Congress, after winning only six seats in Bihar, plans a solo fight, sharper campaign against AIMIM, and strengthening organisation in election review.
Congress MP Rahul Gandhi with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge (Photo: File)
NEW DELHI: Faced with a massive setback in Bihar, where it managed to secure only six seats in the recent assembly polls, the Congress party's top leadership has begum chalking out a fresh political road-map for the state. The new plan—still in an early stage —suggests a significant tactical shift, including the option of contesting future elections independently by distancing itself from its long-standing ally, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD). It also recommends adopting a sharper stance against the Asaduddin Owaisi-led AIMIM, which is believed to have eaten into the Congress vote share in several constituencies across the Seemanchal belt.
In the aftermath of the electoral loss, the Congress high command held a detailed review meeting with Bihar leaders, which was attended by Members of Parliament, Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru, state Congress president Rajesh Ram and all candidates who contested the elections. The leadership team comprising party president Mallikarjun Kharge, LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal met candidates in batches of ten to assess ground realities and gather individual evaluations of what may have gone wrung.
According to party sources, a day after the larger review meeting, PCC chief Rajesh Ram and senior leader Shakil Ahmed Khan separately met Rahul Gandhi once again. During this interaction at Janpath on Friday, the two leaders submitted a comprehensive report detailing their assessment of the electoral outcome.
As part of the strategy to counter AIMIM, the report proposes a structured and continuous campaign t from Kishanganj—the district considered most strategically affected during the polls. The report also explores the possibility of the Congress contesting future Bihar elections solo, arguing that the party must not remain dependent on the RJD—its alliance partner within the Mahagathbandhan. Sources, however, clarified that although Rahul Gandhi received the report with a smile and listened to its recommendations patiently, he gave no formal commitment or indication on whether the party would indeed break away and adopt an independent route.
It is important to note that the Mahagathbandhan had earlier projected RJD's Tejashwi Yadav as its chief ministerial face, and the alliance relationship was strongly reinforced by warm personal ties between the Gandhi family and founder Lalu Prasad Yadav. Rahul Gandhi and CPP chairperson Sonia Gandhi have shared a cordial bond with Lalu for years, and the bonhomie between the families has often been seen in public.
However, the report submitted by state leaders underlined that the prolonged seat-sharing deadlock—triggered by the RJD just ahead of the polls—created delays that hampered campaigning. Despite the Congress launching a 16-day Voter Adhikar Yatra led by Rahul Gandhi in August, negotiations on seats stretched longer than expected, slowing momentum for the alliance battle.
Interestingly, the report does not recommend a change of leadership within the Bihar Congress. Instead, it praises the effort put in by state president Rajesh Ram and the Bihar in-charge during the elections, arguing that organisational expansion, not leadership overhaul, should be the immediate focus. It suggests appointments of new block-level and selected district-level presidents, with groundwork for the next election cycle beginning immediately.
Another major concern raised in the report was the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, which, the leaders claim, may have contributed to the party's poor performance. Although the Congress retained its overall vote percentage from the 2020 polls, its seat tally fell sharply.
The party now plans to launch a dedicated state wide awareness campaign highlighting alleged irregularities in the SIR process. Preparations are also under way for a mass rally in Delhi on December 14, where SIR-related issues are expected to be raised prominently. The document further proposes reviving support bases among upper castes, OBCS and other backward communities. Rahul Gandhi is expected to initiate a series of caste-group-specific meetings soon to reconnect with communities that traditionally aligned with the party.
Meanwhile, during Friday's review meeting at the party headquarters, several MPs reportedly demanded accountability for the Bihar loss. Kharge, in a light moment, smiled and asked Tariq Anwar, "When are you all going to demand my resignation?" Sources also claimed that senior MPs like Akhilesh Prasad Singh sought private meetings with Kharge and Rahul Gandhi afterwards, though such appointments were not granted.
