New Delhi: In the Bihar Assembly elections, the NDA won 202 out of 243 seats, while the India Bloc secured only 35. Congress contested 61 seats but won only six. Following this result, introspection has begun within the alliance, among Congress allies, including the RJD, Left parties, and VIP. Congress officials will soon visit various assembly constituencies in Bihar to understand the reasons for the defeat.
This step was taken after senior AICC officials received initial feedback from local leaders, which highlighted several shortcomings in the opposition’s preparations and ground management. EVM malfunctions were also pointed out. A review with party candidates, scheduled for November 26th, has been postponed.
AICC Bihar in-charge secretary Sushil Pasi told ETV Bharat, “We will soon visit various assembly constituencies to gather more detailed information about the reasons behind such a lopsided outcome. Such a one-sided result was not expected at all. There is a clear discrepancy in the voter list, both through EVMs and before that, through SIRs. Two former ministers and several BJP MLAs received almost equal votes, which is not normal in different constituencies.” According to party insiders, the opposition suffered setbacks primarily due to a flawed election strategy and a lack of coordination among allies. The RJD is said to have weakened the alliance’s spirit with its often aggressive stance. As the Congress examines the reasons for its electoral defeat, it is also drawing up a list of things it needs to do to rebuild the party in the eastern state.
These include forming separate party panels from the state to the district and block levels, conducting political activities in villages rather than just the state capital or district headquarters, and providing more financial resources to candidates. Furthermore, allocating seats based on winnability should not be a one-time exercise before the elections, but should be continuously evaluated throughout the election campaign, based on ground realities.
Pasi said, “The opposition now needs a new strategy for the state elections. It should demand ballot paper voting.” According to former legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, the Congress should start afresh in the state and reach out to the people with the state government’s shortcomings.
Khan told ETV Bharat, “It can either be a repair strategy or a replacement strategy. We probably need a replacement strategy. All is not lost, and the Congress can always start afresh. The arrival of hardline minority-appealing parties like AIMIM has driven majority voters towards the BJP. We have to counter both.”
He said that despite the shortcomings of the INDIA bloc, the odds against the opposition were overwhelming. Khan alleged that the NDA mobilized women beneficiaries of the ₹10,000 money transfer scheme at the booth level to gain an advantage in polling, something the opposition could never do. He also wondered what happened to all the movements launched by various sections of society against the NDA government over the past few years and why they did not have an impact on voting.
Former state unit chief Akhilesh Prasad Singh told ETV Bharat, “The delay in announcing seat-sharing and the lack of coordination among the opposition were two major reasons for the defeat.”
