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Rahul’s Bihar litmus test – how to keep party MLAs from jumping ship

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Rahul Gandhi

By Abhishek Kumar

With the collapse of the RJD-JDU-Congress Mahagathbandhan government, Congress MLAs in Bihar feel staying in Opposition not a wise political choice

Presenting a major challenge for Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, at least 19 of the party’s legislators from Bihar want him to ditch the alliance with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Rahul’s dilemma now is to either ignore the rebel MLAs and risk losing a majority of the party’s elected representatives in Bihar to rivals BJP and JD (U) or give in and lose a trusted ally like Lalu, who inarguably is the most vocal and effective Opposition leader against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his BJP.

Over the past week, both Rahul and his mother, Congress president Sonia Gandhi have held separate meetings with nearly a dozen rebel MLAs of the party’s Bihar unit.

Sonia had met them first and impressed upon them that it is imperative for the Congress to stand with Lalu at a time when “secular political forces are facing their biggest political challenge” in the face of the BJP’s continuing electoral successes. A senior Bihar MLA who had met Sonia last week said that she even conceded that “the coalition of RJD, JDU and Congress had managed to stall BJP’s victory march largely because of Lalu’s popularity and networking across Bihar” and that chief minister Nitish Kumar is certain to lose his popular sheen due to his decision of ditching Lalu and joining hands with Modi.

However, the MLAs weren’t satisfied with Sonia’s arguments, said another leader, adding that the Congress MLAs in Bihar were facing a dilemma of their own – stay in Opposition for their ideology and work under Lalu’s shadow or join hands with the ruling coalition and ensure a “longer, more fruitful political innings”.

Through Wednesday and Thursday, sources said, Rahul held a series of discussions with at least 17 of the dissenting MLAs. While he is learnt to have implored them to heed the Congress president’s advice, it is learnt that the MLAs weren’t convinced.

Ashok ChoudharyAnother challenge for Rahul, sources said, is to decide on the fate of Bihar Congress president Ashok Choudhary – a popular ‘youth’ face of the party and an MLA. It was Rahul who had got Choudhary installed as the party’s state unit chief. With the political grapevine in Bihar abuzz with rumours of Choudhary being instrumental in the rebellion and being in talks with the JD (U) to engineer defections, Rahul is learnt to have asked at least 11 of his party MLAs if the state unit chief should be replaced.

However, a majority of Congress’ 27 legislators in Bihar are loyal to Choudhary. It was largely Choudhary hard bargaining that got the Congress 50 seats in the seat-sharing talks with Lalu and Nitish before the Bihar Assembly polls and he had had a crucial role in selecting the candidates too. Choudhary, who wasn’t called by Rahul for his meetings with the Bihar leaders the past few days, has publicly declared that he is “extremely unhappy” about being “sidelined by the leadership”.

“My father was in this party for 50 years till his death and I’m here for the last 25 years…During my president-ship (of the Bihar unit), the number of MLAs went to 27 from 4 in the state assembly. In the legislative council, we had zero, now we have six members,” Choudhary said, while adding that though he remains a Congressman, humiliation by the leadership would force him to explore political options.

Choudhary’s refrain of exploring other political options is one that has been echoed by other Bihar Congress legislators too – though on condition of anonymity. “What can the Congress offer us while being in Opposition,” asked one Congress MLA while another was more brazen, saying, “if we stay in the Opposition we might not even win another election but if we join hands with Nitish, we might get something in return and perhaps win the next assembly polls also”.

It now remains to be seen as to how Rahul – whose political acumen has for long been suspect and a matter of embarrassment for his party colleagues – manages to stem the rot within his fold.

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At Congress meet, Kharge blames internal bickering, statements against own party leaders for election losses

Kharge noted that the atmosphere was in the Congress’ favour during the elections but pointed out that just the atmosphere being in its favour does not guarantee victory.

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Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday asserted that the internal bickering in the party and statements against own party leaders were among the reasons for the loss of the grand old party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana.

Noting that statements against own party leaders harm the party a lot, Kharge said that tough decisions will have to be taken, accountability be fixed and shortcomings removed by learning lessons from the election results.

In his address during the Congress Working Committee meeting at the AICC headquarters, Kharge highlighted the EVMs issue and said that the EVMs have made the electoral process suspect, stressing it is the constitutional responsibility of the Election Commission to ensure free and fair elections in the country.

“Unless we fight elections unitedly and stop making statements against each other, how will we be able to defeat our opponents politically?” the Congress president said.

“Therefore, it is important that we strictly follow discipline. We have to remain united under all circumstances. The party also has the weapon of disciplining. But we do not want to put our comrades in any bondage,” he said.

“Therefore, everyone needs to think that a victory of the Congress party is our victory and a defeat is our defeat. Our strength lies in the strength of the party,” the Congress president said.

He also noted that the Congress made a comeback with new enthusiasm riding on its performance in the Lok Sabha polls and said the election results of three states were not as per the party’s expectations.

