Bihar bypolls: Congress loses deposits on both seats, clamour of overhaul reignites

Soon after the results became clear, former legislator and Congress leader of Mithilanchal, Rishi Mishra, said Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) chief Madan Mohan Jha must step down. “Those leading the campaign in the constituencies should also go,” he said.

The humiliating defeat of Congress candidates in the bypolls for two assembly seats in Bihar, one of which it had lost only by a small margin in 2020 polls, has fuelled the demand for an immediate overhaul of the party in the state.

JD(U) supporters celebrate after party's victory in Bihar bypolls, in Patna on Tuesday. (Santosh Kumar/HT Photo)

Soon after the results became clear, former legislator and Congress leader of Mithilanchal, Rishi Mishra, said Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) chief Madan Mohan Jha must step down. “Those leading the campaign in the constituencies should also go,” he said.

Snubbed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) for its demand to spare Kusheshwar Asthan seat for it, Congress walked out of the coalition and fielded Atirek Kumar, son of BPCC working president Ashok Kumar, from Kusheshwar Asthan and Rajesh Mishra from Tarapur. Atirek got less than 6,000 votes while Rajesh polled a little over 3,000. Both forfeited their deposits.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) media panellist and MLC Prem Chandra Mishra said the party needed to start from the scratch and stay away from the coalition to revive its base in Bihar. “Congress has lost its vote base over the years. It’s a long-drawn process to rebuild credibility and win over people’s confidence,” he said the MLC, adding that there were many factors that worked adversely in the fray. “The result would have been different had the RJD not broken up the coalition,” he said.

BPCC chief Jha said the party would review the reasons for defeat and take corrective steps to rebuild the organization.

Some other senior leaders said AICC in-charge of Bihar, Bhakta Charan Das, needed to pay more time to resurrect the organization at the grassroots levels, instead of depending too much on leaders indulging in “political tourism”. “The likes of Kanhaiya Kumar, Jignesh Mevani and Hardik Patel will work in Bihar only if the party had an army of active and dedicated workers at village and panchayat levels,” said Kishore Kumar Jha.

Das and chairman of the BPCC campaign committee and Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Prasad Singh, could not be reached out for their comment.

Former Patna University teacher and political analyst Nawal Kishore Chaudhary said the results were on the expected lines, as the Congress refused to undergo a massive overhaul. “With elections becoming individual-centric, Congress needs a dynamic and strong leader to counter the might of Nitish Kumar and Lalu Prasad. As of now, Congress remains a marginal force with nominal existence. Either it should undergo a complete overhaul or remain a pillion rider to the like-minded parties in Bihar,” said Chaudhary.