For several years, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has repeatedly described the Congress as the ‘modern-day Muslim League.’ The claim is rooted in the argument that a significant portion of the Congress party’s vote share comes from the Muslim community. In 2025, after the Haryana Assembly election results, BJP national spokesperson Amit Malviya criticised the Congress for what he described as “gloating” over its vote share. The discussion has resurfaced following the Congress party’s recent performance across multiple state assembly elections. Observers analysing electoral data from West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Assam argue that the party’s vote base appears increasingly concentrated among Muslim voters, leading some to again use the term ‘New Muslim League’ to describe its electoral standing.
The recent round of assembly election results, declared on May 4, delivered a mixed outcome for the Congress. Excluding Kerala, the Congress delivered a largely poor performance. However, a striking common pattern emerged across states in terms of winning candidates on Congress tickets.
Kerala: A Major Comeback But Strong Muslim Representation
The Congress recorded its strongest performance in Kerala, where it succeeded in unseating the Left Democratic Front (LDF), ending its decade-long rule in the state.
This win carries particular significance as the party has faced repeated setbacks since the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. With Kerala now under its control, the Congress is currently in power in Karnataka, Telangana and Kerala in southern India, as well as Himachal Pradesh in the north.
Kerala, with a 140-member assembly, has elected 35 Muslim MLAs.
Out of these 35, 30 belong to the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF).
Within this, eight Congress MLAs are Muslims, while all 22 MLAs from its ally, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), are also Muslim.
Assam: Congress Scores High Win Rate Among Muslim Candidates
Despite the Kerala win, the Congress faced setbacks elsewhere.
In Assam, the BJP maintained a strong position and secured a comfortable majority, leaving the Congress unable to mount a serious challenge.
The party’s vote share stood at around 29.5% in Assam, but this did not translate into a broad-based electoral breakthrough.
In Assam, the Congress won 19 seats. Of these, 18 were secured by Muslim candidates.
The party fielded 20 Muslim candidates, of whom 18 won. In contrast, it gave tickets to 79 non-Muslim candidates, but only one of them secured victory.
Its ally Raijor Dal also won two seats, one of which was won by a Muslim candidate.
West Bengal: Congress Wins Only Two Seats, Both Muslims
In West Bengal and Tamil Nadu, the Congress remained a marginal player, registering very low electoral impact. In both states, its vote share stood at just over 3%.
In West Bengal, the Congress won two seats, both by Muslim candidates from Muslim-dominated constituencies.
Notably, the party fielded 63 Muslim candidates in the state, surpassing the Trinamool Congress (TMC), which gave tickets to 47 Muslim candidates.
Tamil Nadu: Limited Success
In Tamil Nadu, the Congress fielded two Muslim candidates, out of which one emerged victorious.
Congress Leadership Reacts
Reacting to the overall election results, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described the outcome as “mixed,” reiterating that the party remains committed to its ideological direction despite electoral challenges.
Senior leader Jairam Ramesh said the party would undertake a detailed internal review, acknowledging that results outside Kerala did not meet expectations.
Shashi Tharoor, meanwhile, termed the Kerala victory significant but admitted that the result in Assam was disappointing. He also suggested that any strong opposition alliance against the BJP would require the Congress to remain at its core.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
