New Delhi: Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi has asserted that the political foundation beneath the Modi government is weakening, arguing that its conduct points to insecurity rather than unshakeable authority. In her newly published memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, she predicts that the present regime will not endure and frames India’s democratic future as resting with a generation demanding fairness and justice.
Gandhi writes that, although the government continues to insist that its authority and public support remain undiminished, she believes its position has changed fundamentally. She argues that its actions expose anxiety, even as partisan coverage in the mainstream media continues.
“As of this writing, the government continues with its narrative that its power and popularity remain intact. But it’s my belief that the ground has shifted under their feet. The mainstream media remains as partisan as before, but the government’s actions demonstrate its insecurity,” she says.
The former Congress president points to recent state elections as evidence of what she describes as extensive manipulation of electoral rolls, invoking the opposition’s “vote chori” allegations. She further alleges that Parliament has avoided pressing national questions, including China’s occupation of territory along the border, legislation affecting federal principles, minority rights and citizens’ privacy, as reported by The New Indian Express.
“But the official fictions have ceased to be credible; people reacting to rising prices, unemployment, and widespread corruption, are less afraid to speak out,” Gandhi says.
Repression Cannot Endure
Referring to the long-term impact of what she calls the BJP’s divisive governance, Gandhi argues that authoritarian systems typically meet popular resistance with harsher repression. She says India is presently experiencing this pattern, but maintains that such a course carries the seeds of its own collapse.
“But this regime is not here to stay. Abuse of power brings its inevitable consequences, leading to its downfall. Less than a century ago, nobody could have believed that the mighty British empire spread over the globe would become a distant relic; nobody could have imagined that a frail man clad only in a dhoti would unite millions of Indians and vanquish that colossal force,” she says.
Gandhi connects her argument to India’s democratic history. She says that after Independence, India gave every adult the right to vote even though the country was poor and only 12 per cent of people could read or write. She calls this a major step forward in a society divided by class and hierarchy.
“Nor could anyone have foreseen, seventy years ago, that democracy would take root in newly independent India, a desperately poor country with 12 per cent literacy. Universal suffrage, giving every adult a vote, was a radical act in a hierarchical society. This democratic promise cannot be easily undone, and in the long term it will protect this nation,” she asserts.
She also expresses certainty that efforts to control and polarise citizens will eventually confront India’s inherent diversity. According to Gandhi, the RSS’s long-term ambition to impose a single religion and language on a plural society will be resisted.
“I have no doubt that the RSS’ long-term design of domination, to impose one religion and one language on our multiplicity, will be firmly resisted…” she writes.
‘Dented Their Invincibility’
Gandhi also revisits the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, portraying them as the point at which the BJP’s sense of political inevitability began to crack. She says the party reacted to the ground response to the INDIA bloc by becoming increasingly defensive and erratic.
“The prime minister started faltering. He reverted to his customary crude slogans warning people of the supposed dangers to them posed by the minorities. His speeches became threatening, disconnected, at times almost surreal. In one interview that went viral, he claimed that he was of celestial descent, ‘non-biological’, she says.
According to her, voters across the country began rejecting the Prime Minister’s rhetoric and paying closer attention to the opposition alliance’s message. She describes the BJP’s campaign language as marked by anger and hostility, with little constructive or forward-looking content.
“Many people across the country began to see through the PM’s fabrications and turn away from his speeches, which were full of anger and hate and devoid of progressive or constructive content. They began paying attention to what the INDIA bloc were saying,” Gandhi recounts.
Celebrations At Congress Office
Gandhi recalls the day results were declared, when she first heard drums in the distance before chants and firecrackers erupted from the Congress office next door. She describes a sudden sense that something significant was unfolding, with floral tributes accumulating in the party’s garden.
“Something was clearly going on: celebrations seemed to be breaking out, garlands and floral bouquets piling up in our garden. I learnt that though our party hadn’t won, we had improved our tally and pushed back our opponents enough to weaken them considerably. I welcomed Rahul and Priyanka home with a huge embrace enfolding all three of us, after which they went to the party office to share in the excitement all over the country, our party offices were erupting in celebrations,” she says.
For Gandhi, the election result proved that the INDIA bloc had weakened the BJP’s aura of electoral dominance. She notes that the BJP failed to secure a majority and had to rely on two regional parties to form the government.
“It became obvious that, for all the tricks and stratagems of the BJP and RSS, our INDIA alliance had dented their invincibility. The BJP failed by a large margin to gain a majority. They were compelled to seek the support of two regional parties to form a government. We were rejoicing because we had demonstrated something vitally important: that the opposition in our Parliament was alive and well,” she says.
‘Only Half The Battle Won’
Gandhi acknowledges that the opposition did not win the 2024 contest outright, but argues that it achieved something politically consequential by uniting despite internal differences. In her view, the outcome prevented the country from sliding further toward an authoritarian trajectory.
“True, only half a battle had been won, but it felt to me and to many as though the country had drawn back from an abyss,” she says.
The memoir’s account is set against the final 2024 numbers: the BJP-led NDA secured 293 seats, while the INDIA bloc won 235. The BJP emerged as the single largest party with 240 seats, falling well short of the 272 required for a majority.