Congress says Bihar’s Voter Adhikar Yatra has revived cadres, boosted morale, and strengthened their bargaining power.
New Delhi: Even as Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi concluded his Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar covering a distance of 1,300 km, the grand old party is buoyed that the yatra has been able to rejuvenate party workers in the state and also showcased its strength ahead of the crucial assembly polls that will increase its bargaining power.
Rahul Gandhi kickstarted his Voter Adhikar Yatra from Bihar’s Sasaram on August 17 and covered over 25 districts and more than 120 assembly seats in the state till September 1. The march was also joined by Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav, VIP’s Mukesh Sahni and CPI-ML’s Dipankar Bhattacharya among others.
Many Congress leaders in the state feel that the party got a ‘sanjeevani buti’ ahead of the crucial polls and it has rejuvenated the party cadres and workers, who had been waiting for an opportunity to become active again.
A party leader, wishing not to be named, said that the 16-day-long yatra by Rahul Gandhi has revived the fortunes of the party, with many workers hitting the streets and coming out of their homes.
The leader explained that the Congress has been out of power in Bihar for 35 years, and such a large-scale yatra for 16 days has proved to be a major morale booster for its cadres and workers.
Another party leader said that Rahul Gandhi’s back-to-back visits to Bihar this year — almost eight in the last eight months — have set the tone for Congress revival in the state.
The leader explained that Rahul Gandhi’s regular presence in Bihar and the 16-day-long yatra show that the grand old party is serious about reviving itself in the state, which is also the karm bhoomi of Mahatma Gandhi, as the Champaran Satyagraha began on the same soil.
He also pointed out that the manner in which Rahul Gandhi has been carrying out his campaigns in the state has attracted people towards the party, many of whom had shifted allegiance to other outfits in the past few decades.
“This yatra of Rahul Gandhi has helped us bring back several voters from the state to Congress,” he said.
He stressed that the Congress’ bargaining power for seat-sharing in the alliance has also increased with this yatra.
The Congress and its Mahagathbandhan partners are yet to finalise the seat-sharing formula for the 243-member assembly.
In Bihar, Congress has long played the role of a junior partner to the RJD, the dominant ally.
During a press conference held during the yatra, RJD’s Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha maintained that his party has been one of the oldest and most consistent alliance partners of Congress in the state.
In the 2020 assembly polls, Congress contested on 70 seats and managed to win 19.
Party leaders in Bihar now feel that the Congress’ prospects are stronger in the high-octane electoral battle ahead and that the party is set to deliver a better performance this time.
Meanwhile, a senior Congress leader in the national capital maintained that despite the success of Rahul Gandhi’s yatra, the party will try to accommodate all its alliance partners in the state polls and will accept a formula that allows for respectable seat-sharing. Even as seat-sharing talks are expected to be finalised in the coming days, the Congress is also preparing to hold its Screening Committee meeting to discuss probable candidates, as the party has received over 3,500 applications in the last few months.
