Kharge-Rahul Banter, Priyanka’s Pradhan Remark and Congress’s SIR Battle
Kharge holds a key meeting with Congress leaders. (Image INC India)
By NIRENDRA DEV
The Congress CWC backed a stronger SIR campaign as Kharge, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Shashi Tharoor featured in pointed exchanges.
New Delhi, September 30, 2026 — What was expected to be a serious Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting on the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls also produced moments of political banter, pointed exchanges and a revealing debate over who gets credit for the party’s campaign.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, while backing Rahul Gandhi’s campaign against alleged irregularities in the electoral process, reportedly told him: “Hum aapke peeche chal rahe hain” (We are all walking behind you).
Rahul Gandhi responded with a smile: “Bahut peeche toh nahin hain?” (Not too far behind, I hope?), according to a leader who attended the meeting. The remark drew laughter. Kharge then corrected himself, saying: “Hum aapke saath chal rahe hain” (We are walking alongside you).
The exchange was light-hearted, but it also offered an unusual glimpse into the dynamics between the Congress president and Rahul Gandhi, whose campaign against the Election Commission has become a central part of the party’s current political strategy.
The CWC subsequently backed an intensified campaign over SIR. Congress demanded the immediate resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, suspension of the SIR exercise and restoration of 13.3 crore names that the party says have been removed from electoral rolls. It also demanded the resignations of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah. These are Congress’s political demands and allegations; the Election Commission has defended the SIR process and its procedures.
Priyanka and the ‘credit’ question
Another exchange could have wider political implications.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra reportedly argued that the party did not need outside support to pursue the Election Commission issue.
“Congress kisi ke sahare nahin hai” (Congress is not dependent on anybody), she said, according to a leader present at the meeting. She added that Congress had been raising the issue from the beginning and could fight the battle on its own.
When a CWC member reportedly suggested that Gyanesh Kumar would not resign because he was “very obstinate”, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra responded: “Why will he not resign? Didn’t Dharmendra Pradhan resign? He had to. We will keep agitating on the streets and build momentum till he is forced to resign.”
That comparison, however, invites a question of political credit.
Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister on July 25 after weeks of protests over the NEET-UG controversy. The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) had made his resignation its principal demand, and its protest was subsequently called off after the resignation and government commitments on other demands. Contemporary reports also recorded negotiations between CJP representatives and Union ministers immediately before the resignation.
Therefore, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra’s reference to Pradhan’s resignation does not by itself establish that Congress pressure caused his exit. The CJP and student protesters can point to the resignation as the outcome of their sustained agitation, while Congress had also demanded Pradhan’s resignation during the controversy. The question of political credit remains a matter of competing claims.
Kharge’s dig at Tharoor
The CWC meeting also witnessed an exchange involving Shashi Tharoor.
Tharoor reportedly suggested that Congress organise an event around Mahatma Gandhi’s birth anniversary on October 2, arguing that the BJP could otherwise dominate the narrative around the occasion.
Kharge responded by asking whether Tharoor would actually attend a Congress event or whether party leaders would only encounter him on X and read his newspaper articles. A leader present described the exchange as light-hearted and said it prompted laughter among those attending.
The episode is significant because Kharge has previously made remarks interpreted as references to Congress leaders who are prominent on television and in newspaper columns but are less visible in organisational activities.
Opposition unity under strain?
The CWC discussion also comes against a backdrop of questions over Opposition coordination. The Congress meeting focused on taking its SIR campaign beyond Parliament and courts and into street-level mobilisation.
The party now plans a wider political campaign around electoral-roll revision, while the INDIA bloc is expected to discuss the issue at its September 30 meeting.
For Congress, the immediate challenge is to convert its allegations over SIR into a broader political movement. But the CWC exchanges also underline another challenge: maintaining internal cohesion while different leaders pursue different political styles.
The Kharge-Rahul exchange may have been humorous. Priyanka’s comments were more political. Tharoor’s intervention reflected a concern about public narrative.
Together, they offer a snapshot of a Congress trying to sharpen its campaign against the Election Commission while simultaneously managing questions of leadership, political ownership and Opposition coordination.
Sonia Gandhi, according to sources clashed with Digvijaya Singh. She said Nitish Kumar had been “constantly looking for new ways to exit the INDIA bloc” and alleged that he was being controlled by the BJP, the sources added.
In January 2024, Nitish Kumar exited the opposition Mahagathbandhan alliance in Bihar and staked claim to form a new government with the BJP. After the flip-flop move, he went on to take oath for a record ninth time as the Chief Minister.
Digvijaya Singh said at the meeting: “We should not have allowed Nitish Kumar to leave the INDIA bloc. Had he stayed, the political situation would have been different.”
Sonia Gandhi responded: “Thank God Nitish Kumar left on time. He was always meant to go there.”
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