The Bihar election results not just mark a serious drubbing for the Congress but also deal a major setback to Rahul Gandhi, who had crisscrossed the state earlier this year to convince voters that the BJP had been stealing votes.
Gandhi had taken out the Voter Adhikar Yatra in August this year, buoyed by the two previous yatras that the party believed had helped them consolidate votes in the last few elections.
The yatra began from Sasaram and ended in Patna, crossing 25 districts and 110 assembly constituencies, covering about 1,300 km. But not a single constituency on this route appears to be tilting towards Gandhi’s party. Current trends suggest that the Congress is now leading in just four seats-Valmiki Nagar, Kishanganj, Manihari, and Begusarai-out of the 61 seats that it contested.
No Gandhi Magic?
The Congress believed that Gandhi’s previous yatras helped them put up an impressive performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and 2023 Telangana polls. The Congress had managed to win 41 seats along the routes of the two pan-India ‘Bharat Jodo’ yatras that Gandhi had taken out between 2022 and 2024. In Telangana, it won the polls and formed the government.
But the Gandhi magic appears to have lost steam in the Gangetic plains of Bihar.
The NDA swept the majority of the seats, with both the BJP and the JDU winning most of the seats they contested. The BJP now leads in 91 and the JDU in 80. Both had contested 101 seats. Even their allies put up an impressive performance. The Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) of Chirag Paswan leads in 22 out of the 28 it contested. Upendra Kushwaha’s RLM is ahead in 3 out of 6 seats, while Jitan Ram Manjhi’s HAM leads in 5 out of 6 seats.
No Takers For ‘Vote Theft’ Charge?
The Bihar results signify that Gandhi’s “vote theft” charge against the BJP and Election Commission failed to convince the voters.
As per the Congress, the Bihar yatra was aimed at punching holes into what it called a “BJP ploy to disenfranchise lakhs of voters in Bihar” through the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) of the electoral rolls.
The yatra is a moral crusade to ensure that the voices of the marginalised are not stolen by fraud and manipulative design, the Congress had said, with senior leaders describing it as a “big game-changer.”
“This is a fight to protect the most symbolic democratic right – ‘one person, one vote’,” Gandhi had said. The EC had denied the allegations as incorrect.
Even Bihar’s voters now appear to have shunned Gandhi’s charges.
What Went Wrong?
While the Congress is yet to conduct an assessment into its Bihar drubbing, the factors that appear to have played out in the rival’s favour include the lack of unity among the Mahagathbandhan constituents. The Congress’s hesitation to endorse the RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav as the alliance’s chief ministerial face was among those.
Besides, a lack of a joint strategy was also prominent, which failed to deliver the Grand Alliance’s messaging to the voters.
While Gandhi’s yatra managed to instill fresh energy into the grassroots workers, it was all gone by the time the campaigning ended. The excitement faded, enthusiasm dropped, and the party’s visibility took a serious hit.
Friendly fights and factionalism among the partners also led to confusion and ended up hurting both Congress and the RJD.