Cong summons Bihar MLAs to Delhi over defection threats

The Congress party is holding a crisis meeting on January 23 to prevent MLA poaching amid rival parties' claims of defections after Makar Sankranti.

The Congress party has switched into crisis management mode to keep its handful of MLAs intact from poaching, amidst open declarations by rival parties about their mass desertion after Makar Sankranti.

Cong summons Bihar MLAs to Delhi over defection threats

With speculation swirling that the ruling NDA is actively courting the party’s legislators, the All India Congress Committee has called all Bihar Congress MLAs, MPs and state unit chief Rajesh Ram to New Delhi on January 23. The meeting, set for Indira Bhawan, will see them face leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and party president Mallikarjun Kharge.

Sources in the party say the gathering is meant to gauge the lawmakers’ loyalty and address any grievances, especially with the Bihar assembly’s budget session starting from February 2. One-to-one conversations are likely, insiders add, as the leadership tries to shore up unity and map out the road ahead.

More than two months after the assembly polls, Congress still hasn’t named a leader for its legislature party in the 243-member House. The delay stands out—after the 2020 elections, Ajeet Sharma was picked quickly, and in 2015 it was Sadanand Singh, both before the new government sought a trust vote.

This time, the high command seems cautious. The party won just six seats, its lowest ever in Bihar and down sharply from 19 in 2020 when it contested as part of the Mahagathbandhan. Only a couple of the six are seen as firmly rooted in Congress ideology.

Araria’s Abidur Rahman is viewed as committed but his visual impairment is considered a practical issue for the CLP leader’s role. Abhishek Ranjan from Chanpatia came up through the NSUI but his ties to senior BJP leaders, including former deputy CM Renu Devi and ex-state BJP chief Sanjay Jaiswal, have fuelled doubts. Manohar Prasad Singh of Manihari joined via a 2015 seat-sharing deal with JD(U) and has stayed put. Quamrul Hoda from Kishanganj defected from AIMIM just before the recent polls. Surendra Prasad Kushwaha (Valmiki Nagar) and Manoj Biswas (Forbesganj) are newer faces still building trust within the party.

Some MLAs have skipped recent state-level meetings, adding to the unease. Abhishek Ranjan and Surendra Kushwaha missed a discussion called by Rajesh Ram on MGNREGA issues. Manohar Singh and Abhishek Ranjan were absent from a session convened by Bihar in-charge Krishna Allavaru on Monday, though sources say they had informed the leadership in advance.

The small size of the group makes any loss painful. In 2024, during the budget session, two Congress MLAs—Murari Gautam and Siddharth Saurav—quit and joined the NDA.

NDA leaders aren’t hiding their confidence. Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) minister Sanjay Kumar claimed all six Congress MLAs are in contact and could cross over any day now that Makar Sankranti is past. “Talks are ongoing,” he said. A senior JD(U) functionary said the switch only awaits Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s approval, expected once his ongoing Vikas Yatra wraps up.

Rajesh Ram played down the rumours. “The CLP leader issue will be settled soon—definitely before the budget session,” he told this newspaper, insisting no one is leaving and calling poaching fears baseless.

Still, with Bihar’s history of floor-crossing, Congress is taking no chances. The January 23 meeting could see the CLP leader announced, party circles say, as the leadership works to steady a fragile unit ahead of the assembly session. Much will depend on how the talks in Delhi go.