The Bihar Assembly election results have sent shockwaves through the political landscape, with the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s Janata Dal (United) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), storming ahead with a commanding lead of over 200 seats.
In stark contrast, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD)-led Mahagathbandhan lagged far behind, and the 139-year-old Indian National Congress limped with just a few seats. This overwhelming mandate raises pressing questions about Congress’s relevance in Bihar’s politics and the efficacy of its aggressive ‘vote theft’ campaign spearheaded by Rahul Gandhi.
The Congress party’s decline in Bihar is not new. It dates back to the political upheaval following the Mandal Commission report in the 1990s, which catalysed the rise of socialist forces led by leaders like Lalu Prasad, and later Nitish Kumar. The emergence of Narendra Modi and the BJP’s growing dominance further marginalized the Congress in a state where caste-based politics, particularly backward caste equations, dictate electoral fortunes.
Gandhi’s vociferous accusations of voter fraud against the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the BJP have dominated headlines during the campaign. He held multiple press conferences, presenting what he termed ‘evidence’ of extensive electoral malpractice. Yet, as the NDA races toward a landslide victory, these allegations appear to have failed in translating into electoral gains for Congress.
Senior Congress leader Pawan Khera lashed out at the poll panel and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Speaking to reporters in Delhi, Khera remarked, “This is just the beginning, and we are watching closely. The trends indicate that CEC Gyanesh Kumar is making an impact on the people of Bihar.”
He further framed the electoral battle as a contest between the ECI and the people of Bihar, suggesting that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls was a tool used by the Commission to favour the ruling alliance.
However, Congress leaders took no time to shift the focus elsewhere, questioning the credibility of the election process itself. Party MP Manickam Tagore claimed that around 65 lakh voters, most of them from Opposition-leaning areas, had been removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls. “Democracy cannot survive if the playing field is tilted before the match even begins,” he wrote on X, accusing the Election Commission of bias.
Notably, ahead of the second and final phase of Bihar polls, the Gandhi scion had alleged that the Election Commission’s “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of voter lists was part of a larger plan to “institutionalise vote theft.” He had claimed that similar deletions had taken place in Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, suggesting a nationwide pattern targeting Opposition voters.
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