What the Congress badly needs is self- introspection for its downfall. It must address its twin handicaps – organisational erosion and leadership vacuum at the booth level, and at the district level. If it could give up nomination culture and hold elections for these bodies, it would rejuvenate the party.
by Rama Rao Malladi*
Clearly, Biharis want development laced with freebees – an art BJP has perfected. Also, they have no time for intellectual gymnastics on issues like ‘vote chori’. The very talk of jungle raj brings nightmares to a large section of society outside the Yadav belt.
Nitish, and Modi have read the pulse of the electorate; their Mahila-Youth (MY) plank has proved deadly for the RJD -led Mahagatbandhan (Great Alliance)’s very own time- tested MY (Muslim-Yadav) combine. More over the NDA drew dividends from its broader caste and welfare coalition. The Opposition alliance, which in essence is RJD, has failed to expand its appeal beyond its traditional base.
Flip-side of Mahagatbandhan
Any alliance that is cobbled up on the eve of an election must have cohesion right from the word go, even if they are not ideologically on the same page. Mahagatbandhan failed on this score. Poor coordination amongst the allies, confused supporter-base, and internal rivalries (that prevented efficient vote transfers) have undermined the alliance’s attempt to present itself as a strong alternative to Ni-Mo-2. Even the alliance’s seat-sharing was marked by disagreements that led to multiple ‘friendly fights’ like in the good old Janata Dal days.
A quick reading of the results shows that each party in the Mahagatbandhan has failed to transfer its votes to the alliance members- an area where the NDA constituents fared better. Of course, the NDA projected unity and had better strategy whereas Tejashwi’s campaign for the Mahagatbandhan had more rhetoric.
Tejashwi’s Poor Show
Tejashwi’s planks like one job for every family did not cut much ice what with the track record of his father, Lalu Prasad Yadav, and his mother, Rabri Devi. The fact that he had trailed in the initial rounds of counting in his very own constituency- Raghopur – shows his disconnect with the electorate. It can be argued that the delayed consensus in the Mahagatbandhan on the Chief Ministerial face also cost Tejashwi dearly. But such an excuse is neither here nor there.
PK’s No Show
Prashant Kishore has drawn a blank in his first electoral fray though he had projected himself as the X factor in the Bihar polls. His Jan Suraaj Party (JSP) fell flat despite a high-voltage campaign.
Kishore must have learned by now the difference between masterminding successful campaigns (for Narendra Modi in 2014 and Mamata Banerjee in 2021), and mastering election strategy for himself. Well, Bihar 2025 is not the end of the road for him.
Rahul’s Plight
Knifes may not be out against Rahul Gandhi in the Congress party, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi desires. The GOP is held by the glue called the Gandhi family. So, I do not visualise a split in the party anytime too soon. The party will certainly witness some simmering but no churning till around the next ballot on Moditva.
Yes, Rahul will find erosion in his turf space since the Bihar electorate has rejected his manufactured narrative. He will also find the going tough unless he becomes a 24×7 politician and invents his own Amit Shah to address the party’s urgent need – caders at the booth level.
Rahul Gandhi could have avoided the humiliating result – a single digit – that has pushed the Congress party to the margins of Bihar politics for the first time in nearly three decades. He could have made a course correction after his first round of electioneering as Nitish Kumar did vis-à-vis Chirag Paswan to project a picture of unity in the NDA. But he stuck to a narrative of vote chori, which, in essence, is a self-goal. His other talking points like the tirade against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters list and his outpouring against the Election Commission gave him no dividends either.
Cong Road Map
What the Congress badly needs is self- introspection for its downfall. It must address its twin handicaps – organisational erosion and leadership vacuum at the booth level, and at the district level. If it could give up nomination culture and hold elections for these bodies, it would rejuvenate the party.
There is nothing wrong if the Congress studies the BJP’s structure, which has enabled the saffronites to become a fighting force. Also, how the BJP of Modi-Shah is different from Atal-Advani days.
Congress egg-heads urgently need to revert back to the classroom to learn to read the pulse at the ground level. Terming the Bihar poll as a ‘direct, straight contest between CEC Gyanesh Kumar and the people of Bihar’, gave neither a headline in a friendly media nor votes. It is indeed surprising that the Delhi-based Congress spokesman had stuck to this refrain even on the counting day as the trends were coming.
Failed Rahul’s Logic
The Bihar voter was not swayed by Rahul’s logic like the Khan Market social media. And the upper castes were disappointed by his war cry for social justice and caste census. Local concerns did not find a place in Rahul-speak, clearly because he has no mechanism to offer feedback from Ground Zero.
In my view, Rahul Gandhi damaged the Congress prospects with his vote chori theory. Of course, he passionately believed his rhetoric but it became his self-goal.
Every party is allowed to appoint a functionary at the booth level both during revision of voters list and while voting is taking place. Put simply this is the cutting edge, where a party must be active and be vigilant. The booth level functionary of any party can dispute a vote, and that particular vote is recorded separately.
This is simple electoral law.
The Congress worthies did not do this either in Haryana or Maharashtra and now in Bihar. Instead of blaming the ECI, Rahul Gandhi should look inwards and turn to leaders, who had faced real electoral battles.
Any expectation of the Congress coming to grips with the root causes of its dismal Bihar show appear patently misplaced going by Rahul Gandhi’s reaction that the Bihar election was not fair from the very beginning.
What a lament even after covering 1,300 kilometres across 25 districts and 110 seats – walking, cycling, and fishing just to drive home his singular message to voters – “rise against vote chor, gaddi chhod”.
The internal dynamics of the Congress notwithstanding, Rahul Gandhi may find few takers in Opposition Parties. Not only because of his party’s dismal show in Bihar but because of the thinking that alliance politics benefitted the Congress in the Lok Sabha polls. End
(*Rama Rao Malladi is New Delhi-based senior journalist with over 40 years of experience covering Indian politics and political parties for government as well as private media organizations)
