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Odisha Congress expels Md Moquim, will his MLA daughter Sofia Firdous stay in the party amid conflicts and leadership crisis

Sudarshan Vahini

Days after veteran Congress leader Mohammed Moquim wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi flagging organisational shortcomings in the Party and calling for the party’s ‘open heart surgery’, he was expelled by the All India Congress Committee (AICC) from the party for “anti-party activities”.

The 60-year-old former MLA from Cuttack-Barabati assembly seat had written a strongly worded letter to Sonia Gandhi on 8th December, expressing concern over the party’s internal flaws and repeated electoral failures at both the national and state levels.

“This is for the information of all concerned that AICC has approved the proposal for the expulsion of Sri Md Moquim from the primary membership of the party due to anti-party activities,” stated a notice dated 13th December, posted by the Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC).

Moquim, who apparently saw his expulsion coming, said that he did not regret writing the letter. “The Congress did not speak to me, and in the morning, I came to know from news channels that I had been expelled. I have no regret about this,” Moquim said, confirming his expulsion. He added that he followed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s slogan of ‘Daro Mat’ and wrote the letter. “Congress leader Rahul Gandhi always says ‘Daro Mat,’ and I got inspiration from his slogan to write the letter to Sonia Gandhi, flagging the issues that impact the party. The party didn’t accept it and expelled me from Congress. I have nothing more to say,” said Moquim. “I’m a 24×7 politician and would continue to work for the community and people. I would discuss with my followers and advisors on my next course of action,” he added.

It is notable here that Md Moquim had gone against Congress ‘High Command’ before. In the 2022 election for the President, Moquim had defied the Party whip and voted for NDA candidate Droupadi Murmu. He had stated that he ‘listened to his heart’, because Murmu is from Odisha and he wanted to vote for Odisha’s daughter.

Moquim’s letter raised concerns about the party’s internal flaws and poor performance

In his letter, Moquim had raised several points regarding the Congress party’s leadership and working, which, in his opinion, needed change. He cautioned that the Grand Old Party is on the verge of losing its legacy owing to internal flaws rather than external defeats. Describing the Congress Party’s condition as “alarming, heartbreaking, and unbearable,” Moquim pointed out the poor performance at the national and state levels. Apart from three national electoral defeats and 6 consecutive setbacks in Odisha, Moquim cited the party’s electoral defeats in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Kashmir as an indication of a deeper “organisational disconnect.”

Pointing to the party’s leadership crisis in Odisha, Moquim criticised the appointment of Sarat Patnaik as Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president in 2023. He cited Patnaik’s repeated electoral losses, including forfeiting deposits, which led to the party’s lowest vote share of 13% in 2024. He also criticised the appointment of the current OPCC chief, Bhakta Charan Das, in 2025, under whose command the party lost three consecutive elections. Moquim also highlighted Das’s past criticisms of the Gandhi family during the JP movement, and his support for a separate “Kosal State”.

Talking about the Congress Party’s national leadership, Moquim said in the letter that Congress national president, Mallikarjun Kharge, who is 83 years old, is unable to connect and resonate with India’s youth. He also raised the issue of the disconnect between party leaders and the high command. He said that despite being an MLA, he was not able to meet Rahul Gandhi for three years. He also linked the exodus of young Congress leaders like Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jaiveer Shergill, Milind Deora, and Himanta Biswa Sarma with the disconnect within the party.

Sofia Firdous, Moquim’s daughter and current MLA of Cuttack Barabati

Mohammad Moquim has been a lifelong Congress worker and has ties to the party dating back to the times of the freedom struggle. He has been a loyal and valuable party member whose electoral achievements in the party include reclaiming the Barabati-Cuttack seat in 2019 after 35 years. Moquim’s daughter, Sofia Firdous, who is an emerging and promising leader of the Congress Party, won the same constituency in 2024 despite top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, campaigning for BJP’S PC Mohapatra.

Moquim was unable to contest the 2024 Assembly elections due to his conviction in a vigilance case. His daughter Sofia Firdous contested on a Congress ticket and won the Cuttack Barabati seat, becoming Odisha’s first Muslim woman MLA.

It is notable here that Sofia is seen as one of the most promising young politicians in the state and enjoys popularity among the voters, especially the youth. She has a BTech degree from KIIT University and was leading her father’s real estate business before starting her political career.

As an MLA, Sofia has been vocal and always at the forefront. She raises numerous questions in the assembly, and has been among the first to speak on key issues, connecting with the people, visiting places and displaying a rare ‘energy’ that has been absent in the Odisha Congress for years.

In an interview with ThePrint earlier this year, Sofia stated that Odisha Congress needs to be the voice of the people if it wants to stay relevant in politics.

In fact, after Moquim’s ‘rebellion’ and expulsion from the Congress, there is some speculation among the political circles whether it was a ‘jealous’ move, to prevent Sofia’s rise as the ‘next generation’ face of the Congress in Odisha. Current OPCC chief Bhakta Charan Das and his son Sagar have both been targeted by Md Moquim in his letter, highlighting how the party has been suffering repeated election losses.

Congress and internal rifts: A chronic disease

Through his letter addressed to Sonia Gandhi, Moquim wanted reforms in the leadership and the working of the party. However, the Congress High Command is used to autocratic ways of decision-making. The party is not particularly known for encouraging the free flow of ideas and dissenting opinions from party no matter how long they have been associated with it. Congress has been dealing with internal rifts at the national and state levels, indicating the party’s waning organisational strength and the lack of strong leadership.

In Karnataka, the party has long been facing an infighting which has divided the party into two factions, with one supporting CM Siddaramaiah and the other supporting Deputy CM DK Sivakumar. The rift within the Karnataka Congress recently became undeniably visible after 4 party leaders, including three sitting MLAs and a former MP from Mandya, were issued notices by the party for openly backing Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar as the next Chief Minister.

Internal conflict and the ‘High Command’s failure to pacify the situation is what caused the Congress Party’s fall in Punjab. Despite Amarinder Singh winning a strong mandate, the Party leadership in Delhi continued to undermine him and attempt to appease Navjot Sidhu. Eventually, Singh was made to step down as CM and Sidhu was made state Congress chief, a move that clearly failed, again. The result was Congress’s loss in the next assembly election in 2022.

Rebellious voices arose in the Rajasthan Congress after the party suffered a humiliating defeat in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Several Congress MLAs demanded that the then Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot be replaced by Sachin Pilot, the then Deputy Chief Minister. Leadership clashes between the Pilot camp and the Gehlot camp affected the party’s performance in the state. Though Pilot did not part ways with the party, the rift showed its effect, resulting in a resounding Congress defeat in the 2023 assembly elections.

Himanta Biswa Sarma, the 2-term CM of Assam, has cited this chronic leadership problem of Congress multiple times. Sarma had left Congress and joined the BJP in 2016 after being made to wait for hours by Rahul Gandhi. Sarma later recalled that when he had gone to meet Rahul Gandhi to discuss Assam-related issues, the Congress ‘Prince’ was busy playing with his dog, paying no heed to Assam leaders. Sarma has since become one of the strongest and most successful CMs of BJP.

The abovementioned incidents indicate that infighting has become a hallmark trait of the party, and the current case of Moquim is not a one-off incident. Moquim’s expulsion from the party for merely voicing his concern about the deteriorating stature of the party, without giving him an opportunity to be heard, is only the latest symptom of the old rot within the party. Any call for reforms arising from within the Congress party is shut out. The current leadership of the Congress Party has been ruthless in dealing with its own leaders. With this self-sabotaging attitude, it remains to be seen how long the Congress Party can afford to expel and repel its sane voices.



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