For the Congress, an election campaign usually revolves around party president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi. The duo are in great demand as candidates vie for their attention to headline election rallies.
But it is a different story in the ongoing Bihar assembly elections. Unlike previous elections, Congress candidates in Bihar are not exactly flooding the party office with requests for Sonia or Rahul Gandhi to address public meetings to provide a much-needed fillip to their campaign.
While they remain the party’s chief campaigners, the demand for the two top leaders is far lower this time. Sonia Gandhi has only made a couple of trips to Bihar since the campaign began. Rahul Gandhi has been leading the party’s campaign but his trips are less frequent as compared to the past. Even the party’s alliance partners – Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad – have refused to share a platform with the Congress vice-president.
Lack of appeal
If the candidates are lukewarm towards the Congress president and the Nehru-Gandhi scion, they are positively cold towards other party leaders. The Congress’ state unit is clearly shying away from inviting former ministers and other senior party leaders to campaign for them.
Congress insiders said that candidates are wary of approaching former ministers because the electorate has not forgotten the scams and corruption scandals that tainted United Progressive Alliance-2. Public anger against the party has still not abated and candidates do want to take any risks, insiders said.
The only other leaders being asked to pitch in are former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and film star-turned-politician Raj Babbar. Lately, another film star, Nagma, joined the Bihar campaign but is not in the same league as some of her more senior and illustrious colleagues. While Raj Babbar manages to hold the attention of audiences because of his celebrity status and his oratory skills, Azad is viewed as a credible face in the Muslim-dominated constituencies.
In the background
The overall sentiment in the Congress ranks can also be put down to the fact that the party is a bit player in Bihar. It is happy to play the role of a junior partner to the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Its candidates are relying more on the charisma of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav than its own leaders, who have not proved to be great crowd-pullers.
Fighting for his party’s political survival, the RJD chief has emerged as the secular alliance’s star campaigner. He has been regaling crowds with his inimitable quips while successfully putting the Bharatiya Janata Party on the defensive. This is especially true with regard to the issue of quotas for scheduled castes and other backward classes, in the wake of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s call for a review of the country’s reservation policy.
While Lalu Prasad Yadav has been at his entertaining best, Nitish Kumar has proved to be a perfect counterfoil to the boisterous RJD chief. The secular alliance’s chief ministerial candidate adopts a sober, mature and measured tone in his speeches, which focus primarily on the development work during his tenure as Bihar chief minister. He also talks about how the state progressed during this period and how he will continue this work if re-elected.
Nitish Kumar’s speeches are also expectedly punctuated with jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He makes the mandatory references to the election promises that Modi failed to fulfil and underlines that the people of Bihar want the state to be headed by “a Bihari and not a bahari”.
Everyone needs to pitch in
The two alliance partners are clearly following a well-rehearsed script. While Lalu Prasad Yadav plays the caste card by keeping the focus on the reservation debate, Nitish Kumar concentrates on vikas (development) to counter the BJP’s development agenda.
With the Congress heavily dependent on its senior partners, the JD (U) and RJD are now nervous about the grand old party’s electoral prospects. They are said to be privately wondering if they took the right decision by allocating 41 seats to the Congress while they contest 100 seats each. The senior partners believe the Congress has not put its best foot forward in what has been a decidedly lacklustre campaign.
With the Janata Dal (U) and RJD locked in a do-or-die battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, it is imperative that all three partners leverage their respective strengths to beat their political opponents. If the secular alliance is to cross the halfway mark in the 243-member Bihar assembly, it is important that the Congress pitches in with an exceptional performance. The party has only four legislators in the outgoing assembly. It has to more than double its score to ensure that the alliance is in the driver’s seat. But is the Congress up to the challenge?
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But it is a different story in the ongoing Bihar assembly elections. Unlike previous elections, Congress candidates in Bihar are not exactly flooding the party office with requests for Sonia or Rahul Gandhi to address public meetings to provide a much-needed fillip to their campaign.
While they remain the party’s chief campaigners, the demand for the two top leaders is far lower this time. Sonia Gandhi has only made a couple of trips to Bihar since the campaign began. Rahul Gandhi has been leading the party’s campaign but his trips are less frequent as compared to the past. Even the party’s alliance partners – Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad – have refused to share a platform with the Congress vice-president.
Lack of appeal
If the candidates are lukewarm towards the Congress president and the Nehru-Gandhi scion, they are positively cold towards other party leaders. The Congress’ state unit is clearly shying away from inviting former ministers and other senior party leaders to campaign for them.
Congress insiders said that candidates are wary of approaching former ministers because the electorate has not forgotten the scams and corruption scandals that tainted United Progressive Alliance-2. Public anger against the party has still not abated and candidates do want to take any risks, insiders said.
The only other leaders being asked to pitch in are former Union minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and film star-turned-politician Raj Babbar. Lately, another film star, Nagma, joined the Bihar campaign but is not in the same league as some of her more senior and illustrious colleagues. While Raj Babbar manages to hold the attention of audiences because of his celebrity status and his oratory skills, Azad is viewed as a credible face in the Muslim-dominated constituencies.
In the background
The overall sentiment in the Congress ranks can also be put down to the fact that the party is a bit player in Bihar. It is happy to play the role of a junior partner to the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal. Its candidates are relying more on the charisma of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad Yadav than its own leaders, who have not proved to be great crowd-pullers.
Fighting for his party’s political survival, the RJD chief has emerged as the secular alliance’s star campaigner. He has been regaling crowds with his inimitable quips while successfully putting the Bharatiya Janata Party on the defensive. This is especially true with regard to the issue of quotas for scheduled castes and other backward classes, in the wake of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh chief Mohan Bhagwat’s call for a review of the country’s reservation policy.
While Lalu Prasad Yadav has been at his entertaining best, Nitish Kumar has proved to be a perfect counterfoil to the boisterous RJD chief. The secular alliance’s chief ministerial candidate adopts a sober, mature and measured tone in his speeches, which focus primarily on the development work during his tenure as Bihar chief minister. He also talks about how the state progressed during this period and how he will continue this work if re-elected.
Nitish Kumar’s speeches are also expectedly punctuated with jibes at Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He makes the mandatory references to the election promises that Modi failed to fulfil and underlines that the people of Bihar want the state to be headed by “a Bihari and not a bahari”.
Everyone needs to pitch in
The two alliance partners are clearly following a well-rehearsed script. While Lalu Prasad Yadav plays the caste card by keeping the focus on the reservation debate, Nitish Kumar concentrates on vikas (development) to counter the BJP’s development agenda.
With the Congress heavily dependent on its senior partners, the JD (U) and RJD are now nervous about the grand old party’s electoral prospects. They are said to be privately wondering if they took the right decision by allocating 41 seats to the Congress while they contest 100 seats each. The senior partners believe the Congress has not put its best foot forward in what has been a decidedly lacklustre campaign.
With the Janata Dal (U) and RJD locked in a do-or-die battle with the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, it is imperative that all three partners leverage their respective strengths to beat their political opponents. If the secular alliance is to cross the halfway mark in the 243-member Bihar assembly, it is important that the Congress pitches in with an exceptional performance. The party has only four legislators in the outgoing assembly. It has to more than double its score to ensure that the alliance is in the driver’s seat. But is the Congress up to the challenge?