The party had failed to appoint a new president as infighting is on the rise between different factions.
New Delhi: The Congress in Bihar is going through its worst phase as apart from its continuous eroding electoral base, the inner infighting is leading to the organizational decimation of the party which had ruled the state for the longest time. The party is divided into many factions and those who are associated with the grand-old-party since a long time have held the “outsiders” responsible for the electoral as well as the organizational weakness of the party in the politically crucial state.
As a result of the inner infighting, the party is not able to appoint a new state president despite multiple attempts being made in the last six months by the high command to reach a consensus candidate for the post. Sources have indicated to The Sunday Guardian that the names proposed by the high command were not acceptable for one faction or the other and the present president Madan Mohan Jha, who submitted his resignation long back, was asked to continue till the appointment of a new president by the party leadership.
Talking to The Sunday Guardian, Madan Mohan Jha, who is continuing as Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president said, “I am continuing as the president. I believe a new president will be appointed soon. As far as groupism within the party is concerned, in a democratic party like the Congress, it is natural that people have different viewpoints on some issues. I don’t consider it groupism, it is good for the party as it also highlights the inner party democracy.” On the issue of continuous electoral rout and organizational weakness of the party that was evident in the recent bypolls where Congress lost its deposits and the 2020 Assembly polls, he said, “We were given weak seats in the alliance. There was a lot of confusion as the details of the Assembly segments were announced very late, we didn’t have the time to prepare on many seats, which led to the negative results.”
Many party leaders blame Rajya Sabha member and former Union minister Akhilesh Prasad Singh for problems in the state Congress; he is seen by his rival factions as someone working at the behest of RJD. One party leader said, “In 2010, we fought alone and got a sizable vote share in the state. Akhilesh Singh who was with the RJD joined the party around 2010, in these last 10-12 years he had served his own interest more and always wanted the party to ally with the RJD. Every original congressman feels that unless we fight all the 243 Assembly seats on our own, we will not stand again in the state. Even if we get 10% of the votes, it’s fine. Akhilesh Prasad Singh went to the Rajya Sabha with the help of Lalu Yadav, Congress has senior leaders who are original Congressmen who can rebuild the party, we don’t need outsiders.”
On the “outsider” debate within the Congress, Madan Mohan Jha said, “I have a good relationship with everyone in Bihar Congress. Akhilesh Singh is a senior party leader and he never opposed me. I don’t think he has harmed the party.” The man at the centre of the tussle in Bihar Congress, Akhilesh Prasad Singh, told The Sunday Guardian, “It is unfortunate that the appointment of new Bihar Congress president is still hanging in limbo. I am a staunch Congressman and don’t want to comment on silly allegations.” The Sunday Guardian also tried to contact Bhakta Charan Das, the Congress’ Bihar in-charge, but he didn’t respond.
The Congress was a principal political player in the state till the 1990s and its main electoral erosion started when it supported and helped Lalu Prasad Yadav to form the government in 2000 with the help of its 23 MLAs. The Congress had polled 16% votes even in the 1995 Bihar Assembly polls and 11% in 2000 polls when it fought on more than 290 seats on its own in the united Bihar state. As the Congress started going soft on the RJD, the upper castes, which used to form the fulcrum of the party, moved towards the BJP.