Congress' Missteps Blamed for Grand Alliance Setback in Bihar Elections

New Delhi: Despite having a strong opportunity to defeat the NDA government that has ruled Bihar for the last 20 years and return to power, the Grand Alliance suffered a massive setback primarily due to the Congress party’s insincerity. Even after the deadline for withdrawal of nominations had passed, the Congress failed to announce the candidate list in coordination with allies — a delay caused entirely by the party’s obstinacy.

This outcome also reflects the failure of Rahul Gandhi, who led the Congress campaign in Bihar as Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, and K.C. Venugopal, who was responsible for organisational strategy. Although Rahul Gandhi had conducted the “Vote Adhikar Yatra” before the elections were announced, he barely paid attention to Bihar afterward. Even when seat-sharing talks were in crisis, Rahul was occupied with other engagements. He campaigned for only a few days, and on the eve of the first phase of polling in Bihar, he declared at a press conference in Delhi that the Grand Alliance would not win.

The Congress’ greed for seats had weakened the alliance in 2020 as well. Contesting 70 seats, the party won only 19, while the Left parties, who contested 29, won 16. This time too, Congress continued its rigid stance, unilaterally announcing candidates in 61 constituencies. Allegations that candidates were selected in exchange for money caused further embarrassment.

Internal Discord in the Grand Alliance Benefited the NDA

The disunity and internal conflicts within the Grand Alliance made things easier for NDA in Bihar. The major alliance partners, RJD and Congress, failed to work together at any stage. Only CPI(M) and CPI(ML) remained steadfast with a broader political vision.

During seat negotiations, Congress stubbornly demanded 70 seats, while RJD insisted on allocating some seats to new alliance partners. As discussions dragged on, each party released its own candidate list separately. In many constituencies, alliance partners ended up competing against each other.

During the “Vote Adhikar Yatra,” Tejashwi Yadav and Rahul Gandhi campaigning together had created enthusiasm among the youth. But after the yatra concluded, their partnership did not continue. Rahul made only guest appearances during the campaign.

Ultimately, Tejashwi Yadav was burdened with far more responsibilities than he could handle, running from place to place for campaign events. The attempt to bring in new parties to the alliance also failed. NDA’s narrative that a return of “Lalu’s jungle raj” was imminent could not be effectively countered. Meanwhile, vote splitting by Owaisi, Prashant Kishor, and other smaller parties also proved detrimental to the Grand Alliance.