Will the Gandhis Repeat Their Ayodhya Misstep by Skipping Maha Kumbh? Kharge’s Remarks Add to Congress’ Dilemma

Congress Struggles with Faith, Strategy, and the Gandhi Siblings’ Dilemma Over the Maha Kumbh Controversy

The latest comments by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on the Maha Kumbh have set tongues wagging and left the party in a dilemma over what to do next. Kharge’s suggestion that a holy dip in the Ganga would put an end to poverty has come under attack, and eyebrows are being raised over how the Congress leadership, especially the Gandhi brothers, will handle this sensitive topic.

While Kharge subsequently explained that his remarks were not meant to offend religious sentiments, his condemnation of BJP leaders for making a publicity issue out of the Kumbh only fueled the fire. The row has come at a time when allies in the INDIA coalition, including Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav and his wife, have already attended the religious congregation. After a deadly stampede at the festival took more than 30 lives, Yadav took the chance to challenge the Hindu credentials of the BJP on the grounds that Hindu lives were being lost due to mismanagement at the world’s largest religious gathering.

In spite of the Congress’s efforts in the past to walk cautiously on religious issues, recent images of party leaders such as Digvijaya Singh, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and Sachin Pilot going for the holy dip indicate that there are some within the party who understand the importance of Hinduism and rituals. The Congress cannot afford to make the same mistake it made at the Pran Pratishtha ceremony of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya, where it wrote off the event as a government function and did not attend. While the party later said its leaders would go to the temple at a future date, no senior Congress members have made a visit to Ayodhya yet.

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The question now is whether the Gandhi brothers will visit the Maha Kumbh and participate in the sacred ritual. Till now, Congress sources are mum on their intentions. But history could be on their side. In 2001, Sonia Gandhi had immersed herself at the Kumbh, a step which was interpreted as a calculated gesture to dispel criticism regarding her religious identity. Indira Gandhi, a practicing Hindu who always wore a ‘Rudraksh,’ was particularly known for her involvement with Hindu customs.

With Congress set to take on the BJP while at the same time defining an independent identity from its INDIA bloc partners, the Gandhi brothers have a key choice to make. Skipping the Maha Kumbh would serve to reinforce the idea that the party is out of touch with Hindu emotions, something the BJP has long tried to promote. In an era in which religion remains a preeminent force in the country’s political playbook, the way the Gandhis respond to the Maha Kumbh controversy may have long-term repercussions for Congress’s own electoral fortunes.

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