Fresh rumours swirl around Bihar Cong MLAs as defection talk resurfaces

The buzz gained traction after Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) minister Sanjay Kumar of the LJP(R-V) openly claimed that all six Congress legislators were in touch with the ruling NDA and would cross over soon after Makar Sankranti on January 14.

Two Congress legislators stayed away from a key party meeting here on Thursday, triggering a new round of speculation that the already depleted opposition bench in the Bihar assembly could shrink further in the coming days.

Fresh rumours swirl around Bihar Cong MLAs as defection talk resurfaces

The meeting, called by Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Ram, was meant to chalk out the party’s strategy for the nationwide “MGNREGA Bachao Sangram” — a Congress campaign launched earlier this month against what the party calls the Centre’s attempts to weaken the rural job guarantee scheme. With Bihar heavily dependent on MGNREGA wages, the state unit had planned district-level protests from January 10 to February 25.

But the absence of Surendra Prasad (Valmiki Nagar) and Abhishek Ranjan (Chanpatia) from the strategy session at the BPCC headquarters immediately set tongues wagging. Only four of the party’s six MLAs — Manoj Bishwas, Abidur Rahman, Qamrul Hoda and Manohar Prasad — turned up.

The buzz gained traction after Public Health Engineering Department (PHED) minister Sanjay Kumar of the Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) openly claimed that all six Congress legislators were in touch with the ruling National Democratic Alliance and would cross over soon after Makar Sankranti on January 14.

Congress state chief Rajesh Ram, however, brushed aside the talk of rebellion. “Missing one meeting does not mean anyone is leaving the party,” he said. “Similar rumours kept floating throughout the last assembly term, yet our MLAs stayed together till the very end.”

RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari went a step further, calling the claims a sign of unease within the NDA itself. “The BJP and its smaller partners are trying to create confusion in the opposition ranks to keep JD(U) in check,” Tiwari said. “They are not sure how long Nitish Kumar will remain with them.”

The Congress has long struggled to hold its ground in Bihar’s fluid alliance politics. After winning only six seats in the latest election — down sharply from its earlier strength — the party has seen repeated desertions. Two MLAs, Siddharth Saurav and Murari Gautam, joined the NDA last year, while four MLCs led by former state president Ashok Choudhary switched to JD(U) in 2018.

With the NDA firmly in the saddle and the Mahagathbandhan still licking its wounds from the 2025 drubbing, any further erosion in Congress numbers would only underline the opposition’s continuing disarray in the state. For now, the party leadership insists unity prevails — but the whispers in Patna’s political corridors suggest otherwise.