Odisha Congress Leader Calls for "Open-Heart Surgery" of Party in Letter to Sonia Gandhi Amid Multiple Electoral Defeats

Ex-Congress chief Sonia Gandhi (File).

New Delhi:

An Odisha Congress leader has penned a letter to Sonia Gandhi urging for the party to undergo "open-heart surgery and deep structural and ideological renewal," cautioning that a "century-old legacy is slipping away – not through defeat by others, but through decisions within our own walls."

Mohammed Moquim, the former MLA from Barabati-Cuttack, sent a comprehensive five-page letter on December 8, expressing concern over six consecutive electoral defeats in Odisha and three straight Lok Sabha poll losses, along with defeats in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Jammu and Kashmir since 2024. Moquim was prevented from contesting the 2024 Odisha election following a lower court corruption conviction.

Among his grievances, Moquim highlighted being unable to secure a meeting with Rahul Gandhi – who received a copy of the letter – for "almost three years." He emphasized, "This is not a personal grievance... but a reflection of a wider emotional disconnect felt by workers across India who feel unseen and unheard."

Notably, midway through the letter, he suggested Shashi Tharoor – who was part of the 'G-23' group that sent a similar letter to Sonia Gandhi in 2020 – "among others should form the core leadership of the party going forward."

#WATCH | Odisha: Cuttack Congress MLA Mohammed Moquim says, "... I have written a letter to Sonia Gandhi stating that the party is going through a difficult phase and needs her advice and new leadership... Age is not on AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge's side... We should bring… pic.twitter.com/AcFPMEwpvG

— ANI (@ANI) December 11, 2025

Interestingly, two other names mentioned – DK Shivakumar from Karnataka and Sachin Pilot from Rajasthan – have recently made headlines for challenging established Congress leaders in their states – Siddaramaiah and Ashok Gehlot, both considered close to the Gandhi family.

He also named Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Rahul Gandhi's sister, now representing Wayanad in the Lok Sabha, whom many Congress members have repeatedly called upon to assume a more prominent national role.

"Madam, it is with a deep sense of anguish that I write to you today," Moquim began. "Recent outcomes in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana (all BJP victories)... are not just electoral setbacks; they reflect a deeper organisational disconnect. A series of wrong decisions, misguided leadership choices, and the concentration of responsibility in the wrong hands have weakened the party from within."

"If we do not wake up now, we risk losing the Congress we inherited."

The party has not yet responded to this critique from Odisha.

Moquim also questioned selecting Mallikarjun Kharge as party president, arguing that the 83-year-old veteran "is unable to resonate with India's youth" (those under 35, by his definition) who constitute nearly 65 percent of the population.

This "deep and growing disconnect between the Congress leadership and the Indian youth," he claimed, was responsible for "promising young leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia and Himanta Biswa Sarma" departing from the party. Scindia and Sarma left the Congress in 2020 and 2014, respectively, over disagreements with central leadership before joining the BJP.

Scindia's departure led to the collapse of the Congress government in Madhya Pradesh, while following Sarma's exit, the party has been virtually eliminated across the northeast.

Moquim, who had contested for the Congress state unit leadership in February, pointed to the party's significant defeat in last month's Nuapada Assembly seat bypoll – which BJP's Jay Dholakia won by over 80,000 votes – as further evidence of diminishing public confidence.

The letter arrives at a particularly challenging time for Congress, which is currently facing a leadership crisis in Karnataka, one of only three states it governs independently.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is confronting a potential takeover bid from his deputy, DK Shivakumar, a conflict that has persisted since the party won the 2023 election and selected Siddaramaiah over DKS.