Rahul Gandhi does events then vanishes, says Sharmistha Mukherjee
Synopsis
Sharmistha Mukherjee, insider-turned-observer and daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee, has delivered one of the sharper critiques of Rahul Gandhi in recent months — calling out a pattern of event-driven appearances followed by absence, and warning that Congress cannot win on alliances alone. Coming from someone with family ties to the Congress establishment, the remarks carry unusual weight.
Key Takeaways
Sharmistha Mukherjee criticised Rahul Gandhi for doing events and then 'disappearing', calling politics a 24-hour, 365-day job .
She acknowledged the Bharat Jodo Yatra helped Congress win 99 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections , but said momentum was not sustained.
Mukherjee said Congress has focused on alliance-building over organisational strength — a structural flaw she observed even as an insider.
She called Congress's repeated defeats since 2014 a 'failure' of Rahul Gandhi's leadership.
She declined to compare Rahul Gandhi with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra , citing limited personal interaction with both.
Sharmistha Mukherjee, daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee and ex-Congress member, has sharply criticised senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for what she described as a pattern of brief public appearances followed by prolonged absences, arguing that politics demands full-time commitment. Her remarks, made in Gurugram on 28 June, add to a growing chorus of internal and former-insider criticism of the Congress leadership's organisational approach.
The 'Disappearing Act' Charge
Mukherjee did not mince words when assessing Gandhi's engagement with ground-level politics. 'Rahul Gandhi does some events and then disappears. Where was he during the first anniversary of Bharat Jodo Yatra? Politics is a 24-hour, 365-day job. You come and then go out after 2 days. You do some rallies, meet some people and then you go out. So, according to me, politics is not like this,' she said.
She acknowledged that the Bharat Jodo Yatra yielded positive results for the party — Congress won 99 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections — but argued that momentum was not sustained. Her criticism centres on what she sees as episodic rather than sustained engagement from the party's most visible face.
Congress Organisation Under Scrutiny
Mukherjee went beyond personal critique to flag what she described as a structural weakness in Congress: an over-reliance on electoral alliances at the expense of building grassroots organisational strength. 'Even when I worked in Congress, it was just focused on how to win by forming alliances, not by strengthening the organisation. They don't have the encouragement to win on their own strength,' she said.
This critique carries weight given her insider vantage point. Mukherjee, who has since distanced herself from active Congress politics, said the party's repeated defeats since 2014 reflect a 'failure' on Gandhi's part to convert his public profile into decisive electoral mandates.
Comparing Gandhi to Modi
'Rahul Gandhi has been the face of Congress since 2014. Since 2014, Congress has been losing elections one after another... Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a mass leader. His popularity can be seen from his mandate. Rahul Gandhi is not able to bring his mandate to Congress. This is a failure of Rahul Gandhi,' she said.
Notably, this is not the first time a former Congress insider has drawn this contrast. Critics within and outside the party have long argued that Gandhi's leadership style lacks the consistency and organisational discipline that sustained mass leaders typically demonstrate.
On Priyanka Gandhi — A Line She Won't Cross
When asked to compare Rahul Gandhi with his sister and Wayanad Member of Parliament Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Mukherjee declined. 'I do not have any opinion on this. When I was in Congress, I was a junior. My interaction with Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi was very limited. Whatever I am saying about Congress, I say as an observer. But I don't want to compare Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi,' she said.
Her restraint on the sibling comparison stands in contrast to her otherwise pointed assessment, suggesting a deliberate boundary between political observation and personal commentary. As Congress navigates its post-2024 positioning, voices like Mukherjee's — credible by lineage and experience — are unlikely to be easily dismissed.
Point of View
Congress's structural dependence on alliances over organisational muscle, is arguably the more consequential problem: 99 seats in 2024 masked the party's continued inability to win on its own steam in most states. If Congress cannot rebuild its booth-level presence, no amount of yatras or alliance arithmetic will produce a durable majority.
NationPress
28 Jun 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Sharmistha Mukherjee say about Rahul Gandhi?
Sharmistha Mukherjee said Rahul Gandhi does events and then 'disappears', and that politics must be treated as a full-time, year-round commitment. She cited his absence during the first anniversary of the Bharat Jodo Yatra as an example of this pattern.
Why does Sharmistha Mukherjee's criticism carry weight?
Mukherjee is the daughter of former President Pranab Mukherjee and a former Congress member herself, giving her both insider knowledge and establishment credibility. Her critique is not that of a political rival but of someone who observed the party from within.
Did Sharmistha Mukherjee acknowledge any positives for Congress under Rahul Gandhi?
Yes. She noted that the Bharat Jodo Yatra delivered results, with Congress winning 99 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, she argued the momentum was not sustained due to Rahul Gandhi's episodic engagement.
What structural problem did Mukherjee identify in Congress?
Mukherjee said Congress has long prioritised forming alliances over strengthening its own organisation, leaving it without the grassroots muscle to win elections on its own strength. She said this was evident even during her time in the party.
Did Mukherjee compare Rahul Gandhi with Priyanka Gandhi Vadra?
No. Mukherjee explicitly declined to draw a comparison between the two siblings, saying her interaction with both was limited and that her comments on Congress are those of an observer, not an insider with direct knowledge.
