NEW DELHI: Despite the BJP’s top leadership including PM making several visits to Bihar in the first phase of LS polls, Rahul Gandhi being face of the I.N.D.I.A. remained elusive during the campaign.
The Congress’ star leader Rahul Gandhi is seen to be displeased with the Bihar’s Rashtriya Janta Dal (RJD). The reason party insiders believe is the inappropriate influence practiced by Lalu Yadav to negotiate a bigger chunk of seats for RJD and leave the constituencies which has less prospects of winning for Congress.
Despite the BJP’s top leadership including Prime Minster Narendra Modi making several visits to Bihar in the first phase, Rahul Gandhi being top-tier star campaigner of the I.N.D.I.A. did not campaign for the Lalu’s RJD. He also did not pay any visit during that time to the state sending a message that the partnership between the two is not functioning smoothly in the state.
A Congress leader holding a position in AICC defended Rahul not visiting the state and said, “Bihar held polls in four constituencies in its first phase, Aurangabad, Gaya, Jamui and Nawada, there is no seat where Congress had its own candidate. That is the reason why Rahul Gandhi did not visit the state during the campaigning of the first phase.”
According to party insiders, there are political events of RJD where the Congress leadership is not seen sharing stage with Lalu’s party. A senior leader said, “Why is Congress not sharing any stage with RJD or rather Congress wants to but why isn’t RJD letting Congress be part of its public events? Moreover Rahul Gandhi did not come because people in Bihar did not want Rahul Gandhi to come.”
As per the understanding in the political circles of Bihar, Lalu has been seeing Congress as its potential threat. Leaders close to Lalu sense that if the state party is lenient in allowing Congress to share RJD’s popularity, it could take away the Muslim voter-base of the RJD.
Which has pushed Lalu to develop a roadmap of “pushing Congress out of stage” to reduce their public presence through them. The matter does not stop here, the Congress chief in the state Akhilesh Prasad Singh is also seen to be responsible for the Congress’ inability to secure seats where the party had bright prospects and is therefore accused of running a foul play within his own party as he is said to have fielded less popular candidates. A senior Congress leader alleged, “He is serving his own purpose. He has certain reports and surveys on the basis of which he has given tickets to people whom he wants to.”
A section of the grand old party in the state believes that the state Congress chief Singh is dancing to the tunes of Lalu and trying to reverse any progress within the party. And also he is sending a distasteful signal to the higher-ups (Congress high command) of the national party by taking steps which are favourable to Lalu and regressing towards Congress.
The dissatisfaction in the party has left the Congress cadre unable to channelize their potential towards the betterment of the party. An ex spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari, who left the Congress party recently, claimed to The Sunday Guardian, “The state president Akhilesh Prasad Singh has a setting with BJP as he had placed candidates which would help the saffron camp win seats.”