“INDIA parties formed the government in 2 out of 4 states. But our performance was below expectation. This is a challenge for us in terms of the future,” he said.

“We need to immediately learn from the election results and correct all our weaknesses and shortcomings at the organisational level. These results are a message for us,” he said.

Kharge noted that the atmosphere was in the Congress’ favour during the elections but pointed out that just the atmosphere being in its favour does not guarantee victory.

“We will have to learn to convert the atmosphere into results. What is the reason that we are not able to take advantage of the atmosphere?” he said.

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BJP says it stands for credibility of promises under PM Modi, Congress for crisis

Trivedi mockingly questioned whether Kharge was truthful in his statements made the previous day, implying that his critiques of the BJP were a reaction driven by pressure to reconcile his earlier remarks.

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The BJP said on Saturday that it stood for the credibility of promises made under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, while labeling the Congress party as one suffering from a crisis of credibility, intensifying their ongoing rhetorical conflict over unfulfilled electoral pledges.

BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi said that the ruling party has expanded its welfare initiatives, including health insurance, free food grains, and cash transfers to farmers, emphasising a strategy focused on wealth creation followed by equitable distribution as the Indian economy has grown over the last decade.

“We believe in the creation of wealth and its distribution. The Congress fosters corruption and depletes wealth,” he stated, referencing numerous unfulfilled promises made by Congress-led governments across various states.

Following Mallikarjun Kharge’s remark labeling “Modi ki guarantee” as a cruel joke after Modi seized Kharge’s guidance on budgetary constraints in state poll announcements, the BJP launched new accusations.

Trivedi mockingly questioned whether Kharge was truthful in his statements made the previous day, implying that his critiques of the BJP were a reaction driven by pressure to reconcile his earlier remarks.

Trivedi highlighted several accomplishments of the Modi government, including the construction of the Ram temple, the abrogation of Article 370, the building of over 14 crore homes for the impoverished, the establishment of more than 51 crore Jan Dhan accounts, and a firm stance against terrorism from Pakistan, to demonstrate the government’s fulfillment of its commitments.

He noted that Kharge, having witnessed notable leaders like PV Narasimha Rao and Pranab Mukherjee manage economic challenges effectively, is now observing the Congress party struggling under the influence of urban Naxals due to Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Addressing Kharge’s criticisms on various issues, Trivedi pointed to data from the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) indicating a rise in account holders from 11 crore to 25 crore over the past decade.

He also referenced significant infrastructure projects, such as the construction of homes for the poor, 74 new airports, and an impressive pace of 37 kilometers of road built per day, claiming that these initiatives have created substantial employment opportunities.

“India is now ranked third in auto manufacturing and second in mobile phone manufacturing; if anyone is unable to recognize the country’s progress, there is a profound deficiency in their perspective,” asserted the BJP spokesperson.

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Maharashtra elections: Congress says Mahayuti understands its exit is certain

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, also an observer of the Congress party for the Maharashtra elections, said that the ruling Mahayuti alliance is aware that its exit is imminent.      

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The Congress on Wednesday asserted the ruling Mahayuti government in Maharashtra has understood that its exit is certain as the Maha Vikas Aghadi alliance is strong and that all its candidates are in a strong position for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

Congress leader Sachin Pilot, also an observer of the Congress party for the Maharashtra elections, said that the ruling Mahayuti alliance is aware that its exit is imminent.      

The Congress leader stated that the party is fully prepared and that its ally parties in Maharashtra are strong. He mentioned that the seat-sharing negotiations occurred in a positive atmosphere and that the ruling party has recognized that their exit is inevitable.

“All the candidates of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) are in a strong position. The people here have decided to support Congress and its allies in the upcoming Assembly elections,” he said.

He also noted that the alliance’s performance in the recent Lok Sabha elections was impressive. “Wherever Congress contested, our candidates won 80 percent of the seats. We expect this trend to continue,” he added.

Pilot acknowledged that there have been some differences among party members regarding specific seats but assured that those issues would be resolved in the next 2-3 days, ensuring there would be only one candidate from the MVA for each seat.

Earlier in the day, Ramesh Chennithala, Congress in charge of Maharashtra, slammed the BJP, claiming that the party is undermining its alliances in the state.

“The BJP is dismantling its alliances. They are forcefully converting alliance partner candidates into their own party candidates. The people will respond to this,” he stated while speaking to reporters.

Earlier on October 26, Chennithala alleged that crores of rupees have been reportedly offered to two of its MLAs to join Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar-led NCP faction, ahead of state Assembly elections.

Chennithala made those allegations while speaking to reporters in the national capital. He also questioned the Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Voting for all 288 constituencies for the Maharashtra Assembly elections are set for November 20 and counting on November 23. In the 2019 Assembly elections, the BJP won 105 seats, the Shiv Sena 56, and the Congress 44. In 2014, the BJP secured 122 seats, the Shiv Sena 63, and the Congress 42.

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