Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Monday, 12 October 2026, launched a blistering attack on the Congress at a press conference at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) headquarters in New Delhi, accusing the party's top leadership of being 'completely directionless' and holding that internal dysfunction — not institutional bias — was the root cause of the party's repeated electoral setbacks nationwide.

Key Accusations Against Congress Leadership

Chouhan argued that Congress had developed a pattern of deflecting responsibility for poll losses onto constitutional bodies. 'For several years, Congress has been continuously attacking constitutional institutions. Now, it has stooped to a point where putting the blame on constitutional institutions for election defeats has become a pattern,' he said at the press conference.

The Agriculture Minister specifically pointed to alleged internal rifts in the party's units in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Karnataka, framing these as evidence of a leadership vacuum. 'Losing elections one after another and then taking out protests has become the fate of the Congress... The reason for the repeated election defeats is not the Election Commission, but the directionless leadership of Congress itself,' Chouhan said.

States Where Congress Has Been 'Marginalised'

Chouhan claimed the party had been politically sidelined across large swathes of the country for a considerable period, citing Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar as examples. 'Except for three or four states, Congress has been reduced to a junior partner in every other state,' he asserted.

Attacks on Institutions and Foreign Influence Allegations

Chouhan widened his critique to allege that Congress attacked whichever institution ruled against it. 'When a court verdict goes against it, it attacks the court. When it loses an election, it attacks the Election Commission. When the Army eliminates terrorists, it attacks the Army,' he said, adding that Congress was 'joining hands with forces seeking to divide the country.'

He further alleged that the Congress and the INDIA bloc had become 'puppets in the hands of foreign powers,' naming George Soros and various non-governmental organisations as entities the opposition had allegedly associated with. These are contested claims that Congress leaders have consistently denied.

Chouhan also cited a statement he attributed to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi — that Gandhi had once said his fight was 'against the Indian state itself' — questioning what such a remark implied about the party's intent.

Context: CEC Row and the INDIA Bloc March

The remarks came as the Congress-led INDIA bloc marched towards the Supreme Court, demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar over a controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Opposition leaders have alleged irregularities in the revision exercise and raised concerns over the integrity of electoral rolls, while the BJP has defended the process and accused the Congress of politicising the issue.

Notably, Chouhan also responded to a comparison some Congress leaders had drawn between their party and Lord Shiva's wedding procession, calling it instead 'a group of troublemakers spreading chaos and trying to create disorder on the streets' — a remark that is likely to sharpen the ongoing war of words ahead of upcoming state contests.

What Comes Next

With the INDIA bloc's legal push over electoral rolls now before the Supreme Court and assembly elections on the horizon in several states, the BJP's counter-offensive — centred on framing Congress as anti-institution — is expected to intensify. How the Supreme Court responds to the opposition's petition on the CEC controversy will be a key inflection point in the coming weeks.