Congress’s former Rajya Sabha MP and veteran journalist Kumar Ketkar has sparked controversy with his claim that the CIA and Israel’s Mossad played a role in the Congress’s dramatic defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Ketkar made the remarks while speaking at an event organised by the Congress on Constitution Day, alleging that foreign intelligence agencies were determined to prevent the Congress from returning to power.
Ketkar began by recalling the party’s electoral trajectory over the decade preceding 2014. The Congress had won 145 seats in 2004 and improved its tally to 206 seats in 2009, forming the UPA government twice in a row.
“Going by the trend, the Congress should have won 250 seats and retained power convincingly,” he said.
Instead, in 2014, the Congress suffered its worst-ever performance, slipping to just 44 seats—fewer than the number required to claim the Leader of the Opposition post in the Lok Sabha.
“CIA–Mossad Decided Congress Must Be Brought Down”
According to Ketkar, this sharp collapse did not reflect the natural mood of the electorate.
“It was then that the game started,” he claimed.
“It was decided that under no circumstances should the Congress’s tally increase from 206 in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.”
He alleged that foreign agencies believed that if Congress or a Congress-led alliance returned to power, they would not have the leverage to “interfere” in India.
“One of the organisations was the CIA and another was the Mossad of Israel,” Ketkar said.
“They felt that unless the Congress was brought down from 206, they would not be able to play their games in India.”
He further claimed that both agencies had compiled detailed state- and constituency-level data, which he alleged played a role in influencing outcomes.
“Discontent Against UPA Was Not Enough for a Collapse to 44”
Ketkar said that while there was visible discontent against the UPA government and then–Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2014, it was not sufficient to explain the scale of collapse.
“There was some disenchantment, yes, but not enough to bring the Congress down from 206 to 44. This was not the mandate of the people,” he insisted.
He added that the party’s weakened numbers deprived it even of the right to claim the Leader of the Opposition role in Parliament.
Reference to “Balkanisation”
Ketkar also referenced historical foreign interests, claiming that even the British had once wanted India to face “Balkanisation.”
His remarks have brought renewed attention to the factors behind the Congress’s 2014 defeat, though they remain his personal allegations, not supported by evidence offered during the event.