Although the Congress is a marginal player in Bihar – and has been so for nearly two decades now – the election results in this key state have come as a huge morale booster for its despondent cadres who see the Sunday verdict as a step towards the party’s revival.
Reduced to a mere 44 seats in last year’s Lok Sabha elections and wiped out in a string of subsequent assembly polls, the Congress rank and file had begun to believe that it was not just difficult but impossible for the party to regain lost ground. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s uninspiring leadership only strengthened its belief that the grand old party was hurtling towards oblivion.
The Bihar result has, however, given them some hope. There is no denying that Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are the chief architects of the victory of the Grand Alliance in Bihar but the Congress has also done its bit in boosting the combine’s final tally. The Congress had only four legislators in the outgoing assembly but the figure jumped to a whopping 26 this time, a remarkable turnaround for a party that had been written off as a player of no consequence in Bihar and viewed as a drag for its coalition partners.
Surprises all around
In fact, there was all-round surprise when the Congress was given 41 as its share in the arrangement worked out among the partners of the Grand Alliance. It was not just their allies but even Congress leaders privately said that the number of seats allotted to them was disproportionate to the party’s strength on the ground. As the election campaign progressed through the long five-week period, there was loud talk in the Janata Dal (U) and the RJD that they might have made a mistake in giving such a large number of seats to the Congress and that this could prove their undoing.
As it happens, the Congress did eventually come through for its senior partners. The cheering crowds at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road and its party vice president Rahul Gandhi’s sharp comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata party and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, told their own story.
Not only will this victory re-energise the party cadres, it will also help boost Rahul Gandhi’s personal image within the party. All those who have raised doubts about the Nehru-Gandhi’s leadership and have been resisting his appointment as Congress president will be silenced and this could well lead to his early elevation as party chief. If the Congress had fared poorly in Bihar, the voices of dissension would have got louder in the coming days and led to further churning in the party. However, Gandhi still has a long way to go before he is accepted as an alternative on the national stage. Today, that honour belongs to Nitish Kumar who has emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress vice-president is merely basking in his reflected glory.
Importance of coalitions
Bihar also offers a lesson for the party as it prepares for next year’s assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Assam. It will force the Congress vice-president to abandon his “ekla chalo” line and acknowledge that it cannot fight the BJP on its own. It has to necessarily forge alliances where the party is weak and strengthen the party organisation where it is in direct contest against the BJP. Triumphant Congress leaders were quick to announce that Modi stood defeated after the Bihar elections. “Today, Bihar has rejected Modi’s policies…tomorrow these will be rejected by the entire nation,” declared Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad.
However, it was left to former finance minister P Chidambaram to take a more pragmatic view. He told a television news channel that the situation in each state is different and has to be dealt with differently. What this means is that the Congress will first have to acknowledge that it is not a dominant force in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu where it will have to scout around for a senior partner as it did in Bihar. Similarly, the Congress faces an uphill task in Assam where the three-term Tarun Gogoi government faces intense anti-incumbency sentiment. The party’s senior leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, who crossed over to the BJP some months ago, has already taken away a large chunk of Congress MLAs and workers. If the Congress wants to present a credible challenge to the BJP in Assam, it may have to explore the possibility of tying up with Ajmal Badruddin’s All India United Democratic Front.
While the Sunday verdict will have its impact on the internal dynamics in the Congress, it will also bring about greater cohesion among the opposition parties who will be further emboldened to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. The first face-off between the National Democratic Alliance and a combined opposition will be witnessed in the coming winter session of Parliament. Modi will find it extremely difficult to push through his legislative agenda and will face a renewed attack for protecting those in his party who have been making hate speeches as the debate on intolerance will now shift to Parliament.
We welcome your comments at
letters@scroll.in.
Reduced to a mere 44 seats in last year’s Lok Sabha elections and wiped out in a string of subsequent assembly polls, the Congress rank and file had begun to believe that it was not just difficult but impossible for the party to regain lost ground. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi’s uninspiring leadership only strengthened its belief that the grand old party was hurtling towards oblivion.
The Bihar result has, however, given them some hope. There is no denying that Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar and Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are the chief architects of the victory of the Grand Alliance in Bihar but the Congress has also done its bit in boosting the combine’s final tally. The Congress had only four legislators in the outgoing assembly but the figure jumped to a whopping 26 this time, a remarkable turnaround for a party that had been written off as a player of no consequence in Bihar and viewed as a drag for its coalition partners.
Surprises all around
In fact, there was all-round surprise when the Congress was given 41 as its share in the arrangement worked out among the partners of the Grand Alliance. It was not just their allies but even Congress leaders privately said that the number of seats allotted to them was disproportionate to the party’s strength on the ground. As the election campaign progressed through the long five-week period, there was loud talk in the Janata Dal (U) and the RJD that they might have made a mistake in giving such a large number of seats to the Congress and that this could prove their undoing.
As it happens, the Congress did eventually come through for its senior partners. The cheering crowds at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road and its party vice president Rahul Gandhi’s sharp comments on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Bharatiya Janata party and its ideological mentor, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, told their own story.
Not only will this victory re-energise the party cadres, it will also help boost Rahul Gandhi’s personal image within the party. All those who have raised doubts about the Nehru-Gandhi’s leadership and have been resisting his appointment as Congress president will be silenced and this could well lead to his early elevation as party chief. If the Congress had fared poorly in Bihar, the voices of dissension would have got louder in the coming days and led to further churning in the party. However, Gandhi still has a long way to go before he is accepted as an alternative on the national stage. Today, that honour belongs to Nitish Kumar who has emerged as the main challenger to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Congress vice-president is merely basking in his reflected glory.
Importance of coalitions
Bihar also offers a lesson for the party as it prepares for next year’s assembly polls in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, West Bengal and Assam. It will force the Congress vice-president to abandon his “ekla chalo” line and acknowledge that it cannot fight the BJP on its own. It has to necessarily forge alliances where the party is weak and strengthen the party organisation where it is in direct contest against the BJP. Triumphant Congress leaders were quick to announce that Modi stood defeated after the Bihar elections. “Today, Bihar has rejected Modi’s policies…tomorrow these will be rejected by the entire nation,” declared Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad.
However, it was left to former finance minister P Chidambaram to take a more pragmatic view. He told a television news channel that the situation in each state is different and has to be dealt with differently. What this means is that the Congress will first have to acknowledge that it is not a dominant force in states like West Bengal and Tamil Nadu where it will have to scout around for a senior partner as it did in Bihar. Similarly, the Congress faces an uphill task in Assam where the three-term Tarun Gogoi government faces intense anti-incumbency sentiment. The party’s senior leader Himanta Biswa Sarma, who crossed over to the BJP some months ago, has already taken away a large chunk of Congress MLAs and workers. If the Congress wants to present a credible challenge to the BJP in Assam, it may have to explore the possibility of tying up with Ajmal Badruddin’s All India United Democratic Front.
While the Sunday verdict will have its impact on the internal dynamics in the Congress, it will also bring about greater cohesion among the opposition parties who will be further emboldened to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance. The first face-off between the National Democratic Alliance and a combined opposition will be witnessed in the coming winter session of Parliament. Modi will find it extremely difficult to push through his legislative agenda and will face a renewed attack for protecting those in his party who have been making hate speeches as the debate on intolerance will now shift to Parliament.
