In the vast labyrinth of Indian politics, some figures emerge not as architects of growth but as the architects of decline. Two such enigmatic personalities stand out for their remarkable consistency in steering their respective parties toward electoral and ideological irrelevance: Congress’s K.C. Venugopal and Shiv Sena’s Sanjay Raut.
Once upon a time, Congress’s Ahmed Patel was the epitome of political shrewdness, navigating alliances, electoral strategies, and internal cohesion with an understated brilliance. In sharp contrast, K.C. Venugopal’s tenure as the party’s organizational point man has been, let’s say, less illustrious. Venugopal seems to have mistaken over-enthusiasm for strategy and arrogance for leadership.
Under his stewardship, Congress has perfected the art of shooting itself in the foot. His ill-advised strategies and dubious counsel to Rahul Gandhi have amplified intra-party disputes and alienated potential allies. The once-dominant national party now teeters on the brink of irrelevance, unable to reclaim lost ground or present a unified front. Gone are the days of meticulous coalition-building; in their place, we have chaos disguised as strategy.
Venugopal’s missteps make one wonder if his ultimate goal is to prove that Congress can’t even organize a coherent tweetstorm, let alone a national campaign.
Meanwhile, in Maharashtra, Sanjay Raut has been running his own political demolition derby. As the editor of the Shiv Sena’s mouthpiece, Saamana, Raut once wielded words as a weapon against adversaries. But in recent years, he has turned that weapon inward, inflicting damage on his own party. Following Babasaheb Thackeray’s demise, Raut emerged as a key advisor to Uddhav Thackeray, but his advice often seemed more focused on consolidating personal clout than safeguarding the party’s legacy.
Raut’s crowning misadventure came after the 2019 Maharashtra Assembly elections. In a bid to install Uddhav as Chief Minister, he championed an alliance with the Congress and the NCP—two ideological adversaries of the Sena. This unholy alliance not only alienated the party’s core Hindu nationalist base but also sowed the seeds of rebellion. Eknath Shinde’s eventual split was less a sudden mutiny and more a slow-motion train wreck orchestrated by Raut’s political acrobatics.
Raut’s transformation from a journalist to the de facto strategist of the Sena’s downfall is a masterclass in hubris. His attempts to prove his loyalty to Uddhav led not to consolidation but to disintegration. What’s worse, his misadventures have permanently tarnished the Sena’s reputation as a fierce, independent political force.
Both Venugopal and Raut share an uncanny knack for dragging their parties into quagmires. Their ill-conceived strategies and overreach have left their respective leaders struggling to maintain relevance. While Venugopal’s Congress has turned into a punching bag for critics and competitors alike, Raut’s Shiv Sena has splintered into factions, a shadow of its former self.
Perhaps the greatest irony is how these two figures, ostensibly tasked with strengthening their parties, have instead become inadvertent case studies in political mismanagement. If there were an award for sabotaging one’s own organization, Venugopal and Raut would undoubtedly be strong contenders.
So, here’s to K.C. Venugopal and Sanjay Raut: two leaders who, in their quest to lead, managed to achieve something extraordinary—turning political strategy into an art form of self-destruction.
