attack, Trivedi argued that Gandhi's remarks inadvertently turned the spotlight back on his own party's record. 'For the first time, we are witnessing a leader who doesn't even read what he writes. While writing the words 'NCP' and 'Trinamool Congress', he failed to comprehend that all these allegations end up pointing straight back at the Congress,' Trivedi said.
The BJP MP also invoked the Rajasthan Congress's internal crisis, noting that former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot had reportedly been slated to become the Congress national president but ended up, by Gehlot's own account, being blocked and eventually moving into the rebel camp. Trivedi further cited the case of former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, alleging that the Congress had extended and then withdrawn support to him before he could even face a Parliament session — calling it a singular betrayal in India's political history.
The Broader Political Context
The exchange marks the latest escalation in the ongoing war of words between the BJP and the Congress ahead of multiple state political cycles. The Trinamool Congress split, which has pitted a faction of the party claiming the original symbol against Banerjee's leadership, has become a new flashpoint for Opposition unity narratives. Notably, this is not the first time the BJP has sought to turn allegations of party manipulation back on the Congress by citing historical splits. Critics from the Opposition, however, argue that the scale and pattern of recent splits — backed by access to state power and election commission proceedings — represents a qualitatively different challenge to Indian democratic norms. Both sides appear set to intensify their rhetorical battle as the political season heats up.
Point of View
But it contains an obvious factual vulnerability: both the NCP and Trinamool Congress carry the word 'Congress' in their very names and were born out of splits from that party. The BJP was always going to exploit that opening, and Trivedi did so methodically. What mainstream coverage misses is that the substance of Gandhi's concern — whether state power is being used to legally capture opposition party infrastructure — is distinct from the question of which party originally caused which split. The two arguments talk past each other. As the Trinamool fracture deepens, the Congress faces a delicate balance: supporting Mamata Banerjee's faction risks importing internal contradictions into an already fragile INDIA bloc, while staying silent cedes the narrative entirely to the BJP.
NationPress
18 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Rahul Gandhi allege against the BJP regarding party splits?
Rahul Gandhi alleged that the BJP, in coordination with the Election Commission, has followed a pattern of splitting opposition parties — first Shiv Sena, then NCP, and now Trinamool Congress — and seizing their election symbols. He described this as 'vote theft, government theft, and now party theft'.
How did the BJP respond to Rahul Gandhi's 'party theft' allegation?
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi responded at a press conference on 18 September, arguing that Gandhi was ignorant of his own party's history. Trivedi pointed out that both NCP and Trinamool Congress had their origins in splits from the Indian National Congress — not the BJP — making Gandhi's allegations self-defeating.
Why did Sudhanshu Trivedi mention Sharad Pawar and Chaudhary Charan Singh?
Trivedi cited Sharad Pawar's 1999 departure from the Congress over the issue of foreign-origin leadership as an example of a Congress-originated split, directly undermining Gandhi's claim. He also referenced the Congress withdrawing support from Chaudhary Charan Singh before he could face Parliament, calling it a historic betrayal by the party.
What is the Trinamool Congress split that triggered this political row?
A faction claiming to represent the original Trinamool Congress has emerged in contest with the party led by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, including a dispute over the party's election symbol. Rahul Gandhi publicly backed Banerjee's faction, which prompted his broader critique of the BJP's alleged role in engineering such splits.
What did Trivedi say about Ashok Gehlot's position in Congress?
Trivedi alleged that Ashok Gehlot was once slated to become Congress national president, but was blocked — a claim Gehlot himself reportedly made — and eventually moved into the rebel camp. The BJP used this to argue that Congress, not the BJP, has a longer track record of internal suppression of its own leaders.
