'India next': Congress, Cockroach Janta Party see message in US midterms verdict

KC Venugopal invokes public resistance to authoritarian tendencies, Jairam Ramesh questions simultaneous polls and Abhijeet Dipke argues that faith in strongman politics is weakening

Congress leaders and the Cockroach Janta Party's Abhijeet Dipke drew parallels with India after US President Donald Trump's midterm setback, describing the verdict in America as a message about accountability, economic concerns and the limits of strongman politics.

"Change is in the air," Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal wrote on X (formerly Twitter), while party spokesperson Shama Mohamed declared: "India will soon follow!"

Their reactions came as Democrats won control of the US House of Representatives and Senate, making gains in Republican strongholds including Texas, South Carolina and Kansas. Frustration over living costs and the Iran war reportedly helped drive the shift against Trump's party.

The reactions carried a common message, that is, voters want affordable living and leaders who answer to them.

'Democracy ultimately belongs' to citizens

Venugopal portrayed the results as evidence that organised public participation could overcome powerful political and financial interests.

"The midterm results in the US are a powerful demonstration of how people's collective strength can take on and defeat authoritarian tendencies, even when they are backed by big corporations, a compromised media ecosystem, and algorithm-driven social media platforms that amplify division, hatred, and anti-people politicians," he wrote.

He argued that the verdict carried a wider lesson about who holds power in a democracy.

"They remind us that democracy ultimately belongs not to billionaires, powerful interests, or technology platforms, but to ordinary citizens who choose to participate, organise, and make their voices heard."

"When people come together in solidarity and refuse to surrender their rights and freedoms, they can overcome even the most formidable forces aligned against them," he added.

Ramesh links verdict to India's election debate

Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh connected the outcome to the Modi government's push for simultaneous elections.

"The US mid-term elections have delivered a stunning verdict and decisively rejected President Trump," he wrote.

"Personalities aside, the results demonstrate the power of mid-term polls to enforce accountability. In our own country the ONOE -- One Nation One Election -- idea that is being advocated by the Modi Govt will significantly blunt that instrument."

Ramesh also framed the Democratic gains as a restoration of checks on presidential power.

"The US mid-term elections have also restored institutional balance that is at the very core of a constitutional democracy. That balance has been dangerously disturbed in India since 2014."

Faith in strongman politics 'beginning to unravel'

Cockroach Janta Party founder Dipke placed the results within what he described as a broader reassessment of leaders who promise national greatness through concentrated power.

"Post-2010, the world witnessed a renewed fascination with strongman politics. People were persuaded to believe that democracy was slowing down progress and that one powerful leader could solve all their problems," he wrote.

"They placed their faith in leaders who considered themselves bigger than institutions and promised national greatness, prosperity and global dominance. Instead, what followed was the erosion of democratic institutions, repression of rights, wars and economic turmoil."

He argued that voters were beginning to question that bargain.

"Recent political trends suggest that this faith in strongman politics is beginning to unravel. People are realising that concentrating power in one individual who claims to be strong does not necessarily make a nation stronger. They are rediscovering the value of democratic freedoms, accountability and the institutions they once took for granted."

For Dipke, the change was also about the promises voters wanted politicians to fulfil.

"More importantly, they are beginning to question what national greatness really means. Before promises of global dominance, people want something far more fundamental: economic stability, an affordable cost of living, and accountability from those in power."

'India will soon follow'

Congress spokesperson Shama Mohamed offered a more direct prediction.

"The Midterm elections in the U.S shows us that those who are corrupt, who lie about the economy, who subvert Democracy will be kicked out!" she wrote.

"Kansas has never elected a Democrat Since 1932 but it has today! Hence the impossible can be made possible when a Tyrant Subverts Democracy."

"India will soon follow!"

In Kansas, Democrat Adam Hamilton defeated Republican senator Roger Marshall, becoming the state's first Democrat elected to the US Senate since 1932. Trump had carried Kansas by more than 16 percentage points in 2024.